THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 67 



The Roselle Plant. — Fruits and economic plants 

 indigenous to the Tropics are now as never before attract- 

 ing the attention of the people of the United States. The 

 Roselle plant, however, has been introduced from the Old 

 World, and is of comparatively recent interest. It thrives 

 best in the subtropical states. It is probably the only plant 

 in cultivation in which the part utilized for food is the calyx. 

 This calyx possesses excellent qualities for the manufacture 

 of jelly and allied products. Preparations made from it 

 closely resemble in color and flavor those made from the 

 cranberry. The plant attains a height of from five to seven 

 feet, and branches profusely. In three weeks from the time 

 of blooming, the calyces are large enough to be picked, and 

 make a jelly of a lighter red color than if allowed to fully 

 mature. This fruit is also used in making sauce, jam, 

 flavoring extracts for soda water fountains, and also for 

 coloring jellies, jams, or similar products as a substitute for 

 coal-tar dyes where a bright red color is desired. To pre- 

 pare for cooking, the fruit pod is taken between the thumb 

 and forefinger of the left hand, stem end up, cutting off the 

 stem and the basal end of the calyx where the seed pod is 

 united with the calyx, when, with a slight pressure of the 

 fingers holding the pod, the seed pod will be forced out. In 

 India this plant is grown for its fiber, which is used in the 

 manufacture of cordage and coarser textile products. In 

 that country the leaves are sometimes used as a salad and 

 the seeds are supposed to have medical properties. They 

 are also fed to cattle and poultry. — H. E. Zimmerman, Mt 

 Morris, III. 



