942 
six sepals in two series; corolla rotate with linear ap- 
pendages; stamens six; six-celled superior ovary; berry with 
a single seed by abortion. The wood is good for cabinet- 
making, joinery, and turning. The fruit, which is shaped 
like an olive, is. eaten, but its flavor is not very agree- 
able. The odorous flowers, which possess astringent and 
tonic properties, serve for the preparation of a perfume; 
the red, woody, fibrous bark is astringent, and is used as 
a febrifuge and a tonic; a decoction is used as a gargle 
for salivation. The fruits and seeds furnish an oil for 
burning. The root is astringent." (Lanessan, Les Plantes 
Utiles des Colonies Francaises.) 
Osterdamia tenwifolia (Trim) Kun.tze. (Poaceae.) 41509. 
Mascarene grass from the Bonine Islands. Presented by Mr. 
J. B. Thompson, Guam Agricultural Experiment Station. 
"This grass is used for lawn purposes in Japan and is said 
to suceed well abput Yokohama. It was originally described 
from the Mascarene Islands. It has been tested in a pre- 
liminary way in California, at Biloxi, Mississippi, and at 
Miami, Florida. The grass makes a very beautiful dark 
green turf, the leaves being short, never more than an 
inch or two long, much resenbling the turf of red fescue. 
Stout rootstocks are produced in abundance and these have 
a tendency to elevate the turf, a defect which can be 
Remedied by proper roiling. The grass has considerable 
promise for fine turf and for golf purposes in the South. " 
(C. V. Piper. ) 
Phoenix farinifera Roxburgh. (Phoenicaceae . ) .41507. 
Seeds of a palm from Matania El Saff , Egypt. Presented by 
Mr. Alfred Bircher, Middle-Egypt Botanic Station. Habi- 
tat, India and South China. A dwarf species, having a stem 
two feet high, completely enveloped by the leaf sheaths; 
fronds six feet long, unarmed, pinnate, recllnate, with 
long, awl-shaped, plicate leaflets; flowers dioecious; 
spathe poly-valved; spadix erect; fruit a drupe, oval, 1 
cm. in length, fleshy, black, hard; stone single, oblong, 
horny. In Cochin-China the plant goes under the name of 
Cay-cho-la. The trunk, stripped of its leaves, contains a 
quantity of certain starch which the poor use in case of 
need. This palm stands the climate of the south of France 
without protection. It is adapted to sandy and otherwise 
dry and barren land, but prefers the vicinity of the sea. 
(Adapted from von Mueller, Select Extra-Tropical Plants, 
p. 373; and de Lanessan, Les Plantes Utiles des Colonies 
Francaises, p. 784.) 
Polygonum sp. (Polygonaceae . ) 41527. Seeds from Bhu- 
tan, India. Collected by R. E. Cooper. Presented by Bees 
Limited, Liverpool, England, at the request of Mr. A. K. 
