16 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPOETED. 



34152. Ilex paraguariensis St. Hil. Yerba mate. 



From Buenos Aires, Argentina. Presented by Mr. C. F. Mead, Caballero, Para- 

 guay. Received July 16, 1912. 

 See No. 29097 for previous introduction and description. 



34153. Carissa ovata R. Brown. 



From Sydney, New South "Wales. Presented by Mr. J. H. Maiden, Botanic 

 Gardens. Received July 30, 1912. 

 "Warialda, New South Wales. Growing at the foot of hills of a volcanic nature, 

 subjected to periodical droughts, early flowering and late in fruiting. Fruits small, 

 owing to the very extreme drought during the past two years." {John Luke Boor- 

 man, collector.) 



" This little bush produces a very pleasant fruit, which is both agreeable and whole- 

 some. It is like a sloe, egg-shaped, and about half an inch long. It exudes a viscid, 

 milky juice and contains a few woody seeds. ' I can testify that the fruit is both 

 agreeable and wholesome, and I never knew an instance of any e\'il consequences, 

 even when they were partaken of most abundantly.' (Tenison- Woods.) (Maiden, 

 Useful Native Plants.) 



34154 and 34155. Ipomoea batatas (L.) Poir. Sweet potato. 



From Auckland, New Zealand. Presented by A. Yates & Co. Received July 

 31, 1912. 



One tuber of each of the following: 



34154. Red skin. 34155. White skin. 



"Varieties of South Sea Island sweet potatoes." ( Yates &: Co.) 



34156. Omphalea sp. (?) - 



From Bocono, Colombia, South America. Presented by Mr. W. 0. Wolcott, 

 Brooklyn, N. Y. Received July 26, 1912. 

 "I can give you no definite information about these nuts except what the natives 

 told me, as I bought them in the town at the foot of the mountains and did not see 

 the trees. The natives told me they grew high up in the mountains where it is 

 quite cold — but not freezing — probably 7,000 to 8,000 feet or more, as Bocono, where 

 I got them, is about 5,000 feet. They say the trees grow very large, 12 to 18 inches 

 in diameter and 50 to 60 feet high, and are very prolific in nuts. They call the nuts 

 by two names — nueces (nuts) and pan del pobre (poor people's bread). I have trav- 

 eled for the last 20 years all over Venezuela and Colombia and have never seen them 

 except at this one place. It rains a good deal in those mountains for about six months 

 of the year, from April to September or October, the rest of the year being dry. I 

 got these last March, just at the end of the season. I should judge they would make 

 fine stock feed in meal; in fact, the natives eat them, and they told me they fatten* 

 their hogs on them finely, as the shells are thin and very brittle. The meats appear 

 to have much oil. I find them rather hard when dry. A^Tien I got them the meats 

 were softer than chestnuts when first gathered . " ( Wolcott. ) 



34157. Persea lingue (Ruiz and Pav.) Nees. Lingue. 



From Santa Ines, Chile. Presented by Mr. Salvador Izquierdo. Received 

 August 31, 1911. Numbered August 1, 1912. 

 " The bark of the lingue is used on a large scale for tanning leather, and the leaves 

 are poisonous to animals. As a medicine, the bark is a powerful astringent and 

 was formerly exported in considerable quantities." (Espinoza, Plantas Medicinales 

 de Chile.) 



See No. 24208 for previous introduction. 



