8 
As to the quality of their rubbers Ule says that it does not possess 
as great elasticity as Para but the characteristics of these Manihots 
make them well worthy of cultivation. He also says that wherever 
conditions are suitable the cultivation of Manihot Glaziovii will grad- 
ually be replaced by that of the Manigobas of Bahia. 
It would appear that these two Manicobas have many good quali- 
ties to recommend them particularly the soft tappable bark which 
alone should enable it to supersede Ceara. It is, however, doubtful, 
judging from our present knowledge, whether we will be able to grow 
either species successfully here in our parts of the east. 3Ianihot 
dichotomy appears at from !2‘5° — 14'5° S. lat., and the locality for 
Manihot piauhyensis is from 8° — 10.° S. lat., both considerably south 
of the Para and Ceara regions and in a drier climate. It is quite 
reasonable however to expect them to do in many of the drier parts 
and more sandy soils of the Peninsula. 
Each will be given a fair trial here and we hope to be able to 
report favourably on them in future numbers of the Bulletin. 
1 Wilson Main. 
COM MELINA NUDIFLORA, Linn, 
Owing to a startling paragraph in the Westminister Gazette in 
August we have had several enquiries about Commelina nudiflora, Linn, 
and its wonderful properties. 
It is spoken of as “ a wonderful Tropical creeper,’ Weed-eating 
plant” etc, etc. It is said to be a splendid plant for destroying lalang 
and has been recommended to owners and managers of rubber planta- 
tions for this purpose. How such an unobtrusive little plant should 
have gained such notoriety is quite remarkable. 
The habit and growth of this little creeper makes it quite unfit for 
such purposes. In the first place it grows best in damp swampy places, 
generally in small patches here and there or by the sides of ditches or 
small streams and I have never seen it growing on dryer lalang land 
or in conjunction with lalang. It is not by any means a robust grow- 
ing creeper, never rising more than six or eight inches from the 
ground and does not even possess the property of climbing over other 
vegetation. It is this property of climbing over other plants and smoth- 
ering them which recommends a plant as an eradicator of lalang, 
for example, Passiflora foetida is recommended by many because it 
possesses this habit. 
Commelina nudiflora, belongs to the natural order Commelinaceae 
and is found throughout the hotter pajds of India from the Punjab to 
Ceylon and Singapore. The stems are creeping and rooting at The 
nodes. Leaves glabrous scaberulous or puberulous, ciliate. bpathes 
acute, base round or cordate, glabrous or pubescent, striate ; peduncle 
J-i in, cymes 2, branches 1-3 fid. Smaller petals blue, outer pale or 
white. 
T, Wilson Main. 
