80 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



50583. CoLOCASiA esculexta (L.) Scliott. Araceie. Dasheen. 



From f'anton. Kwansrtung. China. Tiil)ei-s presented Ity (i. \Veidn>an (Jroff. 

 Canton Christian College. Received June 28. 1920. 

 "■Hung v(/ci v. A popular variety widely planted in Kwantunsr. Not so long in 

 form as the Pun lotuj u. vvliich it resembles except for the red colorine: of the sprout 

 which gives it its name of 'redbud.' The flesh is white but spotted with yellow: Aery 

 mealy and good. A medium early Aariety and heavy yielder. Planted in l'\'bruary 

 or March and haivested about September. It is planted wid(^ly and brings a hig:h 

 price on the markets." {Groff.) 



50584 to 50586. 



From 8an .lose, Costa Rica. Collected by Wil.^on Popenoe. Agricultural Ex- 

 plorer of the United States Department of Agric-ulture. Received .Ttme IS. 

 1920. Quoted notes by Mr. Popondp. 



50584. Persea Americana Mill. Laurace;e. Avocado. 

 ( /'. f/rntistiinia Gaertn. f. i 



'■(No. 380. May 30. 1920.) Uudwodd of avocado No. 14. from the grounds of 

 Chaille and ^Vssmann, in Sa.n ViceiUe. a .suburb of San .To,-e. Thi< Aariety is 

 recommended by Don Oton Jimenez as the be:<t with which he is fami'iar. It is 

 of the West Indian race and is said to ha^e been grown from a seed brought froni 

 Santa Clara, on the Atlantic side of Costa Rica. The tree is probal)ly 30 or 40 

 years old at least and is 40 feet high, broad, and round topped, with a well- 

 formed crown and a shapely trunk branching 8 to 10 feet above the ground. 

 The fruit, which is said to ripen in September and October, is green, obbvoid in 

 form, and probably a pound in weight at maturity. I have not seen the mature 

 fruit, hence can not describe its quality nor the size of the ;-eed. 



'It is thought that some of the We'-t Indian varietie- of Costa Rica, which 

 have been grown in the highlands at altitudes of 1.000 tx) (l.(X)0 feet, may ripen 

 their fruits at a time of the year which will make them valual)le in California or 

 Florida, more probably the latter. The variety under consideration comes 

 from an altitude of approximately 4.000 foot. It can not be expected that it 

 will prove to be much hardier than the We^t Indian sorts now grown in Flurida.'' 



50585. Persea Americana Mill. Laurace:!-. 

 (P. gratissinm Gaertn. f . ) 



'■( Xo. 387. May 30, 1920.) Rudwood of the nnuarote de anix. (irpini-dtc dr mono, 

 or ngu'irafc de nmn-Miia ('anise -fla\-ored av(,cado, monlvcy's avocado, oi' apple 

 avocado). A wild aAocado which I have seen only in the vicinity of La Palma 

 and San Isidro. about 15 miles from San .lose, but which is reported also from 

 Turrialba. The character of the tree and fruit are such as to suggest that this 

 species, which is certainly indigenous in the mountains of central Costa Rica, 

 is the wild prototype of the cultivated Guatemalan race, if not of the West 

 Indian as well (since it is believed that botli races are derived fn.m a single 

 species). The fruiting habit of the tree suggests the Guatemalan race more than 

 the West Indian, as also the hard, gi-anular shell and the general character of the 

 fruit. The only point in which the plant differs noticeably from the cultivate<l 

 Guatemala^ avocado is in the aniselike odor and flavor of the bark, leaves, 

 and fruit. The wild tree, which has been studied by Don Oton Jimenez 

 and myself, has been observed up to the praeent only at elevations be- 

 tween 4,500 and 5,000 feet. It is not found in the forest, but, like several 

 other species of Persea and allied genera which occur in Costa Rica, it 

 fi-equents open places close to small streams and brooks or is found asso- 

 ciated with a few other trees along the margins of such watercourses. 

 The region in which it grows is one of abundant rainfall with cool but never 

 cold weather, and the soil is a substantial clay loam. The trees we have seen 

 have not been in any case more than 40 feet high, and all were of erect, 



