HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT, 1954
such a common colour; many berries are black with a bluish waxy deposit. Probably the only true blue is that of Dichroa a close relative of Hydrangea. Purple, violet and mauve are characteristic of the fruits of the different species of Callicarpa which are better known in gardens in England than in their native land. The fruits of Dianella, in the lily family, are a deep and glorious purple. Many berries are black, a common example being those of Raphiolepis the so-called Hong Kong hawthorn. The only wild Jasmine has glossy black fruits as has also the commonest of the wild Persimmons.
Numerous plants have fruits either poisonous, or edible, or useful for medicine. Strophanthus and Strychnos are both common here; Gelsemium, a source of the alkaloid gelsemidine is less so; Cerbera is abundant near the sea. Edible fruits include those of a wild Jack Fruit, Artocarpus, which when ripe resemble misshapen apricots, and are delicious. The fruits of the Rose-myrtle contain raspberry coloured flesh in which are enclosed numerous seeds; they can be made into excellent jelly. Several species of Persimmon are wild but their fruits are too astringent to be eaten. A wild banana bears fruits filled with very hard black seeds surrounded by a little sweet pulp. Several species of bramble are abundant, one of which has bright red black-berries which though palatable are hard to collect as the vines are very prickly.
There are numerous plants which closely resemble their European relatives. Old Man's Beard, the com- mon clematis of the English hedgerow, has five close relatives here. Four wild violets also occur here; like the English dog violet they are scentless, but they are
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