406 Select Plants for Industrial Culture 



While some palms, as indicated, descend to cooler latitudes, others- 

 ascend to temperate and even cold mountain-regions. Among the 

 American species are prominent in this respect Euterpe andicola 

 (Brongniart), E Haenkeana (Brogn.), E. longivaginata (Mart.), 

 Diplothemium Porallyi (Mart.) and Ceroxylon pithyrophyllum 

 (Mart.), all occurring on the Bolivian Andes at an elevation of about 

 8,000 feet. Ceroxylon andicola (Humboldt), Kunthia montana 

 (Humb.), Oreodoxa frigida (Humb.) and Geonoma densa (Linden), 

 also reach on the Andes of New Granada an elevation of 8,000 foet. 

 Ceroxylon Klopstockia (Mart.) advances on the Andes of Venezuela 

 fully to a zone of 7,500 feet altitude, where Karsten saw stems 200 

 feet high, with leaves 24 feet long. There also occur Syagrus 

 Sancona (Karsten) and Platenia Chiragua (Karsten), at elevations of 

 5,000 feet, both very lofty palms, and both recently reduced by Sir 

 Joseph Hooker to the genus Cocos. From the temperate mountain- 

 regions of sub-tropical Mexico are known, among others, Chamasdorea 

 concolor (Mart.), Copernicia Pumos (Humb.), C. nana (Kunth) and 

 Brahea dulcis (Mart.), at elevations of from 7,000 to 8,000 feet. 



Wissadula rostrata, Planchon. 



Tropical Africa and America. A perennial somewhat shrubby 

 plant, easily naturalized in frostless regions. The bark abounds in 

 serviceable fibre ; and as the plant shoots quickly into long simple 

 twigs, if cut near the root, fibre of good length is easily produced 

 (Dr. Roxburgh). 



Chinensis, De Candolle. 

 The " Fuji " of Japan and China ; hardy still at Christiania. 

 Lives through a century and more. The stem is carried up straight, 

 and the branches are trained on horizontal trellises at Japanese 

 dwellings, affording shade for seats beneath. One Wistaria tree will 

 thus cover readily a square of 50 feet by 50 feet, the delightfully 

 odorous trusses of flowers pendent through the trellis overhead 

 (Christy). Fortune tells us of a tree of great age, which measured 

 at 3 feet from the ground 7 feet in circumference, and covered 

 a space of trellis-work 60 feet by 100 feet. At Sunningdale 

 (England) a single plant covers a wall 9 feet high for a length of 

 340 feet (J. B. Torry). Flowers probably available for scent- 

 distillation. 



Wistaria frutescens, Candolle. ( W. spetiosa, Nuttall. ) 



South-Eastern States of North- America. A woody tall-climbing 

 plant, of grand value, with the preceding species, for bees. 



Withania coagulans, Dunal. 



Mountains of India. A somewhat shrubby plant. With the fruit 

 milk can be coagulated into curd for cheese, as with rennet ; the 

 active principle, according to Mr. Sheridan Lee, is best extracted by 

 a weak aqueous solution of kitchen- salt. 



