INVENTORY.^ 



54677. Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. Asteracese. 



From Buenos Aires, Argentina. Seeds presented by D. S. Bullock, Agri- 

 cultural Commissioner, Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Received Jan- 

 uary 12, 1922. 



"Ea-d lie-4 (sweet herb) is native to Paraguay, growing on the high ground 

 where the yerba mat§ flourishes. The plant is ordinarily about 20 inches in 

 height with leaves about an inch long. In its wild state the plant is very rare, 

 and no planting of the seeds has ever produced results. It is now believed 

 that the seed is fertile but takes several years to germinate. Propagation is 

 by cuttings. Analyses of the leaves made in Germany show the * sugar ' to 

 be a glucosid in combination witli soda and an aromatic resin. It has a 

 sweetening power from 150 to 200 times greater than cane sugar and is solu- 

 ble in water. It does not ferment and is nontoxic. It is claimed that there 

 is nothing injurious in the leaves and that they can be used for sweetening 

 directly in the natural state, drying and grinding only being required. The 

 aromatic resin gives an additional slight pleasant taste. Since the ' sugar ' is 

 soluble, it can be extracted, and it can be used in the liquid form for preserves. 

 It is also claimed that Tca-d he-^ is an ideal and safe sugar for diabetics. 



"A German scientist now in Paraguay claims that the plant can be culti- 

 vated in fields in a manner similar to alfalfa and cuttings made each year. 

 If the truth of this is demonstrated the plant ka-d he-6 should be a profitable 

 commercial sugar producer." {George S. Brady.) * 



" George S. Brady, American trade commissioner here, tells me that after 

 being started, the plants can possibly be cut with machinery, as peppermint is 

 cut in Michigan. 



" The seeds, I understand, are very small and difficult to grow. It is possible, 

 however, that by treating them as the natives in Paraguay do the mat6 seed, 

 allowing it to soak in water and wood ashes for 36 or 48 hours, they might 

 germinate." {Bullock.) 



54678. EcHiNOCHLOA coLONUM (L.) Link. Poacese. Grass. 



From Khartum. Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Seeds presented by R. E. 

 Massey, Government botanist. Department of Agriculture. Received 

 December 27, 1921. Numbered January, 1922. 



Received as Brachiaria isachne and sent in response to a request for Difra 

 {Panicum lyreviradiatum Hochst.). 



54679 and 54680. 



From Lavras, Minas Geraes, Brazil. Seeds presented by B. H. Hunnicutt. 

 Received January 14, 1922. 



54679. Cymbopogon rufus (Nees) Rendle. Poace^e. Jara^a grass. 

 (Andropogon rufus Kunth.) 



A perennial grass native to Brazil and cultivated there and at various 

 other places in the American Tropics. This leafy bunch-grass, the tus- 

 socks of which become a foot or so in diameter and the numerous leafy 

 culms 6 to 10 feet high, is primarily a hay grass and yields the best 



* It should be understood that the varietal names of fruits, vegetables, cereals, and other 

 plants used in these inventories are those which the material bore when received by the 

 OflBce of Foreig-n Seed and Plant Introduction and, further, that the printing of such 

 names here does not constitute their official publication and adoption in this country. 

 As the different varieties are studied, their identity fully established, their entrance into 

 the American trade forecast, and the use of varietal names for them in American litera- 

 ture becomes necessary, the foreign varietal designations appearing in these inventories 

 will in many cases undoubtedly be changed by the specialists interested in the various 

 groups of plants and the forms of the names brought into harmony with recognized 

 American codes of nomenclature. 



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