1065 



is said to be very good, and the tree is productive. 

 Taken all around, it looks like a very excellent 

 quality. The parent tree is young, probably 5 or 6 

 years old, and stands about 20 feet in height, with 

 an erect crown, extending almost to the ground, about 

 10 feet broad, and well branched. The trunk is 6 

 inches thick at the base. The tree is producing over 

 100 fruits this year. At this time Dhey do not appear 

 to be quite mature. They are said to ripen in Novem- 

 ber, at the same time the flowers for the next year's 

 crop make their appearance. Doubtless they would be 

 much better in quality if left on the tree several 

 months longer, but it is the usual thing here to pick 

 the fruits as soon as they reach maturity. A descrip- 

 tion of the fruit follows: Form uniformly oval; size 

 above medium to large, weight 14 to 18 ozs., length 

 4| inches, greatest diameter 3| inches, base rounded, 

 with the stem inserted obliquely without depression; 

 stem stout, about 6 inches long; apex rounded, with 

 the stigmatic point to one side and slightly raised; 

 surface nearly smooth, slightly undulating and some- 

 times obscurely ribbed, deep green in color, almost 

 glossy, with a few scattering large yellow dots; skin 

 thick, slightly over 1/16 inch at base, nearly | inch 

 at apex, coarsely granular, brittle; flesh cream color, 

 pale green near the skin, free from fiber; flavor said 

 to be rich; quality probably very good; seed rather 

 small in comparison to size of fruit, almost spheri- 

 cal, If inches long and broad, with both seed coats 

 adhering closely, and tight in the seed cavity." (Pop- 

 enoe . ) 



Persea sp. (Lauraceae.) 43432. Seeds of Anay from 

 Mazatenango, Guatemala. Collected by Mr. Wilson Pop- 

 enoe, Agricultural Explorer. "An interesting species 

 of Persea which occurs in this region as a large for- 

 est tree, and is called anay by the natives. It so 

 closely resembles an avocado of the Mexican type in 

 the external appearance of the fruit as to lead one 

 to suspect at -first that it must be a form of Persea 

 americana, but on a closer examination of the tree and 

 fruit, one finds numerous characters which indicate 

 that it must be an entirely distinct species of Persea, 

 but just what species it may be I am unable to say. 

 In clearing the forest for planting coffee, some large 

 trees are left to provide shade for the coffee plants, 

 and it was due to this fact that we found the anay. Two 

 large trees are standing close to the entrance of the 



