MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 89 



plorer of the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction, 

 United States Department of Agriculture. 



Obtaining the .seed for chaulmugra oil is a difficult oper- 

 ation. The forests in which 11. Kurzii grows are so dense 

 that it is frequently impossible to penetrate them for any 

 distance. Even after the trees are found, not more than one 

 out of a hundred may possess ripe fruit and when the ripened 

 fruit falls it is frequently consumed by wild animals. In 

 addition to these difficulties, the jungle is inhabited by tigers, 

 bears, and elephants so thai the natives will not venture into 

 it unless they go in large crowds. Not infrequently the 

 hunt may result in the loss of several lives. However, should 

 the remedy prove to be as effective as the preliminary ex- 

 periments seem to indicate, there is no reason to suppose 

 that with an increased demand all the seeds necessary to sup- 

 ply the world with chaulmugra oil for the cure of leprosy 

 may not eventually be obtained. 



THE CERIMAN 

 Monstera deliciosa, commonly called ceriman, is a climber 

 native of Mexico and Guatemala. It attaches itself to trees by 

 numerous tenacious roots, and as it \dimbs sends out long, 

 rope-like, aerial roots which sometimes reach the ground. 

 The stems are thick, woody, and dark green in color, in 

 the young stage the leaves resemble those of the genus Philo 

 dendron, being small, entire, and pinnate, but later they be- 

 come conspicuously large and perforated. The flowers are 

 very striking, in shape suggesting the calla lily, with spathe 

 and spadix white. After pollination the spathe changes from 

 white to green, then to brown, and eventually it drops off. 

 the edible seeds being developed in the cylindrical spadix. 

 When ripe the fruit resembles a pine cone and often measures 

 a foot in length. The outer covering is composed of a series 

 of hexagonal green plates which later fall off, exposing 

 the slightly albuminous yellow seeds. These seeds are very 

 delicious, with a flavor resembling both pineapple and 

 banana and an odor strikingly like the pineapple. Twelve 

 months must elapse between the expanding of the flower 

 and the ripening of the fruit. 



The ceriman grows satisfactorily in both cool and tropical 

 greenhouses, and, due to its ability to endure varied condi- 

 tions of temperature, young plants may be growm as pot 

 plants in the house. To obtain fruiting specimens, how- 

 ever, the plants must be grown in a tropical greenhouse 



