152 USEFUL FIBER PLANTS OF THE WORLD. 



Dombeya acutangula et sp. div. 



Exogens. Sterculiacea . shrubs or small trees. 



The species of Dombeya are African shrubs abounding in Madagascar and Mauri- 

 tius, extending as far north as Abyssinia. The plants are often seen in hothouses. 



This species is cultivated in the Island of Bourbon, where it is said to be held in 

 esteem for its fiber. A variety, I), angulata, according to Savorgnan. " is cultivated 

 in the Island of Reunion for its textile fiber, from which cordage is made." This 

 author also mentions D. ferruginea, Isle of France, as yielding a strong fiber fit for 

 cordage. Spon states that the fibrous bark of another Madagascan species, I), can- 

 nabina (D. viscosa), is made into strong ropes. The bark of 1). platanifolia, according 

 to A. A. Black, is also used in Madagascar for the manufacture of ropes, twines, etc. 

 1). wallichii is mentioned by Bernardiu, and in the Flax and Hemp Commission list. 



Dombeya natalensis. 



Fiber of the above species, which is a native of Xatal, was received from the Vic- 

 torian collection of Dr. Gulfoyle, Phil. Int. Exh., 1*76. In Victoria the plant forms 

 a most beautiful flowering shrub or small tree and is of quick growth. Its fiber is 

 suitable for cordage or for paper stock. Like all the species belonging to this family, 

 the fiber is brownish in color, though lighter than lf KurHjong," and, judging from 

 the museum samples, is a little stronger. It is at best, however, a very coarse fiber 

 and is not to be compared with mallow fiber of the commonest description, neither 

 is it as fibrous in texture as Commersonia. 



* Specimen. — Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. 



Doryanthes excelsa. Spear Lily. 



Endogen. Amaryllidacece. Aloe-like leaf cluster. 



Habitat. — East Australia. 



The plant is "a tail straight stem, 20 feet high, springing from an aloe-like tuft of 

 broadly ensiform-spreading basal leaves, the stem itself clothed with much smaller 

 appressed ones/' The stem terminates in a bulky flower head composed of crimson 

 flowers. It is sometimes met with in cultivation. 



Structural Fiber. — Specimens were secured from the Xew South Wales and 

 Victorian collections received with the Australian exhibit, Phil. Int. Exh., 1876. 

 According to Dr. Guilfoyle, who has prepared its fibers experimentally, the leaves 

 are a complete mass of fiber of great strength, fit for strong ropes, matting, cordage, 

 etc. It can also be employed m paper making with good results. It is of moder- 

 ately quick growth in Victoria. The specimen has not been thoroughly prepared, 

 as some of the filaments are quite white, while the majority are a rust red. They 

 are stiff but fine, the white fibers being smooth and glossy. In strength the sample 

 examined is considerably below the average of fibers in this family. 



In a recent publication Dr. Guilfoyle mentions I), palmeri, and I), guilfoylei, the 

 Giant Queensland Lily, as fiber producing. 



* Specimens. — Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. 



Dowaniya (Ceyl.). See Grewia. 

 Doum palm. Hyphame thebaica. 

 Dracaena draco. Dragon's Blood Tree. 



Endogen. Liliacea'. 



Habitat. — Teneriffe, Canary Islands. Cultivated in Australia. See fig. 49. 



J), draco "has a tree-like stem, simple or divided at the top, and often, when old, 

 becoming much branched, each branch terminated by a crowded head of lanceolate, 

 linear, entire leaves of a glaucous-green color, which embrace the stem by their 

 base." The tree derives its name from a resinous secretion or exudation known to 

 commerce as dragoon's blood, which at one time formed an article of considerable 



