26 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



44566 and 44567. Amaranthus gangeticus L. Amaranthacese. 



Amaranth. 



From China. Collected by Mr. Frank N. Meyer, Agricultural Explorer for 

 the Department ol' Agriculture. Received April 14, 1917. 



44566. "(No. 2383a. Peking, China, February 17, 1917.) A red Amaran- 

 thus, used locally as a vegetable, like spinach, when young. Sometimes 

 the seed is sown in a moist, dark, and warm place, and the young, red- 

 colored seedlings are eaten as a rare delicacy at fea.sts. The seed itself 

 is apparently never used in the north of China as a grain food. Chinese 

 name Hung hsicn ts'ai (red hsien vegetable). (Meyer.) 



44567. "(No. 2884a. Peking, China, February 17, 1917.) A green Ama- 

 ranthus, used locally as a vegetable, like spinach, when young. Some- 

 times the seed is sown in a moist, dark, and warm place, and the 

 young seedlings are eaten as a rare delicacy at feasts. Chinese name 

 Ch'inff hsicn ts'ai (green hsien vegetable). { Meyer.) 



44568, Annoxa cherimola Mill. Annonacese. Cherimoya. 



From Nice, France. Presented by Dr. A. Robertson Proschowsky. Re- 

 ceived April 13, 1917. 



A horticultural variety with large fruits, sent under the name of Annona ma- 

 crocarpa Hort. 



44569 to 44579. 



From Yokohama, Japan. Purchased from the Yokohama Nursery Co. 

 Received April 17, 1917. 



44569. Apios fortunei Maxim. Fabaeeie. 



Hodo-imo. Tubers of a perennial leguminous climbing plant, native 

 to Japan, sometimes 10 feet long, with compound leaves having three 

 to five leaflets, panicles of greenish yellow flowers, and pods about 2i 

 inches long. The round, bulletlike tubers are boiled and eaten, and a 

 kind of starch is manufactured from them. (Adapted from Usefiil 

 Plants of Japan, Agricultural Society of Japan, Tokyo, p. 60.) 



44570. Chenopodium acuminatum Willd. ChenopodiacesB. 



Akaza. Seed of an annual Japanese herbaceous plant, growing wild 

 everywhere, and attaining a height of 4 to 5 feet. The large, old stems 

 are used for canes. There are several horticultural varieties, all being 

 used for the same purpose. (Adapted from Useful Plants of Japan, 

 Agricultural Society of Japan, Tokyo, p. 15. ) 



44571. Coix LACRYMA-JOBi L. Poacese. Job's-tears. 



Seeds received under the name Coix agrestis Lour., which is now con- 

 sidered a synonym of the above. Loureiro describes it as differing from 

 the common form by its simple stems, smooth leaves, and nearly globular 

 seeds. Obtained for the work of the Office of Forage-Crop Investigations. 



44572. DiANTHUS japonicus Thunb. Silenacese. Pink. 

 Plants of a glabrous perennial, native of Japan and Manchuria, with 



simple stems about 20 inches tall, ovate, lance-shaped, sharp-pointed 

 leaves twisted at the base, and red flowers six to eight in a head. 

 (Adapted from Bailey, Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, vol. 2, 

 p. 1000.) 



