APRIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1914. 113 



38287 to 38290. 



From Darjiling, India. Presented by Mr. G. H. Cave, curator, Lloyd 

 Botanic Garden, through Mr. Wilson Popenoe of the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry. Seeds of Sikkim plants received May 14, 1914. 



38287. Betula utilis D. Don. Betulacese. Birch. 



Distribution. — A large tree found at an altitude of 7,000 to 14,000 feet 

 on the temperate slopes of the Himalayas from Kashmir to Sikkim in 

 northern India, and eastward through China and Japan. 



"A tree 60 feet high, with a creamy white trunk and branches; bark 

 peeling off in papery flakes ; young shoots densely covered with gray 

 down, becoming reddish brown. Leaves ovate, rounded at the base, 

 pointed, 2 to 3i inches long, about two-thirds as wide, rather coarsely 

 and irregularly toothed; upper surface dark green, with scattered down; 

 lower surface pale, downy on the midrib and veins, the latter in 9. to 12 

 pairs ; leafstalk three-fourths of an inch long, downy ; fruiting catkins 1$ 

 inches long, one-third of an inch in diameter, cylindrical ; scales downy on 

 the margins, the middle one considerably the longer, and rounded at the 

 end. Native of the Himalayas ; introduced by Sir Joseph Hooker in 1849 ; 

 perhaps before, certainly several times since, from which, judging by its 

 rarity, it would seem that it is not very hardy. A tree over 30 feet high, 

 planted by the late Mr. Chambers at Grayswood in 1S82, is the best I 

 know. Young plants have been raised at Kew from its seed, but have 

 not yet had to withstand hard frost. In a letter Mr. Chambers remarked 

 that the bark of his tree ' even to the branches is creamy white, the 

 young twigs of an orange chocolate, very pretty in winter.' Some trees 

 also exist in Trinity College Botanic Gardens, Dublin." (W. J. Bean, 

 Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, vol. 1, p. 263.) 

 38288 and 38289. Michelia spp. Magnoliaceae. 



38288. Michelia cathcartii Hook. f. and Thorns. 



Distribution. — A tall tree with white flowers, found on the tem- 

 perate slopes of the Himalayas at an altitude of 5,000 to 0,000 feet 

 in Sikkim, northern India. 



38289. Michelia lanuginosa Wallich. 



Distribution. — A large bush or tree, with large white flowers, often 

 4 inches in diameter, found on the temperate slopes of the Hima- 

 layas at an altitude of 5,000 to 7,000 feet, from Nepal to Bhutan in 

 northern India. 



38290. Alnus nepalensis D. Don. Betulacese. Alder. 



38291 and 38292. 



From Pago Pago, American Samoa. Presented by Commander C. D. 

 Stearns, Governor of American Samoa. Received May 25, 1914. Quoted 

 notes by Commander Stearns. 



38291. Piper methysticum Forster. Piperaeere. Ava (kava). 



"These cuttings are of the best variety grown in the island, and in 

 planting them care should be taken to place the stalk at an angle of 

 about 30" from the perpendicular, as it grows far more quickly in this 

 position. Most of the ava raised in American Samoa is used as a 

 beverage. The product of the ava plant is ready for use after about 4 to 

 6 years' growth." 



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