^'^:vl YORK 

 '■iOTANICAL 



INVENTORY OF SEEDS AND PLANTS IMI'ORTED BY 

 THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN SEED AND I'LANT IN- 

 TRODUCTION DURING THE PERIOD FROM .11 LY 1 

 TO SEPTEMBER :J0, 15)18 (NO. rS; NOS. 46:50:! TO 



4r..5ST). 



INTKODUCTORY STATEMENT. 



Although this inventory is a small one and falls Avithin the period 

 affected by the war. it describes an unusual number of interesting 

 ])lant immigrants, which, if they succeed, can scarcely fail to make a 

 lasting impression on our horticulture, 



Xo. 46310 {Amarantkus panlcukitus) is the '"huauhtli" of the 

 Aztecs, an amaranth whose seeds are used in the making of a delicate 

 sweetmeat resembling pop-corn balls. This "huauhtli" was culti- 

 vated bv the Aztecs before the discoverv of America. It figured in 

 their religious ceremonies and their commerce. Quantities of this 

 " grain " were exacted bv them as tribute from concjuered tribes. 

 Dr. Safford has found that Montezuma had IS granaries, each with 

 a capacity of 9,000 bushels, filled with its seeds. The flour, made into 

 small cakes called alegria by the Spaniards, was eaten in large quan- 

 tities by the lower classes. The ability of this plant to grow and bear 

 in regions too dry for corn makes it worthy of close stud3\ 



Some one in the Southwest should experiment Avith the '"huauht- 

 zontli" {Chenopodium nutfalUae; Xo. 46311) and determine whether 

 its delicate inflorescences when cooked as the ]Mexicans cook them are 

 not worth putting on our menu. A new vegetable such as this should 

 be most interesting for experiment. 



Canna edulis (Xo. 46313), the edible canna or Queensland arrow- 

 root, has been grown for years for arrowroot production in Queens- 

 land, because there it yields heavily and is easier to cultivate than the 

 Bermuda arrowroot {Movant a anmdinacea). Few root vegetables 

 are more brilliantly colored than the tubers of this canna, and its 

 behavior in Florida makes it worthy of special study as a possible 

 crop in the Everglades. 



