1312 



Explorer for this Department. "(No. 1299. Tsung chia 

 tsui, Hupeh, China. Altitude 3,000 feet. December 14, 

 1917.) An evergreen vine found trailing over rocks 

 and boulders in a semishady place. The foliage is 

 medium small and leathery, like that of a daphne. 

 Apparently quite rare. To be tested under protection 

 from extremes of sun and frost." (Meyer.) 



Solanum muricatum (Solanaceae) , 45812 to 45814. 

 Pepino. From Equador. Presented by Mr. Frederic W. 

 Goding, American Consul General, Guayaquil. "During 

 a recent trip to the interior I saw thousands of the 

 plants growing near Huigra, on a farm owned by Mr. 

 Edward Morley. There are three varieties of the 

 fruits; the green, the green striped with purple and 

 the dark purple. This fruit forms a part of the diet 

 of the people of the interior, being eaten raw or 

 cooked in various ways; but foreigners prefer them in 

 a salad as the common cucumber is prepared. Served in 

 this way they are delicious." (Goding.) The pepino or 

 'melon pear' is an erect, spineless, bushy shrub or 

 subshrub two or three feet high, the branches often 

 with rough warty excrescences. The leaves are usually 

 entire or with slightly undulate margins. The rather 

 small flowers are borne in a long-stalked cluster. 

 The corolla is bright blue and deeply five lobed. The 

 ovoid fruit, four to six inches long is long-stalked 

 and drooping. The color is yellow overlaid with 

 splashes of violet purple. The yellow flesh is aro- 

 matic, tender, juicy, and in taste suggests an acid 

 egg plant. In cultivated varieties the seeds are sel- 

 dom present. This plant is said to be a native of 

 Peru. In the north the season is too short for the 

 fruit to develop, but the plant will set fruit freely 

 in a cool greenhouse. Readily propagated by cuttings 

 of the growing shoots. (Adapted from Bailey, Standard 

 Cyclopedia of Horticulture, p. 3182.) 



Ulmus sp. (Ulmaceae), 45943. Elm. From China. Col- 

 lected by Mr. Frank N. Meyer, Agricultural Explorer 

 for this Department. "(No. 1300. To tze wan, Hupeh, 

 China. December 12, 1919.) An uncommon elm growing 

 to a large size and found in mountain districts at 

 low elevations. Young branches often corky, bark of 

 old trunks grayish brown and fissured. Possibly a 

 desirable shade and avenue tree for mild-wintered re- 

 gions . " (Meyer. ) 



