The mamey sapote is a widely cultivated fruit tree 
which occurs from Mexico to northern South America 
and in the West Indies. Standley (191) and Popenoe 
(158) consider it as probably native to southern Mexico 
and Central America. (64*, 183, 158, 191*, 199) 
Calocarpum viride Pitt. (Pouteria viridis (Pitt.) 
Cronquist): Jnyerto, green sapote. 
This species, variable, though generally smaller-fruited 
than the last, ranges from southern Mexico to Costa 
Rica, but is apparently most frequently cultivated in 
Central America. (64*, 153*) 
Canavalia ensiformis (.) DC.: Jack bean. 
This bean is now of relatively little importance. It 
is known from ancient archaeological levels in Peru (19, 
55, perhaps not this species’), and is reported from archae- 
ological evidences in North America (116). It may be 
that this large-seeded species was cultivated very early, 
but has since declined in popularity and usage due to the 
development of the better types of Phaseolus beans (177). 
Piper (147) considers it “‘practically certain that the plant 
is native to America.’’ Its nearest relatives appear to be 
Mexican, Central American and West Indian in distri- 
bution. Vavilov (207) assigns it to the Mexican-Central 
American center of origin (diversity) with a query. (55, 
115, 117, 147*, 207) 
Capsicum annuum L., C. frutescens L.: Chile 
Pepper. 
The importance of the chile in Mexican diet is well 
known and doubtless of great antiquity. The common 
species, C. annuum and C. frutescens, have long been 
confused, but Smith and Heiser (187) have recently found 
that they appear to be truly distinct with strong sterility 
barriers preventing hybridization. Both species include 
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