1185 
wood being odorless and of a nice white color. The 
tree grows very tall, and often has a trunk 5 or 6 
feet in diameter." (Wright.) Native Maori name Ka- 
hikatea. 
OtophQra alata Blume. ( Saplndaceae . ) 44899 . Pisang tjina 
seeds from Buitenzorg, Java. Presented by Dr. J. C. 
Koningsberger , Director, Botanic Garden. A tall Ja- 
vanese tree, with compound, glabrous, green leaves, 
and purplish flowers in pendulous axillary racemes or 
sometimes solitary. The fruits are not much eaten, 
but hang in graceful clusters, remarkable for their 
beauty. The juice of the fruit is said to be useful 
in removing stains from linen. (Adapted from Van Noo- 
ten, Fleurs & Fruits de Java, Part 3, 1863.) 
Pa88iflora edulis Sims. (Passif loraceae . ) 44854. Pa»- 
sionfruit seeds from Avondale, Auckland, New Zealand. 
Presented by Mr. H. R. Wright. "Giant An improved 
strain of the common passionfruit as grown in New 
Zealand and Australia. Largely grown commercially. 
Will grow anywhere, where frosts are not too heavy in 
winter." (Wright.) 
Persea amerieana Miller. (Lauraceae.) 44856. Avocado 
budsticks from Guatemala. Collected by Mr. Wilson 
Popenoe, Agricultural Explorer for this Bureau. "No. 
146. Avocado No. 30. Tertoh. A famous avocado from Mix- 
co, noted for its large size (3 pounds) and excellent 
quality. Unfortunately, the ripe fruit has not been 
seen by me, hence it is introduced on the recommenda- 
tion of several Americans who are familiar with it. 
The parent tree is growing in the sitio of Leandro 
Castillo, in the town of Mixco, near Guatemala City. 
The elevation is about 5700 feet. The tree is said by 
the owner to be about 20 years old. It is about 25 
feet high, broad and spreading in habit, with a trunk 
15 inches thick at the base, branching 7 feet from the 
ground to form the dense crown 30 or more feet broad. 
A peculiarity of the tree is its very brittle wood. 
This may be against the variety in California and 
Florida, where strong winds occasionally do much dam- 
age. The budwood is good. The climate of Mixco is 
cool, but not cold enough to test the hardiness of 
the variety. This can be determined only by a test in 
California or Florida. The tree flowers in March. It 
is said by , its owner to bear at least a few fruits 
every season. It produced very few from the 1916 
