1048 



4856.) "Randal. This is a beautiful tree and is giv- 

 ing wood that .here on the spot, is sold by the square 

 inch. It is rather like hazelnut , perhaps nicer." 

 (Vereertbrugghen. ) 



Nannorrhops ritchieana (Griff.) Wendland. (Phoenica- 

 ceae.) 43281. Seeds of the Mazri palm from Saharanpur, 

 India. Presented by Mr. A. C. Hartless, Superinten- 

 dent, Government Botanical Gardens. A low gregarious 

 shrub, ascending to 5500 feet in Baluchistan and Mek- 

 ran, stemless ordinarily, but sometimes with a stem 

 10 to 20 feet long. The leaves are 2 to 4 feet long, 

 grayish-green in color, and are beaten with a mallet 

 to remove the fiber, which is used in making mats, 

 baskets, etc. The fruit is a nearly round 1-seeded 

 drupe. The flowers, leaf -buds, and fruits are eaten 

 by the natives, and the seeds are made into rosaries. 

 The reddish-brown wool of the petioles is impregnated 

 with saltpeter and used as a tinder for matchlocks, 

 and the whole plant when dried is used for fuel, in 

 arid regions. In Europe it grows best in a compost 

 of sandy loam, with good drainage, and is propagated 

 by seeds and offsets. (Adapted from E. Blatter, Journ. 

 Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. vol. 21, pp. 72-76.) 



Phytelephas microcarpa Ruiz & Pavon. (Phoenicaceae . ) 

 43374. Seeds of the vegetable ivory palm from Pernambu- 

 co, Brazil. Presented by Mr. A. T. Haeberle, American 

 Consul, at the request of the American Consul-General, 

 Rio de Janeiro. This palm is found native along the 

 banks of streams and on springy hillsides in the Per- 

 uvian Andes at an elevation of about 3000 feet, and 

 is closely allied to the one which furnishes the vege- 

 table ivory or tagua nut of commerce (P. maerocarpa) , al- 

 though it has smaller fruits. The slender inclined 

 stem, sometimes absent entirely, grows up to 10 feet 

 in length, and the fruits are about the size of a 

 child's head, resembling externally some Annonas to 

 such an extent that the Peruvians call them Anon de 

 palma, but the palm itself is called Yarina. The thick 

 furrowed rind is tough and is reddish within, and may 

 be eaten, having a flavor of melon or mouldy cheese. 

 The albumen of the unripe seeds is drunk while still 

 watery, or eaten when it becomes fleshy, resembling 

 in taste a coconut in like states, but when quite 

 ripe is too hard for eating. (Adapted from descrip- 

 tion by Richard Spruce, furnished by C. B. Doyle.) 



