402 
Flowering of Camoénsia maxima in England.—Through fhe courtesy 
of Mr. William Bull we have seen a flower of this gorgeous 
the first inflorescence, we believe, produced in Europe, Camotae 
maxima was one of the numerous important discoveries made by the late 
Dr. Welwitsch during a long residence in Angola. It is a member of 
the Leguminose, and was first described and figured in a in the 
Transactions of the Louies Society (vol. xx., p. "301, plate 36). The 
flowers of Welwitsch's original speeimens, represented in the plate cited, 
are just about a toot long, “and the largest in the natural order. ‘These 
specimens were collected. at Golungo Alto, alittle north of the River 
Cuanza. Subsequently Mr. and Mrs. Monteiro sent specimens to Kew 
and Mr. H. H. Johnston from the Congo, below Stanley Pool. Both of 
these specimens have shorter flo owers, as well as the cultivated plant; 
r. W. 
M 
s successful cultivator of the Cimobisid ; and he writes that the 
ges of the white petals are at first of a bright golden yet changing 
$ “od gold on the full expansion of the flowers. The plant in question 
produced only one raceme of four flowers. Mr, Monteiro, who figured and 
described the Camoénsia Ier Ga and ed inq Congo, vol. i., p. 177), 
sent seeds to Kew from the locality mentioned above in 1873; and a 
LI * © w 
and y ,in tha ms den Dr. Trimen recorded (* Gardeners 
ots d f flowering it at Kew yet, though we have now had it 
growing for twenty-two yeat 
as AD. insectic id ie original Ag wood was derived 
fire ara, L., a small tree “of urinam. The supply, how- 
ever, fell e: ane, ne 2a of commerce is now almost entirely 
derived from i er W 
om the s Jamaica Quassia or 
(Picrena excelsa, Lindl. This is a large tree 40 to 60 feet high, 
with a trunk sometimes attaining a diameter of 1 to 2 feet. It has 
pinnate leaves not unlike an ash, hence one of its colonial names, bitter 
ash. The flowers are small, yellowish-green in colour, followed by 
small black berries. Quassia is. imported into this country in billets or 
logs. U sually the smoothish grey bark has been removed. _The wood 
is of a pale-yellowish colour; it has no odour, ey is of an niens 
bitter taste. Quassia chips are offic inal in the Pharmacopeias 
Britain, India, and the United States. ‘They possess tonic and Arsen 
propecia, and are valuable in dyspepsia and debility. Bitter cups (in 
which water allowed to stand acquires a bitter pans ha e made from 
as. wo eae The active principle is Quassin t Quassite, which 
appears in small white crystals, Tuy bitter and permet It is present 
in the proportions of about 44, per cent. Although an dp mra of 
Quassia is harmless to human beings, it is Aspen that the drug acts 
as a narcotic porron to animals, 1t is used in what is ya ku as papier 
mouri to des roy flies, and fruit and hop gr use ated 
quantities at im times of the year to destroy spider E Ln en 
“ blights.” To prepare an extract of quassia on 
