287 
ON THE PLANTS CULTIVATED OR NATURALIZED IN 
THE VALLEY OF CARACAS, AND THEIR VERNA- 
CULAR' NAMES. 
Br A. Ernst, Esq. 
{Concluded from p. 275.) 
Psidium Guajava, Raddi. ' Guayabo.' — Our common form is P. 
pomiferum. It is sometimes a middle-sized tree, sometimes a low 
shrub. P. pyrifertm never attains the size of a tree. I know from 
trustworthy sources and my own experience, that both forms are here- 
ditary. As they agree in all other points except the shape of the fruit , 
they ought to be considered as two distinct races. The name ' Guayabo ' 
is known in most countries where the plant grows. There is never- 
theless a quite different Quichua name, ' Sahuinta' (Markham), or as 
Garcilaso de la Vega writes, ' Savintu.' 
Lagenaria vulgaris, Ser. ' Calabaza, 6 Camasa,' according to Diez, 
probably from the Arab, querbah or querbat, plur. querdbat {i.e. water 
skin). — Common. 
Cucurbita Pepo, Durli.— The derivation of the vernacular name, 
' Aullama' or ' Auyama,' is obscure. Could it have any relation with 
the 'Tayuva ' (Triouosperma ficifolia, Mart.), of the Rio Grande and 
Minas Geraes ? The oldest authority for this name is Nicolaus Feder- 
mann (Indianische Historic, 1557, p. 20 of the edition published by the 
Stuttgart Literary Society). He writes « Oyama ;' Caulin ' Hullama.' 
Federmann was for the first time in A cnezuela in 1529 and 1530. 
Cucumis Melo, L. ' Melon.'— Seldom cultivated. 
Cncumis Citrullus, Ser. * Patilla.'— This name and the French ' pa*- 
tcque ' seem to belong to the same common Hebrew root, ab-batichim 
(De Cand. Geogr. Bot. p. 909). The Iberian ' Zandia' (the i is ac- 
centuated), in Catalonia ' Cindria' (accent on the second syllable) or 
'Cindriera,' and the Sardinian ' Sindria,' mentioned by Alph. De Can- 
d °de (1. c), are derived from the Lat. cmciurar*,— the Catal. ' Cindria' 
meaning originally a vault (see Diez, Etym. Wdrterb. i. p. 122, sub 
voce centinare). We have therefore here the same idea as in Cucumis 
and Cucurbita, which are derived from a root that means curvus or 
cavus (Alph. De Cand. 1. c. p. 900). 
Cucumis sa/irus, L.— Seldom cultivated. The Spanish name ' Co- 
horubro' is unknown in Caracas ; plant and fruit are called ' Pepino,' 
a diminutive of Pepo. 
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