925 



taste. The best varieties are propagated by inarching. 

 The trees are evergreen, they thrive best on well drained, 

 rocky terraces. The localities that will best suit them 

 in the United States will probably be the Southern sections 

 of the Gulf Coast States and the milder parts of Califor- 

 nia. Chinese name Yang mae." (Meyer's introduction and 

 description. ) 



Osteoineles sp. (Malaceae.) 41113. Plants from Pin- 

 asniocj, Peru. Presented by Mr. 0. F. Cook. "Lengli. A 

 very attractive tree, with deep green, holly-like foliage 

 and clusters of red berries. Somewhat resembling our 

 thornapple trees, Crataegus, but with much more handsome 

 evergreen foliage. Should be of interest for Pacific 

 Coast if it should be found to thrive." (Cook. ) 



Oxalis tuberosa Molina. (Oxalidaceae . ) 41168-76. Tubers 

 of oca from Ollantaytambo and Sicuani, Peru, and La Paz , 

 Bolivia. Presented by Mr. 0. F. Cook. "A plant related to 

 our common sheep-sorrel, widely cultivated, in Peru and 

 Bolivia for the sake of its fleshy root-stocks, which are 

 an important article of food. In some districts ocas are 

 second only to potatoes, while in others ullucus are more 

 important, or at least are sold more generally in the na- 

 tive markets. Ocas are eaten raw, as well as cooked, and 

 are also frozen and dried. Ocas prepared in this way are 

 called caya, a term corresponding to chuno (chunyo), the 

 name of the dried potatoes. Raw ocas, when first dug, have 

 a distinctly acid taste, like sheep-sorrel, but this is 

 lost after the tubers have been exposed to the sun. The 

 plant attains a height of one foot or more and has the 

 general appearance of a large sheep-sorrel. The flowers 

 are yellow and the leaflets are folded at night or in wet 

 weather, the same as in the sheep-sorrel. The varieties 

 are numerous, though much fewer than in the case of the 

 potato. Some are preferred for eating raw and others for 

 the making of caya. The texture of the tubers is very ten- 

 der and juicy. In form some are nearly cylindrical, while 

 others are slender at the base and strongly thi-ckened at 

 the end. The colors vary from white or light pink through 

 darker pinks or yellows to deep purplish red. The range of 

 colors is much the same as in the ullucu, but no deep yel- 

 low varieties were seen, nor any with spots, except that 

 some have bands of deeper color across the eyes. In ad- 

 dition to the pleasing coloration, the surface of the tu- 

 bers is smooth and clear, so that the general appearance 

 is very attractive. The texture of the flesh is also very 

 tender and crisp. If the taste should prove acceptable 

 ocas might become very popular for salads and pickles, if 

 not for other purposes. The nature and habits of the plant 



