'STANDLEY TKEES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 527 



4. Casimiroa watsonii Engler ; P. Wilson, N. Amer. Fl. 25 : 214. 1911. 

 Known only from the type locality, near Guadalajara, Jalisco. 



Leaflets 3 or 4, elliptic to oblanceolate, 3 to 7.5 cm. long, entire or nearly 

 so, glabrate; fruit sweet and edible, containing 1 or 2 seeds. 



It seems rather doubtful whether this is distinct from C. pringlei. 



5. Casimiroa edulis Llave & Lex. Nov. Yeg. Descr. 2: 2. 1825. 



Sonora to Jalisco ; often cultivated ; reported from many other parts of 

 Mexico, but probably because of confusion with C. sapota. Guatemala. 

 Large or medium-sized tree, with broad dense crown ; leaflets almost always 



5, elliptic, oval, or broadly ovate, bright green, nearly or quite glabrous, often 

 lustrous; flowers white; fruit 8 to 10 cm. broad, yellowish, with sweet pulp; 

 seeds usually 5, 1.8 to 2.3 cm. long. The following names are reported, but 

 most of them probably belong equally or exclusively to C. sapota: " Zapote 

 bianco" (the most common name); "zapote;" " chapote ;" " matasano 



(Oaxaca) ; " cochiztzapotl" (Nahuatl, " sleepy-zapote " ) ; " iztactzapotl " (Na- 

 huatl; " white-zapote ") ; " ccaxmuttza " (Otomi, Buelna). 



This species may have a wider range than is indicated, but all the Mexican 

 specimens seen by the writer come from the Pacific coast. It is not absolutely 

 certain that this species, rather than C. sapota, is the one described by Llave 

 and Lexarza, but their description seems to agree better with it. 



The white sapote (including also Casimiroa sapota) is a well-known tree in 

 Mexico, but is little grown outside that country. It is cultivated in the West 

 Indies and has been introduced into southern California. The fruit varies in 

 size and quality. It somewhat resembles an apple, and the best varieties are as 

 large as a good-sized orange. The tender yellowish skin is thin, like that of an 

 apple ; the pulp is soft and cream-colored, of delicate texture, with a pleasant 

 sweet flavor. The fruit ripens in July and August. It is much eaten in Mexico 

 and is commonly sold in the markets. 



The fruits are popularly believed to induce sleep if eaten in quantity, and to 

 calm rheumatic pains. The bark, leaves*, and especially the seeds are said to 

 contain a glucoside, casimirosine, which has a hypnotic and sedative effect upon 

 cerebral centers. A small dose, it is stated, produces, at the end of an hour, 

 deep sleep which lasts four to six hours. This principle, obtained chiefly from 

 the seeds, has been used by Mexican physicians. 



The white sapote is described by Herndndez,^ who says: 



" The Cochitzapotl is a large irregular tree, with thin foliage of ternate 

 leaves like those of the orange ; the trunk is spattered with white spots ; the 

 flowers are yellow and medium-sized ; the fruit, of the shape and size of a 

 quince, is called by the Spaniards Zapote bianco; it is edible and of agreeable 

 flavor, but it is not to be counted a wholesome food ; the stone which it con- 

 tains is a deadly poison. The bark of the tree is dry and somewhat sweet, 

 with a certain bitterness; the leaves, crushed and applied to the nipples of the 

 nurse, cure diarrhea in infants; the seeds, crushed and roasted, cure putrid 

 ulcers and proud flesh, and by exciting suppuration produce new flesh and 

 hasten healing; if eaten, the fruits induce drowsiness, whence the name. The 

 tree grows in hot and cold regions." 



6. Casimiroa sapota Oerst. Nat. For. Kjobenhavn Vid. Medd. 1857: 157. 1858. 

 San Luis PotosI and Queretaro to Jalisco and Oaxaca. Type from Nica- 

 ragua. 



Tree, similar to the preceding species ; leaflets nearly always 3, smaller and 

 narrower, on very long petiolules. "Zapote" (Queretaro); "zapote bianco" 

 (Jalisco); "matasano" (Nicaragua). 



* Thesaurus 89. 1651. 



