12 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



34364. Carissa carandas L. Carissa. 

 From India. Presented by Mr. Alfred Bircher, of the Middle Egypt Botanic 

 Gardens, Matania, Saff, Egypt. Received October 10, 1912. 

 "A thorny bush with small white flowers and black berries, good for sherbet making. 

 The red juice, if not diluted with water, coagulates in a short time." (Bircher.) 



34366. Sterculia macrophylla Ventenat. Bangilan. 



From Penang, Malay Peninsula. Presented by Mr. Wilson Popenoe, Altadena, 

 Cal. Received October 14, 1912. 



"A magnificent ornamental tree, native of the Malay Peninsula. It is a rapid grower, 

 attaining an ultimate height of 50 feet or more, with oval leaves IQ to 12 inches long 

 and 8 to 10 inches vdde, slightly acute at the apex, dark green and sparsely hairy 

 above, covered wdth a ferruginous tomentum below. 



"The fruit is a 1 to 3 seeded capsule, about 2 inches in length and brilliant 

 orange scarlet when ripe. These capsules are borne in the greatest profusion on 

 panicles which hang down from every branch, and as the foliage is rather scant they 

 produce a blaze of color which is visible some distance away. The oval black seeds, 

 of a satiny luster, are exposed by the dehiscing of the capsules and add to the orna- 

 mental effect when near by. 



"This would certainly be a great acquisition for such countries as Hawaii and 

 Porto Rico, and possibly southern Florida and the most protected locations in southern 

 California. Even when not in fruit the tree presents a very good appearance with 

 its straight trunk and pyramidal head of foliage." (Popenoe, in letter dated October 1, 

 1912.) 



Distribution. — A. large tree found on the islands of the Malay Archipelago. 



34367. Cassia beareana Holmes. 



From East Africa. Presented by Rev. Pliny W. Keys, superintendent, Limpopo 

 district Methodist Episcopal Mission, Inhamban. Received September 30, 

 19J2. 



"A small tree attaining 20 to 30 feet; leaves are about 8 to 10 inches long. The 

 seeds are blackish brown, oval, and about seven-sixteenths of an inch in length." 

 {E. M. Holmes.) 



34368. Canarium ovatum Engler. , Pili nut. 



From the Philippiue Islands. Presented by Mr. E. D. Merrill, botanist, Bureau 

 of Science, Manila. Received October 14, 1912. 

 "The 'pili' nut is locally very highly esteemed and is now being exported in con- 

 siderable quantities. Treated exactly as salted peanuts are, the 'pili' can not be 

 surpassed as a table dish. The nuts are very hard and thick walled and rather diffi- 

 cult to crack. The local practice is to crack the nuts, then roast the seeds and remove 

 the thin brown coating after roasting, as it is rather difficult to remove this coating 

 from the fresh seeds." (Merrill.) 



34378 and 34379. 



From Soochow, China. Presented by Mr. N. Gist Gee, Soochow University. 

 Received October 14, 1912. 



34378. LiLiuM sp. Lily. 



''Pah hoen or Pah huh. This is said to have the power of rapidly restoring a 

 run-down system. The outer parts are removed, and the inner softer ones have 

 the epidermis peeled off, and then they are cooked and eaten with sugar. I 

 have never eaten this and can not vouch for its qualities." (Gee.) 



Bulbs. 



