APRIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1922. 17 



55047 and 55048. Zea mays L. Poaceae. Corn. 



From Prague, Czechoslovakia. Seeds presented by Basil Benzin. Re- 

 ceived April 19, 1922. Quoted notes by Mr. Benzin. 



Native Czechoslovakian varieties of corn, introduced for cultural and breed- 

 ing experiments. 



55047. " Bankutka. A flint variety derived from dent corn by selection, 

 1917-1921, Levice, Czechoslovakia." 



55048. " Florentinka. An extra early variety of flint corn, Levice, 

 Czechoslovakia." 



55049. Cassia sp. Csesalpiniaceae. 



From Szemao, Yunnan, China. Seed collected by J. F. Rock, Agricultural 

 Explorer of the United States Department of Agriculture. Received May 

 4, 1922. 



"(No. 2827. Szemao, Yunnan. March 11, 1922.) A deciduous tree 40 to 50 

 feet in height, found in the foothills of Szemao at an altitude of 5,000 feet. 

 During March the tree is one mass of large, deep-pink flowers which are 2 

 inches wide and borne in short racemes all along the branches. It is a most 

 striking tree and can be seen from quite a distance. It is very different from 

 Cassia nodosa, which is evergreen, and from G. bakeriana, which occurs in 

 northern Siam." (Rock.) 



55050. Eranthemum purpureum Hort. Acanthaceae. 



From Manila, Philippine Islands. Cuttings presented by P. J. Wester, 

 agricultural adviser, Bureau of Agriculture. Received April 19, 1922. 



"A plant with variegated, mostly purplish foliage, grown on the Moro graves 

 in Lanao. The flowers are whitish and inconspicuous. It could probably be 

 used as a bedding plant as far north as Washington or possibly New York." 

 ( Wester. ) 



" No place of publication has been found. It may be Odontonema nitidum 

 Kuntze. To be grown for identification." (H. C. Skeels.) 



55051 and 55052. 



From Cuzco, Peru. Seeds presented by Prof. Fortunato L. Herrera. Re- 

 ceived April 17, 1922. 



55051. Chenopodium quinoa Willd. Chenopodiacese. Quinoa. 



" One of the plants cultivated by the native inhabitants of the high- 

 lands of Peru and Bolivia is a species of Chenopodium (0. quinoa), 

 and so far as foliage is concerned it is not very unlike our ordinary 

 ' goosef oot ' in general appearance. Its seeds, however, are white, or 

 nearly so, and fully three times as large as those of C. album. In pre- 

 Columbian times this plant was one of the main foods of the Indians, 

 evidently ranking with the potato and corn in this respect. None of the 

 Old World cereals being known before the discovery, it was only natural 

 that the cultivation of this plant should have extended over a consider- 

 able area. In addition to Peru and Bolivia it was probably grown in 

 some parts of Argentina and is known with certainty to have been 

 cultivated in Chile; in fact, there even appears to have been an 

 Araucanian or Mapuche name for it. Doubtless its cultivation at the 

 present time is less extensive than formerly, due in part to the dimin- 

 ished Indian population and in part to an apparent ignorance or in- 

 difference on the part of the white population to its real merits as a 

 food. At present it is probably most commonly grown on the Titicaca 

 plateau. It is said to yield abundantly, though it does not seem to have 

 occurred to anyone to measure the yield of a given area. In late April 

 and May some of the fields are red with compact panicles, for this seems 

 the only part of the plant visible from a short distance. Other fields 

 have a greenish cast, there being two or possibly more varieties. On 

 the island of Chiloe, southern Chile, the plant grows taller than any 

 seen about Lake Titicaca, and the foliage is more abundant, though 



