1206 



elevation of 3000 feet. July 9, 1917.) I do not know 

 what this species may be; possibly it Is as yet un- 

 described. Only one tree has been seen up to the 

 present, and this was erect, rather slender in habit, 

 30 feet in height. The foliage strongly resembles 

 that of P. amerieana, but is more heavily pubescent be- 

 neath than is common in that species. In form and 

 size the leaves could not be distinguished from some 

 of the cultivated avocados. The young leaves and 

 branchlets are covered with a velvety tomentum. The 

 fruits, which ripen in June, are oval or oblong-oval 

 in outline, about an inch and a half in length, shin- 

 ing black in color, with a membranous skin and a very 

 small amount of greenish pulp having a strongly resin- 

 ous taste. The seed is quite large in comparison with 

 the size of the fruit, elliptical in outline, with 

 the seed coats thin, brownish and brittle, and adher- 

 ing closely. The cotyledons are whitish, with the 

 embryo at the base of the seed. The fruit is distinct 

 from that of the avocado in having a large, fleshy, 

 bluntly-toothed calyx, pinkish or whitish in color, 

 which remains on the tree when the fruit falls. This 

 species is introduced in connection with the experi- 

 ments now being carried on with a view to determining 

 the best stock on which to bud the avocado." (Pop- 

 enoe. ) 



Persea sp. (Lauraceae.) 44999. Coyo budsticks from 

 Guatemala. Collected by Mr. Wilson Popenoe, of this 

 Bureau. "(No. 161. From the sitio of Don David Pierri, 

 San Cristobal, Verapaz. July 3, 1917.) The coyo, chucte, 

 shucte, or, as it is sometimes called , chaucte, is a species 

 of Persea which is undoubtedly indigenous in this re- 

 gion. It is reported also from Zacapa and Chiquimula, 

 but I have only seen it here up to the present. The 

 tree grows on the banks of streams, where the soil is 

 moist and rich. The hills in this region are dry, 

 rocky, and covered with a scanty vegetation of cacti, 

 Pereskia, thorny leguminous shrubs and small trees, 

 and a few other plants. As well as being indigenous 

 to this region, the coyo must be classed as a culti- 

 vated fruit tree, since it is occasionally, but not 

 often, planted in gardens. At the present time the 

 coyo is neither in flower nor in fruit. It is said to 

 bloom in February and to ripen its fruit in May and 

 June, continuing until August. One of the two trees 

 which have seen, (this one standing on the north 

 bank of the Rio Motagua a short distance above El 



