1033 



Ananas sat iv us Schult. f. (Bromeliaceae . ) 43070. 

 from Lawnton, Queensland, Australia. Presented by Mr. 

 Reginald W. Peters, Director, Queensland Acclimatisa- 

 tion Society. "A seedling pineapple we raised and 

 have named Commonwealth. It is distinct, of fair size 

 and very tender, with almost entire absence of stalk 

 or core. It is sweet and perhaps lacking a little 

 in sub-acidity but a fruit most consumers would enjoy ." 

 (Leslie Gordon Corrie.) 



Astroearyum sp. (Phoenicaceae . ) 43058. Seeds from 

 Tierras de Loba, Bolivar, Colombia. Collected by Mr. 

 H. M. Curran. "Palma estera. Common palm of the forest. 

 Seeds with an edible coating and probably yields a 

 commercial oil. Plants with huge ornamental fronds, 

 twenty feet or more in length, glossy green above, 

 glossy or silvery white beneath. Entire plant cov- 

 ered with sharp black spines. This palm has practi- 

 cally no stem. Suitable only for planting in moist 

 localities or greenhouses." (Curran.) 



Bertholletia nobilis Miers. (Lecythidaceae . ) 43114. 

 Fruits and seed from Para, Brazil. Secured through 

 Mr. George H. Pickerell, American Consul. "Brazil-nut 

 or Para-nut. A tall handsome tree, with oblong wavy 

 leaves, which are 14 to 16 inches long and about 3 

 inches broad, native of Guiana, Venezuela and Brazil. 

 In its native home, especially on the banks of the 

 Amazon and Orinoco, the tree attains a height of over 

 100 feet. The tree has been introduced at Paradeniya 

 in 1880, and notwithstanding the indifferent ground 

 chosen for it when first planted out, appears to find 

 here a congenial home. It is now about 60 feet high 

 and produces at the top each year, in the dry season, 

 large erect racemes of white flowers, followed a few 

 months later by a number of large brown fruits, which 

 hang on the tree for some months after ripening. 

 Ridley records similar success with the tree at Sing- 

 apore, where it was introduced in 1881. Each fruit is 

 from 4 to 6 inches in diameter, with a hard brown 

 woody shell which has to be sawed or broken up with 

 an axe in order to obtain the nuts (seeds). In the 

 interior, closely packed, are from 10 to 12 large 

 angular seeds with a brown horny testa; these are the 

 Brazil nuts of commerce, which form an important article 

 of export from their native country, being largely 

 used for dessert in Europe, America, etc. The tree 

 may be propagated by seed or gootee (layering), and 



