DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 275 



Prairie grass (see Spartina cynosuroides: also Sporoholus crypttndus). 



Prickly pear (see Opuntia). 



Prionium palmita. The Palmet, or Palmite. 



Endogen. Juncacece. 



Habitat. — South Africa, where it grows in the heds of rivers, often choking the 

 stream. It reseinhles in appearance a bromeliaceous plant, with its trunk 5 to 10 

 feet in length and its tuft of sword-shaped leaves. 



Structural Fiber. — "The leaf sheaths contain a network of strong, "black fiber, 

 suitable for brush making, or, when curled, as a substitute for horsehair. The leaves 

 themselves are useful for plaiting and thatching, and also yield a very good fiber." 

 (A. Smith.) Its leaves are used for making hats, baskets, etc., and the fiber might 

 be employed in textile uses, such as for cordage, brushes, and upholstery. 



Prosopis pubescens. Screw Bean. 



Exogen. Leguminoscv. A bushy shrub. 



This species abounds in the southwestern United States and Mexico. Eepresenta- 

 tives of the genus are also found on the plains of Buenos Ayres and Patagonia, known 

 as EetorguiUo. 



The pods of this species are twisted like a corkscrew. The fruit or bean is employed 

 largely for food by the Indians along the Colorado River, in Arizona, and by the Utahs, 

 who collect large quantities to store for winter food. (See Ann. Kept. U. S. Dept. Ag., 

 1870, p. 412.) 



Bast Fiber. — The bark of this plant, torn off in strips, is used by the Mohave 

 Indians of Arizona for binding pottery. Better prepared, it would make a fair cord- 

 age fiber, although when produced in the form of ribbons, as in the specimens col- 

 lected by Dr. E. Palmer, it can only be regarded as a tie material. 



Pseudo-fibers (see Classification of Fibers, p. 25). 

 Pteris decipiens (see note under Adiantum). 

 Pterocarpus santalinus. 



Exogen. Leguminoscv. A large tree. 



There are 15 or more species in the genus, and all are plants of large size, scattered 

 over tropical Asia, Africa, and America. The plant yields a deep red dye, known to 

 commerce as "red sanders," large quantities of which are exported from India 

 annually. Gum kino is obtained from two species of Pterocarpus, one growing in 

 India and the other in Africa. Some of the barks are also used for tanning. 



Bast Fiber. — The fiber is reddish in color, composed of quite fine filaments of 

 moderate strength. From the size and appearance of this specimen, which is quite 

 old, I judge it has only been extracted experimentally. A twisted cord of the fiber, 

 about the size of common manila-paper twine, would show about the same tenacity. 

 It would doubtless make a good paper stock, if it could be cheaply extracted and in 

 large quantities. 



Pua hemp (Ind.). Maoutiapuya. 

 Pueraria thunbergiana. Ko Hemp. 



Exogen. Leguminosce. A twining plant. 



Habitat. — China and Japan. 



Bast Fiber. — Dr. Morris states that the fiber of this trailing vine, long known in 

 Cbina and Japan, is obtained from the succulent green stems, and is used, but less 

 tban formerly, for summer clothing. It is said to be more durable than China grass 

 cloth. 



