INVENTORY 1 



58024. Fragaria chiloensis (L.) 

 Duchesne. Rosacea^. 



Chilean strawberry. 



From Honolulu, Hawaii. Seeds presented by Dr. 

 H. L. Lyon, in charge, Department of Botany 

 and Forestry, Experiment Station of the Sugar 

 Planters' Association. Received October 1, 1923 



Seeds sent to Doctor Lyon from Ecuador by, 

 Francis X. Williams. 



Although the fruit of the Chilean strawberry is 

 inferior in flavor to that of our best cultivated 

 strawberries, it is remarkable for its excellent ship- 

 ping and keeping qualities, and it seems that 

 varieties might be produced by selection that would 

 merit cultivation on a commercial scale. The berry 

 is much used for canning and preserving and is also 

 eaten fresh. The ripening season of Fragaria 

 chiloensis in the highlands of southern Peru and 

 central Chile extends approximately from the latter 

 part of October to January. 



For previous introduction see S. P. I. No. 56023. 



58025. Artocarptjs 

 Blanco. Moracese. 



ODORATISSIMA 



Marang. 



From Manila, Philippine Islands. Seeds pre- 

 sented by Adn. Hernandez, director, Bureau of 

 Agriculture. Received October 3, 1923. 



The marang has been brought recently to the 

 attention of horticulturists by P. J. Wester, who 

 considers it a fruit of unusual promise. It resem- 

 bles the jack fruit and the seeded breadfruit in 

 appearance but is superior in quality to either of 

 these. The tree, which grows wild in the southern 

 Philippine Islands and the Sulu Archipelago, is 

 medium sized, with large dark-green entire or 

 3-lobed leaves 18 to 24 inches long. Wester (Food 

 Plants of the Philippines, ed. 3, p. 129) describes 

 the fruit as roundish oblong in form, about 5 inches 

 in length, with the surface thickly studded with 

 soft greenish yellow spines one-third of an inch 

 long. The rind is thick and fleshy, the flesh white, 

 sweet, juicy, aromatic, and of pleasant flavor; it is 

 separated into segments (about the size of a grape) 

 which cling to the core, and each segment contains 

 a whitish seed nearly half an inch long. When the 

 fruit is ripe, by passing a knife around and through 

 the rind, with a little care the halves may be sep- 

 arated from the flesh, leaving this like a bunch of 

 white grapes. In the Philippines it ripens in 

 August. 



The tree is strictly tropical in its requirements 

 and probably will not succeed in regions where the 

 temperature falls below 32° to 35° F. It h'kes a 

 moist atmosphere and abundant rainfall. 



For previous introduction see S. P. I. No. 46635. I 



58026. Cucumis melo L. Cucurbi- 

 tacese. Melon. 



From Bareilly, United Provinces, India. Seeds 

 presented by Rev. N. L. Rockey. Received Oc- 

 tober 3, 1923. 



Seeds of a melon bbught in Alighur but evidently 

 imported from the borders of Afghanistan or Balu- 

 chistan. The native name is Zarda. The fruit was 

 yellowish green, weighed 5J4 pounds, and the flesh 

 was 1% inches thick. (Rockey.) 



The culture of the superior kinds of melon requires 

 considerable attention, but there is hardly a fruit 

 that better deserves it. The kind which ranks as 

 finest of all, called the Surdah, is a native of Kabul 

 and has not, that I am aware, been cultivated with 

 success in any part of India. The fruits are brought 

 occasionally to the Punjab for the wealthy natives, 

 and a friend told me that when at Mooltan an offer 

 of 6 rupees which he made for a single one was re- 

 fused, so highly are they prized. I have several 

 times raised plants in my garden at Firozpur. They 

 throve moderately well but bore only one or two 

 fruits, which always rotted on the under side before 

 beginning to ripen. From a portion of one which 

 remained partially sound I was enabled to discover 

 how delicious this fruit must be when raised in per- 

 fection. The seeds of this kind are at once to be 

 distinguished from those of any other, being fully 

 four times larger. (Firminger's Manual of Garden- 

 ing, ed. 6, p. 225.) 



58027. Garcinia mangostana L. 

 Clusiacese. Mangosteen. 



From Paris, France. Seeds purchased from Vil- 

 morin-Andrieux & Co. Received October 4, 1923. 



For more than 20 years the Office of Foreign 

 Plant Introduction has been interested in the 

 establishment of the Asiatic mangosteen, reputed 

 to be the " queen of fruits," in the tropical American 

 dependencies of the United States. It was believed 

 for many years that the mangosteen could not be 

 made to bear fruit outside of the Asiatic tropics. 

 There is now a fruiting orchard of more than a 

 dozen trees on the island of Dominica in the West 

 Indies and another of nearly the same size near 

 Guayaquil, Ecuador. Fruit has also been produced 

 in Trinidad, Jamaica, and the Hawaiian Islands. 

 It is evident therefore that when given the proper 

 conditions of climate and soil and appropriate cul- 

 tural treatment the mangosteen can be grown suc- 

 cessfully in many regions. The seeds of this fruit 

 are among the most difficult in the world to trans- 

 port long distances. In 1922 it was found that seed 

 obtained through Vilmorin-Andrieux & Co., of 

 Paris, reached Washington in better condition than 

 any which had been received previously from any 

 source. 



For previous introduction see S. P. I. No. 56822 



1 It should be understood that the names of horticultural varieties of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and othe_ 

 plants used in this inventory are those under which the material was received when introduced by th 

 Office of Foreign Plant Introduction and, further, that the printing of such names here does not con e 

 stitute their official publication and adoption in this country. As the different varieties are studied,* 

 their entrance into the American trade forecast, and the use of varietal names for them in American 

 literature becomes necessary, the foreign varietal designations appearing in this inventory will be subject 

 to change with a view to bringing the forms of the names into harmony with recognized horticultural 

 nomenclature. 



It is a well-known fact that botanical descriptions, both technical and economic, seldom mention the 

 seeds and rarely describe them in such a way as to make possible identification from the seeds alone. Many 

 of the unusual plants listed in these inventories are appearing in this country for the first time, and there 

 are no seed samples or herbarium specimens with ripe seeds with which the new arrivals may be compared. 

 The only identification possible is to see that the sample received resembles seeds of other species of the 

 same genus or of related genera. The responsibility for the specific identifications therefore must neces- 

 sarily often rest with the person sending the material. If there is any question regarding the correctness 

 of the identification of any plant received from this office, herbarium specimens of leaves and flowers should 

 be sent in, so that definite identification can be made. 



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