468 Select Plants for Industrial Culture and 



Mr. Jolm C. Bell reared with so much advantage for fodder on the 

 bare rocks of the Island of Ascension ; and it was there, where Aus- 

 tralian Acacias took the lead, to establish wood-vegetation and to 

 secure permanency of drinking-water. S. subulatum (Trinius) is 

 a closely allied grass of New Guinea and some of the adjoining 

 islands. 



Sterculia Carthagenensis, Cavanilles. (S. Chicka, St. Hilaire.) 



South-Brazil. This and some other South-American species 

 furnish seeds of almond-like taste. The co-ordinal Pterygota basil- 

 oxylon (F. v. M.) of Brazil is praised for its valuable wood. 



Sterculia nobilis, Smith. 



From India to China. A middle-sized spreading tree. I 1 he 

 rather large seeds can be used as chestnuts in a roasted state. 



Sterculia quadrifida, E. Brown. 



Eastern and Northern Australia. This tree might be naturalized 

 in rich and humid forest-regions within mild climes. It is the 

 " Calool " of the natives. The black seeds are of filbert-taste, like 

 those of some other Sterculice. As many as eleven of the 

 brilliantly scarlet large fruitlets may occur in a cluster, and each 

 of them may contain as many as ten or eleven seeds [Ch. Fawcett]. 

 The fruit is almost alike to that of S. nobilis in size and color. 



Sterculia urens, Roxburgh. 



India, extending to the north-western provinces, to Assam and 

 Ceylon. A tree with deciduous foliage ; likes dry, rocky, hilly 

 situations. This and S. urceolata (Smith), from the Moluccas and 

 Sunda-Islands, produce edible seeds, and may prove hardy in mild 

 extra-tropical regions. The same may be said of S. foetida (Linne), 

 which extends from India to tropical Africa and North -Australia. 



Stilbocarpa polaris, Decaisne and Planchon. 



Auckland's and Campbell's Islands, also in the southern 

 extremity of New Zealand and in Macquarie's Island, luxuriating 

 in the frigid zone and in exposed, boisterous localities. An 

 herbaceous plant with long roots, which are saccharine, and served 

 some wrecked people for a lengthened period as sustenance. The 

 plant is recommended here for further attention, as it may prove 

 through culture a valuable addition to the stock of culinary 

 vegetables of cold countries. Herbage liked by some pasture- 

 animals. 



Stilling-ia silvatica. Garden. 



The Yaw-Shrub. Southern States of North-America. The root 

 extensively utilized there for its emetic and purgative properties. 



