NOVEMBER 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1919. 



49 



48798 and 48799— Continued. 



wild, but should prove valuable as a decorative plant. The flowers are 

 unusually attractive." 



48799. ( Undetermined. ) 



"(No. 88. Kimberley, Cape Province. September 21, 1919.) Unidenti- 

 fied bulbs called figliol, probably poisonous to stock, since the bulbs are 

 often found on the top of the ground. Said to have a white flower; 

 may be valuable as an ornamental. Found growing in sandy land 

 north of Kimberley." 



48800 and 48801. Acrotriche depressa R. Br. Epacridaceae. 



From Blackwood, South Australia. Presented by Mr. Edwin Ashby. Re- 

 ceived December 5, 1919. Quoted notes by Mr. Ashby. 



48800. " The better sort from the Barossa Ranges, where they grow in 

 decomposed quartzite with a good deal of aumus on rocky hillsides 

 often lightly shaded by gum trees; the rainfall here is at least 25 

 inches. The fruit is verj- juicy and is astringent until cooked. The 

 bushes are about 2 feet high. I have a dozen plants in my wild 

 plant garden and in the cultivated part as well. The latter are doing 

 best: they are too young to fruit but will do so next year. The one 

 bush which is bearing carries a good many pints of fruit in masses 

 lovr dovrn on the main stems, so that they can be gathered in handfuls. 

 The seed germinates very slowly, and will probably be more suc- 

 cessful if treated with boiling w^ater. I had one large shrub which 

 died in the drought of 1914 ; I burnt the dead bush and young plants 

 made their appearance only last spring; it is therefore likely that 

 seed will germinate after being several years in the ground." 



48801. " The best known variety of our native currant, which is becom- 

 ing very scarce since the breaking down of its habitat, the mallee, 

 or dense brushwood, the thicket formed by low-growing eucalypts. 

 The leaf of this variety is smaller than that of the Barossa Range 

 form, as is also the fruit. It grows in the dry country where the 

 rainfall is often under 15 inches and the soil sandy, usually a red 

 sand with superficial limestone rock (travertin)." 



Received as Styphelia dep,ressa, a later name for the same plant. 



48802 to 48833. 



From Pretoria, Transvaal. Plant material collected by Dr. H. L, Shantz, 

 Agricultural Explorer of the Bureau of Plant Industry. Received Decem- 

 ber 16, 1919. Quoted notes by Dr. Shantz. 



48802. Acacia robusta Burchell. Mimosacese. 



"(No. 158. West of Pretoria. October 14, 1919.) Seed of Acacia^ 

 robusta, a medium-sized tree, good for tannin." 



48803. Acacia scorpioiues (L.) W. F. Wight. Mimosaceae. 

 (A. arabica Willd.) 



"(No. 144. Wonderboom, Pretoria. October 12, 1919.) A valuable 

 tannin plant. Pods excellent feed, very heavy and nutritious. It is 

 also an attractive tree. 



48804. BuRKEA afbicana Hook. Csesalpiniacese. Rhodesian ash. 

 "(No. 142. Wonderboom, Pretoria. October 12, 1919.) A beautiful 



tree; one of the most widely distributed of the African trees." 



