7G0 Journal of the Department of Agriculture. 



PAPPEA CAPENSIS SEED. 



Report of the Imperial Institute, with Description 

 and Illustrations of the Species. 



By K. A. Lansdell, Division of Botany, Pretoria, 



The plant Papjyea capensis, Harv. & Sond., was first brought to the 

 notice of this Division by Mr. G. H. Harvey, the Honorary Secretary 

 of the Alicechile Farmers' Association, who wrote on 16th January, 

 1918, covering a sample of seeds: "I have been instructed by the 

 members of the above association to send you a sample of a wild fruit 

 tree seeds which contain oil. These trees are very plentiful among 

 the various kind of bush about these parts. Will you please let us 

 know if the oil when extracted is of any value, etc." 



This sample was forwarded to Dr. J. Schlesinger, of the New 

 Transvaal Chemical Co., Ltd.. Delmore, who reported that ''you 

 will be interested to hear that our provisional test made with the 

 sample of the berries has given sufficiently encouraging results for 

 further investigating this matter." 



Mr. Harvey, on being communicated with, forwarded to the 

 Division a sample of 20 lb. of the above seeds, and this was sent to 

 the Director of the Imperial Institute, London, who reports as 

 follows : — 



" Pappea capensis " Seed from South Africa. 



Description of Saiwple. — The sample weighed 14 lb., and con- 

 sisted of small reddish-brown seeds Avhich w^ere almost spherical, 

 and measured from 0.2 to 0.3 inch diameter. A fair number of the 

 seeds had been attacked by insects. The shells were brittle and could 

 easily be separated from, the soft kernels, which were yellow and 

 very oily. 



The seed consisted of shell 35 i)er cent, and kernel 65 per cent. 

 The average weight of a single seed was 0.26 gramme, and of a kernel 

 O.IT gramme. 



Results of Eiraviiiiotio7i.^T]\e entire seeds as received were .found 

 to contain 7.4 per cent, of moisture and to yield 47.8 per cent, of oil, 

 equivalent to a yield of 73.5 per cent, from the kernels. 



The oil was of golden yellow colour and fairly viscous. It 

 deposited a small amount of stearin on standing. On chemical 

 examination it gave the following results, which are shown in com- 

 parison with the figures recorded for gTOund-uut and olive oils: — 



