*55 
THE PUPOI. 
Connaropsis Grijffithii. 
A large bag of fruit of the Pupoi ( Connaropsis Griffithii) was 
sent to the Gardens from Johore by Rajah Hitam, a-nd as I find that 
. i # very little seems to be known about this fruit-tree, I give a descrip- 
tion of it. The tree is about 40 to 60 feet tall, with reddish fairly 
durable wood. Leaves in threes, lanceolate, accuminate, to 4 inches 
long, f to 1 4 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. 
PIBPES ( 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, Corcho- 
rus capsularis , 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 herjbaceous 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 M alvaceous 
or Sterculiaceous or Tiliaceous weeds. 
(>ln 
