50 SEEDS A^D PLANTS IMPORTED. 



55490 and 55491. Lentilla lens (L.) W. F. Wight. Fabacese. 

 (Lens esculenta Moencli.) Lentil. 



From Malaga, Spain. Seeds presented by Sr. Luis Liro Ortiz, Ingeniero 

 de la SecciOn Agronomica Malaga, through Gaston Smith, American 

 consul. Received June 12, 1922. 



55490. From Arevalo, Province of Avila. 



55491. From the Province of Salamanca. / 



55492. Dioscoeea alata L. Dioscoreacese. Greater yam. 



From the Bahama Islands. Tuber collected at New York by Federal Hor- 

 ticultural Board inspectors. Received June 8, 1922. 



" Tuber of an unidentified variety of the greater yam for testing in Florida 

 and the Gulf region. The vine is four angled and prominently winged, with the 

 margins of the wings purplish. The central part of the young leaf has purplish 

 shading between the veins." (R. A. Young.) 



55493. Ilex PARAGUARiENSis St. Hil. Aquifoliaceae. Yerba mate. 



From Paris, France. Seeds purchased from Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co. Re- 

 ceived June 7, 1922. 



For previous introduction and description, see S. P. I. No. 55489. 



55494. Rtjmex tuberosus L. Polygonacese. Sorrel. 



From Algiers, Algeria. Seeds presented by Dr. L. Trabut. Received June 

 2, 1922. 



"A very good sorrel from the Atlas region of Algeria." {Trabut.) 



" The leaves are often used as a vegetable." (Dragendorff, Die Heilpflanzoi, 

 p. 190.) 



55495. Severinia buxifolia (Poir.) Ten. Eutacese. 



(Atalantia buxifolia Oliver.) 



From Buitenzorg, Java. Seeds presented by the director of the Botanic 

 Garden. Received June 5, 1922. 



A much-branched thorny shrub which is not uncommon in southern China 

 and French Indo-China ; it has oval, shiny green leaves, axillary clusters of 

 small white flowers, and small berrylike fruits which become very dark red or 

 nearly black. In Louisiana this handsome shrub has proved useful for hedges, 

 especially the forms which have thorns 2 or 3 inches long; furthermore, it is 

 easily propagated from cuttings. Experiments have shown that Severinia can 

 withstand unusually large amounts of salt in the soil, and it may prove of 

 interest for citrus fruits in regions having alkali in the soil or salty irrigation 

 water. (Adapted from Sivingle, Journal of the Washington Academy of 

 Sciences, vol. 6, p. 651.) 



55496. Garcinia mangostana L. Clusiaceae. Mangosteen. 



From Peradeniya, Ceylon. Plants presented by Dr. F. A. Stockdale, Di- 

 rector of Agriculture for Ceylon, through Mrs. Arthur Curtis James. 

 Received June 5, 1922. 



" In the hope of establishing the mangosteen in our tropical dependencies, 

 many importations of seeds and plants have been made during the last 20 years. 

 Indeed, the office has made it a point never to miss an opportunity to secure 

 new stock, whether in the form of a shipment of seeds by parcel post or a 

 wardian case of young plants which some traveler returning from the East 

 has generously volunteered to bring home. This lot of plants which Mrs. Arthur 

 Curtis James secured from the Botanic Garden at Peradeniya, Ceylon, and 

 which she has carefully brought with her on the deck of the yacht Aloha, was 

 presented by Dr. F. A. Stockdale, Director of Agriculture for Ceylon." (Wilson 

 Popenoe.) 



For description of the mangosteen, see S. P. I. No. 51465. 



