OCTOBER 1 TO DECEMBEE 31, 1923 



15 



58393 to 58396 — Continued. 



58393. Anemone demissa Hook. f. and Thorns. 

 Ranunculacese. 



(Saba. September, 1923.) A lovely alpine 

 plant common in limestone soil on all of the moun- 

 tain meadows of the Likiang Snow Range at 

 altitudes of 11,000 to 13,000 feet and higher. The 

 leaves are in basal rosettes, and the large white 

 flowers are in many-flowered umbels. 



58394. Castanopsis delavayi Franc h. 

 Fagacese. 



(Xo. 10798. September, 1923.) A semidecidu- 

 ous tree 50 to 70 feet tall, with a trunk 4 to 6 feet 

 in diameter, which grows on a limestone range 

 north of Likiang at an altitude of 8,200 feet. It 

 is also quite common on the Yangtze north of 

 Likiang at Tungshan, Shiku, and Hgaza. The 

 glaucous, glabrous leaves are serrate on the upper 

 halves. The fruits are borne in axillary spikes, 

 with 10 to 20 in each spike, and the burs are 

 covered with concentric bands bearing short 

 sharp spines. The fruits are small, with a single 

 ovate to conical nut about half an inch long, in- 

 closing a sweet, edible kernel. This is one of the 

 finest "and hardiest timber trees of this region. 



58395. INCAEVILLEA GEANDIFLORA BEEVIPES 



Sprague. Bignoniaceae. 



(No. 8991. Saba. September, 1923.) A stem- 

 less plant found in limestone soil on all of the 

 mountain meadows of the Likiang Snow Range 

 at altitudes of 9,500 to 12,000 feet, where it is the 

 first to flower in early spring. Tbe dark-green 

 glossy leaves are lyrate and pinnately cut, and 

 the large flowers, 2 to 3 inches across, are deep 

 magenta purple with 3-ellow throats. 



58396. Meconopsis eudis Piain. Papaveracese. 



(No. 9840. September, 1923.) A plant 1 or 2 

 feet tall which thrives in loose limestone gravel, 

 in company with Meconopsis integrifolia, on the 

 Likiang Snow Range at an altitude of about 

 13,000 feet. 



58397. Lespedeza steiata (Thunb.) 

 Hook, and Arn. Fabacese. 



Numbered December, 1923. 



In 1919 J. B. Norton visited Japan as an agricul- 

 tural explorer of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. Among the seeds he brought back 

 were those of a strain of Lespedeza striata collected 

 near the city of Kobe. This strain proved to be an 

 unusually strong grower and in tests at Hartsville, 

 S. C, has outgrown both the common lespedeza 

 (L. striata) of the South and the newly introduced 

 Korean lespedeza (L. stipulacea). At Arlington 

 Experiment Farm, Rosslyn, Va., the growth of the 

 Kobe and of the Korean varieties has been about 

 the same, but the former makes a finer, more leafy 

 growth and is therefore probably the better forage 

 crop. 



The Kobe lespedeza does not seed as early as the 

 Korean and at Arlington farm has made a smaller 

 seed crop than the latter. It will therefore probably 

 not reproduce in the North. In habit, leaf shape, 

 and size the Kobe strain is just like the common 

 lespedeza, but it grows to a larger size. .(.4. J. 

 Pieters, Bureau of Plant Industry.) 



58398 to 58402. 



ulaceae. 



From Yunnan, China. Seeds collected by J. F. 

 Rock, National Geographic Society, "Washington, 

 D. C. Received December 3, 1923. Notes by 

 Mr. Rock. 



58398. Peimula bulleyana Forrest. 



(No. 8988. Heshwe. September. 1923.) A 

 very striking species 2 to 3 feet high, found only 

 in boggy meadows at Heshwe, on the eastern 

 slope of the Likiang Snow Range, at an altitude 

 of about 11,000 feet. The deep reddish orange 

 flowers, brownish crimson in bud, are slightly 

 fragrant. 



Primula spp. Prini- 



58398 to 58402— Continued. 



58399. Primula poissoni Franch. 



(September, 1923.) One of the hardiest prim- 

 roses from this region; it is confined to swampy 

 meadows or even to the gravelly beds of shallow 

 brooks on the Likiang Snow Range at altitudes 

 of 8,000 to 10,000 feet. The flowers, with crimson- 

 lake corollas and yellow throats, are in candela- 

 bralike spikes. 



58400. Peimula pulchella Franch. 



(No. 8682. Saba. September, 1923.) A hand- 

 some primrose growing in limestone soil in rather 

 moist meadows on the eastern slopes of the Li- 

 kiang Snow Range at an altitude of 11,000 feet. 

 The lanceolate leaves are yellowish beneath, and 

 the large flowers are bluish purple. 



58401. Peimula sinopuepueea Balf. f. 



(September, 1923.) A very ornamental species 

 about 2 feet in height, found in moist meadows 

 on the western slopes of the Likiang Snow Range 

 at an altitude of 13,000 feet or more. The linear 

 leaves are bright green above and golden yellow 

 beneath, and the purplish red flowers are borne 

 in dense umbels. The flowers appear in May 

 and June and the fruits in early September. 



58402. Peimula vinccfloka Franch. 



(No. 8394. September, 1923.) A plant about 

 15 inches high which loves moist meadows and 

 shady situations on the edges of fir and spruce 

 forests on the eastern slopes of the Likiang Snow 

 Range at an altitude of about 12,000 feet. The 

 leaves are elliptical and dull green, and the large 

 flowers, resembling those of Yinca, are a deep 

 indigo blue.g 



58403 and 58404. 



From Para, Brazil. Seeds presented by Godfrey 

 Davidson. Received December 13, 1923. Notes 

 by Mr. Davidson. 



58403. Aeistolockia sp. Aristolochiacese 

 This appears to be a new species % 



58404. Nymphaea sp. Nymphseacea?. 



Waterl ily. 



A very attractive water lily; the flowers are 

 white, shaded with pink, and delightfully fra- 

 grant. 



58405. Primula sino-denticulata 

 Balf. f. Primiilaee£e. 



From Yunnan, China. Seeds collected by J. F. 

 Rock, National Geographic Society, Washington, 

 D. C. Received December 7, 1923. 



(No. 9617. September, 1923.) One of the earliest 

 primroses of this vicinity, flowering in February on 

 dry grassy slopes of the Likiang Snow Range at 

 altitudes of 7,000 to 11,000 feet. It is likewise dis- 

 tributed from the Tengyueh Mountains to north 

 of Likiang and beyond the Yangtze on Haba Shan. 

 The flowers, in dense globose heads, are deep blue 

 with a slight purplish tinge. (Eock.)i 



58406. Cucumis sp. Cucurbitaceae. 



From Manila, Philippine Islands. Seeds pre- 

 sented by P. J. Wester, Bureau of Agriculture. 

 Received December 12. 1923. £ 



Kondol-nak. I collected these seeds on a recent 

 trip to Tanjay, island of Negros. The fruits are 

 like miniature watermelons in shape and color, 

 averaging 5 centimeters (2 inches) in length. The 

 flesh is edible, though of little value, but the plant 

 might be serviceable for plant breeders who are 

 working to get wilt-resistant cucumbers and water- 

 melons. The fruits remain in good condition on 

 the vines for some weeks and so may be of orna- 

 mental value in Florida. (Wester.) 



