﻿50 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



45956 to 45964— Continued. 



like spadices, produce orange-colored 1-seeded fruits. The wood is used; 

 for timber, and the seeds serve as a substitute for betel nuts. (Adapted 

 from Gardeners' Chronicle, June, 1870, p. 765.) 



45958. Dypsis madagascariensis W. Wats. Phoenicacese. Palm. 

 A graceful Madagascar palm, about 15 feet high, with leaves 10 feet 



long. The pinnate leaves, with 18-inch segments arranged in fascicles of 

 six or eight, seem to be arranged on the stem in threes, giving it a 

 triangular appearance. This arrangement of the leaves and the fascicled 

 arrangement of the leaflets is peculiar to the genus Dypsis, not being 

 found in any other pinnate-leaved palms. (Adapted from Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, new ser., vol. 24, p. 394.) 



45959. Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Phoenicacese. Oil palm. 

 The fleshy outer layer and the kernels of the fruit each yield a com- 

 mercial oil. Palm oil, that from the fleshy outer layer, is used in the 

 manufacture of soap and candles ; white or nut oil, that from the kernels r 

 is used for making margarine or artificial butter. Palm oil is an im- 

 portant food product which is utilized in Brazil by all classes of people. 

 (Adapted from note of Dorsett, Shamel, and Popenoe.) 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 45766. 



45960. Latania commersonii Gmel. Phcenicacese. Palm. 

 An unarmed palm from Mauritius, 40 feet high, having leaves with 



petioles 4 to 6 feet long, the fan-shaped blades being about 5 feet in 

 diameter and divided into lanceolate-acuminate segments 2 feet long by 

 3 inches wide. It is a particularly striking palm, the long, smooth petioles 

 and the ribs of the fanlike leaves being colored a bright crimson, which 

 is especially brilliant in the young foliage. (Adapted from Baker, Flora 

 of Mauritius and the Seychelles, p. 381.) 



45961. Oncosperma fasciculatum Thwaites. Phcenicacese. Palm. 

 A spiny palm, 40 feet or more in height and 6 inches in diameter. The 



leaves, 18 feet in length, are made up of lanceolate long-pointed leaflets 

 18 inches long by 2 inches broad. The paniculately branched spadix, 2 

 feet long, bears large numbers of black-purple fruits about half an inch 

 in diameter. This palm is a native of the Central Province of Ceylon, 

 where it grows from sea level to an altitude of 5,000 feet. (Adapted 

 from Hooker, Flora of British India, vol. 6, p. 415.) 



45962. Oncosperma filamentosum Blume. Phoenicacea?. Palm. 

 A stoloniferous palm with a trunk 30 to 40 feet high, armed with long 



black spines. The drooping pinnate leaves are 10 to 12 feet long, with 

 narrow acuminate, coriaceous leaflets 2 feet long. The pendulous red- 

 purple fruiting spadix is about 2 feet long and bears small globose fruits 

 one-third of an inch in diameter. This species is found in swamps in the 

 Malay Peninsula and also in Borneo and Cochin China. (Adapted from 

 Hooker, Flora of British India, vol. 6, p. 415.) 



45963. Dendrocalamus giganteus Munro. Poacese. Bamboo. 

 One of the largest of the bamboos, growing to a height of 100 feet, 



with a stem diameter of 8 inches, the stem walls being half an inch thick. 

 It is probably indigenous in the hills of Martaban and is cultivated in 

 Burma and also in most tropical countries. The stems are used for 

 posts and rafters and for piping water. (Adapted from Brandis, Indian 

 Trees, p. 678.) 



