﻿JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1916. 13 



41712 to 41717— Continued. 



is much like a turnip in shape and consistency and is easily peeled like 

 a turnip. It is usually eaten raw and may be prepared with oil and 

 vinegar in the form of a salad. According to Dr. Edward Palmer, it is 

 extensively cultivated in Mexico, where the natives pinch off the blossoms 

 and seed pods, giving as a reason that if the seeds are allowed to mature 

 the roots are not good. In Mexico the roots are much eaten raw, but are 

 also pickled, boiled in soup, and cooked as a vegetable. As they come 

 from the ground they are crisp, sweet, juicy, and of a nutty flavor. They 

 are nourishing and at the same time quench the thirst, so that they are 

 much liked by travelers. One way of preparing the raw roots is to cut 

 them in thin slices and sprinkle sugar over them. They may also be 

 boiled and prepared with batter in the form of fritters, and in Mexico 

 they are often minced or grated, and with the addition of sugar, milk, 

 eggs, and a few fig leaves for flavoring made into puddings." (Safford, 

 Useful Plants of Guam, p. 20Jf.) 



41713. Citrus aurantium L. Rutacese. Sour orange. 

 A small tree 6 to 9 meters in height, with a compact head, young shoots 



light green, thorny ; leaves unifoliate, evergreen, alternate, ovate, pointed, 

 strongly and peculiarly scented; petiole 12 to 18 millimeters long, broadly 

 winged; flowers in small, axillary cymes, white, strongly sweet scented, 

 somewhat larger than those of Citrus sinensis; fruit orange colored or 

 frequently reddish when well matured, inclined to be rough ; rind strongly 

 aromatic, bitter; pulp acid; juice sacs spindle shaped, rather small; seeds 

 flattened and wedged toward the micropylar end, marked with ridged 

 lines. Native of southeastern Asia, probably in Cochin China. Hardier 

 than the sweet orange. (Adapted from the Philippine Agricultural Re- 

 view, first quarter, 1915, p. 10, under Citrus vulgaris.) 



41714. Cttrus excelsa Wester. Rutacese. Limon-real. 

 A tall, thorny shrub of vigorous growth, straggly habit, and inter- 

 locking branches with stout, long, sharp thorns ; leaves 9.5 to 16 centi- 

 meters long, 4.5 to 7 centimeters wide, thick and leathery; petiole quite 

 broadly winged, in large leaves the wings frequently exceeding 2 centi- 

 meters in width ; flowers three to seven, in axillary, rather loose cymes, 

 36 millimeters in diameter ; petals showing a trace of purple on the out- 

 side ; fruit 5 to 7.3 centimeters, 5.5 to 7.5 centimeters in equatorial diam- 



- eter, weight 115 to 225 grams ; form subglobose ; base rounded ; apex 

 flattened; surface smooth, greenish to clear lemon yellow; skin thin; 

 pulp greenish to grayish, in good varieties very juicy, mildly acid, and 

 of excellent flavor ; juice cells long, slender, and pointed. Plant material 

 of the Union-real has been collected in Tarlac, Bontoc, and Bohol, and 

 the fruit is at rare intervals offered for sale in small quantities in Manila. 

 The name of the plant, royal lemon, indicates the esteem in which the 

 fruit is held by the people, and while it is unfortunately true that most 

 of the fruits tested have been too dry to be of any value, yet in the best 

 types the fruits surpass in quality and aroma all lemons and limes that 

 the writer has had the opportunity to sample. Considering the robust, 

 thorny growth, large leaves, and broad-winged petioles, together with the 

 roundish oblate fruit with its 10 to 14 locules, and the flowers with 34 Jto 

 35 stamens, as against the 20 to 26 in the lime and lemon, this plant is 

 apparently as distinct from these species as they are from each other. 

 (Adapted from the Philippine Agricultural Review, first quarter, 1915, 

 p. 26.) 



