ISOLOMA 



1705 



cum minimum and C. annuum), coletis (Amarantus 

 oleraceus), condol (Benincasa cerifera), cucumber 

 (Cucumis sativus), endive (Cichorium Endivia), garlic 

 (Allium sativum), lettuce (Lactuca saliva), libato 

 (Basella rubrd), magtambocao (Canavalia ensiformis), 

 malungai (Moringa oleifera), melon (Cucumis Melo), 

 mungo (Phaseolus Mungo), mustard (Brassica juncea), 

 okra (Hibiscus esculentus), onion (Allium Cepa), 

 pacupis (Trichosanthes anguina), panarien (Tacca 

 pinnatifida), parsley (Carum Petroselinum) , patola 

 (Luff a acutangula and L. segyptiaca), pea (Pisum 

 sativum), pechay (Brassica Pe-tsai), potato (Solanum 

 tuberosum), radish (Raphanus sativus), seguidilla 

 (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) , turnip (Brassica Rapa), 

 upo (Lagenaria vulgaris), watermelon (Citrullus vul- 

 garis). 



The sago palm (Metroxylon Rumphii) is indigenous 

 in Mindanao and used by the inhabitants of that 

 island in the preparation of sago. 



The climatic conditions and soil for the cultivation 

 of many of the spices are excellent. Certain species of 

 vanilla grow wild in Mindanao and Luzon, and cinna- 

 mon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) is indigenous to 

 Mindanao. Black pepper (Piper nigrum), and ginger 

 (Zingiber officinale) have been introduced, but nothing 

 has ever been done to encourage systematic cultiva- 

 tion of spices. If the spice industry was properly fos- 

 tered by the government until it was fairly well estab- 

 lished, good varieties introduced and care taken to 

 exclude dangerous fungi and insect enemies, it is 

 believed that this industry would have a promising 

 future in the Philippines. 



It appears evident, from the researches made by 

 E. D. Merrill, that there already was a botanical garden 

 in existence in Manila in 1787, located where the 

 Singalong Experiment Station of the Bureau of Agri- 

 culture now is. This was one of the first institutions 

 of its kind established in the Philippines if not in the 

 entire Orient. It was abandoned by the Spaniards, at 

 what date is unknown. 



The present botanical garden, so called, established 

 in 1858, south of the Pasig River and west of Intra- 

 muros, containing an area of about 5 hectares, is a 

 park rather than a botanical garden. The construc- 

 tion of Malate Park, intended to cover over 40 hectares 

 is now in progress. 



During the last two years, the Bureau of Education 

 has paid special attention to school-gardening, which, if 

 wisely persisted in, will undoubtedly greatly assist in 

 elevating the standard of horticulture in the Philip- 

 pines. Both the Bureau of Agriculture and the Bureau 

 of Education are making large annual distributions of 

 vegetable seeds, and the Bureau of Agriculture main- 

 tains two agri-horticultural demonstration farms, one 

 located at Trinidad, Benguet, and the other in Iloilo. 

 Coincident with the reorganization of the Bureau of 

 Agriculture in force from the beginning of the fiscal 

 year 1912, provision was made still further to extend 

 the activity of the extension and demonstration work, 

 and a division of horticulture was created. Much 

 work has already been accomplished by this division 

 in collecting data relative to Philippine horticulture, 

 and work is in progress to assemble all food plants for 

 study at the experiment stations. (Relative to the 

 activities of the Bureau of Agriculture, consult the 

 "Philippine Agricultural Review," a monthly publica- 

 tion issued by the Bureau.) 



The Philippine Agricultural College, Los Banos, 

 provides a course in horticulture and maintains a 

 garden and nursery for practical demonstration work. 



P. J. WESTER. 



ISMENE: Hymenocallis. 

 ISNARDIA: Ludvigia. 



ISOCHILUS (Greek, equal lip). Orchidacese. A group 

 of tufted orchids, little cultivated. Plants epiphytic, 



with tall, slender, leafy sts., without pseudobulbs, 

 bearing a few small fls. at the summit: sepals erect, free, 

 keeled; petals similar but plane; labellum like the petals 

 and united with them to the base of the column, some- 

 what sigmoid below the middle; column erect, long, 

 without wings; pollinia 4. About 5 species, Trop. Amer. 

 linearis, R. Br. Fig. 1996. Slender, %-lH ft. high, 

 leafy: Ivs. distichous, linear, striate, obtuse, emarginate, 

 1 Yi in. long: fls. purple, borne in a short, terminal spike. 

 March. Growing on rocks and trees in thick woods, 

 Jamaica, Trinidad, Brazil, etc. B.R. 745. L.B.C. 14: 

 1341. I. major, Cham. & Schlecht., of Mex., is taller, Us. 

 larger and darker colored. HEINRICH HASSELBRING. 



ISOLEPIS: Scirpus. 



ISOLOMA (equal 

 border) . Includes 

 Tydsea, Giesleria, 

 Sciadocalyx, Brachy- 

 Ibma . Gesneriacese . 

 Greenhouse plants, 

 very closely allied to 

 Gesneria and Achi- 

 menes. 



From Gesneria it is 

 distinguished by ab- 

 sence of well-formed 

 tubers and character* 

 of caps, and anthers, 

 and the 5 lobes of 

 the disk equal; from 

 Achimenes in the 

 more tubular fls. and 

 lobed disk. From 

 Vanhouttea and 

 Diastema the genu& 

 is separated techni- 

 cally by the open 

 aestivation . Herbs, 

 with creeping rhizome 

 or base or roots: lys. 

 opposite, usually vil- 

 lose as in Gesneria: 

 fls. scarlet, orange or 

 vari-colored, usually 

 peduncled in the 

 axils; corolla cylin- 

 drical, enlarged 

 above, erect or de- 

 clined, the limb sub- 

 equally 5 - parted. 

 Species perhaps 50 

 in. Trop. Amer. 



The culture is the 

 same as for achimenes 



and gesneria. Seeds of the newer hybrids come quickly, 

 and plants bloom the same year. It is probable that 

 the pure species are not in the trade. Like achimenes, 

 gesneria and gloxinia, they have been much hybridized 

 and varied. It is probable that they are hybridized 

 with achimenes and gesneria. It is not known how the 

 current forms have originated. Some of the recent 

 ones have fringed flowers (Gn. 55:348). Because of 

 the variation and hybridization in cultivation, the 

 names in this group are much confused, although few 

 of them appear to be in the trade. The confusion is 

 increased, also, by change in the generic name, from 

 Isoloma to Kohleria. The genus Kohleria was founded 

 by Regel in Flora, April, 1848. Later in the same year, 

 Decaisne founded Isoloma in Revue Horticole, taking 

 up, however, the name from Bentham who had used 

 it for a section of Gesneria in his "Plantae Hartwegianse" 

 in April, 1846. In 1848, also, Decaisne founded the 

 genus Tydsea on Achimenes picta of Bentham (1844); 

 but this genus is now by common consent included in. 



1996. Isochilus linearis. ( X M) 



