1033 
• Ananas sativus Schult. f. (Bromeliaceae . ) 43070. 
from Lawnton, Queensland, Australia. Presented by Mr. 
Reginald W. Peters, Director, Queensland Acclimatisa- 
tion Society. "A seedling pineapple we raised and 
have named Commonwealth. It is distinct, of fair size 
and very tender, with almost entire absence of stalk 
or core. It is sweet and perhaps lacking a little 
in sub-acidity but a fruit most consumers would enjoy . " 
(Leslie Gordon Corrie.) 
Astroearyum sp. (Phoenlcaceae. ) 43058. Seeds from 
Tierras de Loba, Bolivar, Colombia. Collected by Mr. 
H. M. Curran. " Palma estera . Common palm of the forest. 
Seeds with an edible coating and probably yields a 
commercial oil. Plants with huge ornamental fronds, 
twenty feet or more in length, glossy green above, 
glossy or- silvery white beneath. Entire plant cov- 
ered with sharp black spines. This palm has practi- 
cally no stem. Suitable only for planting in. moist 
localities or greenhouses." (Curran.) 
Bertholletia nobilis Mlers. (Lecythidaceae . ) 43114. 
Fruits and seed from Para, Brazil. Secured through 
Mr. George H. Pickerell, American Consul. "Brazil-nut 
or Para-nut. A tall handsome tree, with oblong wavy 
leaves, which are 14 to 16 inches long and about 3 
inches broad, native of Guiana, Venezuela and Brazil. 
In its native home, especially on the banks of the 
Amazon and Orinoco, the tree attains a height of over 
100 feet. The tree has been introduced at Paradenlya 
in 1880, and notwithstanding the indifferent ground 
chosen for it when first planted out, appears to find 
here a congenial home. It is now about 60 feet high 
and produces at the top each year, in the dry season, 
large erect racemes of white flowers, followed a few 
months later by a number of large brown fruits, which 
hang on the tree for some months after ripening. 
Ridley records similar success with the tree at Sing- 
apore, where it was introduced in 1881. Each fruit is 
from 4 to 6 inches in diameter, with a hard brown 
woody shell which has to be sawed or broken up with 
an axe in order to obtain the nuts (seeds). In the 
interior, closely packed, are from 10 to 12 large 
angular seeds with a brown horny testa; these are the 
Brazil nuts of commerce, which form an important article 
* of export from their native country, being largely 
used for dessert in Europe, America, etc. The tree 
may be propagated by seed or gootee (layering) , and 
