ALECTRYON 



ALFILARIA 



245 



excelsum, Gaertn. Evergreen, 30-60 ft., with un- 

 equally pinnate Ivs. 4-12 in. long, the Ifts. 4-6 pairs 

 and 2-4 in. long, ovate-lanceolate and acuminate, 

 nearly or quite entire: fl.s. greenish, in a much-branched 

 panicle: fr. globose, woody; seed large, jet-black and 

 shining, sunk in a large scarlet aril. New Zeal. — Said 

 to have been in cult . in Calif, for more than 40 years and 

 to have been sometimes sold for Nephelium Lilchi (to 

 which it is closely related). In New Zeal, it yields a 

 tough elastic timber used tor tools and yokes, and the 

 natives extract oil from the seeds. L H. B. 



ALETRIS (Greek word for female slave who ground 

 corn; allutling to apparent mealiness of the fls.}. Lili- 

 dc£s. Hardy small herbs, sometimes grown in borders. 



Leaves thin, flat, lanceolate, grass-like, in a spread- 

 ing cluster, all radical: fls. small, in a spiked raceme, 

 terminating a slender scape 2-3 ft. high; perianth not 

 woolly, but wrinkled and roughened with many points 

 that give a mealj' appearance; perianth 6-cleft; stamens 

 6, inserted at the base of the lobes; style 3-cleft. — The 

 aletrises are about 8 in number, in moors, barrens, and 

 grass}' places in N. Amer., E. Asia and Japan. They 

 are fibrous-rooted, very bitter herbs, with fls. on a 

 naked scape 1-2 ft. high. July, Aug. They prefer a 

 moist but sunny situation. Prop, slowly by division; 

 or seeds maj- be used. A plant once catalogued as 

 A. japonica is undetermined. 



farinosa, Linn. Fls. tubular, white; lobes lanceoiate- 

 oblong. N. .Amer. L.B.C. 12: 1161. 



airea, Walt. Fls. bell-shaped, fewer and shorter 

 than in A. farinosa, yellow; lobes short, ovate. S. E. 

 N. .\jner. B.M. 1418 (erroneously as A. farinosa). 



L. H. B. 



ALEURITES (Greek, farinose or floury). Euphor- 

 bidcese. Tropical trees grown for the oils they yield or 

 sometimes for shade and ornament. 



Leaves alternate, palmately veined, 3-5-lobed, the 

 long petioles with 2 glands at the apex: fls. usually 

 monoecious, in lax terminal cymes; sepals 2-3, valvate; 

 petals 5; stamens 8-20, the inner row monadelphous; 

 1 ovule in each cell of the 2-.5-celled ovary: fr. large, 

 drupaceous, with thick-shelled seeds. — Four species, 

 with milky juice, natives of E. Asia and Pacific Isls. 

 Jatropha and Hevea, are related genera. Page 3565. 



All of the species are cultivated in tropical countries 

 for the drying oil derived from the seeds. These oils 

 are similar to linseed oil, but dry quicker, harder and 

 more waterproof but less lightproof and elastic. The 

 seeds of A. moluccana yield 60 per cent of oil (kekuna, 

 kelun or bankul oil), which is used for burning or in 

 varnishes. The seed or oil is also used to some 

 extent as food and the wood is worked. The tree is 

 grown for shade. It is said to be easily grown in the 

 tropics up to 2,000 feet altitude. It is easily propagated 

 from seeds, which sprout in four to five weeks. The oil 

 (wood-oil, tung-oil) of the seeds of the wood-oil trees 

 (.4. cordata, A. Fordii) is much used, especially in China 

 and Japan, for treating woodwork, cloth, and the like, 

 and for burning. Its importation to this country is on 

 the increase, where it is used in varnishes and other 

 products, paints, soaps, linoleum, and so on. A. Fordii, 

 which is the hardier species, has been extensively intro- 

 duced into the southern states by our Department of 

 Agriculture and is reported to be doing very well. 



A. cordain is a fine smooth-barked tree, good for 

 shade and will stand high temperature, but not much 

 below freezing. A. Fordii is a very ornamental tree. 



The wood-fjil trees are usually grown on dry, thin 

 soil not suited to general farming. They are grown from 

 seeds, and begin to produce nuts in three to six years. 

 The .seedlings are raised in a bed and transplanted when 

 about a foot high or are planted where they are to stand. 

 They may also be propagated from hardwood cuttings, 

 which root readily. An average tree is said to yield 



twenty to fifty poimd.s of nuts with about 24 per cent 

 of oil. The oil is pressed from the seed after roasting. 

 The seed is poisonous. See Circ. 108, U. S. Bu. PI. Ind. 



A. Pubescence stellate. 



moluccana, Willd. (^4. triloba, Forst.). Candle- 

 nut. Candleberry Tree. Varni.sh Tree. Tree with 

 long spreading branches: Ivs. large, ovate-acuminate, 

 short-lobed, rusty pubescent below: paniculate cymes 

 4-5 in. long of many small fls.; stamens 15-20; ovary 

 2-celled: fr. 2-3 in. thick; seeds large, rough and walnut- 

 like. — Probably native of Malay region but now widely 

 cult, and wild in the tropics. In wooded valleys up to 

 3,000 ft. Mem. Terr. Bot. Club. 8:117. Blanco Flor. 

 Filip. 220. — Also known as Belgaum walnut, Indian 

 walnut, kukui and various other native names. 



trisperma, Blanco {A. sapondria, Blanco). Band- 

 CALAG. Differs from A. moluccana in having 7-10 sta- 

 mens, a 3-4-celled ovary, Ivs. more entire and seeds 

 smooth. Philippines. — Intro, once by U. S. Dept. of 

 Agric. The seed used for the drying oil. Other native 

 names are balocanad, baguilumbang, calumbang, balu- 

 canag. Blanco Flor. Filip, 296. 



AA. Pubescence not stellate. 



cordata, R. Br. Japan Wood-oil Tree. Twenty-five 

 to 30 ft. high: Ivs. broadly ovate, acuminate, 3-5-lobed 

 or toothed: petals oblong, J^in. long, hairy at base; 

 stamens 8-10; ovary 3-4-celled: fr. warty; seeds abouti 

 the size and shape of large castor beans. S. E. Asia 

 and adjoining isls.; cult, especially in Japan, south of 

 40°, and in Formosa. 



F6rdii, Hemsl. (.4. cordata, Muell. Arg., in part). 

 China Wood-oil Tree. Ten to 25 ft. high: Ivs. ovate- 

 cordate: petals 1 in. or more long, orbicular ovate, 

 somewhat hairy; stamens 8-10; ovary about 4-celled: 

 fr. smooth: panicles of reddish white fls. in spring: fr. 

 ripe in Sept. Cent. Asia. — Extensively cult, for the oil. 

 Perfectly hardy in Cent. Fla. and resistant to drought. 



J. B. S. Norton. 



ALEXANDERS. Name applied to Smyrnium Olusa- 

 trum (Umbelliferaj), the blanched leaf-stalks of which 

 were once used as a salad and pot-herb, but now out 

 of cultivation because of the sujierior value of celery. 

 It is a biennial, native to Europe, with ternately dissected 

 pinnate radical leaves, and small yellow flowers in 

 umbels. Seed is sown in late summer or in autumn, 

 and the plants transplanted in rows as they come up 

 in spring. The plants are blanched by being banked 

 with earth. 



ALFALFA, LUCERNE (Medicdgo saliva, Linn.). A 

 deep-rooted perennial forage plant of the Leguminoss-. 

 The plant grows one to four feet high, bears pinnate 

 leaves with three ovate-oblong toothed leaflets, and 

 small head-like racemes of purple clover-shaped flowers. 

 It is native to Europe. In the arid parts of the United 

 States it is the staple hay and forage plant, and it is also 

 grown to a considerable extent in the East. Two to six 

 mowings may be made each year from established 

 meadows. Fifteen to thirty pounds of seed are sown 

 to the acre ; and the seed is preferably sown alone, with- 

 out another crop. Alfalfa should not be pastured the 

 first year. In two or three years it becomes thoroughly 

 established and productive, and it should continue for 

 man}- years. June-grass often runs it out in a cool, 

 moist climate. Alfalfa often becomes a weed in waste 

 places. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric. II, for full account. 



ALFILARLA. Spelled also Aljikra which is the West 

 American, and Alfillarilla, the Spanish-American for 

 Erbdium cicutarium, L'Her. Geraniacese. A hairy an- 

 nual with pinnate Ivs., sometimes used for pasture in 

 dry regions. See Cyclo. Amer. Agric. II, p. 197. 



