STANDLEY — TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 1121 



of a beverage, which is called " choue " by some of the Mexican Indians. The 

 sapote seeds are used because of their flavor, which resembles that of bitter 

 almonds. In Costa Rica they were formerly employed in place of an iron 

 for smoothing starched linen. In the same country, as well as in Mexico, the 

 kernels are ground and made into sweetmeats. 



The wood is said to be fine-grained, hard, and compact, with a specific 

 gravity of about 0.5S. It is suitable for cabinet work but is little used, since 

 the trees are protected for their fruit. 



There is a popular belief in Mexico that the oil of the seeds will restore 

 fallen hair. According to Altamirano ' and others this results from the fact 

 that the Aztecs employed it for dressing the hair, to keep it soft and to prevent 

 dandruff. The seed coat was used by the Aztecs as a remedy for epilepsy, 

 and in Costa Rica it is considered a cure for colds. The sap of the tree is 

 said to have vomitive and anthelmintic properties and the seeds to be diuretic. 



The tree is described by Hernandez under the name " tezontzapotl." He 

 states that the oil of the seeds was applied to painted jicaras (cups made 

 from gourds) and to other similar objects to fix their colors. The pulverized 

 seed coat, drunk in wine, is said to cure the gravel and heart affections. 



DOUBTFUL SPECIES. 



Calocarpujc pakvum Pierre, Notes Bot. Sapot. 13. 1890. Briefly described 

 from Mexico. The vernacular name is given as " zapote niiio." 



6. LTJCUMA Molina, Sagg. Stor. Nat. Chil. 186. 1782. 



Shrubs or trees, with milky juice; leaves petiolate; flowers pedicellate, soli- 

 tary or fasciculate in the axils; sepals 4 to 6; corolla ureeolate or campanu- 

 late, 4 or 5-lobate; stamens 4 or 5, alternating with small, linear or scalelike 

 staminodia ; seeds 1 to .5. 



Sepals 6 1. L. salicifolia. 



Sepals 4 or 5. • 



Sepals 4 2. L. sphaerocarpa. 



Sepals 5. 



Leaves subacuminate. 20 to 23 cm. long 3. L. campechiana. 



Leaves mostly obtuse, 6 to 16 cm. long 4. L. palmeri. 



1. Lucuma salicifoUa H, B. K Nov. Gen. & Sp. 3: 241. 1819. 



Vitellaria salicifolia Engl. Bot. Jahrb. EngL 12: 514. 1890. 



Sideroxylon campestre T. S. Brandeg. Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 7: 329. 1920. 



Veracruz and Morelos, and probably elsewhere. 



Small or large tree, the branchlets brownish-sericeous or glabrate ; leaves 

 slender-petiolate, lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 13 to 28 cm. long, 3 to 

 7.5 cm. wide, acute or acuminate, attenuate at base, lustrous, glabrous; sepals 

 about 6 mm. long, sericeous ; corolla yellowish green ; fruit subglobose or 

 ovoid, 7.5 to 12 cm. in diameter, orange-yellow when mature, the pulp red- 

 dish yellow ; seeds 3 or 4, ellipsoid, dark brown, about 5 cm. long and 2.5 cm. 

 thick. " Zapote amarillo," " zapote borracho," " cozticzapotl," " atzapotl," 

 " atzapolquahuitl," " zapote de niuo." 



The fruit is edible and is found in the markets, but the tree is seldom culti- 

 vated. The fruit is said to produce drowsiness, hence its name of " zapote 

 borracho." The bark is reputed to have antiperiodic properties. 



* Fernando Altamirano, El iirbol de mamey, Naturaleza 3: 138-144. 1876. 



