1514 
Leptospermum seoparium nichollii (Myrtaceae), 48168. 
From Auckland, New Zealand. Seeds presented by Mr. H. 
R. Wright. A red-flowered variety of this very abun- 
dant tree or shrub, the beautiful colonial counterpart 
of the English broom or gorse, sometimes 30 feet in 
height. Early voyagers and colonists sometimes used 
its pungent leaves in place of tea. Indeed the whole 
plant, Including leaves , flowers, fruit, and young shoots, 
is highly aromatic, and the oil which it contains will 
perhaps, in the future, be put to some useful purpose. 
The Maoris made their paddles and spears from the wood 
which is largely used for fences and firewood. A bunch 
of the twigs makes an excellent broom. (Adapted from 
Laiiig and Blackwell, Plants of New Zealand, p. 272.) 
MetrosiderOs tomentosa (Myrtaceae), 48151. From Bay 
of Plenty, New Zealand. Seeds presented by Mr. Charles 
G. Hallet. "Seeds of -a very ornamental tree, of a 
spreading nature, which grows along our northern coasts . 
In midsummer, it is covered with crimson flowers which 
secrete large quantities of light-colored , mild-flavored 
nectar. The tree makes a good windbreak, withstanding 
gales and salt spray splendidly; the crooked limbs are 
much used for knees and cleats in boat-building. The 
tree Is probably as sensitive to frost as the fig or 
the lemon. Collected at Napier." (Hallet.) 
Pistaeia atlantiea ( Anacardiaceae ) , 48163. From Trip- 
oli, Libya. Seeds presented by Dr. E. 0, Fenzi, direc- 
tor, Stabilimento Orticolo Llbico. A tree, native to 
northwestern Algeria, 30 to 50 feet in height, with many 
woody branches in a dense head. The blue drupe is some- 
what fleshy and about the size of a pea. The tree Is 
frequently found in sandy uncultivated fields not far 
from the city of Cafsa, and seems to have been culti- 
vated at one time by the inhabitants. A resinous gum 
flows from the bark of the trunk and branches at vari- 
ous times of the year but especially in summer, and 
when hard is pale yellow color. It has a pleasant aro- 
matic odor and taste, scarcely distinguishable from the 
oriental mastic gum, and called by the same name, Heulc, 
by the Moors. It thickens in plates covering the branch- 
es, or in irregular masses differing In thickness and 
shape, often the size of a finger. Some of these become 
detached from the tree and are scattered on the ground. 
The Arabs collect this substance in autumn and winter 
and chew it to whiten the teeth and sweeten the breath. 
(Adapted from Desf ontaines, Flora Atlantiea, vol. 2, p. 364.) 
