102 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



40299 and 40300. Hibiscus sabdariffa L. Malvaceae. Roselle. 

 From Lamao, Bataan, Philippine Islands. Presented by Mr. P. J. Wester, 

 horticulturist, Lamao Experiment Station, through Mr. Paul Popenoe. 

 Received March 25, 1915. 



40299. "Archer roselle. Plant robust, frequently exceeding 1.C0 meters 

 in height, brandling freely, all parts of the plant being greenish or 

 whitish ; stems nearly smooth ; leaf lobes rather narrow ; flowers 

 smaller than those in the red types; 'eye' yellowish; pollen pale 

 yellow; stigma green; full-grown calyx greenish white, sparsely covered 

 with short, stiff bristles; average length of calyx 45 mm., width 2G mm., 

 including epicalyx 32 mm. 



"The Archer is very prolific, and the fruit is somewhat less acid than 

 that of the red types, and the products made from it are whitish or 

 amber colored. In the West Indies a wine is made from this variety 

 that is said to resemble champagne in taste and appearance. 



" Seed of the above-described variety was received from Mr. A. S. 

 Archer, Antigua, British West Indies, by the writer early in 1913, a ad 

 it was tested in the Lamao Experiment Station the same year. It has 

 been named in honor of Mr. Archer, with whom the writer has had the 

 privilege of being in correspondence for many years, and who has 

 greatly assisted the Bureau of Agriculture in the introduction of many 

 useful and decorative tropical American plants. 



" The green type of roselle, to which the Archer belongs, was de- 

 scribed as Hibiscus digitatus by Cavanilles in 1790, but it is now con- 

 sidered to be a form of H. sabdariffa L." (Wester, The Philippine 

 Agricultural Review, vol. 7, p. 267-268, June, 1914.) 



40300. " Victor roselle. This variety is distinguished by having the 

 unifoliolate leaves of the young plant change early into leaves deeply 

 5-lobed, these leaf characters remaining until the flowering period, when 

 the leaves become 3-parted or again unifoliolate. The stems and 

 calyces are reddish. The pollen is a golden brown. The calyces average 

 about 45 to 50 mm. in length and 2S mm. in equatorial diameter, taper- 

 ing toward the apex ; the calyx lobes are frequently convolute, and the 

 fleshy spines subtending the calyx lobes are longer and more slender 

 than in the Rico, and are curved upward. The Victor is more upright 

 in habit than the .Rico and somewhat earlier in fruiting, due probably 

 to its having been cultivated in Florida for several years." (Wester, 

 The Philippine Agricultural Review, vol. 5, p. 126. Mar., 1912.) 



40301. Acrocomia crispa (H. B. K.) C. F. Baker. Phoenicaceae. 



Palm. 



From Cuba. Presented by Mr. C. T. Simpson, Littleriver, Fla. Received 

 March 25, 1915. 

 "A most striking and beautiful palm, growing in a variety of soils and 

 situations throughout the greater part of Cuba. The stem is seldom more than 

 8 inches in diameter at the base, but it rapidly expands to 2 feet or more, 

 carrying its size up almost to the handsome, somewhat spiny leaves. In poor 

 Boil it seldom attains a height of over 20 feet, but in rich valleys it grows up 

 to GO feet. The very hard seeds had better be carefully cracked." (Simpson.) 



