14 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED 



58595 and 58596. 



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

 Rock, National Geographic Society, Washington, 

 D C. Received January 23, 1924. Notes by 

 Mr. Rock. 



58595. Lilium sp. Liliaceae. 



lily. 



(October, 1923.) A small lily 10 to 12 inches 

 high, which grows on the alpine meadows of the 

 Sila Pass, Mekong-Salwin Divide, at an altitude 

 of about 12,000 feet. It is well worthy of culti- 

 vation on account of its drooping, rich purplish 

 black, bell-shaped flowers, tinged with carmine, 

 which are 1 or 2 inches long and broad. 



58596. Meconopsis sp. Papaveracese. 



(November 1, 1923.) An herbaceous plant 3 

 to 4 feet high, found on Francis Gamier Peak at 

 an altitude of 14,500 feet, en route from the Salwin 

 River to the Mekong River, via the Shondsungla- 

 Tibet border. The flowers are probably yellow. 



58597 to 58600. 



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

 Rock, National Geographic Society, Washington, 

 D. C. Received January 24, 1924. Notes by 

 Mr. Rock. 



58597. Juglans eegia L. Juglandaceae. 



(October 25, 1923.) A tall, straight tree which 

 forms dense forests below Shondsungla in the 

 valley of the Dayonlumba, a tributary of the 

 Salwin, on the Tibetan border, at an altitude of 

 9,500 feet. It is often associated with maples 

 and rhododendrons. The fruits are usually 

 oblong, rarely globose. 



58598. Rhododendron araliaeforme Balf. f. 

 and Forrest. Ericaceae. 



(No. 10882. November, 1923.) A shrub 5 to 

 8 feet high which grows on the mountain slopes 

 west of Atuntze at an altitude of about 12,000 

 feet. The rich, golden yellow flowers are in 

 large terminal corymbs. 



58599. Rhododendron araliaeforme Balf. f. 

 and Forrest. Ericaceae. 



(No. 10883. November 11, 1923.) A much- 

 branched small tree 10 to 12 feet in height, which 

 grows at an altitude of 13,500 feet on Mount 

 Drungu, Tibetan border, overlooking the Me- 

 kong River. The leathery, dark-green, oblong 

 leaves are brownish yellow beneath, and the 

 flowers are deep red. 



58600. TuniONFARGESii(Franch.) Skeels. (Tor- 

 reyafargesii Franch.). TaxaceaB. 



(October, 1923.) A tree 100 to 150 feet tall, 

 with a trunk 4H feet in diameter and huge de- 

 scending branches, which grows rarely in the 

 deciduous and semideciduous forests of the Me- 

 kong-Yangtze Divide and also more commonly 

 on the Mekong-Salwin Divide at an altitude of 

 10,000 feet. The fruits are the size of small wal- 

 nuts. The tree prefers rich black soil and con- 

 siderable rainfall. 



58601. Hyoscyamus mutictjs L. Sol- 

 anacese. 



From Algiers, Algeria. Seeds presented by Dr. L. 

 Trabut. Received January 24, 1924. 



Like the henbane (Hyoscyamus niger) this plant, 

 which is native to Egypt and western Asia, is a 

 source of hyoscyamin, an alkaloid used in the 

 treatment of various nervous disorders. It is a 

 thick-stemmed perennial with fleshy, ovate leaves 

 about 4 inches long and violet-spotted, whitish 

 flowers nearly an inch in length. 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 53543. 



58602. Castanea mollissima" Blume. 

 Fagacese. Chestnut. 



From Nanking, China. Seeds purchased from 

 Prof. J. H. Reisner, College of Agriculture and 

 Forestry, University of Nanking. Received 

 January 26, 1924. 



In the endeavor to relieve the situation caused 

 by the rapid disappearance of our native chestnut 

 due to the ravages of the chestnut-blight fungus, 

 the Chinese hairy chestnut is being introduced 

 into this country in considerable quantity. The 

 size and quality of the nuts compare rather favor- 

 ably with those of our native chestnut, although 

 neither the size of the tree nor the tannin content 

 measures up to those of our native species. 



58603 to 58623. 



From Elstree, Herts. England. Seeds presented 

 by Vicary Gibbs, Aldenham House Gardens. 

 Received January 25, 1924. 



58603. ACANTHOPANAX SESSILIFLORUM (Rupr. 



and Maxim.) Seem. Araliaceae. 



A vigorous, deciduous shrub which forms a 

 large spreading bush 10 feet high, with 3 or 5 

 lobed, irregularly toothed leaves. The flowers, 

 brownish purple with yellow protruding stamens, 

 are packed closely in a spherical, almost stalkless 

 cluster about an inch in diameter and appear 

 in July. The inky black berries are in round 

 clusters about an inch thick. This is one of the 

 hardiest shrubs introduced from northern China, 

 where it is native. 



58604. Berberis veitchii C. Schneid. Berberi- 

 dacese. Barberry. 



A shrub with gracefully arching branches, 

 leathery, pale-green leaves, and bronze-yellow 

 flowers with reddish outer surfaces. The berries 

 are black and broadly elliptic. Native to west- 

 ern Hupeh, China. (Adapted from Sargent, 

 Plantae V/iteonianae, vol. 3, p. 438.) 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 53646. 



58605. Chaenomeles lagenaria whsonii Reh- 

 der. Malaceae. 



A bush 4 to 6 meters (approximately 13 to 20 

 feet) tall, found at an altitude of 1,800 meters (ap- 

 proximately 5,900 feet), in western Szechwan. 

 The flowers vary in color from white to red, and 

 the fruits are golden and red. This variety differs 

 from the typical form in the dense yellowish wool 

 which covers the lower surfaces of the leaves. 

 (Adapted from Sargent, Plantae Wilsonianae, vol. 

 2, p. 298.) 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 49664. 



58606. Clematis tangutica obtusiuscula Rehd. 

 and Wils. Ranunculaceae. 



A handsome climbing shrub, native to Central 

 Asia, with sharply cut compound leaves and very 

 large, solitary, nodding flowers which'are borne on 

 erect stems 6 inches long and arched at the tip. 

 The golden-yellow sepals are about 2 inches long, 

 with recurved tips. (Adapted from Ciirtis's Botav' 

 ical Magazine, pi. 7710.) 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 52337. 



58607. Corokia virgata Turrill. Cornaceae. 



A slender-branched shrub, 6 to 12 feet high, 

 native to the most northern part of New Zealand, 

 where mild weather prevails throughout the year. 

 The shining-green, oblong-spatulate leaves are 

 downy white beneath, and the yellow flower?, 

 about half an inch across, are in 3-flowered clus- 

 ters. (Adapted from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, 

 pi. 8468.) 



