528 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1920. 



cohune), the wine palm of Ceylon and India (Caryota ureas), the 

 wax palm of Brazil (Copemicia cerifera), the African oil palm 

 (Elaeis guineensis), a huge fan palm from Australia (Livistona 

 australis), the Cuban royal palm (Roystonca regia), the raphia palm 

 (Raphia ruffia) , several allies of the coconut palm (Cocos spp.), and 

 the palmetto (Sabal palmetto) of our own Southern States, con- 

 cerning each of which interesting chapters, if not books, might be 

 written. 



Of the more interesting trees aside from the palms may be men- 

 tioned the Brazil nut, of the Amazon region, its hard globular fruit 

 shells 5 or 6 inches thick, each containing about 20 nuts fitted mosaic- 

 like within; the so-called "cannon-ball" tree of tropical America 

 (Couroupita guianensis), related to the Brazil nut; various rubber- 

 producing trees of the genera Ilevea and Costilla; the litchi nut, 

 previously mentioned; the cinnamon tree (Cinnamomum zeylani- 

 cum), native in Ceylon; the camphor tree (Cinnamomum camphora) , 

 of eastern Asia, one of the sources of commercial camphor ; the Chile 

 pine or "monkey puzzle" (Araucaria, imbricata), from the moun- 

 tains of southern Chile; the kola nut tree (Cola acuminata), of 

 western tropical Africa, the nuts well known for their stimulant and 

 nutritive properties; the clove (Eugenia caryophyllata), of the 

 East Indies; the native manchineel, a peculiar euphorbiaceous tree 

 (Hippomane mancinella), celebrated for its poisonous fruit and 

 juice; the traveler's tree (Ravenala madagascariensis) , related to 

 the common banana; and the nutmeg (Blyristica fragrans), of 

 tropical Asia. The most strikingly beautiful tree of all is the 

 Amherstia (A. nobilis), previously mentioned. A fine specimen of 

 this stands just within the entrance to the garden, its pendent 

 racemes of huge vermilion flowers a fitting augury of the many beau- 

 ties of the garden. Not far above are pools containing numerous 

 waterlilies (Castalia spp.) and, finest of all, the remarkable Victoria 

 regia, of the Amazon region, continuously in cultivation here since 

 1870. 



The development of Castleton Garden over a period of 60 years 

 has progressed steadily, notwithstanding the attention given to two 

 other main enterprises, namely, the establishment of a botanical 

 station in the mountains (the so-called Hill Gardens, at Cinchona) 

 and the development of a garden at Hope, in the dry lowlands, 

 where extensive experimental work on economic plants is carried on 

 to better advantage than is feasible at Castleton. 



THE " HILL GARDENS "—CINCHONA. 



Castleton Garden was scarcely under way before the project of 

 establishing the Hill Gardens took form, principally as the result 

 of a plan to foster the production of " Peruvian bark " or cinchona 



