658 



An infusion of the plant sometimes used by the natives to 

 coagulate the latex of Landolphia oivariensis (see p. 430 of thia 

 work and Col. Rep. Msc. No. 51, 1908, p. 37). 



Leafy stems 6-7 ft. long similar in general appearance to the 

 foregoing. 



The root of an alHed species (Costus speciosus, Sm.) of India 

 has been examined as a food-stuff (see Hooper, Agrie. Ledger, 



No, 2. 1906. X)n. 19-21 xvi'fli or.QlT7cio\ 



Hedychium, Koenig. 



Hedychium coronarium, Koenig in Retz. Obs. iii. (1779-91) 



p. 73. ' 



Rootstock, perennial, tuberous, developing horizontally near 

 the surface of the ground. Stems leafy 3-6 ft. high "about 

 |-1J in. thick. Leaves oblong or lanceolate distichous -with 

 long sheaths clasping the stem. Inflorescence a terminal spike; 

 flowers white. 



//Z.— Rumpf, Amb. v. f. 69, t. 3; Jacq. Fragm. Bot. tt. 130, 

 136, f. 1; Bot. Mag. t. 708; Smith, Exotic Bot. t. 107; Redoute, 

 Choix Fl. viii. t. 436; Lodd. Bot. Cab. t. 507; Roscoe, Scita- 

 mineae, t. 51 [29]; Wight, Ic. PL Ind. Or. vi. t. 2010; Martins, 

 Fl. Bras. iii. pt. 3, t. 10, f. 1 (var. maximum); Kew Bull. 1912, 

 p. 375; 1914, p. 368, f. 1; Journ. Roy. Soc. Arts. Ixi. 1913, 

 p. 352, f. 1, p. 354, f. 2 (in Brazil), p. 355, f. 3 (at Kew). 



Veniac. names .—'Laign mo de Moca, Escaldameo (Brazil, 

 Martins, Schumann); Wild Jasmine (Brazil, Clayton Beadle dh 

 Stevens); Sweet-scented Garland Flower (Smith, I.e. & Bot. 

 Mag. I.e.); Ginger Lily. 



Native of India. Grown in Ceylon, Malaya, Brazil, Central 

 America, West Indies, British Guiana, Mauritius and West 

 Africa. 



Recommended as a paper-maldng material, for which purpose 

 it was fully discussed in Kew Bull. 1912, pp. 373-378. It is 

 not advisable to ship the stems as cut ; it has been found that 

 if the juices were not expressed from the fibre before it was 

 dried for shipment it pulverised owing to fermentative chanties 



a 



and became useless" (Clayton Beadle & Stevens, Journ. Soc. 

 Chem. Industry, March 31st, 1913). An alternative method 

 usually recommended for shipping paper materials is as " half 

 stuff." Samples of paper (from Messrs. Clayton Beadle & 

 Stevens) in the Kew Museum were made from fibre which before 

 shipment was passed through sugar crushing mills to express the 

 juices, and then dried. 



" Hedychium Oil " is distilled from the flowers (Parry 

 Chem. Ess. Oils & Art. Perf . p. 202), said to have a pleasant' 

 deMcate but faint odour (Gildemeister & Hoffmann, Vol. Oils' 

 p. 312), and this plant amongst others is reported to be under- 

 experimental study at Orlando, Florida, for the production of 

 volatile oil (Perf. & Ess. Oil Rec. April, 1918, p. 100). 



