60 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



25097 to 25101— Continued. 



making a very dense crown. From the observations I have made of this tree 

 in its native habitat I believe it is well worth introducing as a shade tree in all 

 parts of the United States where it would not be injured by frost. " ( Wester.) 

 Distribution. — A native of southern Florida and the Bahamas. 



25104 to 25106. Chaetochloa italica (L.) Scribn. Millet. 



From Haka, Chin Hills, Burma. Presented by Rev. H. East, A. B. Mission. 

 Received March 10, 1909. 

 Seeds of the following: 



25104. A yellow-seeded variety. 



"Chin name Fatao. Is considered as good as rice by the Chins, and it is a 

 good food, rich in gluten. " (East.) 



25105. A black-seeded variety. 



"Chin name Yet(r)ing. Is also used as food, but is less valued than Fatao 

 (S. P. I. No. 25104) and Hlisen (S. P. I. No. 25106)." (East.) 



25106. A yellow-seeded variety. 



"Chin name Hlisen. Has a large grain; is a good food, but not as rich as 

 Fatao (S. P. I. No. 25104). Both kinds have unusually large heads." (East.) 

 "These three varieties need lots of water to grow." (East.) 



25107. Camoensia maxima Welw. 



From Angola, West Africa. Presented by Mr. John Gossweiler, botanist in the 

 service of the Portuguese Government of Angola, at the request of Mr. A..E. 

 Evans, Director of Agriculture, Gold Coast, West Africa. Received March 24, 

 1909. 



Seeds. 



"Probably the largest flowered and certainly one of the most delicately beautiful 

 vines in the world is Camoensia maxima, which has recently flowered for the first time 

 in the United States. Its pure white, fluted petals are margined with gold, changing 

 to a darker tinge with age, and have a delicious fragrance when first opening. The 

 individual flowers are sometimes 8 inches long, which we believe eclipses even 

 the largest flowered hybrid clematis. This magnificent vine adorns the tops of lofty 

 trees on the outskirts of forests in tropical Africa. The clusters are pendulous and 

 sometimes contain nearly a dozen flowers. Unlike the sweet pea, the petals are 

 separate, not forming wings and a keel. The standard is fully 4 inches across. 



"The great drawback to the cultivation of this noble plant is that it will bloom only 

 in hothouses of considerable size, and hitherto it has been extremely slow in coming 

 into bloom. Plants were first distributed by Kew in 1873, but did not flower in culti- 

 vation until 1882, when blooms appeared at Trinidad. However, Mr. George W. 

 Oliver, propagator to the United States Department of Agriculture, who first bloomed 

 the Camoensia here, thinks it 'very likely that this plant will flower oftener and 

 more profusely in this country than in Europe, particularly in England, because of 

 our higher summer temperature, which enables the plant to grow rapidly and ripen 

 its wood. ' 



' ' The Camoensia is named after the Shakespeare of the Portuguese, the poet Camoens, 

 author of 'Lusiade.'" (The Garden Magazine, May, 1908.) 



"I am informed by Doctor Andre, of Trinidad, that Camoensia is a wonderful suc- 

 cess there. It ought to be extensively planted in Hawaii, Panama, Porto Rico, and 

 the Philippines." (Fairfihild.) 



Distribution. — A tall-climbing vine, native of the woods of western tropical Africa, 

 •extending from Guinea through the Kongo region and into Portuguese West Africa. 

 162 



