1291 
Aeaeia spherocephala (Mimosaceae ) , 45792. Bull-horn 
Acacia. Prom Zacuapam, Mexico. Presented by Dr. C. A. 
Purpus. One of a group of acacias remarkable for 
their large, stipular, inflated spines which closely 
resemble the horns of a buffalo. This particular 
species is a shrub or small tree. The leaves are bi- 
pinnate, and have remarkable glands, rich in oil, on 
the rachis and leaflets. The thorns are utilized by 
certain stinging ants of the genus Pseudomyma as nest- 
ing places for their young. The thorns which are con- 
nate at the base, are hollowed out by the insects, 
which perforate one of the spines near the tip, so 
that no water can enter. Belt suggests that in return 
for quarters and subsistence on the minute wax-like 
bodies on the leaflets, the little ants serve their 
host as a body-guard of soldiers. Jacquin in describ- 
ing a bullhorn acacia growing near Cartagena, (Colom- 
bia) in 1763, tells how the little insects rush from 
the thorns when the tree is struck however lightly, 
falling upon the unwary intruder and inflicting upon 
him myriads of burning stings. The flowers are borne 
in globose heads on long thick peduncles, clustered 
in the axils of the long forklike spines. The seeds 
when ripe are surrounded by a sweetish yellow or 
orange-colored pulp which causes the fallen pods to 
be eagerly sought after by pigs and other animals. 
(Adapted from Safford in Bailey's Standard Cyclopedia 
of Horticulture, p. 598.) 
Cephaelis sp. (Rubiaceae), 45730. Raicilla or Ipecacuana. 
Prom Panama, R. P. Presented by Mr. Ramon Arlas-Feraud. 
"A small shrub belonging to the Rubiaceae, 8 to 16 
inches high with ascending or erect simple stem and 
somewhat creeping root. It is one of the sources of 
the medicinal Ipecacuana. The typical plant grows in 
Peru, bu*b specimens of closely allied or Identical 
species from Central America are in the economic col- 
lection of the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture." (W. E. Safford.) 
Chenopodium sp. (Chenopodiaceae ) , 45722. Prom 
Mexico. Presented by Mrs. Zelia Nuttall , Casa Alvarado, 
Coyoacan, Mexico City. "Native name, Tililhuauhtli, 'Black 
huauhtli ' . A plant used by the Mexicans as a potherb, 
possibly the original form from which the pale-seeded 
xochihuauhtli has been developed by cultivation. Like the 
latter, the immature inflorescence ( huauhtzontli, or 
huauhtli -heads ) is used for food. The seeds of this 
