122 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



The alpine daisies are abundant upon all of our higher 

 mountains from Montana to Colorado and California and are 

 said to extend into the Arctic regions. The heads are large 

 and very brilliant, ranging in color from blue through purple, 

 rose, and pink to almost white. In contrast to most of the 

 other fieabanes, they retain their color in drying and make 

 beautiful herbarium specimens. 



THE PINEAPPLE GUAVA 



By Vaughan MacCaughey. 



r I 'HE true guavas (Psidium) are widely known and enjoyed 

 throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions, both as 

 fresh fruit and in the form of jam, jellies, etc. Closely related to 

 them, however, is a little-known species, the Pineapple Guava, 

 Fcijoa Sellowiana. This is native to sub-tropical South Amer- 

 ica, particularly western Paraguay, southern Brazil, Uruguay, 

 and parts of Argentina. In these countries it is common in the 

 forests and, although not cultivated by the natives, the fruit is 

 highly prized by them. The designation pineapple guava refers 

 to the flavor of the fruit, which strongly resembles that of the 

 pineapple. It is also called Brazilian guava or fig guava. 



It was named by Berg after material collected by Friedrich 

 Sellow in Brazil. ' The genus was dedicated by Berg to Joan de 

 Silva Feijoa (correctly pronounced fay-zho-a) director of the 

 Museum of Natural History at San Sebastian, Brazil. The 

 first complete and accurate description of the species w*as not 

 made until forty years later, by Dr. Edouard Andre ; in Revue 

 Horticole 70:265, 1896. Two other species have been de- 

 scribed, — F. obovata Berg and F. Schcnckiaiui Kiaersk, but the 

 fruits of both these are unknown. The genus is closely allied 

 to Psidium, but distinguished from it by albuminous seeds and 

 stamens sub-erect in the bud. 



