34 



SEEDS AXD PLANTS IMPORTED 



62855 and 62856— Continued. 



62856. Iii'.\ii;\ ti bebosus L. Polygona- 

 ceae. 



Plants of a frost -resistant variety from 

 Constantino. Algeria, presented by Pro- 

 fessor Maire. of the University of Algiers. 

 The broad, round leaves, used for making 

 sorrel or " oseille " soup, should be 

 studied by amateurs who are interested 

 in the amelioration of potherbs. This 

 variety has been hred with S. 1'. I. No. 

 63425 and produces vigorous seedlings 

 intermediate in character between the 

 two forms. 



62857 to 62860. Gladiolus spp. Irida- 

 ceae. 



From 1 Cape Town. Union of South Africa. 

 Oorms presented by Dr. Rudolph Marloth. 

 Received March 16. 1025. 



Native South African gladioli introduced 

 for gladiolus breeders. 



62857. Gladiolus hirsutets Jacq. 



Crows in sandy stretches which are 

 moist only during* the winter. 



About a foot in height, this species 

 has bright-red flowers borne in a very 

 lax. few-flowered, secund spike. The 

 sword-shaped leaves are strongly ribbed. 



62858. Gladiolus primulixus Baker. 



Primrose gladiolus. 



Var. maculatus. This species, flower- 

 ing in May, grows on the hillsides. 



A more tropical species than the pre- 

 ceding : the stem is a foot and a half 

 high, and the basal leaves, three in num- 

 ber, are somewhat leathery, about a foot 

 long. The reflexed segments of the prim- 

 rose-yellow flowers are each marked with 

 a maroon spot. 



62859. Gladiolus becurvus L. 



Grows in boggy sandy places ; flowers 

 during August. 



A slender-stemmed species, up to 2 

 feet high, with two to six very fragrant 

 flowers in a very lax spike. The flowers 

 are flushed pink with minute blackish 

 lilac spots. 



62860. Gladiolus tristis L. 



Found in damp, sandy places ; flowers 

 in October. 



The flowers of this species are yellow- 

 ish white and fragrant, and are borne in 

 a very lax spike. The slender steins are 

 up to 2 feet high, and the subterete 

 leaves are strongly three to five ribbed. 



62861 to 62864. Lespedeza spp. Fa- 

 baceae. 



From Fukuoka. Japan. Seeds presented by 

 Mitsunaga Fujioka. Kyushu Imperial 

 University. Received March 16, 1925. 



62861. Lespedeza bicolor Turcz. 

 Yar. Japonica. Natus-hogi. 



Lespedeza bicolor intermedia 

 Maxim. 

 Yama-hagi. 



Lespedeza cyrtobotrya Miquel. 



Miyagino-hagi. A shrub about 6 feet 

 high, resembling L. bicolor in habit, with 

 oval-oblong leaflets and dense clusters of 

 purple flowers. Native to Japan. 



62864. Lespedeza oldhami Miquel. 

 Chosen-kihagi. 



62365. Gexjera parvifloea Lindl. 

 taceae. 



Ru- 



From Sydney. New South Wales. Australia. 

 Seeds presented by George Valder. under- 

 secretary and director. Department of 

 Agriculture. Received March IS. 1925. 



The wilga is a tall shrub or tree, native 

 to the interior of New South Wales, where 

 it reaches a height of about 30 feet. It 

 has slender pendulous branches, narrow 

 leaves 3 to 6 inches long, and when well 

 developed has a highly ornamental appear- 

 ance with something of the aspect of a 

 weeping willow. It has remarkable drought- 

 endurinu' qualities, and the leaves are often 

 fed to sheep, which are very fond of them. 



| 62866. Dioscoeea si). Dioscoreaceae. 



Yam. 



From St. Croix. Virgin Islands. Tubers 

 presented by W. M. Perry, horticulturist, 

 Agricultural Experiment Station. Re- 

 ceived March 18, 1925. 



Sealtop yam. A distinct advantage of 

 this variety is that it does not burrow its 

 way deeply into the ground, hence it is 

 easy to dig. It may be necessary to throw 

 some soil over the roots if they push them- 

 selves upwards out of the ground. We 

 have harvested yams weighing 11 pounds 

 each, but the average weight is about 5 

 pounds. It is considered a superior yam. 

 I do not know the origin of the word 

 " Sealtop." as it appears to be purely a 

 local name. ( Perry, i 



62867 to 62870. 



From Ariana. near Tunis. Tunisia, Africa. 

 Seeds presented by the chief of the Bo- 

 tanical Service. Received March 9, 1925. 



62867. Acacia pendula A. Cunn. Mimo- 

 saceae. 



A handsonre evergreen tree, native to 

 Australia, where the leaves and young 

 branches are eagerly eaten by cattle and 

 sheep. In times of drought the myall, 

 as the tree is called in Australia, is fre- 

 quently cut down and fed to stock, which 

 seem to thrive on this fodder. Horses do 

 not cave for it. 



Prosopis dulcis Kunth. Mimo- 

 saceae. 



A thorny shrub or tree, 60 feet or less 

 in height, native to tropical and sub- 

 tropical Mexico, which bears sweetish 

 pods, rich in protein and sometimes fed 

 to cattle. The wood is strong and dur- 

 able, and, when polished, resembles ma- 

 hogany. The bark, leaves, and pods con- 

 tain tannin. 



Prosopis horrida Kunth. Mimo- 

 saceae. 



A thorny shrub, native to tropical 

 America, introduced for testing the fod- 

 der value of its sweetish pods. It is 

 said to be very drought resistant. 



62870. Trigoxella exsifera Trautv. 

 Fabaceae. 



An annual leguminous plant, very 

 closely allied to the fenugreek {T. 

 foenurn-graecum), from which it differs 

 chiefly in having hairy pods. Its native 

 country is unknown. 



82871 and 62872. Colocasia esculent a 

 (L.) Schott. Araceae. Dasheen. 



From Yokohama. Japan. Tubers purchased 

 from the Yokohama Nursery Co. Re- 

 ceived March 23, 1925. Notes by R. A. 

 Young, Bureau of Plant Industry. 



