l62 



The Journal of Heredity 



included among those fruits whose 

 merits are summed up in the classical 

 phrase, "relished by birds and chil- 

 dren." 



In food-value as expressed in calories, 

 therefore, the pejibaye and the avocado 

 stand first among the tropical fruits 

 of economic value; some varieties of 

 the latter ha\e a higher value than the 

 pejibaye, but the average is a])()ut the 

 same. 



The relatively small proj)()rtion of 

 water contained in the fruit; the large 

 amount of carbohydrates (mainly 

 starch); the considerable cjuantity of 

 fat; and the small size of the seed 

 compared to the bulk of the edible 

 portion, combine to place the pejibaye 

 among the most noteworthy of the 

 tropical fruits. And it is not onh' a 

 fruit of high food-value, but it is delici- 

 ous as well. We believe that it is 

 destined to become a food-plant of 

 great importance in many tropical 

 countries, and it is in this belief that 

 the present paper has been written, in 

 order to bring the pejibaye to the 

 attention of tropical horticulturists 

 not yet familiar with it, and to place 

 on record the a\ailable data regarding 

 its culture. 



USES 



The pejibayes sold in tJie markets 

 of Costa Rica have usually been boiled 

 in salted water for about three hours. 

 In this condition they are ready for 

 eating without further prejjaration, 

 excejit to remove the skin. They are 

 so palatable in this form, that very few 

 efforts seem to have been made by 

 Costa Ricans to devise more elaborate 

 methods of preparation, though enough 

 has been done to show that this fruit 

 lends itself to \arious uses. 



After it luis been boiled, tlie fruit 

 cannot be kept in good condition jnore 

 than five or six days. Before cooking, 

 however, it has excellent keeping 

 qualities. If placed in a dry room, 

 where the air will hiive free access to 

 it, the fruit will not decay, but will 

 gradually dry up. If placed in a moist, 

 warm room, fermentation may take 



place within a few da>'s, and thi' fruit 

 become useless for eating. 



It should be a simple matter to ship 

 pejibayes to distant markets. If 

 properly packed, they should keep ten 

 days to two weeks, at least, without 

 suffering materially either in appear- 

 ance or flavor. It may be mentioned, 

 in this connection, that it seems feasible 

 to dry the boiled fruit and store it 

 for an indefinite period. An experi- 

 ment made by Dona Amparo de 

 Zeledon, based upon a suggestion of 

 Carlos Werckle, has given excellent 

 results: boiled fruits were pared, the 

 seed removed, and the flesh dried in an 

 oven for several hours. The water was 

 extracted but the fruit retained its 

 form, color, and general character. It 

 was found, six months later, that this 

 dried fruit, when boiled for half an 

 hour, regained the consistency and 

 flavor of the boiled fresh pejibaye. 



Like the chestnut, which the boiled 

 fruit strikingly resembles in texture 

 and flavor, the pejibaye is used as a 

 stufifing for turkey and chicken. Dried, 

 it might be reduced to a flour w^hich 

 would serve various culinary uses. 

 But to one who has eaten the freshly 

 boiled pejibaye, there is no incentiNe 

 for seeking new ways of preparing the 

 fruit for the table. 



In addition to the fleshy portion of 

 the fruit, the hard white kernel of the 

 seed is eaten. It resembles the coconut 

 in flavor, and contains a large quantit>' 

 of oil. The palmito or terminal bud 

 of the palm ma\- be used as a Aegetable, 

 but its consumption necessitates the 

 destruction of the palm. It cannot, 

 therefore, be considered of much eco- 

 nomic importance. The wood, which 

 is dark brown in color, nearly as hard as 

 bone, and takes a fine polish, was used 

 by the Indians in pre-Colombian days 

 to make spears, and for {pointing their 

 arrows. It is now employetl for walk- 

 ing sticks. 



CLIMATl-: .\ND SOIL 



While the cultural recjuirements of 

 ihe pejibaye palm are not fully known, 

 \arious inferences jna>' be drawn from 



