38 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



43281 and 43282. 



From Seharunpui, India. Presented by Mr. A. C. Hartless, superintendent, 

 Government Botanical Gardens. Received August 17, 1916. 



43281. Nannorrhops kitchieana (Griffitli) Wendl. PlicenicacefP. 



Mazri palm. 



A lov? gregarious shrub, ascending to 5,500 feet in Baluchistan and 

 Mekran, stemless ordinarily, but sometimes with a stem 10 to 20 feet 

 long. The leaves are 2 to 4 feet long, grayish green in color, and are 

 beaten with a mallet to remove the fiber, which is used in making mats, 

 baskets, etc. The fruit is a nearly round 1-seeded drupe. The flowers, 

 leaf buds, and fruits are eaten by the natives, and the seeds are made 

 into rosaries. The reddish brown wool of the petioles is impregnated 

 with saltpeter and used as a tinder for matchlocks, and the whole plant 

 when dried is used for f-uel in arid regions. In Europe it grows best in 

 a compost of sandy loam, with good drainage, and is propagated by seeds 

 and offsets. An unheated greenhouse is better than a hothouse. (Adapted 

 from E. Blatter, Journ. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc, vol. 21, pp. 12 to 16.) . 



43282. Prosopis spicigeba L. Mimosacese. 



A deciduous thorny tree, found in the arid zones of the Punjab, Sind, 

 Dekkan, etc. It is easily raised from seed and coppices well. The tap- 

 root is enormously long, in one specimen measuring 86 feet. From the 

 stump of the pruned branches and other scars a gum exudes, similar to 

 gum arable, which, although worthy of investigation, has not hitherto 

 been used. The bark of the tree is used for tanning. The pods are 

 sometimes used for medicinal purposes, but more often are employed as 

 fodder, and in some localities the poorer classes eat the bark. (Adapted 

 from Watt. Dictionary of the Economic Products of India, vol. G, pt. 1, pp. 

 SJfO and S'll-) 



43283. Rosa rubus Lev. and Van. Eosacese. Rose. 



From Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England. Plants purchased from Messrs. 

 Paul & Son. Received September 13, 1916. 



Wilson No. 666a. 



A tall, climbing musk rose, up to 6 meters in height, common everywhere lu 

 western Hupeh and eastern Szechwan, China, with densely hairy shoots and 

 leaves and large coarsely dentate leaflets, resembling those of certain species of 

 Rubus. The fruit is dull red or dark scarlet, globose, and the peduncles are 

 relatively long and stout. The plant grows up to 1,800 meters altitude. It was 

 first described as Rosa moschata hupehensis Pampanini. (Adapted from 

 Sargent, Plant ae Wilsonianae, vol. 2, pt. 2, pp. 308 and 309.) 



43284. LiTCHi CHiNENSis Sonner. Sapindaceae. Litchi. 

 (Nephelium litchi Cambess.) 



From Canton, China. Presented by ilr. G. Weidman Groff, Canton Chris- 

 tian College, through Mr. Lau Tai Chi. Received September 5, 1916. 



Wai Chi variety. 



43285. Garcinia mangostana L. Clusiaceae. Mangosteen. 



From Singapore, Straits Settlements. Presented by Mr. J. I. Anderson, 

 director. Botanic Gardens. Received September 12, 1916. 



One of the most delicious fruits of the Tropics: The hand.some tree is 25 to 

 30 feet in height, of compact growth, regular in outline, and with dark-green 

 foliage. It comes into bearing at about the ninth year. The rose-pink flowers 



