196 SELECT PLANTS. 
Acacia retinodes, Schlechtendal. 
South-east Australia. Ascertained already in 1846 by Dr. 
Hermann Behr to yield a good tanners’ bark and much gum. 
This Acacia is ever-flowering, and in this respect quite exceptional. 
It likes river banks, but never grows beyond the height of a small 
tree. 
Acantlaosicyos horrida, Welwitsch. 
In the deserts of Angola, Benguela and Damarland. This thorny 
cucurbitaceous erect shrub bears fruits of orange size and colour, 
of pleasant acidulous taste. The seeds are also edible. The plant 
will live in the most arid desert land, and is one of the few, which 
resist the scorching effects of even the Sirocco. 
Acrocomia Mexicana, Karwinski. 
Mexico ; also in the cooler regions up to 3000 feet. (Middle 
temperature, 17° Celsius ; Drude.) A prickly palm, 20 feet high, 
accompanied by very slender Chamsedora-Palms in the shade of 
Oak-forests. 
^Esculus flava, Aiton. 
North America. This showy tree rises to 60 feet. The wood is 
light, soft and porous, not inclined to split or crack in drying. 
It is valuable for troughs, bread-trays, wooden bowls, shuttles. 
(Simmons). 
Alchemilla vulgaris, Linne. 
Europe, West Asia, arctic North America, alpine Australia. This 
perennial herb is important for moist dairy -pastures. The same 
can be said of other congeners j for instance, A. alpina L., from 
the coldest parts of Europe, North Asia and North America; A. 
Capensis (Thunberg) and A. elongata (Ecklon and Zeyher) of 
South Africa, some Abyssinian species, as well as A. pinnata 
(Ruiz and Pavon) and other congeners of the Andes. 
Agriophyllum gobicum. 
Eastern Asia. The “ Soulkir ” of the Mongols. Przevalsky says, 
that this plant affords a great part of the vegetable food of the 
Ala- Shan nomads. Several other annual and salsolaceous herbs 
belong to the genus Agriophyllum. 
Alibertia edulis, A. Richard. 
Guiana and Brazil, southward to extra-tropic latitudes, widely 
dispersed through the drier regions. The fruit of this shrub is 
edible and known as “ Marmeladinha,” A. hAelloana (J. Hooker), 
of South Brazil, seems to serve the same purpose. 
