1323 



is more commonly known here, stingless velvet bean, is grad- 

 ually replacing the Florida variety." 



Stizolobium pruritium officinale (Fabaceae), 45899. From 

 Nicaragua. Presented by Mr. B. C. Sibley, Escuela de 

 Agricultura, Chinandega, Nicaragua. "Pica-pica. From 

 what I have observed of this plant it must be very 

 much like the velvet bean of the Florida orchards. I 

 have noticed that it is a very heavy producer of ni- 

 trogen nodules. They are very numerous and also quite 

 large. This fact has been taken advantage of by the 

 natives, so that they welcome the plant into the corn 

 fields that lie fallow or resting. One other point 

 in its favor is, that the stem of the plant during 

 the growing season does not become hard and woody; so 

 that, used as a green manure crop, it would soon decay 

 in the soil after being plowed under." (Sibley.) 



Tamarix aphylla (Tamaricaceae) , 45952. Tamarisk. From 

 Tucson, Arizona. Presented by Prof. J. J. Thornber, 

 University of Arizona. This African tamarisk, the best 

 of the Egyptian species for cultivation as a timber 

 tree and as a windbreak on desert land, is also a very 

 handsome ornamental. The galls, which are commonly 

 produced on this species in southern Algiers and are 

 much used by the natives for tanning, contain 45 per 

 cent of pyrogallic tannin. (Adapted from letters of 

 Dr. L. Trabut and Thos. W. Brown.) . 



Telfairin pedata (Cucurbitaceae) , 45923. From East 

 Africa. Presented by Mr. M. Buysman, Lawang, Java. 

 A climbing shrub, native of Zanzibar, with palmately 

 compound leaves, the three to five oblong leaflets 

 being 3 to 5 inches long, toothed on the margin and 

 long pointed. The pale purple flowers have a fringed 

 corolla from 2 to 4 inches broad, and the oblong 

 fruit, with 10 to 12 deep furrows, is often 3 feet 

 long and 8 inches in diameter. The seeds are flat and 

 round, about an inch across, with sweet edible ker- 

 nels tasting like almonds, and yield an abundance of 

 a clear bland oil which is said to be equal to olive 

 oil. (Adapted from Bailey, Standard Cyclopedia of 

 Horticulture, vol. 6, p. 3320.) 



Vitis vinifera (Vitaceae), 45968. Grape. From Tokyo, 

 Japan. Purchased from the Tokyo Plant, Seed and Im- 

 plement Company. "Koshu. A very sweet variety of grape 

 which seems to be especially suited to the Tokyo cli- 

 mate . " (F. N. Meyer. ) 



