294 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



9610. Musa sapientum. Banana. 



From Las Palmas, Grand Canary, Canary Islands. Received through Messrs. 

 Lathrop and Fairchild (No. 1169, April 12, 1903), May 6, 1903. 



Manzana or Silver. ' ' Yonng shoots from the base of a few plants of the Silver banana 

 of Madeira, which variety is thought by the residents of this island to be a very 

 superior sort and to have originated in Madeira. The fruits which we tasted were 

 good, but not remarkable. They had an acid flavor, were juicy, had light-colored 

 flesh, and though very refreshing as a change from the ordinary type of banana, were 

 not especially to be recommended." (Fairchild.) 



9611. Strychnos spinosa (?) Kafir orange. 



From Mozambique, East Africa. Received through Messrs. Lathrop and Fair- 

 child (No. 1103, February 8, 1903), May 6, 1903. 



"Seed (poisonous) of the Kafir orange, a native fruit of Portuguese East Africa. 

 The tree is grown in Delagoa Bay only occasionally, and the Kafirs crack open the 

 calabash-like fruit and eat the brown, plum-like flesh which surrounds the many flat 

 angular seeds. These seeds are sa id to be very poisonous, but the flesh is quite refreshing. 

 That of the specimen which we tasted was like a brandied peach into which cloves 

 had been stuck. The spicy aroma of the fruit is perceptible before the hard shell has 

 been broken open and forms one of its best characteristics. The fruits are cannon 

 ball shaped and very heavy, and the green shell is so hard that it has to be broken 

 with a heavy blow. It is in many ways a remarkable fruit, and although the data 

 regarding it are meager it is well worth a place in Porto Rico, Florida, and Hawaiian 

 gardens . " ( Fairchild. ) 



9612. Carissa ardtjina. 



From Cape Town, South Africa. Received through Messrs. Lathrop and Fair- 

 child (No. 1110, February 26, 1903), May 6, 1903. 



"A beautiful, thorny, evergreen shrub, suited to frostless regions. It would be 

 suited for hedge making and as an ornamental, for its white flowers and oblong, 

 bright red fruits show off strikingly against its dark-green foliage. Like Carissa 

 grandiflora, its fruits, resembling a large barberry fruit, are good to eat, having a 

 sweet, fresh, but somewhat characterless taste. Standing alone this species pro- 

 duces a prettier shaped shrub than C. grandiflora and is well worth the attention of 

 gardeners in California and Florida. These seeds are from fruit gathered in the 

 municipal gardens in Cape Town. Breeders should be encouraged to try crossing 

 these two species. There are other representatives of the genus in South Africa 

 which might be used in breeding experiments. C. acuminata, A. D. C, is listed for 

 Natal by J. Medley Wood in his 'Indigenous Plants of Natal;' von Mueller lists 

 C. bromnii, F. Y. M., from East Australia, and C. caranda* L., from India to China. 

 All these species have edible fruits. ' ' ( Fairchild. ) 



9613. Medicago arborea. Tree lucern. 



From Cape Town, South Africa. Received through Messrs. Lathrop and Fair- 

 child (No. 1111, March 3, 1903), May 6, 1903. 



"Seed of the Tree lucern, which is said to occur in southern Europe, especially in 

 Greece. It is, according to von Mueller in his 'Extra Tropical Plants,' page 300, the 

 'Cytisus' of the ancient Greeks and Romans. The plant forms a shrub 7 to 8 feet 

 high with thick, woody stems 3 inches in diameter, which sprawl more or less over 

 the ground. These seeds are from a single specimen in the Municipal Gardens at 

 Cape Town, and Professor MacOwan informs me that the plant has not attracted 

 much attention here as a fodder plant, though it grows well. For plant breeders 

 only who are at work on the genus Medicago." (Fairchild.) 



9614. SOLANUM sp. 



From Cape Town, South Africa. Received through Messrs. Lathrop and Fair- 

 child (No. 1112, March 3, 1903), May 6, 1903. 



' ' Seed of a tree Solanum, of decided ornamental value, which is growing in the 

 Municipal Gardens at Cape Town and which has never been specifically determined. 



