﻿28 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



39859. Loroma amethystina O. F. Cook. Phcenicaceoe. Palm. 

 From Santa Barbara, Cal. Presented by Mr. C. B. Hale, through Mr. O. 

 F. Cook, of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Received February 3, 1915. 

 " Seeds of a palm that has proved to be well suited for outdoor planting in 

 California. It has been grown under several names, Ptycliospcrma el cyans, 

 Seaforthia elegans, ArchontopJwenix alexandrae, and Archontophocnix cun- 

 ningliamiana. But after a study of the original descriptions of these genera 

 and species, the California palm does not appear to be referable to any of them, 

 and has to be described as new. A preliminary' account is being published in 

 the Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, with the name Loroma 

 amethystina. Although the species is well known in California and is un- 

 doubtedly available through dealers under the different names, it may be worth 

 while to make at least a limited distribution of seedlings from the original 

 tree on which the new genus and species are being based. The type individual 

 is in the collection of Mr. C. B. Hale, under the care of Mr. W. H. Morse. The 

 palm is larger and has longer and more spreading leaves than the true Ptycho- 

 spcrma or Seaforthia elegans [S. P. I. No. 38112]. On the other hand, it is a 

 smaller palm than the true ArchontopJwenix alexandrae. It may be worth 

 while to have a considerable planting of this palm made at the new Miami 

 garden, in order to test its adaptability to the local conditions. On account of 

 the former confusion of names, we do not know whether the reports that have 

 been made regarding the behavior of Seaforthia and Ptycliospcrma in Florida 

 relate to this palm or to others." (Cook.) 



39860 and 39861. 



From Jamaica Plain, Mass. Presented by the Arnold Arboretum. Re- 

 ceived February 3, 1915. 



39860. Abies sachalinensis nemorensis Mayr. Pinaceae. 



Sachalin fir. 



Wilson No. 7869. 



The species is described as " a tree 130 feet high, native of northern 

 Japan, Saghalien, etc., but so liable to injury by late spring frost in this 

 country as to be of no value. It has the nordmanniana arrangement of 

 leaf, but in the forward-pointing leaves, which are three-fourths to 1£ 

 inches long and very white beneath, it resembles A. veitchii; buds white, 

 resinous. Cones 2* to 3^ inches long. Introduced in 187S by Maries for 

 Messrs. Veitch. I saw a tree about 16 feet high at Murthly Castle, near 

 Perth, in 1906, but even there not in the best of health." (W. J. Bean> 

 Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles, vol. 1, p. 111.) 



39861. Taxus cuspidata Sieb. and Zucc. Taxacese. Yew. 

 Wilson No. 7778. 



"A tree 40 to 50 feet high in Japan, with a trunk girthing about 6 

 feet ; in cultivation a low tree or spreading shrub ; older bark reddish 

 brown. Leaves one-half to 1 inch long, one-twelfth to one-eighth inch 

 wide; linear, tapered rather abruptly at the apex to a fine point; 

 rounded, and with a distinct stalk at the base one-twelfth inch long; 

 dark green above, w T ith a broad, tawny yellow strip composed of 10 to 12 

 stomatic lines on each side of the green midrib beneath. The leaves are 

 arranged approximately in two ranks, and stand more or less erect from 

 the twig, often forming a narrow V-shaped trough. Fruit red, as in 

 T. baccata. 



