JULY 1 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1940 7 



137945 to 138007— Continued 



cluster, green, with watermelon stripes when immature but bright red when 

 ripe. The seeds are small, numerous, white, and tick-shaped. 



137975. Melothria sp. 



No. 3443. From Donggala, Celebes, April 5, 1940. An ornamental climb- 

 ing vine, with tendril bearing fuzzy, palmate, five-lobed leaves, and attrac- 

 tive bright-red fruits IVz inches long and V% inch in diameter. The small, 

 greenish-yellow, flattened seeds resemble ticks and are surrounded by 

 cream-colored pulp. 



137976. Murraya paniculata (L.) Jack. Rutaceae. 



No. 230. Plants collected on Lembek Island, Minahassee, Celebes, Febru- 

 ary 18, 1940. An attractive shrub with dark shiny leaves and fragrant 

 white flowers resembling orange blossoms. 



For previous introduction see 115888. 



137977. Musa sp. Musaceae. 



No. 3406. From Kebon, Kepi, Celebes, March 20, 1940. A tall banana 

 up to 15 feet in height, of stoloniferous habit, with the trunk 8 inches in 

 diameter at the base, and with leaves up to 10 feet long, with a strong 

 purplish cast on the under side. The fruits resemble those of Musa errans, 

 but the bunch hangs down almost vertically, and is compactly arranged 

 much as in Gros Michel. The fruit is thin-skinned, with sparse, creamy pulp 

 filled with flattened, round, irregular seeds. 



137978. Musa sp. 



No. 3407. From Kebon, Kepi, Celebes, March 20, 1940. A tall banana 

 up to 15 feet, with a stout stem 12 inches in basal diameter, the stalk and 

 petiole washed with mahogany brown. The leaves are broader than those of 

 most bananas, and the flower bracts are creamy white. The short, sticky, 

 thick-skinned fruit has a rather long neck, and the stalk hangs down nearly 

 vertically with the fruits standing out almost at right angles. The orange- 

 colored flesh is filled with very numerous, flattened, round, irregular seeds. 

 There are 12 to 20 hands per stalk (stem) and 8 to 15 fruits in a hand. 



137979. Phaeomeria speciosa (Blume) Koord. Zingiberaceae. 



No. 281. Hondje. Fruit bought on the market at Buitenzorg, Java, April 

 7, 1940. A very striking species from Java, with great pinnate leaves rising 

 from the ground to a height of 12 feet; the leaflets are about 2 feet long. 

 The under surface of the leaflets is a lovely bronze-claret color, making 

 the plant, when seen against the sunlight, a wonderfully beautiful thing. 

 It is usually propagated by rhizome cuttings. 



For previous introduction see 93316. 



137980. Phaeomeria sp. 



No. 3436. Lotus Blossom Ginger. From Koro River, Gimpoe, Celebes, 

 April 3, 1940. A beautiful flowering plant, with light-green leaves 2 feet 

 long, 5 inches broad, alternate on a stalk reaching 12 feet high. The flowers 

 arise from the rhizome underground, with the first petals very broad, pink, 

 waxy, tipped with a red beak; later a head emerges composed of numerous 

 watermelon-pink bracts tipped with white and is in the shape of a rounded 

 cone. The individual flowers at the base of the bract open in rows and are 

 tipped with very dark red. The black seeds, enclosed in a rounded fruit 

 about 1^4 inches in diameter, are embedded in a sour, edible pulp. 



137981. Piper sp. Piperaceae. 



No. 3427. From Koelawi, Celebes, March 30, 1940. A creeping vine, with 

 dark-green, ovate-acuminate leaves 5 inches long, 2% inches broad; the 

 stem is angular-jointed, with creeping tendrils that adhere to surface of 

 tree trunk. Small oblong clusters of round red fruits, Vs inch in diameter, 

 are fairly thickly distributed along the cluster stem ; each fruit has a small 



