STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 659 



The wood is said to be soft and purplish, with a strong odor, and to be 

 used for making trays, small images, and other articles. Goats are fond of 

 the leaves. The fruit, which is much eaten, is yellow and the flesh resinous, 

 with acid flavor. The fruits are said to be known at Jojutla (Morelos) as 

 " berracos " and " chupandias." The large seeds are eaten by pigs, and they 

 have been used locally (taken internally) as a remedy for leprosy. The bark 

 is employed as a substitute for soap. 



The tree is figured by Hernandez^ and described in a chapter entitled 

 " De Copalxochotl, seu arbore Gummosa pruniformi." He gives the Tarascan 

 name as " pompoqua," and reports that the plant was used in Michoacan for 

 fevers, diarrhea, and dysentery. 

 2. Cyrtocarpa edulis (T. S. Brandeg.) Standi. 



Tapirira edulis T. S. Brandeg. Zoe 5: 78. 1900. 



Southern Baja California. 



Tree, 7 to 9 meters high, with a trunk 15 to 30 cm. in diameter ; leaflets 

 rounded or very obtuse at apex, opposite, subsessile, the rachis terete ; flowers 

 white ; fruit 1.5 to 2 cm. long, yellow, velvety-pubescent. " Ciruela." 



The fruit has an acid flavor; on some trees it is pleasant to the taste but on 

 others bitter (perhaps because immatiu-e). It is much eaten by the people of 

 Baja California, and the stones are eaten by various animals. This is prob- 

 bly the "ciruelo" described by Clavigero (Historia de la California). For an 

 illustration of the tree see Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 16: pi. 119. 



4. ANACARDIUM L. Sp. PI. 383. 1753. 

 1. Anacardium occidentale L. Sp. PI. 383. 1753. 



Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas, and Oaxaca. Central America, "West Indies, 

 and South America ; naturalized in the tropics of the Old World. 



Shrub or tree, 2.5 to 10 meters high ; leaves obovate, petiolate, 9 to 15 cm. 

 long, rounded at apex, glabrous ; flowers polygamo-dioecious, in large terminal 

 panicles ; calyx 5-parted ; petals 5, linear-lanceolate, 7 to 8 mm. long, puberu- 

 lent outside ; fruit reniform, 2 to 2.5 cm. long, borne on a large, thickened 

 fleshy hypocarp. "Maran6n" (Yucatan, Oaxaca, Guerrero, Cuba, El Salvador, 

 Panama, Costa Rico, Peru); " jocote maranon " (Guatemala); " pajuil," 

 " acaju " (Porto Rico); " caujil " (Venezuela); " merey " (Colombia, Vene- 

 zuela); " casoy " (Philippines); " cacahuil," " ca juil " (Santo Domingo), 



Specimens obtained at Acapulco by Palmer were taken from a cultivated 

 tree said to have been brought from Panama, and the plant is probably not 

 native so far north. The English name for the tree is " cashew " or " cashew- 

 nut," and the French name is " acajou," although the latter belongs more 

 properly to the mahogany. 



The wood is close-grained, strong, and durable, the specific gravity being 

 reported as 0.488. The flowers are green tinged with yellow or purple ; they 

 are sweet-scented and much frequented by bees. From the trunk there exudes 

 a gum somewhat like gum arable. This can be used for varnish, and in South 

 America it is used for bookbinding in order to prevent the attacks of insects. 



The most important products of the tree are the fruit and receptacles, both 

 of which are edible. The receptacle is pear-shaped, very fleshy, and yellow or 

 reddish ; it is astringent v/hen green, but when ripe has a pleasantly acid 

 flavor. In Mexico sweetmeats are sometimes made from the receptacles, and 

 in some parts of tropical America a kind of wine is made from them, and this 

 after fermentation is distilled to obtain brandy. 



* Thesaurus 82. 1651. 



