167 



No. 406. QuiNOA. The farinaceous seeds of Cheno- CASE 

 podium Quinoa, Willd., an important article of food on 92. 

 the slopes of the Andes of Chili, Peru, and Central 

 America. 



Note wood of the Sacsaoul {Haloxylon Ammodendron^ 

 Bunge), a small tree, with the habit of a conifer, of 

 Western and Central Asia in the Kizil-Koumi desert ; it 

 forms small forests, and the wood, which is so dense as to 

 sink in water, is prized for fuel and also yields a green 

 dye. 



Note samples of Barilla, an impure carbonate of soda, 

 formerly an article of considerable commercial importance 

 in soap and glass making. It was obtained from the 

 ashes of several species of Salsola principally S. Soda, L., 

 a South European and North African species. One of the 

 samples exhibited is from Spain, obtained from Halogeton 

 sativuSy Moq. A mounted specimen of the plant is also 

 shown. Near these observe a cake of Barilla prepared 

 from Suaeda fruticosa, Forsk., at Bir Ahmed near Aden, 

 also specimens of Barilla from Sind known under the 

 name Kharsugi and believed to be derived from a 

 species of Salsola. 



On the middle shelf are tubers of Ulliccus tuberosus, 

 Caldas, cultivated in Peru and Bolivia under the name of 

 OCA-QUINA as a regular article of food. 



Under the Poke- weed Order (Phytolaccaceae), 

 observe sections of the stem of Phytolacca dioica, L., the 

 Bella Sombra, an umbrageous tree of South America, 

 introduced into Spain, where it is planted as a shelter in 

 public promenades. 



Note also fruits and roots of P. decandra, L., a North 

 American species, with emetic, cathartic and narcotic 

 properties. 



Buckwheat Order (Polygonaceae), Mostly herba- 

 ceous plants, marked by the membranous sheath at the 

 base of the stalk of their alternate leaves. Widely 

 diffused ; many are common and troublesome weeds, as 

 the Dock and Knotgrass. 



On a lower shelf note abortive flowers of Phog 

 (CaUigonum polygonoides, L.). Used in Afghanistan, 



