﻿OCTOBER 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1915. 13 



41316 to 41341— Continued. (Quoted notes by Mr. O. F. Cook.) 



other leguminous trees ; but in the tara the small size of the seeds makes 

 it difficult to extract the edible material, which is also rather tough and 

 tasteless. 



"A few trees of tara or a related species were seen about Lima, but they 

 were much less upright than those about Urubamba. If the trees should 

 behave in this manner in California it would be much less desirable for 

 the purposes considered above. The tara about Lima, however, may be 

 a different variety. It was noticed that the pods offered in the market 

 were broader than those of the trees of the interior valleys." 



For an illustration of the tara, see Plate I. 



41324. Escallonia sp. Escalloniacese. Tasta. 

 "(No. 1827. Seeds from Pinasniocj, Peru, July 14, 1915.) A fine- 

 leaved tree, comparable to the boxwood in foliage, but with 'horizontal 

 branches and a more open habit of growth, which often produces an 

 artistic effect like some of the dwarfed Chinese evergreens. The ap- 

 pearance is also somewhat similar to that of the chachacoma (Escal- 

 lonia resinosa, S. P. I. No. 41326), but the foliage is much finer and of 

 a dark and more shining green. Like the chachacoma, the tree will 

 endure cutting back to any extent, and the new crown soon takes a 

 graceful rounded shape. This may render the tasta very useful for 

 ornamental planting in situations where space is limited, and it should 

 also serve well as a hedge plant. Old trees have deep-red heartwood of 

 the same texture and appearance as the wood of chachacoma, and. are said 

 to be used in the same way. The form of the fruits also suggests affinity 

 with that tree, and the habit of growth is similar, but the flowers are 

 solitary instead of clustered. The color of the flowers is said to be 

 white, as in chachacoma. The leaves of young vigorous shoots are much 

 larger than those of mature branches and are distinctly dentate. Like 

 chachacoma the tree may be rooted from cuttings and layered branches. 

 It ascends to higher elevations than chachacoma and may be expected to 

 have greater resistance to cold, but less resistance to heat. It may 

 thrive along the California coast as far north as San Francisco and 

 might become popular as an ornamental or hedge plant." 



41325. Hesperomeles oblonga Lindley. Malacea?. Leng-IL 

 "(No. 1874. Dried fruits from Pinasniocj, Peru, July 14, 1915.) A 



tree growing at altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet, found in the valleys 

 of the two streams tributary to the Urubamba River, on the stream 

 that enters at Ollantaytambo and the other the stream that comes down 

 from the Panticalla Pass a few miles below Ollantaytambo. On the 

 other side of the pass in the upper part of the Lucumayo Valley the 

 lengli appears to be absent. In unfavorable places where the trees re- 

 main stunted they have an appearance somewhat like our thorn-apple 

 or hawthorn, but in some of the sheltered ravines and reforested ter- 

 races where the conditions are more favorable the lengli trees attain a 

 height of 30 to 40 feet, with trunks 1 to 2 feet in diameter having a 

 very attractive appearance. The foliage is very fine, the leaves being 

 of a very regular elliptical shape with slightly dentate margins. The 

 upper surface is of a fresh deep-green color with neatly impressed veins, 

 while the lower surface has a warm reddish brown tomentum, afford- 

 ing a very pleasing contrast. The fruit clusters give a festive appear- 

 ance like holly, the mature berries being deeply and richly colored. 

 They begin by changing from green through various shades of pink to 



