850 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



tillate corolla of 5 nearly distinct, narrow segments ; stamens 10, inserted 

 in the corolla throat in 2 series; fruit baccate, large, 1 or 5-celled. 



Leaves digitately compound. Corolla lobes opposite the calyx lobes ; stamens 



distinct 1. LEUCOPREMNA. 



Leaves simple, often deeply lobate. 



Plants trees, with simple trunks ; stamens distinct ; calyx lobes alternating 



with the corolla lobes ; fruit not appendaged 2. CARICA. 



Plants herbaceous, with tuberous roots ; stamens united at base ; calyx lobes 

 opposite the coi'olla lobes; fruit with an appendage at the base of eacli 

 angle 3. JARILLA. 



1. LEUCOPREMITA Standi., gen. nov. 



Only the following species is known. By most authors it has been referred 

 to the genus Jacaratia, but it seems necessary to place it in a separate genus. 

 1. Leucopremna mexicana (A. DC.) Standi. 



Jacaratia mexicana A. DC. in DC. Prodr. 15^:- 420. 1864. 



Jacaratia conica Kerber, Jahrb. Bot. Gart. Berlin 2: 282. 1883. 



€arica heptaphylla Sesse & Moc. PI. Nov. Hisp. 172. 1887. Not C. heptaphylla 

 Veil. 1825. 



Pileus heptaphyllus Ramirez, Naturaleza II. 3: 711. 1903. 



Colima, Guerrero, Morelos, Campeche, and Yucatan ; said to occur in Oax- 

 aca, and probably to be found elsewhere. El Salvador; reported from Nica- 

 ragua, and apparently also in Costa Rica. 



Tree, 4.5 to 12 meters high, the trunk very thick at base, tapering upward 

 and dividing into few heavy branches, the twigs thick and soft, the wood very 

 soft, the trunk consisting largely of pith ; bark smooth, gray ; leaves deciduous, 

 clustered at the ends of the branchlets, the leaflets 5 to 7, obovate, acuminate, 

 10 cm. long and 6 cm. wide or smaller ; flowers dioecious, the staminate in 

 terminal or axillary panicles, pale yellow, the corolla about 2 cm. long; 

 stamens 10, free; pistillate flowers terminal, long-pedunculate, the petals 

 greenish, 4 cm. long; fruit 15 cm. long or more, 8 to 10 cm. thick, 5-celled, 

 pendent, conic or ovoid-oblong, 5-angled, the angles often produced below into 

 conelike protuberances or wings, the skin green or yellow ; seeds rough, black. 

 " Bonete " (Yucatan, Campeche, Morelos) ; "kunchg" or "kumch6" (Yucatan, 

 Maya); " cuagnayote " or " coahuaj'ote " (Colima); " coalsuayote " (Guer- 

 rero) ; "orejona," "papaya orejona," " papayo months" (Oaxaca) ; " cuayote " 

 (El Salvador). 



In outward appearance the fruit is not unlike a large green pepper of the 

 buUnose type, but it varies greatly in shape, being sometimes long, narrow, and 

 twisted. The flesh is sweet and reddish yellow; it is eaten cooked or as a 

 salad, and is made into sweetmeats. The juice is said to have the same prop- 

 erties as that of Carica papaya. Kerber reports that in Colima a kind of 

 tortilla is made from the starch of the trunk. The tree has been described at 

 length by Ramirez,* and illustrated with several excellent plates. It is treated 

 by Hernandez under the name " quaiuhayoth." 



Leucopremna mexicana is abundant in extreme western Salvador, occurring 

 as a characteristic tree on the arid hills near the Rio Paz, close to the Guate- 

 malan frontier. 



'Jose Ramirez, El Pileus heptaphyllus, Naturaleza II. 3: 707-711. pi. Jfl-45. 

 3903. 



