JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1925 



23 



82657. Helianthus tuberosus L. As- 

 teraceae. Jerusalem artichoke. 



From Saonara. Padova, Italy. Tubers pur- 

 chased from Fratelli Sgaravatti. Re- 

 ceived March 29, 1925. 



Locally grown tubers. 



62658. Citrus webberii 

 taceae. 



Wester. Ru- 

 Alsem. 



From Manila, Philippine Islands. Seeds 

 presented by P. J. Wester. Received 

 March 30, 1925. 



A small, handsome tree, 15 to 30 feet 

 high, which is particularly abundant in the 

 mountain Province. Nueva Viscaya, and 

 southern Luzon. The better forms have 

 oblate, very juicy, acid fruits somewhat 

 like the mandarin in appearance and up to 

 2% inches in diameter; these may be used 

 like the lemon. The species is very vari- 

 able and appears promising as a citrus 

 stock. ( Wester. ) 



62659. Viola odorata L. Violaceae. 



Violet. 



From Killalow, County Clare, Ireland. 

 Plants purchased from Mrs. Stanistreet. 

 Received February 7, 1925. 



King of the Belgians (synonym, Kaiser 

 Wilhelm). The large, rich, deep-purple 

 flowers, very highly perfumed, are borne 

 on long firm stems. This is a magnificent 

 violet, probably the best single variety, and 

 it is very rare. (Stanistreet.) 



62660 to 62674. 



From Algeria. Seeds collected by David 

 Fairchild. agricultural explorer. Bureau 

 of Plant Industry. Received March 21, 

 1925. Notes by Doctor Fairchild. 



62660. Argania spixosa (L.) Skeels (A. 

 sideroxylon Roem. and Schult.). Sapo- 

 taceae. Argan. 



The argan tree of western Morocco is 

 very limited in its range, occurring only 

 in that part of the African continent. 

 It grows to a large size and bears an 

 abundance of light-yellow fruits some- 

 what resembling in shape small plums. 

 Cattle and goats are said to feed upon 

 these fruits, which contain a large 

 amount of nourishment, although the 

 fruits are exceedingly acrid to the taste. 

 The seeds are very thick walled and go 

 through the intestines of the animals 

 undigested. These seeds are also used 

 for the oil contained in them. Appar- 

 ently the tree is not injured by frost, 

 and it may thrive wherever hardy citrus 

 grows. 



Atropa baetica Willk. Solana- 



A species related to belladonna and of 

 possible interest to drug-plant specialists. 

 Presented by Professor Maire, of the 

 University of Algiers. 



62662. Capparis spinosa L. Capparida- 

 ceae. Caper. 



Yar. inermis. A spineless form of the 

 caper of commerce, presented by the Bo- 

 tanic Gardens, University of Algiers. 



62663. Casuabina suberosa Otto and 

 Dietr. Casuarinaceae. 



A species with very large fruits (4 

 centimeters) and long, coarse, pendent 

 branchlets, very distinct from Casuarina 

 eqitisaetifolia. This species is evidently 

 hardier, for the trees from which these 



62660 to 62674— Continued. 



seeds were gathered have stood tempera- 

 tures of 26° F. Presented by Doctor 

 Trabut from his Jardin d'Essais at Mai- 

 son Carree, Algeria. 



62664. Casuabina sp. Casuarinaceae. 



Probably Casuarina suberosa X C. cun- 

 ninghamiana. A form which appeared at 

 the Jardin d'Essais of Maison Carree, Al- 

 geria. By judicious clipping it has pro- 

 duced a beautiful hedge which resembles 

 closely those produced in Florida with 

 C. equisaePifolia. This form is appar- 

 ently hardier, for Maison Carree has been 

 visited by temperatures below 26° F., 

 and it has never been injured. 



62665. Cobdia obliqua Willd. Boragi- 

 naceae. 



A handsome shade tree from Cochin 

 China which has proved hardy in the 

 Botanic Gardens of Mustapha, where the 

 temperature sometimes goes below freez- 

 ing. Because of its handsome foliage 

 and good habit of growth, this may be 

 worth considering as an avenue tree. 

 Presented by Prof. R. Maire, director of 

 the botanic gardens, University of Al- 

 giers. 



62666o x Eucalyptus algebiensis Tra- 

 but. Myrtaceae. 



A hybrid between Eucatyptus rostrata 

 and E. rudis which has become natural- 

 ized in North Africa and now covers con- 

 siderable areas of the hills around Al- 

 geria. It differs from E. rudis by its 

 smooth trunk, its small flowers with the 

 hemispherical operculum not beaked, and 

 from E. rostrata by its buds, which are 

 white like those of E. rudis. Eucalyptus 

 rudis flowers in the month of December, 

 E. algwiensis flowers in the spring, while 

 E. rostrata flowers in July and August. 

 Presented by Professor Maire, of the Uni- 

 versity of Algiers. 



62667. Hyosctajmus falezlez Cos. Sol- 

 anaceae. 



This is known to the Touarregs as 

 "Afahlehle." It is common in the south- 

 ern part of the Sahara, where its toxic 

 properties are well known to the natives. 

 It can be eaten by camels, goats, and 

 sheep, but is very poisonous to horses 

 and donkeys. It is believed that Afa- 

 hlehle fattens ruminants and also women, 

 corpulency among the latter being con- 

 sidered a mark of beauty. (L. Trabut, 

 in note under 8. P. I. No. 60257.) 



62668. Lentilla lens (L.) W. F. Wight 

 (Lens esculenta Moench.). Fabaceae. 



Lentil, 



Var. nigricans. A very delicate variety 

 of this genus which furnishes the lentil 

 of commerce. 



62669. Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. 

 Solanaceae. Tomato. 



An early variety of tomato called Pre- 

 coces Cotelees (early ribbed) which is 

 being grown along the seacoast of North 

 Africa under the protection of wind- 

 breaks made of the canes of Arundo 

 mauritanica and which may prove -un- 

 usually early when grown in southern 

 Florida. The plants are trained to a 

 single stem and pinched back. 



62670. Onopordon dissectum Murbeck. 

 Asteraceae. Cotton thistle. 



Var. costatum. A composite which 

 may prove as attractive for borders as 

 the Arabian species, Onopordon arabi- 

 cum. This variety, occurring in the 

 sandy clearings in the forests of Mamora. 



