190 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
otherwise bare ground with a dense mat of green, the small leaflets giving a very 
pleasing effect like a white clover lawn and suggesting a possible use for this 
plant. (Stahl, 3: 41, as Desmodium triflorwm.) : 
Meladillo. See Plumbago scandens. 
Melanthera deltoidea. CARIAQUITO BLANCO. 
A perennial composite herb 1 meter high, found in waste places and on tiie 
lower slopes of mountains. (Stahl, 5: 140.) 
Melia azedarach. LILAILa. PLATE XLV. 
A meliaceous tree or shrub commonly known as ‘‘ China berry” or ‘* pride o7 
China,’’ introduced from the Old World. It grows 5 or more meters high and is 
found as an ornamental in gardens, etc. The bark of the roots is said to be ar 
efficacious vermifuge, while the pulp of the ‘fruit is considered poisonous. (Stahl, 
2: 164.) 
The wood is rose-colored, rather hard, breaking vertically. Used by the coun- 
try people in making tool handles. (Grosourdy, 2: 360.) 
This author spells the native name “‘ alilaila.”’ 
The china-berry is very commonly planted in Porto Rico as a shade or rather 
as an ornamental tree. The Porto Rican tree may, however, be a different spe- 
cies or variety, since it has not at all the umbrella-like habit found in the United 
States and in the Canary Islands. I+ grows with great rapidity, sometimes send- 
ing up a central stem 20 feet (6 meters) high ina year and ahalf. At a height 
of about 10 feet (3 meters) lateral branches from 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.9 meters) 
long are emitted, while those of the upper part remain short, giving the tree a 
narrowly pyramidal form. The slender top often bends over or is broken off. 
The foliage is rather loose and open; flowers and fruit are produced in great 
abundance. The extremely rapid growth might give this species a limited use in 
coffee culture, particularly where it is desired to protect without loss of time an 
exposed slope; and the numerous slender branches of the tree would also enable 
the shade to be removed gradually. Considerable shelter from winds and a mod- 
erate degree of shade could be secured by planting the china-berry from 2 to 4 
rods apart. 
Melia sempervirens. See Melia azedarach. 
Melicocea bijuga. GENIP TREE. GENIPE. 
A tree belonging to the family Sapindaceae, believed by some botanists to be 
native in the West Indies, by others thought to have been introduced from South 
America. It produces clusters of oval fruits about an inchin length. The pulpy 
covering of the seed is edible and has a pleasant flavor, but the fine fibers compact 
themselves against the mucous membranes and cause a very disagreeable sensation. 
In the Bulletin of the Jamaica Botanical Department it is stated that this material 
has caused the death of children by forming a coating over the lining of the stomach. 
The tree is vigorous and handsome and has been recommended for planting 
along roads and avenues for shade. The timber is said to be hard and heavy. 
Radlkofer gives the following collection of names for this tree: Honigbeere, 
mamon, mamoncillo, knippa, knepier, guenepe, and genep tree. The Porto 
Rican pronunciation heard by us was, however, distinctly ‘‘genepe,’’ not 
‘“onenepe,”’ or ‘* quenepa.”’ 
Meliosma herbertii. 
Family Sabiaceae; shares with M. obtusifolia the names ‘‘ cacao bobo”’ and 
‘“‘aguacatillo.”” A tree generally distributed in Porto Rico and the adjacent 
islands as far south as Grenada. Of medium size, with alternate, exstipulate, 
elliptical, or obovate acute leaves. (Urban, Symb. 1: 55.) 
Meliosma obtusifolia. GUAYROTE. 
Also called ‘* arroyo,’ “* aguacatillo,”’ ** cacao bobo.’ ** cacaillo,”’ ** ciralillo.”’ 
*serillos."” A tree belonging to the family Sabiaceae. generally distributed 
. 
Ce a ea 
