﻿24 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



46080 to 46110— Continued. 



46099. Rubia cokdifolia L. Rubiacea?. Madder. 

 An herbaceous creeper with perennial roots, which is met with in the 



hilly districts of India from the northwestern Himalayas eastward and 

 southward to Ceylon. The Manjit root or East Indian madder is ob- 

 tained for the most part from this species and is much employed by the 

 natives of India for dyeing coarse cotton fabric or the threads from 

 which it is woven various shades of scarlet, coffee brown, or mauve. 

 The East Indian madder of commerce cons'sts of a short stalk from 

 which numerous cylindrical roots, about the size of a quill, diverge. 

 These are covered with a thin brownish pulp which peels off in flakes, 

 disclosing a red-brown bark marked by longitudinal furrows. Many 

 different methods are used for dyeing with this madder, a short account 

 of which may be found in Watt, Dictionary of the Economic Products of 

 India, from which this description is adapted. 

 For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 39656. 



46100. Sambucus adnata Wall. Caprifoliacese. Elder. 

 An ornamental perennial allied to the elderberry, with cymes of fra- 

 grant white flowers, 10 inches across, followed by bright-red fruits. 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 41596. 



46101. Sambucus javanica Reinw. Caprifotiacese. Elder. 

 " This is a very widely distributed species ranging from the Malayan 



Archipelago to central Japan and western China and also found in eastern 

 Africa. It is characterized by the slender-pediceled flowers, the presence 

 of conspicuous abortive flowers, and the very wide and loose inflorescence 

 with the longer rays subthyrsoid. It has red fruits and shows a tendency 

 to have the upper leaflets more or less adnate to the rachis and sometimes 

 decurrent." (Sargent, Plantae Wilsonianae, vol. 1, p. 307.) 

 For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 39671. 



46102. Saurauja napaulensis DC. Dilleniaceaa. 



A medium-sized tree found at altitudes of 5,000 to 7,000 feet in the 

 Himalayas. The young parts of the tree are covered with scurfy tomen- 

 tum mixed with brown scales. The leaves, 10 inches long and 4 inches 

 wide, are grouped at the ends of the branches and are oblong-elliptic in 

 outline with deeply serrate margins. The pink flowers, half an inch 

 across, occur in axillary panicles and are followed by green, edible, sweet 

 fruits with mealy flesh. (Adapted from Hooker, Flora of British India, 

 vol. 1, p. 286.) 



46103. Solanum khasianum C. B. Clarke. Solanacese. 



An herbaceous perennial from the Khasi Hills in India, with stout 

 stems densely covered with yellow hairs and having straight prickles two- 

 thirds of an inch long. The leaves, 7 inches long by 5 inches wide, are 

 deeply lobed, hirsute, and prickly on both surfaces. The flowers, nearly 

 an inch broad, are borne in lateral 1 to 4 flowered racemes, and the 

 globose fruits are an inch in diameter. (Adapted from Hooker, Flora of 

 British India, vol. 4, P- 2S4-) 



46104. Sorbus cuspidata (Spach) Hedl. Malaceae. 

 (Pyrus vestita Wall.) 



A deciduous tree which is a native of the eastern Himalayas and may 

 be found growing from Gurhwal to Sikkim, at altitudes between 9,000 



