1185 



wood being odorless and of a nice white color. The 

 tree grows very tall, and often has a trunk 5 or 6 

 feet in diameter." (Wright.) Native Maori name Ka- 

 hikatea. 



Otophora alata Blume. (Sapindaceae. ) 44899 . Pisang tjina 

 seeds from Buitenzorg, Java. Presented by Dr. J. C. 

 Koningsberger, Director, Botanic Garden. A tall Ja- 

 vanese tree, with compound, glabrous, green leaves, 

 and purplish flowers in pendulous axillary racemes or 

 sometimes solitary. The fruits are not much eaten, 

 but hang in graceful clusters, remarkable for their 

 beauty. The juice of the fruit is said to be useful 

 in removing stains from linen. (Adapted from Van Noo- 

 ten, Fleurs & Fruits de Java, Part 3, 1863.) 



Passiflora edulis Sims. (Passif loraceae . ) 44854. Pas- 

 sionfruit seeds from Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand. 

 Presented by Mr. H. R. Wright. "Giant. An improved 

 strain of the common passionfruit as grown in New 

 Zealand and Australia. Largely grown commercially. 

 Will grow anywhere, where frosts are not too heavy in 

 winter." (Wright.) 



Persea americana Miller. (Lauraceae.) 44856. Avocado 

 budsticks from Guatemala. Collected by Mr. Wilson 

 Popenoe, Agricultural Explorer for this Bureau. "No. 

 146. Avocado No. 30. Tertoh. A famous avocado from Mix- 

 co, noted for its large size (3 pounds) and excellent 

 quality. Unfortunately, the ripe fruit has not been 

 seen by me, hence it is introduced on the recommenda- 

 tion of several Americans who are familiar with it. 

 The parent tree is growing in the sitio of Leandro 

 Castillo, in the town of Mixco, near Guatemala City. 

 The elevation is about 5700 feet. The tree is said by 

 the owner to be about 20 years old. It is about 25 

 feet high, broad and spreading in habit, with a trunk 

 15 inches thick at the base, branching 7 feet from the 

 ground to form the dense crown 30 or more feet broad. 

 A peculiarity of the tree is its very brittle wood. 

 This may be against the variety in California and 

 Florida, where strong winds occasionally do much dam- 

 age. The budwood is good. The climate of Mixco is 

 cool, but not cold enough to test the hardiness of 

 the variety. This can be determined only by a test in 

 California or Florida. The tree flowers in March. It 

 is said by its owner to bear at least a few fruits 

 every season. It produced very few from the 1916 



