﻿40 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



45152 to 45155— Continued. 



flowers. The root is used medicinally as a diuretic and purgative; it 

 is bitter, but not of an unpleasant flavor. The fruit is said to be pickled 

 and eaten in Madras, and the flowers are also used as a food by some 

 of the hill tribes. (Adapted from Watt, Dictionary of Economic Prod- 

 ucts of India., vol. 6, p. 115.) 



45154. Phaeo'meria magnifica (Roscoe) Sebum. Zinziberacese. 

 (P. imperialis Lindl.) 



A perennial herb of large dimensions, reaching a height of 20 feet 

 when planted in a rich soil. The leaves are 1 to 2 feet long, lanceolate 

 or elliptic, the upper side green, the lower side reddish brown. Flowers 

 numerous, with large, bright scarlet and green bracts crowded in a 

 globose head. This species, originally from Mauritius, is sometimes 

 grown as a hothouse ornamental. (Adapted from Bailey, Standard 

 Cyclopedia of Horticulture, p. 1109.) 



Received as Elettaria speciosa, but now considered as belonging to the 

 genus Phaeomeria. 



45155. Psychoteia bactekiophila Talet. RubiaceEe. 



A shrub, 2 to 3 meters (7 to 10 feet) high, native of the Comoro 

 Islands, Madagascar. The elliptic or ovate-oblong, fleshy, dark-green 

 leaves are short petioled and usually thickly covered with little tubercles 

 formed by bacteria. The greenish white flowers are in numerous dense 

 thyrses up to 3 inches long, and the fruits are subglobular drupes about 

 one-quarter of an inch in diameter. (Adapted from Taleton, Icones 

 Bogorienses, vol. 3, plate 271.) 



45156. Litchi chinensis Sonner. Sapindacese. Lychee. 

 (A 'ephelium litchi Cambess.) 



From Canton, China. Seeds presented by Mr. Ung Wan. Received August 

 23, 1917. 

 " £ milling lychee." 



45157. Sapindus oahuensis Hillebr. Sapindacese. 



Hawaiian soap tree. 



From Kealia lands, Waianae Mountains, Oahu, Hawaii. Presented by Mr. 

 J. F. Rock, Honolulu. Received August 29, 1917. 

 A tree, 20 to 30 feet tall, remarkable in the genus for its simple leaves, 

 which never show any indication of division. It is found in the valleys of the 

 Kaala Range on the island of Oahu, where it is conspicuous from a distance 

 because of its pale foliage. The flesh of the shiny fruits is full of saponin 

 and forms a strong lather when beaten up in water. (Adapted from Hille- 

 brand, Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, p. 85.) 



45158 and 45159. 



From Calcutta, India. Presented by Mr. C. C. Calder, Royal Botanic 

 Garden. Received August 31, 1917. 

 45158. Blumea myriocephala DC. Asteracea?. 



"(From Kalighora, at 1,000 feet elevation, March 5, 1917.)" 

 A shrubby composite, with stems a^ thick as the forefinger and very 

 stout branches ; native of the Sikkim Himalayas east to Burma. Flower 

 heads very numerous, one-fourth to one-third of an inch long, clustered in 

 pyramidal panicles. (Adapted from Hooker, Flora of British India, 

 vol. 3, p. 268.) 



