830 



Prunus simonii Carr. (Amygdalaceae.) 39437-438. Seeds 

 of plums from Pao tien, Shansi, and Ho dien, Honan, China. 

 Large varieties of green plums, one having a small stone, 

 the other with somewhat hard flesh, and apparently a good 

 shipper. (Meyer's introductions.) 



Prunus sp. (Amygdalaceae.) 39436. Seeds of a dwarf 

 plum from Yun Cheng, Shansi, China. "A variety of wild 

 Chinese dwarf plum, with fruits as large as good sized 

 cherries, but of sour flavor. Said to grow here and there 

 in the mountains near Yun cheng. Chinese name Soo li, mean- 

 ing 'sour plum.'" (Meyer's introduction.) 



RJiamnus sp. (Rhamnaceae . ) 39433. Seed from Ku lo, 

 Shansi, China. "A tall, shrubby Rhamnus , often growing 

 into a small tree. Of spreading habit, leaves slender, 

 lanceolate and serrate, looking not unlike slender da- 

 vidiajia peach leaves. This shrub is apparently rare; it Is 

 found here and there in loess cliffs and on old grave 

 mounds. It seems to be able to withstand a good deal of 

 alkali. Of value as a park shrub and possibly as a hedge 

 plant, especially for the drier sections of the United 

 States. The purplish-black berries possess a sickening 

 sweet taste and are apparently not eaten by the Chinese." 

 (Meyer's introduction.) 



Spathodea campanulata Beauv. (Bignoniaceae . ) 39415. 

 Seeds from Peradeniya, Ceylon. Presented by Mr. H. F. 

 Macmillan, Superintendent Royal Botanic Gardens. "This 

 seems to be the only species of Spathodea generally known 

 in the East. The tree flowers profusely at Peradeniya al- 

 most throughout the year, except in the dry season, but 

 seldom or never bears fruit here. It produced, however, 

 fruit and seeds in our former garden at Anuradhapura, now 

 abandoned, where the climate is much drier than at Pera- 

 deniya, the rainfall being limited to three months of the 

 year." (Macmillan.) Seedlings grown from seed collected 

 by Dr. B. T. Galloway in Java are now twenty feet tall in 

 the Miami Gardens, Florida. (Fairchild.) 



Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge . (Sapindaceae . ) 39431. Seed 

 from Tchao yu, Shansi, China. "A shrub, occasionally 

 growing into a small sized tree, found in loess cliffs. 

 The shiny pinnate foliage reminds one of an ash, but the 

 drooping racemes of white flowers, with yellow stamens, 

 produced in great masses in early summer, give the shrub 

 quite a distinct appearance. The Chinese eat the kernels 

 of the fruits and call the plant Mu kua hua, meaning 

 'quince flower,' on account of the large fruits resembling 

 those of the Japan quince (Choenomeles japonica) . This 



