OCTOBER 1 TO DECEMBER 31, 1916. 17 



43435 to 43440— Continued. 



ment of tropical and subtropical fruits. This is the wild cherry, Prunus 

 salicifoUa H. B. K., commonly known as cereza among Spanish-speaking 

 Guatemalans and as capulin by the Indians. While not a tropical 

 species, that is, not adapted to the tropical littoral, it is distinctly sub- 

 tropical in nature and may perhaps be found to thrive in such sections 

 as the extreme southern portion of the United States and similar regions 

 bordering upon the Tropics, as well as in the Tropics tliemselves, when 

 grown at elevations of a few thousand feet. In its present wild state a 

 fruit of fairly good quality, it would seem that with a little attention on 

 the part of plant breeders it might become a most valuable addition to 

 the list of fruits suitable for moist subtropical countries. Arid or semi- 

 arid sections, such as California, produce European cherries, of the 

 Bigarreau type, to perfection, but as yet there is no cherry for the moist 

 subtropical regions, such as Florida, northern India, and southern Brazil. 

 It is in such regions that attention should be devoted to this species. 



"As commonly seen in the Guatemalan highlands, this species is an 

 erect tree, somewhat slender at times, reaching a height of about 30 feet, 

 the trunk stout, occasionally as much as 3 feet thick, and the bark rough 

 and grayish. The young branchlets are dotted with minute grayish 

 lenticels. The leaves, which are borne upon slender petioles three- 

 quarters of an inch long, are commonly 4J inches in length, \\ to IJ 

 inches in breadth at the \\idest point, oblong-lanceolate in outline, with a 

 long slender tip. The upper surface is dull green, the lower surface 

 glaucous, while the margin is rather finely serrate. Tlie flowers, which 

 are produced from January to May, are white, about three-eighths of 

 an inch broad, very numerous, on slender racemes 2 to 4 inches in length. 

 As many as 15 or 20 fruits sometimes develop on a single raceme, but 

 many drop off before reaching maturity, with the result that two to five 

 ripe fruits are commonly found on each raceme. The season of ripening 

 in Guatemala is from INIay to September — a remarkably long period. 

 The ripe fruits, which are slightly oblate in form and up to three-quar- 

 ters of an inch in diameter, separate readily from the short fruit stalks, 

 leaving the green 5-tootlietl calyx attached to the fruit stalk in every 

 instance. In color the fruit is a deep, glossy maroon-purple. The skin 

 is thin and tender, though sufficiently firm so that the fruit is not easily 

 injured by handling, and the flesh is pale green, meaty, but full of juice. 

 The flavor is sweet, suggestive of the Bigarreau type of cherry, with a 

 trace of bitterness in the skin. The stone is a trifle large in comparison 

 to the size of the fruit, being about the same size as in some of the 

 cultivated cherries of the North, whose fruits are considerably larger 

 than those of this species. Cultivation, however, would probably in- 

 crease the bulk of the edible portion of the fruit without greatly in- 

 creasing the size of the stone. It may be remarked that trees of this 

 species which are found " in cultivation " in Guatemala are merely 

 growing in dooryards, and do not receive any of the attention connoted 

 by the word " cultivation " as it is commonly understood by European 

 and North American horticulturists. Pruning is never practiced, ferti- 

 lizers are not applied, the soil is not tilled, and no water is supplied 

 during the long dry season. 



" Pleasant to eat out of hand, this cherry can also be eaten in various 

 other ways, stewed, made into preserves, or used for the manufacture of 



30824°— 21 2 



