158 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



38647— Continued. 



fruit tree, and this little vine is generally the last nourishment to be declined. 

 I wish, however, to caution in regard to the handling of this seed, as the tend- 

 ency which this plant shows to reseed the soil and perpetuate itself for year 

 after year on a given tract of land might make it a pest and a very troublesome 

 one. Here it sometimes appears in cornfields after cultivation is discontinued 

 and acts somewhat similar to the old related morning-glory pest of Kansas corn 

 fields." (Thompson.) 



Distribution. — A perennial twining vine with yellow flowers, found in tropical 

 Africa and Asia, and eastward through the islands of the Indian Ocean to the 

 Philippines. 



38648 and 38649. 



From St. Croix, Danish West Indies. Presented by Dr. Longfield Smith, 

 director, Agricultural Experiment Station. Received Juno 27, 1914. 

 Quoted notes by Dr. Smith, except as otherwise indicated. 



38648. Carica papaya L. Papayacese. Papaya. 

 " Seeds of a very fine papaya." 



38649. Tabebuia pentaphylla (L.) Hemsley. Bignoniacese. 



"A very fine flowering tree. The grandparent of these seeds is grow- 

 ing in Dominica, and when in flower presents the most handsome ap- 

 pearance." 



"A tree of the forest, glabrous, with opposite compound, rigid leaves ; 

 leaflets petiolulate, elliptical, five and four ; calyx campanulate, slightly 

 bilabiate; corolla white or rose, glabrous, puberulent on the inside, with 

 five slightly unequal lobes; four didynamous stamens; ovary with two 

 cells ; capsule linear, elongated, subcylindric, with 3-keeled valves. This 

 tree, very widely distributed, gives a beautiful wood for cabinetwork 

 and is much sought after for wheelwright's work. The bark is consid- 

 ered a febrifuge." {Lanessan, Plantes Utiles des Colonies FrauQaises.) 



38650 to 38658. 



From Manila, P. I. Presented by the Manila City Nursery, through Mr. 

 Henry H. Boyle, assistant horticulturist. Bureau of Agriculture, Manila. 

 Received June 26, 1914. 



38650. Adenanthera pavonina L. Mimosacese. Coral-bean tree. 

 See S. P. I. Nos. 31585 (under the name Ormosia calavensis) , 36866, 



and 38117 for previous introductions and description. 



"A large deciduous tree met with in the moist forests of Bengal, 

 Assam, Bombay, Madras, and Burma, and readily propagated by seed. 

 A gum is said to be afforded by it. The wood is powdered and used 

 as a dye and is the red paste with which the Brahmans color their 

 foreheads after bathing. Taylor says a decoction of both the seeds and 

 wood is used in pulmonary affections and as an external application 

 in chronic ophthalmia. The timber is much employed for house build- 

 ing and cabinetmaking. The seeds, which are sometimes eaten, are 

 bright and therefore used for rosaries and as weights (about 4 grains). 

 Ground to a paste with borax they form a useful cement." (Watt, 

 Commercial Products of India.) 



38651. Bauhinia tomentosa L. Caesalpiniacese. St. Thomas tree. 

 See S. P. I. No. 18685 for previous introduction. 



