1066 



finca 'El Compromise ' , about one-half mile from Maz- 

 atenango. Others are said to occur in the forest, and 

 are known to the natives, who eat the fruits in the 

 same way as avocados, and consider them a variety of 

 avocado,- ' tipo de aguacate 1 , as they say. The anay 

 is a tall, rather slender tree, reaching to a great 

 height in the forest, the two which were seen being, 

 probably, between 60 and 70 feet in height. The bark 

 is nearly smooth, and of a rich red-brown color, gray- 

 ish in places. The young branchlets are light brown, 

 and finely pubescent. The leaf blades are broadly 

 elliptic to oblong-lanceolate in outline, 8 to 13 

 inches long, 3 to 6 inches broad, acute to shortly 

 acuminate at the apex, rounded to broadly acute at 

 the base, rigidly chartaceous, bright green and gla- 

 brous above, with the exception of the costa and pri- 

 mary transverse veins, which are sparsely hairy, the 

 lower surface slightly lighter in color and glabrate. 

 The young leaves are softly pubescent below, sparsely 

 hairy above. Petiole 1| to 2| inches long, terete, 

 slender, but swollen just below the point of union 

 with the lamina. The foliage, when crushed, has no 

 aromatic odor as does the Mexican type of P. americana. 

 The flowers are said by the natives to be produced in 

 May. The fruits ripen in August and September. In 

 form they are slender pyriform, sometimes curved, and 

 sometimes pointed at the apex. Often the neck is long 

 and sharply defined. The body of the fruit is slightly 

 compressed on two sides. In length the fruit varies 

 from 4 to 6 inches. The surface is smooth, glossy, 

 and purplish black in color. The epicarp is exceed- 

 ingly thin and membranous, and adheres closely to the 

 firm, oily flesh, which is divided into two zones of 

 color, the outer being pale green, and the inner, 

 which is of the same thickness as the outer, greenish 

 cream color. The two zones are more sharply defined 

 than they ordinarily are in the cultivated avocados. 

 The flavor of the flesh is rich and bland, like that 

 of a very good avocado, but having a faint suggestion 

 of sweetness. The outer seed coat is developed into 

 a thick husk which may be practically be considered 

 an endocarp. Within lies the seed, which is long and 

 pointed, with the inner seed coat, thin and membran- 

 ous, surrounding the cotyledons closely. While the 

 outer seed coat is extended clear to the base of the 

 fruit, the inner does not always reach the apices of 

 the cotyledons. The embryo lies immediately at the 

 base of the cotyledons, while the avocado has the em- 



