APRIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1919. 23 



47496 to 47503— Continued. 



47502. Spathodea nixotica Seem. Blgnoniacese. 



This is a bushy troe up to 20 feet in height ; native to the upper Nile 

 Valley and the Belgian Kongo. The opposite leaves are made up of 

 9 to 15 leathery leaflets covered with d(*nse short hairs beneath. The 

 scarlet flovsrers are borne in short, dense, terminal racemes and resemble 

 closely those of the well-known Spathodea canipanulata. (Adapted from 

 TMselton-Dyer, Flora of Tropical Africa, vol. J,, p. 529.) 



47503. Syzygium sp. Myrtacese. 



A shrub or small tree probably bearing edible fruits; closely related 

 to the Eugenias. 



47504 to 47507. Elaeis guineensis Jacq, Phoenicacese. 



Oil palm. 



From Buitenzorg, Java. Presented by Dr. P. J. S. Cramer, chief. Division 

 of Plant Breeding, Department of Agriculture. Received April 24, 1919. 



The oil palm is indigenous to the Guinea coast, where travelers found it used 

 by the natives as early as the sixteenth century. From there it has gradually 

 been disseminated throughout the Tropics. 



The palm attains 1.5 to 20 meters in height; its trunk is erect and straight; 

 the trees are monoecious, and the pistillate flowers develop into fruits (drupes) 

 of the form and size of a prune, yellow or brownish at maturity, according to 

 variety. 



These fruits, numbering 1,000 to 1,.500 upon a raceme, have a hard, woody 

 endocarp surrounded with a fibrous and at the same time fleshy pulp, varying 

 in thickness according to variety, and containing much oil. The see<l con- 

 tains an oleaginous kernel which is exported to Europe under the name 

 palmiste. 



In his Documents sur le Palmier a, Pluile, Chevalier mentions several varie- 

 ties of this plant, differing in production and the quality of their oil. The 

 development of improved varieties will be a matter of great inrportance. 



The racemes are harvested by natives who are very skillful in climbing the 

 palms. The principal season of ripening is toward the end of the rains, but 

 the harvest continues more or less throughout the year. 



The fruit yields two sorts of oils: One is extracted from the pulp {huile de 

 palme) and the other from the seed (huile de palmiste). 



Mtiile de palme is seen in Europe only in the solid state, since it does not 

 become liquid at a lower temperature than 40° C. It is orange-yellow in color. 

 When fresh it has a faint odor of violets and is employed by the natives who 

 use it very extensively in cooking. It becomes rancid very quickly. Commer- 

 cially, it is used in soap making. 



In its native home (Dahomey, for example) the oil is extracted by fer- 

 menting the fruits in jars for several days ; they are then mashed, the nuts are 

 taken out, and the pulp is boiled in large kettles of water. The oil rises to 

 the surface of the water and is skimmed off. Its purification is later brought 

 about by boiling it for some time. The nuts, clean of pulp, are then broken 

 with stones or hammers. The kernel (palmiste) is removed and dried, after 

 which it is ready for use. These dried kernels are exported to Europe, and 

 yield under pressure 40 to 42 per cent of palmiste oil which is white and has 

 a melting point of about 25° C. This oil is employed in the making of fine soap. 

 (Adapted from Capus et Bois, Lea Produits Coloniaux, 1912, p. 294.) 



