42 



SEEDS AIs^D PLANTS IMPORTED. 



35400. Arracacia xanthorrhiza Bancr. 



Apio. 



From Caracas, Venezuela. Presented by Mr. H. Pittier, of the Bureau of Plant 

 Industry. Received May 24, 1913. 

 "This plant is cultivated in the cooler mountain districts of northern South America, 

 where the roots form the staple diet of the inhabitants. The plant is somewhat like 

 the wild hemlock {Conium maculatum) but its leaves are broader, its stem not spotted, 

 and its flowers are of a dingy purple color; the roots are large and are divided into 

 several fleshy lobes of the size of a carrot, which when boiled are firm and have a 

 flavor intermediate between that of a chestnut and a parsnip." (Masters, Treasury 

 of Botany.) 



"Here the plant grows only in the mountains above 1,500 meters. I do not know 

 whether it reaches the freezing line, but everybody says it does not thrive at lower 

 altitudes." (Pittier.) 



From China. Presented by Rev. Horace W. Houlding, South Chihli Mission, 

 Tai Ming-Fu, North China. Received May 27, 1913. 

 "Seed grown on the mission farm in Chihli Province. This is self-seeded wild 

 alfalfa, called by the natives Yeh-mu hsu, which means 'wild alfalfa'. It was grown 

 on high, uncultivated land. Seed was taken from very low grown prostrate plants 

 which bear blue flowers and coiled pods. Plants appear very much like white clover. 

 Collected August, 1912." (Houlding.) 



35402. Agropyron cristatum (Ij.) Beauv. 



From Irkutsk, Russia. Presented by Mr. Victor Pissareff, director, Agricultural 

 Experiment Station of the Government of Irkutsk. Received April 28, 1913. 



35403 to 35412. ^Iangifera spp. Mango. 

 From Buitenzorg, Java. Presented by Dr. J. C. Koningsberger, director, Botanic 

 Garden. Received May 20, 1913. 

 Rooted cuttings of the following, except as otherwise stated: 

 35403. Mangifera foetida Lour. 



"(No. 1.) Var. mollis Blume. Mangga daging.^' 

 M. foetida is described as follows: 



"Petals one twenty-fifth to two-fifths inch long, elliptical lanceolate; at the 

 base yellow, for the remaining part dark red except the top, which is colored 

 less dark red. The flowers lose more or less of their colors at the time of fading. 

 Stamen one, filament one-fifth to two-fifths inch long. Style almost terminal, 

 one-fifth inch long more or less. Disk almost absent. Fruit elliptical oblong, 

 oblique. Leaves elliptical; tip generally slightly emarginate, very thick and 

 fii'm, more or less plaited, 5 to 13 inches long, 2 to 5 inches broad. Tree 60 to 

 90 feet high. Flowering period, May to December. Fruit flesh yellow, with 

 the smell and flavor of tm'pentine. The fruits are eaten by the natives, who 

 often cultivate this species." (Letter from the Director, Buitenzorg Botanic 

 Gardens, May 29, 1915.) 



"Var. mollis Blume having medium sized, delicious fruits, appears to us from 

 the leaf to belong rather to M. indica than to M. foetida; the native name mangga 

 (not limoes) points to this, and the taste of the fruit (entirely without bad 

 odor or resinous) likewise." (Koorders and Valeton, Boomsorten van Java, vt. 



Distribution. — A large tree found throughout the islands of the Malay Ar- 

 chipelago. 



Tubers. 



35401. Medicago sativa L. 



Alfalfa. 



4, p. 90.) 



