DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 143 



Curcuma longa. 



Belongs to the Zingiber aceos. The source of turmeric, which enters into the com- 

 position of curry powder. Savorgnan states that a fiber is extracted from th<> mid- 

 rib of the leaf. 



Curratow (Braz.). Ananas brae feat us. 



Currijong, or Kurrijong (Austr.). See Sterculia. Brown Kurrijong 

 (see Commersonia echinata). 



Curua palm (Braz.). See AUalea spectabilis. 

 Curujujul (Venez.). Karatas plumieri. 

 Cus-cus (Ind.). See Andropogon squarrosus. 

 Custard apple (W. Ind.). See Anona. 

 Cutthalay-nar, of Eoyle (Ind.). See Agave amerhcana. 

 Cutting grass (Vict.). See Gahnia radula. 

 Cycas rumphii. 



Exogen. Cycadacex. Small trees. 



The species of this genus are natives of Asia, Australia, and Polynesia. They are 

 popularly but erroneously called sago palms; they furnish a kind of sago, but it is 

 not known commercially. The plants aro said to be intermediate between palms and 

 ferns. C. rumphii is found in India and C. rcvoluta in Japan. 



Surface Fiber. — This is somewhat similar to pulu, being in the form of soft down 

 from the foliage. The entire leaves also serve as thatch material (structural fiber), 

 while from the leaf stems, according to Savorgnan, a fiber is obtained. 



Cynosurus cristatus. Crested Dog's Tail Grass. 



From this common British species mats and baskets are sometimes made by the 

 peasantry in county Wexford, Ireland. 



Cyperus corymbosus. 



Endogen. Cyperacea\ Eeed-like grass or sedge. 



A genus of plants belonging to the sedge family, being widely distributed over 

 the warmer parts of the earth. When used for textile purposes they are chiefly 

 woven into mats and tho like, or pulped into paper. C. corymbosus is found in India 

 and Ceylon — more commonly in wet places. 



Structural Fiber. — This is "the C. pangorie, referred to by many writers as one of 

 the chief sources of the Hddur, or so-called Calcutta grass mats. Dr. Bidie writes that 

 several species of sedge appear to be used for mat making, but the one from which 

 the finest sorts of mats are manufactured at Tinnevelly and Palghiit is C. pangorie. 

 Tinnevelly mats of the first quality are generally uncolored or with one or two 

 simple bands of red and black at each end, and they may be made so fine that a 

 mat sufficient for a man to lie on can be rolled up and packed into the interior of a 

 moderate-sized walking stick. The strips of the split sedge used in the Palghat 

 matting are not so fine as those employed in Tinnevelly, and the article is therefore 

 heavier, coarser in texture, and not so flexible. " ( Watt.) 



C. esculentus, exalt atm, and iria are also used in India for mat making, and sleeping 

 mats are made in Madagascar from the flattened culms of C. alter nifolius. 



Cyperus laevigatas. 



This species abounds, in or near brackish water, in the Hawaiian Islands. "A 

 common plant in many tropical countries of the New and Old World, extending also 



