DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 41 



Adansonia digitata. Baobab Tree. Monkey Bread Tree of 

 Africa. 



Exogen. Malvacece. One of the largest trees in the world. 



Native names. — Goraltfia-amli (Bomh.); Hujed (Arah.); Mowana (Afr.), and 

 many others. 



Native of Africa (west and interior). " This is one of the largest and longest-lived 

 trees in the world." ( Watt. ) Ahounds Senegal to Abyssinia. Found in India, where 

 it has been cultivated experimentally. Introduced into the West Indies. 



Fiber. — Derived from the hark; strong and much valued for cordage; can be 

 woven into cloth. The commercial fiber from Africa quoted in London market at 

 £9 to £15 per ton. 



"The hard, outer bark is first chopped away, and the inner bark stripped off in 

 large sheets. These are beaten to remove pithy matter, sun dried, and baled. Afri- 

 cans use the fiber for rope, twine, and sacking. In India elephant saddles are made 

 from it." (Spon.) "Cultivation deserves to be extended." (Watt.) 



This fiber has been mentioned as a raw material for pajier makers in this country. 

 Ide and Christie, the London fiber brokers, inform me that the bark of this species has 

 never been imported into Great Britain from either Senegal or Abyssinia. It 

 has never been a large trade and has iuvariably come from St. Paul de Loando and 

 perhaps some adjacent port in Portuguese west Africa, to either Liverpool or Hull. 

 The fiber was held in some esteem by makers of strong light-colored wrappingpapers 

 called in the trade "small hands," and ten or twenty years ago good parcels ranged 

 in value from £8 to £10 per ton. It formerly came to Liverpool and Hull from the 

 west coast, both direct and by way of Portugal, but no direct shipments have been 

 made since 1892. The importations have fallen off from 190 tons in 1887 to 2 tons in 

 1896. 



Adki (Ind.). See Areca catechu. 



Adiantum spp. Maiden-hair Ferns. 



A large genus of polypodiaceous ferns, the representatives of which are found in 

 many parts of the world, but more particularly in the Tropics. They all have black 

 shining stipes, and in structure are unlike any other ferns. 



Structural Fiber. — A. pedatum is a beautiful specimen found in this country. 

 It affords "an elegant material for the woof of the nicer caps and baskets of the 

 Hoopa and Klamath Indians." (Dr. V. Havard.) 



The black glossy stalks of A. caplllus -veneris, as well as of Pteris decipiens, are 

 worked by native women (of Hawaii) into ornamental baskets and mats (Hille- 

 brand). Native Hawaiian name, Iwaiiva. 



^Eschynomene aspera. 



Exogen. Leguminosw. A small subfloating bush. 

 Native names. — Sola or Shola (Beng.); Paukpan (Burm.). 

 Frequents marshes, growing in Bengal, Burma, Assam, and South India during 

 the inundation period. 



Fiber. — Derived from the bark (in Burma). The pith is used for floats bj fish- 

 ermen, and the same is used by Europeans for making hats, which are very light and 

 perfect protectors from the sun's heat. See Die. Ec. Prod. Ind., Vol. I, p. 125. 



African Button Flower. Dais cotinifolia. 

 African Millet. Meusine coracana. 

 Agave spp. 



A very large genus of fleshy-leaved plants belonging to the Amaryllidacece, chiefly 

 found in Mexico, and Central and South America, a few species creeping up to and 



