THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 123 



The only general account in the American literature is that 

 of F. W. Popenoe, in the Pomona College Journal of Economic 

 Botany, but this journal had a limited circulation and has been 

 defunct for several years. The fruit was unknown in the 

 Hawaiian Islands previous to 1908, and the present account is 

 the first to emphasize its possibilities in this Territory of the 

 United States. 



The pineapple guava was introduced into southern Europe 

 in 1890, and is grown in southern France and Italy. From 

 Italy it was introduced into the United States in 1900. It has 

 been widely planted in California and in 1908 the Hawaii Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station received plants from southern 

 California. These have grown satisfactorily. The tree itself 

 is well adapted for use as an ornamental and as a hedge-plant, 

 and the fruit is of unusual horticultural promise. There are 

 now on the market several named varieties, of which Andre, 

 Hehre, and Besson are the best known. 



The shrub attains a height of 10-15 ft. Very old plants 

 may have a total spread of 18 ft. or more,, with trunks 8-10 

 inches thick at the base. The branches are rounded and swollen 

 at the nodes. The bark is light gray ; the entire plant, with the 

 exception of the upper surfaces of the leaves and the corollas, 

 is covered with white tomentum. The leaves are opposite, 

 short petioled, thick and coriaceous. They resemble those of the 

 olive, but are much larger. The upper surface is dark glossy 

 green ; the lower surface is silver gray, canescent and finely 

 pubescent. The striking contrast in the two surfaces consti- 

 tutes one of the ornamental features of the plant. The margins 

 are slightly recurved. The veins are inconspicuous on the 

 upper surface of the blade ; below they are fine, prominent and 

 in arcuate reticulations, re-uniting before reaching the margin 

 of the leaf. 



The flowers are showy (1-1.5 inches diameter), red, white 

 and purple, bisexual, and solitary or in clusters. They appear 



