DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 213 



Lagunaria patersonii. Norfolk Island Cow-itch Tree. 



Exogen. Malvacccc. Allied to Hibiscus. 

 This beautiful shrubby tree is indigenous in Queensland and Norfolk Island, and 

 is closely related to Hibiscus. The fiber sample was prepared by. Dr. Guilfoyle 

 (Victoria, Phil. Int. Exh., 1876), who accompanied it with a statement that it was 

 suitable for manufacturing paper of a superior quality, samples of which were also 

 presented, and for ropes, strong cordage, fine matting, and basket work. The iiber 

 is line, strong, and glossy, although the specimen can hardly be said to compare 

 with Sida rhombifolia in any one of these particulars. 



Lal-ambari (Bomb.). Hibiscus sabdariffa. 



Lal-murga (Beng.). Gelosia cristata. 



Lamba (Borneo). Cloth from Curculigo latifolia 



Lana de Enea (Venez.). Typha angustifolia. 



Lana del Tambor (Venez.). See Bombax eumanensis. 



Langue Bceuf (Trin.). Furcrcea cubensis. 



Lantern flower ( Austr.). Fiber of. See Abutilon molle. 



Laportea canadensis. 



This species of TJrticacece, found in many localities of the United States, is one of 

 the stinging nettles, and furnishes a fiber of average quality. Specimens of the 

 stalks and fiber have been received by the Department from time to time, but with 

 better native fiber species it only deserves a passing mention. It is sometimes called 

 Indian hemp, as it has doubtless been used for cordage and thread by the North 

 American Indians, but this is a misnomer. True Indian hemp is an Apocynum. 

 This species is mentioned by Spon, under the name L. pustulata, who also says it is 

 the only foreign nettle that will withstand the cold of the European winter. 



The fiber from this species, before the introduction of cotton, had an application 

 more extensive than at present in Europe, where (particularly in Germany and in 

 more northern countries) they manufactured the cloth called ortica (German, Nessel- 

 tuch), or nettle cloth (Manual Hoepli). 



*Specimens. — Field Col. Mus. ; Mus. U. S. Dept. Ag. 



Laportea crenulata. Fever, or Devil's Nettle. 



An evergreen arborescent shrub found in Australia and India. Contact with its 

 powerful stinging hairs causes excessive burning pains, which last for several days. 



Fiber. — This plant yields a strong useful fiber, used by the hill tribes of Assam 

 for cordage and in the manufacture of a coarse cloth. Major Hannay, who was one 

 of the first to bring the fiber to the notice of Europeans, stated that it was fine, 

 white, apparently of no great strength, and by report not very lasting. Messrs. Cross, 

 Bevan, and King, however, in their recent report on Indian fibers, appear to hold a 

 more favorable opinion, stating that the fiber "is good, is more or less allied to 

 rhea, and, like that fiber, is very strong." 



Laportea gigas. Gigantic Kettle Tree of Australia. 



Native name. — Goo-mao-mali. 

 It is a native of New South Wales, and is very abundant on the McLeay and other 

 northern rivers. In Bennett's "Wanderings of a Naturalist in Australia," the author 

 states that the tree, when in full vigor, rises from its base by a series of buttresses 

 of singularly regular outline, gradually tapering without a branch, to the height of 

 120 to 140 feet ; the trunk then divides into a regularly formed, wide-spreading head, 

 which excites admiration by its extraordinary size. The ordinary elevation of the 



