62 SEEDS AISTD PLANTS IMPORTED. 



48230 to 48261— Continued. 



The Manketti [or megongo] nuts are the product of a euphorbiaceous 

 tree which grows in the South African veld, forming vast forests near 

 the Oniaramba River. The kernels of the nuts are oily and are eaten 

 by the natives. The kernels yielded 57.2 per cent of bright-yellow liquid 

 oil. which had a saponification value of 191.5 and an iodin value of 133.6 

 per cent ; it is therefore a semidrying oil. It appears that this oil can 

 be used for food. It is, however, very difficult to extract the kernels, 

 owing to the softness of the latter and the extreme hardness of the shells. 



The pulpy mesocarp should have a moderate nutrient value, but trials 

 would be necessary before it could be definitely recommended as a cattle 

 feed. Its composition is as follows : Moisture, 16.6 per cent ; crude pro- 

 tein (of which 6.5 is true protein and 1.4 other nitrogenous substances), 

 7.9 per cent; fat, 1.62 per cent; carbohydrates, etc. (by difference), 65.4 

 per cent ; cellulose, 3.0 per cent ; ash, 5.5 per cent. Nutrient ratio, 1 : 8.6 ; 

 food units 89. (Adapted from The International Review of the Science 

 and Practice of Agriculture, January, 1918.) 



48258. Tebminalia sericea Burchell. Combretacese. 

 "(No. 69.) From Victoria Falls." 



A tree attaining a height of 82 feet, with a dense round or flat-topped 

 crown and silvery silky leaves and inflorescence. It is a widely dis- 

 tributed and variable species, extending along the southeastern coast of 

 Africa, Bechuanaland, German vSouthwest Africa, and Angola. It is 

 known as napini, or gum-copal tree. The wood is very hard, bums well, 

 and is described as oily; It is said to make good posts, durable under- 

 ground, only the sapwood, of which there Is very little, being eaten by 

 termites, or " white ants." The heartwood is yellow, with darker streaks ; 

 it takes a good surface and shows well under varnish; it is used for 

 furniture, agricultural implements, carts, and domestic utensils. (Adapted 

 from Gardeners' Chronicle, Sd ser., vol. 5S, p. 67.) 



48259. Teeminalia sp. Combretacese. 



"(No. 98.) From basaltic formation near Victoria Falls." 



48260. Xylopia sp. Annonaceae. 



"(No. 92.) Fruit said to be edible. From Victoria Falls." 



48261. ZiziPHUs MUCEONATA WiUd. Rhamnacese. 



"(No. 58.) A good, hard timber from Bulawayo, Matabeleland, mak- 

 ing good, durable fence posts. The fruit is edible." 



An edible-fruited tree, 20 to 30 feet in height, native to Upper and 

 Lower Guinea, Abyssinia, and the Mozambique district. The fruit is said 

 to be used for making bread which tastes like gingerbread and also for 

 the preparation of a pleasant beverage. In South Africa a paste made 

 of the leaves is applied to glandular swellings. A decoction of the root 

 is used in lumbago and taken internally for all scrofulous diseases and 

 for swollen glands of the neck. 



The wood is tough and used chiefly for wagon work. The seeds are 

 used by Mussulmans for rosaries. In Cape Colony the plant is some- 

 times used for hedges. It requires deep alluvial soil. (Adapted from 

 Holland, Useful Plants of Nigeria, p. 162, and Oliver, Flora of Tropical 

 Africa, vol. 1, p. 380.) 



