138 



Dr. Schonland writes as- follows, in a letter dated January 

 24th, 1908 : — "A few weeks ago it was my good fortune to 

 be guided by a nephew of mine. Master Norman Chase, to 

 a locality where one of our most interesting plants grows, 

 namely, Sterculia Alexandria Hary. It grows on a farm, 

 Kamahas, about six miles north of Uitenhage, in very steep 

 ravines. We went there to collect the fruit, and not only got 

 nearly ripe fruit, but also the female flowers, and as both of these 

 seem to have been unknown hitherto I have pleasure in sending 

 you by the same post specimens of both. We found that the 

 fruits were not quite ripe, but as the baboons, which are plentiful, 

 were evidently eating them rapidly, we thought it best to collect 

 whatever we could, and not trust to the chance of finding ripe 

 fruit later on, especially as it seems that the tree can be easily 

 propagated by cuttings, and I am going to see what can be done 

 in that respect. 



"As the baboons were so fond of the seed, I thought I would try 

 them tor myself, and I found them to be extremely tasty. 'They 



were of a particularly agreeable nutty flavour, and . . . it 

 seems likely that, provided the culture does not present any 

 special difficulties, we have in this tree a plant which is well 

 .worth cultivating. I am sure that if grown in gardens it would 

 also make a very handsome tree. In its natural state it is never 



TTlOrP. than oKnnl- OA i* -j_ < *.,.,... -.. 



more than about 20 feet in height, but the foliage is very 



pleasing. 



The closely allied S. Murex, Hemsl., which is a native of the 



iZ a \ 1 8eeds the 8ize of a lai "S e grape, which are much 

 esteemed by the natives as an article of food, and are sometimes 



hf !1 y P Tl le ' The kernel is quite like a sweet chestnut 



a iiolK ar ^?, and 5 aV0Ur - Pi * s are vei T fond of the seeds, and 

 quicKU get tat on them. It ha« v>^« c .„, — „^a + u~* c *jt«. «-~ is 



worth a trial by farm ers in the 



e6 *> OTO « „„«.„„. 2ftt» 



anv Zn<Z ,1a j T , m m<3 Iower districts of the Transvaal in 

 spec™ o trnJ L PkCe ?' here lt mi * ht be difficult t0 ^t other 

 fLdW fof a ^' 8 th u e - f eds WOuld be a g° od substitute in pig- 

 drier parts of X' " vhl f cannot easil y be g™ wn in the warmer ' 



p 805) C ° Untry < see Transvaal Agric. Joum., vol iv., 



which mXd^ ?l ? g u t0 ^ he sma11 sei>ies Wgitatae, K. Sebum.,* 

 Ws :-tt;" ftE*2S5 all of which have digitate 



:Sp ( eh exico) ' and ^ /o ^ 



l?Jatdr?Z tln'T™ ° f the £emale *™*™ ^nd fruits of 

 r D^Eut 8 ^ 6611 drawn *P f rom the material communicated 



by Dr. Schonland. : 



As^vo* Wl^f'/u^- / n ,- Pl '° C - Dnb1 ' U » iv ' Zool. & Bot. 



Fl. Cap. vol.' i p 178- f£ S^' The8 ' Ca P' ™ L ^ P' 3 ' *• 3 : 

 Prague). ' P " 178 ; de8C ^ptio supplementaria (anct. T. A. 



cm' long* %*<Z f*^ ^honland). Pedicelli usque ad 

 Bgatusi tubus >t „,« „,; ^Myx luteus, intra tubum rubro- 



1-5 



diamet 



Engl & Prantl., Nat. Pfw 



A 



