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nificent  are  in  private  grounds  on  School  street,  near  Nuuanu 
avenue. 
In  Emma  Square  there  is  an  excellent  India  rubber  tree, 
Ficus  Bias ticci,  which  shows  its  relation  to  the  banyan  in  the 
evidence  of  a few  aerial  roots  that  dangle  from  its  lofty 
branches,  as  well  as  in  its  peculiar  little  fig-like  fruits. 
Ficus  Elastica  is  the  well  known  India  rubber  tree  of  com- 
merce, indigenous  to  the  damp  forests  of  tropical  Asia  where 
it  often  reaches  ioo  feet  in  height.  This  tree  was  for  a long 
time  the  principal  source  of  rubber  and  takes  its  specific  name 
Elastica  from  the  elastic  nature  of  the  sap  after  it  has  been 
exposed  to  the  air.  Of  this  species  there  are  several  variegated 
varieties,  one  with  leaves  splotched  with  white  and  a rare 
variety  in  which  the  leaves  are  edged  with  gilt,  forming 
narrow  bands  about  an  inch  in  width,  along  the  margins,  giv- 
ing a contrastingly  beautiful  effect  with  the  glossy  green  cen- 
ters of  the  leaves. 
Though  rubber  plants  are  not  uncommon  about  the  homes 
in  Honolulu,  they  are  not  as  numerous  as  in  most  homes  in 
American  cities  where  it  is  by  many  considered  the  most 
popular  and  satisfactory  house  plant  that  has  ever  been  culti- 
vated. This  is  probably  due  to  its  easy  culture,  hardiness  and 
beautiful  foliage.  It  is  estimated  that  over  80,000  rubber 
plants  are  sold  annually  in  the  United  States  for  ornamental 
purposes. 
In  recent  years,  the  demand  for  rubber  has  become  so  great 
that  it  has  been  found  more  profitable  to  obtain  the  article 
from  other  plants  that  are  of  more  rapid  growth. 
Ficus  Parcelli  is  probably  the  most  beautiful  of  the  banyan’s 
relatives  for  the  ornamentation  of  small  home  grounds. 
There  are  several  beautiful  specimens  of  this  tree  in  our  city. 
They  grow  to  a height  of  about  30  feet  having  spreading  tops, 
drooping  branches  and  a dense  foliage  of  thin,  light  green 
serrated  leaves  mottled  with  irregular  blotches  of  dark  green 
and  ivory  white.  During  our  winter  months  these  trees  bear 
abundance  of  beautiful  tri-colored  fruits,  each  about  an  inch 
and  a half  in  diameter.  These  add  greatly  to  the  beauty  of 
the  tree. 
These  beautiful  trees  can  probably  be  traced  to  their  origi- 
nal introduction  by  James  Veitch,  a nurseryman  of  Chelsea, 
London,  who  introduced  the  original  stock  into  Europe  along 
with  many  other  plants  from  the  New  Hebrides  and  Fiji  Is- 
lands about  1874.  Ficus  Parcelli  has  been  cultivated  in  Florida 
and  Southern  California  and  is  occasionally  found  in  green 
houses  about  New  York  City  and  Philadelphia.  It  is  propa- 
gated by  cuttings  of  half  ripened  wood  placed  in  boxes  of 
sand  about  three  inches  in  depth  and  kept  quite  moist. 
Though  this  species  has  been  in  Honolulu  since  1883  and  is 
of  easy  culture,  few  of  our  citizens  have  used  this  excellent 
tree  in  ornamenting  their  home  grounds. 
Willis  T.  Pofe. 
