1256 



seeds in dense panicles. Some plants produce white 

 seeds, and some produce black. The white seeds are 

 those chiefly used by the natives. This plant is found 

 both in cultivation and growing wild. The seeds ground 

 and cooked in the form of small cakes known as alegria, 

 are eaten in large quantities by the poorer classes, 

 especially during a time of scarcity of corn. HuauhtH 

 was cultivated by the Aztecs before the discovery of 

 America. It occupied an important place in the fare of 

 the people, and accounts show that every year 18 gran- 

 aries, each with a capacity of 9,000 bushels, were 

 filled by Montezuma. Often the tribute exacted by the 

 Aztecs from the people they conquered would take the 

 form of a certain amount of this grain. It was so 

 closely connected with the life of the people that it 

 figured in religious observances. Spanish historians, 

 writing in the first half of the 17th century, give 

 accounts of how the ancient Mexicans made figures of 

 their gods out of the flour obtained from the seed. 

 The figures were carried in procession, and at the 

 end of the ceremony were broken up, and served to the 

 people as a form of communion. (Adapted from Safford, 

 A Forgotten Cereal of Ancient America, Proceedings of 

 the Nineteenth International Congress of Americanists, 

 p. 256-297, 1917.) 



Annona diversifolia (Annonaceae) , 45548. From Guate- 

 mala. Collected by Mr. Wilson Popenoe, Agricultural 

 Explorer for this Department. "(No. 205a. Guatemala, 

 Guatemala. November 8, 1917.) The anona blanca, from 

 Chiquimula (elevation 1 ,400 feet). This species is not 

 known in the highlands of Guatemala, nor have I seen 

 it elsewhere except in the vicinity of Chiquimula and 

 Joeotan, both in the southeastern part of the re- 

 public, close to the border of Honduras. The tree 

 strongly suggests Annona squamosa in appearance, but is 

 easily distinguished by the leaf-like bracts at the 

 base of the branchlets. The fruit is much larger than 

 that of A. squamosa, resembling more closely that of 

 A. retieulata. It is generally heart-shaped, up to 5 or 

 6 inches in length, with the. carpellary areas indi- 

 cated by incised lines on the surface, which is pale 

 glaucous green in color. The skin is nearly a quarter 

 of an inch thick, the flesh is said to be tinged rose 

 color when ripe, and the seeds are much larger than 

 those of either A. squamosa or A. retieulata. The season of 

 ripening in southeastern Guatemala is September. While 

 I have not been able to test this fruit thoroughly, 



