﻿16 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



cover a trellis 20 feet long and 10 feet high in two or three years. The flavor 

 of the fruits is very sweet and pleasant, reminding one of figs. They are 

 about the size of damson plums, have very thin skins, and are filled with 

 extremely small seeds. A climbing plant which deserves the widest distribu- 

 tion." (Favrchild.) 



45242 to 45245. 



From Honolulu, Hawaii. Seeds presented by Mr. J. F. Rock, botanist, 

 College of Hawaii. Received October 19, 1917. 



45242. Hibiscadelphus giffardianus Rock. Malvaceae. 



" The Hau kuaJiAici is a remarkable tree. At first appearance one 

 would think it to be the common Hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus), but at closer 

 inspection one can not but wonder at the most peculiar shape of the 

 deep magenta flowers and the large yellow tuberculate capsules. It is a 

 rather low tree, with not erect but rather inclining trunk a foot in 

 diameter, with a many-branched round crown. It differs from the 

 genus Hibiscus in its very peculiar flowers [which are curved and con- 

 voluted] and mainly in the calyx, which is not persistent with the 

 capsules but drops together with the bracts as soon as the capsules are 

 formed." (Rock.) 



45243. Hibiscadelphus hualalaiensis Rock. Malvaceae. 



A tree, 16 to 23 feet high, with erect trunk, white bark, somewhat reni- 

 form leaves, and small ovate capsules. It belongs to the almost-extinct 

 genus Hibiscadelphus, of the three species of which two are represented 

 by a single tree each and the present one by a dozen or so living trees. 

 Seedlings of all the species are growing, however, in various Hawaiian 

 gardens. 



This exceedingly interesting and distinct species was found by the 

 writer in the year 1909 on the lava fields of Mount Hualalai, in North 

 Kona, Hawaii, and in the forest of Waihou of the same district, where 

 about a dozen trees are still in existence. The writer revisited the above 

 locality in March, 1912, and found the trees in flower, while on his 

 previous visit, June 18, 1909, only a few worm-eaten capsules could be 

 found. The trees are badly attacked by several species of moths which 

 feed on the leaves and mature capsules. Mr. Gerrit Wilder, however, 

 succeeded in growing a few plants from healthy seeds collected by the 

 writer. (Adapted from Rock, Indigenous Trees of the Hawaiian 

 Islands, p. 301.) 



45244. Pittospobum hosmeei longifolium Rock. Pittosporacese. 



The variety differs from the species in that the leaves are very much 

 longer and the capsules are smaller. The tree is quite common at 

 Kapua, South Kona, Hawaii, on the lava flows, and occurs also at 

 Kilauea and Hualalai, but does not reach such a height and s : ze as at. 

 Puuwaawaa. The trees of the latter locality are loaded with fruit 

 during June and July, while those of Kapua bear mature fruit during 

 the month of February. However, the fruiting season of these, like 

 nearly all the other Hawaiian trees, can not be relied upon. The fruits 

 of Pittosporum hosmeri and variety are a source of food for the native 

 crow, which pecks open the large woody capsules and feeds on the oily 

 seeds within. (Adapted from Rock, Indigenous Trees of the Hawaiian 

 Islands, p. 161.) 



