214 



PLANTS AND MAN 



The GUAVA is a tropical American fruit belonging in the 

 Myrtle Family; it is a shrubby tree which was cultivated by the 

 Incas and other early Americans. Guavas have recently become 

 of importance as a small fruit in California and Florida, the 

 yellow berry-type of fruit (fig. 1 54) being used in making jellies 



and preserves. It is also delicious when 

 eaten fresh, being aromatic and juicy. 

 The OLIVE, known from 1500 B.C. 

 in Egypt, is an ancient Mediterranean 

 fruit (fig. 155); it is still cultivated 

 primarily in that region. The Olive 

 Family is represented in the United 

 States by our native ash trees and the 

 cultivated Forsythia, lilac, jasmine and 

 privet. Olive trees are small evergreens 

 with grayish green leaves and incon- 

 spicuous flowers which produce the 

 one-seeded stone fruits. Olives are very 

 rich in oil, and are noted for their high 

 food content. They are usually picked 

 green and pickled in brine, before being 

 eaten; a large proportion of the crop 

 is made into olive oil. Spain, Italy and 

 Greece are the chief olive growing 

 countries. The United States produces 

 about 60,000,000 pounds of olives annually, most of them in 

 California orchards in the central and southern parts of the state. 

 Olives are grown to a much lesser extent in Arizona and Florida. 

 The PERSIMMON is native to eastern United States and China; 

 the indigenous species, found from Texas and Florida to Con- 

 necticut, is a hardy tree but its fruit is little used. The Japanese 

 persimmon, a tree forty feet tall, produces the edible orange-red 

 berries which are eaten as a table fruit. Persimmons are grown in 

 California, Texas and the gulf states. 



The Pineapple Family is represented in our southeastern 

 states by the so-called Florida moss, which is not a moss but a 

 flowering plant with small leaves and inconspicuous flowers, 

 draping trees of the southeastern states with festoons of grayish 



Fig. 155.— The olive, 

 known from 1500 B.C., is an 

 ancient Mediterranean fruit. 



