NOVEMBER 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1019. 



67 



49017 to 49019. 



From Auckland, New Zealand. Purchased from E, C. Pilkington & Co. 

 Received December 24 and 27, 1919. 



49017. Danthonia pilosa R. Br. Poacese. Grass. 

 An excellent pasture grass which, like others of the genus, seeds freely 



and gives good feed in early spring. Native to southern Australia. 

 (Adapted from Bailey, Queensland Flora, p. 1891.) 

 For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 31496. 



49018. Danthonia semiannulakis (Labill.) R. Br. Poacese. Grass. 

 Spreading through the pastures, this native species, known as Wallaby 



(ii'ass, is becoming very popular, and rightly so, too. It is a perennial 

 tufted grass, producing fair crops of succulent soft fodder, suitable for 

 either sheep or cattle. The leaves are narrow, usually hairy, and light 

 green. The flower stems gi*ow to a height of 2 to 2^ feet ; the seed, which 

 sheds easily, is produced in clusters that have a woolly white appearance 

 when ripe. Wallahy grass provides good feed during the spring and 

 summer and remains green in the winter months. (Adapted from The 

 Agricultural Gazette of Xew South Wales, vol. 28, p. 286.) 



49019. MicROLAENA STiPoiDEs (Labill.) R. Br. Poacese. 



Meadow rice-grass. 



A slender perennial grass plentiful in lowland districts of Australia 

 and New Zealand, chiefly near the sea. It is a most valuable pasture 

 and law^n grass, ("eserving of far more attention than has hitherto been 

 given to it. (Adapted from Cheeseman, Manual of the New Zealand 

 Flora, p. 852.) 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 44802. 



49020. CoLOCAsiA EscuLENTA (L.) Schott- Araceae. Tare. 



From Kaying, Kwangtung, China. Tubers presented by Rev. J. H. Giffin, 



American Baptist Academy. Received December 26, 1919. 

 Penang. Here in Kaying the Penang taro is considered delicious, but it 

 does not grow large. The corm of the Penang taro is, usually larger than that 

 of other kinds, but the small tubers are smaller than those of other kinds. 

 There are also fewer tubers ; that is, a Penang corm has usually not more 

 than four small tubers, while other varieties have many." {Griffin.) 



" The Penang taro is considered to be the finest flavored of all the known 

 varieties of this important food crop. It is distinguished from other taros 

 by the purple fibers which traverse the white flesh and by a characteristic 

 delicious fragrance which develops during cooking. The Penang differs also 

 from the Trinidad dasheen and many other varieties of taro in that the corm, 

 when grown under favorable conditions, is distinctly elongated instead of 

 being roundish or oval. Unlike the Trinidad dasheen and similar varieties, the 

 Penang taro produces usually not more than two or three cormels, or lateral 

 ' tubers,' of marketable size ; the crop therefore consists mainly of corms, 

 which range from one to eight pounds or more each in weight. Unfortunately, 

 this delicious taro is a rather poor keeper as compared with varieties of the 

 dasheen type. Corms and cormels are acrid m the raw state. 



" The meaning of the name Penang as applied to this taro is uncertain, but 

 the Chinese character from which it is derived is said to be the same as that 

 for ' betel nut.' Other renderings of the name are Pat-long, Paan-long, and 

 Banlung." (R. A. Young.) 



