155 



THE PUPOI. 



Connaropsis Griffithii. 



A large bag of fruit of the Pupoi {Connaropsis Griffithii) was 

 sent to the Gardens from Johore by Rajah Hitam, and as I find that 

 very little seems to be known about this fruit-tree, I give a descrip 

 tion of it. The tree is about 40 to 60 teet tall, with reddish fairly- 

 durable wood. Leaves in threes, lanceolate, accuminate, 2 J to 4 inches 

 long, J to 1 J wide, smooth dark green above, paler beneath, petiole 

 inch long, slightly thickened. (Sir GEORGE KING describes the 

 leaves as trifoliolate, but I should rather consider the leaflets as 

 distinct leaves). The panicles of flowers are short, about 2 inches 

 long or less, and red tomentose. Flowers shortly pedicelled, calyx 

 cup shaped with ovate rounded lobes barely \ inch long, pubescent 

 petals twice as long, spathulate obtuse (red), flaments slender. 



Fruit, ovate obtuse, an inch long, and nearly as much in diameter 

 light green, smooth shining, containing one seed oval and flat like 

 an apple pip. A great many of the fruit contained no seed at all. 

 The fruit is rather firm in texture and acid. Stewed with plenty of 

 sugar, it is very palatable tasting something like B'limbings, plea- 

 santly acid. The Malays call it Kupoi or Pupoi, and use the fruit 

 in the form of preserves or in curry. It appears to be most abund- 

 ant in Malacca. 



Editor. 



FIBRES {Continued). 



Bast Fibres. — The plants producing fibre of more or less value in 

 their bark, the bast fibre plants, are very numerous, but most of 

 them do not lend themselves to cultivation, either being too slow 

 growing or producing too little. The best known are jute, Cor cho- 

 rus capsu/aris, and Ramie, Bochmeria nivea. The first of these is 

 not at all suited for the wet Malay region. It occasionally occurs 

 as a weed, but soon disappears again and never seems to attain the 

 size required for successful cultivation. There are two other species 

 which occur on our coasts in sandy or rocky places, but they have 

 stems and branches too short to be of any value for cultivation. 



Ramie. — It is unnecessary to do more than refer to here, as ac- 

 counts of its cultivation and working have been several times pub- 

 lished in our journal. 



The bast fibre plants are best grouped according to the size of the 

 plants as the treatment required for extraction of the fibre differs 

 according as whether they are half herbaceous and the stems can be 

 cut and beaten out or retted in water, or whether they are large 

 trees or climbers and the bark has to be stripped off first before 

 treatment. 



The subherbaceous kinds met with here are chiefly Malvth 

 or Sterculiaceous or Tiliaceous weeds. 



