220 



The following names arc used for these fruits: 



Ciruela.— A generic name applied to all plnmlike fruits, luit (specially to tlie 

 species of Spondias. It is often used for the various kinds without a qualifying 

 term. 



Ciruela amariUa. — Usually applied to the fruit of S. htiea, hut also given to any of 

 the yellow kinds. 



Ciruela roja. — Supposed to belong to S. purpurea, but probably used for any of the 

 red fruits. 



Ciruela oampechana. — Cuban name for the fruit of 8. purpurea. 



('inula colorada. — Another Cuban name for the same. 



Jabo. — The Cuban name for S. lutea. 



CACTACEAE. 



The Cactaceae furnish a great variety of fruits, many of which are 

 highly prized in Mexico. These come from various species of Opuntia 

 and Oereus and of some other genera. 



Opuntia Bpp. Tuna. 



Quite a number of Opuntias furnish choice fruits, all known by the 

 name of "tuna." The species which arc said to furnish the tunas are 

 generally given as 0, tuna and 0. ficus-indica, but it is not at all cer- 

 tain that these are the ones which furnish the best tunas of Mexico. 

 Both of these species are said to be introduced into the Old World, but 

 the fruit sent to this country from Italy appears to be different from 

 the common tunas of Mexico. The whole subject should be taken up 

 by some botanist who has access to large collections, after having made 

 extensive held collections of fruits, Mowers, and stems, and having 

 secured numerous photographs. In the markets at Mazatlan, on the 

 west coast, I found a small, deep red colored tuna, perhaps 2.5 cm. 

 (1 inch) long, to be very common. The large tunas were not met with 

 until I reached the Sierra Madre. These were very common at Santa 

 Teresa, Tepic, altitude 2,040 meters (6,800 feet), and at most of the towns 

 at which I stopped in the table-land region of Zacatecas and Jalisco. 

 One of the best and largest of these tunas is the "crystalina." This is 

 one of the most delicious fruits I met with in Mexico, and ought to be 

 introduced into the United States. Plants that grow in Mexico at an 

 altitude of 1,500 to 2,100 meters (5,000 to 7,000 feet) could be easily 

 grown in parts of Arizona and New Mexico. 



Cereus geometrizans Mart. Garambuu.o. 



This is a common species on the tablelands of western Mexico. The 

 fruit, which is a small, oblong berry about 1 cm. (£ inch) long, is said to 

 be very common in the markets during its season, which must be after 

 the close of the rainy season. At the time of my visit, about the 1st 

 of September, I found the fruit nearly ripe. (PI. XXX.) 



Cereus 8pp. Pitaya, pitahaya. 



The pitaya is said by some to be the fruit of G. variabilis and by 



others to be that of G. pitahaya. The name is also applied to the fruit 



of G. thurberi, (', giganteua, etc., and "pitahaya" is probably better con- 



