APRIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1917. 27 



44569 to 44579— Continued. 



44573. Eleochakis tuberosa (Roxb.) Schult. Cyperacese. BeecM. 



These beeclii tubers are mostly eaten raw, but are also sliced and 

 shredded in soups and in meat and fish dishes. Foreigners in China 

 grate them and serve them boiled as a winter vegetable, in which state 

 they very much resemble sweet corn in looks and taste. The plants need 

 a hot summer to mature and are grown on a muck or clayey soil with 

 several inches of standing water on top, in very much the same manner 

 as wet-land rice. (See S. P. I. No. 41680.) 



For illustrations of beech! tubers and growing plants, 'see Plates I 

 and II. 

 44574 and 44575. Ekiobotrya .taponica (Thunb.) Lindl. Malacese. 



Loquat. 



44574. Motogi-hiica. (Trees.) 44575. Haragami-hiwa. (Trees.) 



44576. Ficus pybifolia Burm. Moracete. Fig. 



The name Ficus pyrifoUa is of doubtful application. These plants may 

 be F. benjamina, F. erecta, F. fontanesii, or F. rubra. (See Bailey, 

 Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, vol. 3, p. 1233.) 



44577. Malus sylvestris Miller. Malaceae. Apple. 

 (Pyrus malus L. ) 



Nukunariiko. Trees of " a variety of apple known in Japan as the 



Iicai or Xakanaruko. This variety is supposed to have come from this 



country, but it has also been said that it is of German origin. It has 



become a leading fall variety in Japan." (J. K. Shaio, pomologist, 



^ Massachusetts Agricultural College.) 



44578. Pyrus sp. (?) Malacese. Pear. 



44579. Zinziber mioga Roscoe. Zinziberacere. 



Roots of a perennial Japanese herb about 3 feet high, both wild and 

 cultivated, with nearly linear, smooth, membranaceous leaves up to 15 

 inches long ; white flowers in spikes 2 to 3i inches long ; and ovoid 

 capsules. In summer and autumn the flowers, with the bracts, are 

 eaten either raw or boiled ; they have a slight acid taste and an aromatic 

 odor. (Adapted from Useful Plants of Japan, Agricultural Society of 

 Japan, Tokyo, p. SO, and from Bailey, Standard Cyclopedia of Horticul- 

 ture, vol. 6, p. 35Jf.'t.) 



44580. SoLANUM TUBEROSUM L. Solanacese. Potato. 



From Bogota, Colombia. Tubers presented by Mr. Jorge Ancizar. Received 

 April 19, 3917. 

 Papa criolla. Tubers shaped like the common potato, but only about an inch 

 in shortest diameter. "The Creole potatoes come out in three months and are 

 delicious fried with their skins." {Ancizar.) 



44581 to 44587. Eibes spp. Grossiilariacese. Currant. 



From Ottawa, Canada. Plants presented by Mr. W. T. Macoun, Dominion 

 Horticulturist, Central Experimental Farm. Received April 20, 1917. 

 44581. RiBEs vulgare Lam. Garden currant. 



Cumberland. A strong, moderately spreading grower and one of the 

 most productive currants. The bright scarlet fruits are acid, medium 

 sized, of fairly good quality, and occur in bunches of average length, 

 usually only about half tilled. The season is medium. (Adapted from 

 Macoun, Bulletin 56, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, Canada, p. 11.) 



