Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-14

s@HIS is a tale OF strange plants
and fowers-of exotic bios
SONS shaped in the manner of
q birds, of leaves upon which
nature has painted other leaves OF
hairy trees with fernlike tops ana
lacy leaves floating beneath water IKE
the ghosts of leaves. There are roses
that bloom beneath the snow, and
pIuns the taste of which no man
knows All of these are under the care
of George Wesley Hess. superintendent
of the Botanic Garden
At the east end of the main building
the visitor beholds one of the most
astonishing sights in washington.
Right in sight of him. blossoming ana
innocent, is tree the sap and 1rol'
of which are deadly poison. On II is
labeled in large type: THE Hottentot
Poison Tree
1t seems that the Hottentot tribes OF
Africa possessing an enlightened nv
ton of the economy of war. dispense
with the possibility of list of wound
ed by the genial expedient OF tipping
their arrows with the sap or the Juiee
of the fruit of this tree ihus' "nen
they fight, no arrows are wasted save
those that go wild of the mark
Furthermore. when the Hottentot
supreme court--or whatever equf'a
lent has been Acknowledgements tha'
certain citizens shall be put to death
as q Just punishment for their sins, the
Mum of this tree is used in a ghastiS
sort of banquet The invited guests
are seated and each takes a bite OF
the plum. One case is recorded "hefe
the last man. just taking his bite. iiFed
long enough to see the first man fall
dead, The attack of the poison seems
TO he centered upon the heart, ana
death. needless to say. is practically
instantaneous.
Supt Hess called che head gardener,
an accommodating man who knows
each plant through years of constant
association. The head gardener pulled
leaf from the tree and squeezed II
From the broken stem drop of thick
white liquid issued forth, slugSishly.
1t resembled tooth paste being forced
from the tin.
eft was to put that sap on my
tongue" said the head gardener in re-
Elective tones I'D be dead before you
could yell fo= a doctor.
Nobody urged him to try the expert
lnent and he dropped the leaf in
gutter where ii and its poison would
be swept away
The tree itself is beautiful to look
upon. The blossoms were white with
p touch Of pink. resembling, in a way.
the white chrysanthemun. The leaves
are small and smooth, like miniature
rubber plant leaves. It is hard to be-
Hove that d tree SO beautiful can be
SO deadly. The plums of the tree,
when ripe, are black and juicy. More
than that no man knows. for no man
has lived to describe their taste.
short distance to the left was a
plant possessing a sonorouS and
lengthy Latin name. 1t had been sent
from Australia. The first impression
that this plant creates is that it is
badly in need of a shave. and close
shave at that. 1t is called the Nor
folk Island pine, and grows to a con-
siderable height But it never loses
the hirsute growth which envelops its
large trunk
A few more steps and the visitor
gained the impression that he was at
tending session of the Glad Hand
Association. Reaching forward eager
ly were what appeared to he series
of furry palms. urging welcome. This
was the new Caledonian. 4 species of
pine which also lives in Australia.
Now the adventurer came upon three
varieties of leaves. all of them from,
foreign soil and each of them defsng
the sense of reality. First. there was
the F1ttou1a. :, PERUVIAN plant. The
leaves were a deep. rich green. Etched
upon them. as though some person had
sought to paint the lily, were the out
lines of the veins in deep. rich red.
Next was the Maranta Bella. a large
leaf, whereon were painted the
images of other leaves. Finally. there
was the velvet leaf. The illusion of
this plant is remarkable. Hardly :.
visitor in the Botanic Garden but who
pauses and surreptitiously strokes the
leaves They are foot or more in
length and somehow manage to convey
perfectly the impression of deep.
thick, velvet cloth. Yet they are per-
fectly smooth.
Passing the pinanga. a Brazilian tree
which has reddish. octopus-like
erowths attached to it's trunk tthe
fentacIes sprout forth the seed. which
eventually fall to the ground). and
the umbrella tree of the West Indies.
with its huge top waving soleinnly
aloft. the visitor halted before q queer
looking plant. generally resembling a
punchbow made in sections
That" said the head gardener. rs
the bird's-nest fern. 1t grows in India.
why the name was asked
Because" replied the head gardener,
cit is popularity believed. in India, that
when bird makes its nest in one OF