290 CONTBIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



3. Persea floccosa Mez. Jalirb. Bot. Gart. Berlin 5: 148. 1889. 

 Known only from the type locality, Chinantla, Oaxaca. 



Tree; leaf blades ovate, 11 to 17 cm. long, 5 to 7.5 cm. wide, acuminate, 

 j^-laucescent beneatli ; perianth 5 mm. long. 



4. Persea americana Mill. Gard. Diet. ed. 8. 1768. 

 Laurus persea L. Sp. PI. 370. 1753. 



Persea gratisslma Gaertn. f. Fruct. & Seni. 3: 222. pi. 221. 1807. 



Peisea persea Cocl^erell, Bull. Torrey Club 19: 95. 1892. 



Commonly cultivated in Mexico, and probably native in the southern part. 

 Widely cultivated in tropical regions. 



Tree, sometimes 20 meters high, with a trunlj 60 cm. in diameter, the bark 

 rather thin, light gray, fissured ; leaves oval to elliptic, 10 to 30 cm. long, 3.5 

 to 20 cm. wide, acute or obtuse, copiously pubescent when young; flowers green- 

 ish ; perianth 5.5 to 7 mm. long ; fruit oval or pear-shaped, sometimes 18 cm. 

 long, smooth, with thick oily pulp and a very large seed; wood rather soft, 

 fine-grained, reddish brown or light brown, its specific gravity about 0.65. 



The fruit is known in Mexico as " aguacate " or " ahuacate," from the 

 Nahuatl " ahuacatl " ^ or " ahuacuahuitl." The following additional names are 

 used, some of them referring to horticultural varieties : "Aguacate oloroso " 

 (Veracruz, Oaxaca); "on" (Yucatiln, Maya); "aguacate xinene," " xinene " 

 (Oaxaca, llcko) ; " tonalahuate " (Morelos, Veracruz, Ramirez); " cupanda " 

 (Tarascan) ; " aguacatillo " (Michoacan, Jalisco); " pahuatl " (the name of a 

 large variety, according to Starr'); " pagua " (a large variety, Roielo) ; 

 " koidium," " koitum," " kuitm " (Mixe, the fruit, Belmar; the tree is " kuitm- 

 keip"); " ttatzan " (OtomI, Buelna) ; " palta " (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru; 

 the Quechua name; Ramirez reports it as in use in Mexico, but this is doubt- 

 ful) ; " cura " (Colombia). The best English name is "avocado," a derivative 

 of "aguacate" This word has been variously modified, the extremes being 

 perhaps " abogado," the Spanish word for " lawyer," and " watercats," employed 

 by some English writers. The name " alligator-pear " is sometimes applied, 

 but this is an objectionable name. In the various Maya dialects of Central 

 America the names employed are " o," " oj," " ju," " un," " um," and " on." 



The avocado is one of the best-known of Mexican trees, having been cultivated 

 for many centuries. It has been introduced into most tropical regions of the 

 world, and in recent years into southern Florida and California. It is of inter- 

 est to note that the Trapp avocado, the form most commonly grown in Florida, 

 belongs to a distinct species, of unknown origin, distinguishetl by having the 

 perianth glabrous within. It has been described recently by Blake ^ as Persea 

 leiogyna. 



Two principal horticultural forms of Persea amerieo/na are recognized, the 

 " West Indian type," with smooth fruit and leathery skin, and the " Guatemalan 

 type," with rough or warty fruit and brittle skin. There is great variation in the 

 size and shape of the fruit. 



In tropical America the trees are grown from seeds, beginning to bear when 

 four or five years old and continuing their production sometimes for 50 years or 

 more. In modern practice the best forms are propagated by budding. A good- 

 sized tree will produce as many as 500 fruits per year. The fruit has a pleasant 

 flavor, and is usually eaten as a salad, with the addition of salt, pepper, vinegar, 



*This is also the Nahuatl term for testicle. It is uncertain which is the 

 primitive meaning. 

 ^ Starr, In Indian Mexico, p. 245. 1908. 

 ' Journ. Washington Acad. Sci. 10: 19. 1920. 



