640 standley: north American species of genipa 



americana L.^ was based upon Plumier's description and illustra- 

 tion of a West Indian plant. It has several synonyms, but only 

 one of importance. In 1818 Kunth described' G. caruto, from 

 material obtained by Humboldt and Bonpland in Colombia and 

 Venezuela. Genipa caruto has been recognized rather generally 

 as a valid species, but it differs from the earlier G. americana only 

 in having copious pubescence, the latter plant being nearly or 

 quite glabrous. In the absence of any concomitant characters 

 the presence or absence of pubescence is scarcely a sufficient 

 basis for specific segregation; consequently it seems preferable 

 to consider Genipa caruto a synonym or at most a subspecies of 

 G. americana.'^ 



This is one of the best known and most interesting plants of 

 the American tropics. It ranges from southwestern Mexico 

 (Guerrero to Chiapas) through Central America to Peru and 

 Brazil, and occurs also in Cuba, Hispaniola, Porto Rico, and the 

 Lesser Antilles. It is a tree sometimes 20 meters high, with a 

 trunk up to 50 cm. in diameter, with stout, spreading branches. 

 The large, entire leaves are usually obovate, and 14 to 35 cm. 

 long, with a breadth of 6 to 19 cm. The sweet-scented flowers 

 are borne in small dense cymes, the corollas being salverform, 

 white or yellowish white, and 2 to 4.5 cm. long. The fruit is 

 subglobose, 6 to 7 cm. in diameter, or often larger, 2-celled, cov- 

 ered with a thick, smooth or rough, russet or brownish green 

 rind. The large, flat, brown seeds are imbedded in a scant, 

 whitish, acidulous pulp with violet juice. 



Through its wide area of distribution many different names are 

 applied to the plant, some of which are the following: ''Caruto" 

 (Venezuela, Colombia), ''jagua" (Venezuela, Colombia, Porto 

 Rico, Panama, Nicaragua, Mexico), ''jagua azul" (Tabasco), 

 "jagua blanca" (Tabasco), ''guaitil" (Costa Rica), 'Hapaculo" 

 (Nicaragua,) ''yigualti" (Nicaragua), ''gigualti" (Nicaragua). 



2 Syst. Veg. ed. 10. 931. 1759. 



s H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 3: 407. 1818. 



* Schumann (in Mart. Fl. Bras. 6*: 352. 1889) has treated G. caruto as a sub- 

 species of G. americana, under the name G. americana caruto. The form is of 

 sufficient importance, probably, to receive nomenclatural recognition. The 

 pubescent plant occurs in continental North America, while the glabrous form 

 is found in the West Indies. 



