THE CYPHOMANDRA. 243 
They set in the summer when the house was thrown 
open, but I suspect that the flowers are self-fertile. The 
fruits measure almost uniformly 2 inches long and 1% 
inches wide. The color when ripe is a light, clear, red- 
dish brown, shading into dull olive-green towards the 
stem, and sparingly streaked with olive-green. In ex- 
ternal features the fruits strongly resemble small speci- 
mens of pepino. The fruit is two-celled, like a small 
tomato, and has numerous tomato-like seeds on central 
placente. The flavor is a musky acidity, not very un- 
like that of some tomatoes. Theodosia B. Shepherd, of 
southern California, writes in American Gardening for 
July 11, 1896 (and gives a picture), as follows, of the 
quality of the fruit, which, she says, is sometimes called 
Brazilian Melon Fruit: ‘‘ When fully ripe, it is deli- 
cious. When the outer rind is taken off, and it is sliced, 
it can be served as a salad, with dressing, or eaten with 
sugar and cream. It makes a fine jelly or jam, with the 
flavor of apricots, but more delicate. The ripe fruit does 
not bruise easily, because of the thick outer rind, so 
that it keeps a long time, and can be shipped long dis- 
tances.”’ 
The leaves of this cyphomandra are large and heavy, 
heart-shaped, and perfectly entire. The plant has a trop- 
ical look, and a well-grown plant is always sure to attract 
attention. The plant is much loved of the mealy-bug, but 
we have found no fungi attacking it. We do not know 
what forcing temperature best suits this plant, but I 
imagine that it likes a cooler place than tomatoes do. 
The cyphomandra fruit is sometimes seen in the New 
York markets, coming from Jamaica, and is often called 
Grenadilla. In the tropics, the fruit is eaten either raw or 
cooked, after the manner of tomatoes. The plant there 
attains a height of ro or 12 feet. In Spanish America it 
is said to be known as fomato de la Paz. The plant is 
a native of South America, it having been introduced into 
British gardens from southern Brazil by Tweedie, who 
17 FORC. 
