933 



ically to the Sapote and Injerto of Central America, but 

 the quality of the fruit is entirely different. The flesh 

 is very rich and mealy, more like a -cooked sweet potato 

 than like the related fruits. The tree is also of a very 

 compact habit with the rather small obovate leaves clus- 

 tered closely near the ends of the branches. Another dif- 

 ference is that the Lucuma grows and produces fruit at a 

 much higher elevation than the Sapote, attaining about 9,500 

 feet at Ollantaytambo . Thus there would seem to be a much 

 better chance for the Lucuma in California or Florida than 

 with the Sapote." (Cook.) 



Osteomelfis sp . (Malaceae.) 41325. Seeds of Lengli from 

 Pinasniocj, Peru. Collected by Mr. 0. F. Cook. "A tree 

 growing at high elevations , 10 ,000 to 12,000 feet, found in 

 the valleys of two streams tributary to the Urubamba river, 

 one the stream that enters at Ollantaytambo, and the other 

 the stream that comes down from the Panticalla Pass, a few 

 miles below Ollantaytambo. On the other side of the Pass 

 in the upper part of the Lucumayo valley the lengli ap- 

 pears to be absent. In unfavorable places where the trees 

 remain stunted they have an appearance somewhat like our 

 Thorn-apple or Hawthorns, but in some of the sheltered 

 ravines and reforested terraces where the conditions are 

 favorable the lengli trees attain a height of 30-40 feet 

 with trunks 1 to 2 feet in diameter, and have a very at- 

 tractive appearance. The foliage is very fine, the leaves 

 being of a very regular elliptical shape with slightly 

 dentate margins. The upper surface is of a fresh deep 

 green color with neatly impressed veins, while the lower 

 surface has a warm reddish brown tomentum, affording a 

 very pleasing contrast. The fruit clusters give a festive 

 appearance like holly, the mature berries being deeply and 

 richly colored. They begin by changing from green through 

 various shades of pink to scarlet red and then pass on 

 through the darker shades of red, becoming eventually al- 

 most black. The berries are distinctly flattened instead 

 of round and have the appearance of very small apples. They 

 hang cm the trees for a long time, probably all through 

 the winter, with the effects of the Christmas holly. A 

 botanical peculiarity, perhaps of this species, is that 

 the lowest branch of the fruit cluster is usually subtend- 

 ed by a very much reduced, oval, sharp-pointed leaf, or 

 bract, but like the other leaves in color, texture, and 

 persistence. The small leaf adds a little touch to the 

 appearance of a twig with its cluster of berries. This 

 might prove attractive for ornamental planting along the 

 California coast or wherever it will grow. In view of the 

 high altitude where the tree is native it may be expected 

 to stand cold weather, if not actual frost." (Cook.) 



