JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31^ 1920. 



81 



49745 to 49796— Continued. 



49755. Crotalabia longibostrata Am. Fabaceae. 



'•(No. 298a. Antigua. February 17, 1920. Herb. No. 950.) Much. 

 See(is of a fine-leaved busliy perennial Crotolaria from Santa Maria 

 de Jesus, v%iiere it is cultivated in the gardens of the Indians. It is 

 also grown elsewhere in Guatemala. The tender shoots are esteemed as 

 greens and are cooked with meat or added to soups. The plant grows 

 about 5 feet high and has woody branches. Much (pronounced ' mooch ') 

 is the name used by the Cakchikel Indians." 



49756. Cbotalabia maypubensis H. B. K. Fabaceae. 



"(No. 300(/. Antigua. February 17, 1920. Herb. No. 944.) Seeds of a 

 shrubby Crotalaria about 5 feet high, with large yellow^ flowers like 

 those of Crotalaria retusa. It occurs as a wild plant near Antigua." 



49757. Dahlia maxonii Safford. Asteracese. Dahlia, 

 '•(No. 308a. Antigua. February 20, 1920.) Seeds of a dahlia which 



the Kekchi Indians of northern tiuatemala know as f^o?oA:7i, while those 

 who speak the Pokonchi language call it shikor. Spanish-speaking 

 Guatemalans usually term it Santa Catarina. Though extremely abun- 

 dant, both wild and cultivated, in many parts of the Guatemalan high- 

 lands (principally between 3.000 and 7.000 feet altitude) it seems never 

 to have received much attention from botanists; indeed, as Dr. W. E. 

 Safford found in 1919 that it had not yet received a name, he described 

 it as Dahlia maxonii in honor of William R. Maxon, of the United States 

 National Herbarium. 



" Sometimes the stems reach to 15 or 18 feet and become quite woody 

 toward the base. They terminate in a number of slender branches, each 

 bearing several flowers, not all of which open at the same time. The 

 flowers face outward and upward, as opposed to those of D. imperialis, 

 which are distinctly nodding. The color is lilac-pink and the diameter of 

 the flowers commonly 3 to 5 inches. 



" When brought into cultivation around the huts of the Indians the 

 species seems to lose its stability. In place of single lilac-pink flowers 

 other forms often appear, and since the plant is easily propagated by 

 cuttings it is a simple matter to reproduce these variations. A single 

 white form is occasionally seen, and a double white and a double lilac 

 are more common. 



" When planted in northern gardens this species would be cut down 

 by frost before it had time to reach the flowering stage, though it has 

 in a few instances bloomed in California. (I am assuming that the 

 species I have seen is D. maxonii.) In Florida, if the proper soil con- 

 ditions can be provided, it should prove successful; and there are many 

 places in northern India, in southern Japan, in subtropical Brazil, and 

 numerous other countries where it would find congenial surroundings." 



49758. Dahlia popexovii Safford. Asteracese. Dahlia. 

 "(No. 303. Antigua, February 17, 1920.) Tubers collected near Santa 



Maria de Jesus at an altitude of 6.500 feet. 



" This species, which grows in the mountains of central Guatemala 

 at altitudes of 5,000 to 7,000 feet, has been considered by Doctor Safford 

 to be one of the wild parents of the cultivated cactus dahlias. It is a 

 plant rarely exceeding 4 feet in height, with slender stems surmounted 

 by single fiowe^-s 2 to 3 inches in diameter, having eight ray fiorets of 



