2 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED 



(C. delavayi; No. 58394) is described as one of the finest and hardiest timber 

 trees of its region, and it bears in addition a sweet edible nut. 



The Chilean strawberry {Fragaria chiloensis; Xo. 58024), of which several 

 earlier introductions have been made by this office, is proving of much interest- 

 to plant breeders in the United States, who are using it to cross with North Ameri- 

 can strawberries in the hope of producing new forms having their excellent color 

 and flavor combined with the firm texture of the Chilean berry. 



Agati tomentosa (Xo. 58377;, received from the Hawaiian Islands through C. S. 

 Judd, should be especially interesting for trial in the Southern States where 

 Sesbania macrocarpa succeeds. If it is as palatable to stock as Mr. Judd's note 

 indicates and should prove as resistant to nematodes as is S. macrocarpa in the 

 South, it may prove to be quite worth while. 



An unusually large number of promising tropical fruits have been received 

 during the period covered by this inventory. The marang {Artocarpus odoratis- 

 sima; X~o. 58025), which P. J. Wester considers a fruit of unusual promise, has 

 again been introduced for trial in the American Tropics. A new lot of mango- 

 steen seeds {Garcinia mangostana; Xo. 58027), supplied through Vilmorin- 

 Andrieux & Co., of Paris, will be used to provide plants for establishing small 

 orchards of this excellent fruit in the Canal Zone and other parts of tropical 

 America where a few scattered tests have shown that it can be cultivated with 

 success. The ilama of Mexico {Annona diversifolia) has fruited at the United 

 States Plant Introduction Garden, Miami, Fla., from seeds introduced by this 

 office several years ago. Its behavior indicates that it may prove a valuable acqui- 

 sition for southern Florida; plants grown from the seed presented by Dr. C. A. 

 Purpus (Xos. 58030 and 58408) will therefore be used to test this species further 

 in the warmest parts of that State. Mango growers in Florida and the American 

 Tropics generally should devote special attention to the Carabao variety {Man- 

 gifera indica; No. 58031), which has proved to be a more dependable bearer than 

 most of the Indian sorts at the Miami garden and is at the same time a fruit of 

 excellent quality. The wild avocado of Costa Rica, which may possibly be an 

 ancestor of some of the cultivated avocados, was originally introduced by this 

 office in 1920 for trial as a stock on which to graft the cultivated plants. Though 

 preliminary tests indicate that it may not prove suitable for this purpose, it has 

 seemed advisable to procure an additional lot of seed {Per sea americana; Xo. 

 58365) in order to test the matter thoroughly. The Winslowson avocado {Persea 

 americana: No. 58444), a seedling grown at the garden at Miami, has been 

 planted commercially in a number of Florida orchards, where it is proving valu- 

 able because of its vigor, its productiveness, its late season of ripening, and the 

 good quality of its fruit. The langsat {Lansium domesticum; Xo. 58382) is prob- 

 ably too tropical in its requirements for cultivation anywhere in the conti- 

 nental United States, but it should succeed in the Canal Zone, Porto Rico, and 

 elsewhere in the American Tropics. 



The director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, England, has sent a number 

 of promising ornamental plants, including seven Cotoneasters (Xos. 58145 to 

 58151), one Cornus (No. 58144), and one Hydrangea (Xo. 58152). The American 

 consul at Teheran, Persia, has sent seeds of the best Persian tobacco {Xicotiana 

 tabacum: Xo. 58029). A variety of sugar cane {Saccharum officinarum) , con- 

 sidered by the director of the Insular Experiment Station, Porto Rico, the most 

 valuable seedling at present planted on the island, is represented by Xo. 58034. 

 S. K. Mitra. economic botanist to the Government of Assam, sends a broomcorn 

 mutant {Holcus sorghum; X'o. 58129) which will be tested in this country with 

 interest. Eremochloa ophiuroides (Xo. 58389) is being tried as a lawn grass. 

 Tests with earlier introductions of this grass have shown that it is suited for 

 this purpose in Florida and the Gulf coast area of the Southern States. Varietal 

 differences have been observed and further introductions may give better 

 adapted or more valuable strains. A valuable strain of Lespedeza striata ''Xo. 

 58397), originally collected by J. B. Xorton in 1919 near Kobe, Japan, has been 

 numbered, so that its history 'will become a matter of record. Its strong-growing 

 qualitv makes it superior to common lespedeza. 



The botanical determinations of these introductions have been made and the 

 nomenclature determined bv H. C. Skeels, and the descriptive matter has been 

 prepared under the direction of Paul Russell, who has had general supervision of 

 ■this inventory. 



Roland McKee, 

 Acting Senior Agricultural Explorer in Charge. 



Office of Foreign Plant Introduction, 



Washington, D. C, January 7, 1926. 



