288 MANUAL OF TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL FRUITS 



of Rio de Janeiro, Parana, Santa Catharina, and Rio Grande do 

 Sul. In wild form it usually grows along the banks of streams 

 and in the edge of the forest, but it is also common in cultiva- 

 tion throughout many parts of Brazil. At Bahia it is particu- 

 larly abundant; in fact, it takes an important place among 

 the cultivated fruits of the region. 



From its native home it was carried to India at an early date, 

 undoubtedly by the Portuguese, but is not commonly culti- 

 vated in that country at the present time. In Ceylon, accord- 

 ing to H. F. Macmillan, it thrives at elevations of 1000 to 3000 

 feet. It has been reported from southern China, where it was 

 probably introduced by the Portuguese. In Hawaii it has be- 

 come a common garden-shrub. L. Trabut 1 believes that it 

 would rapidly become more popular in Algeria if it fruited more 

 abundantly, since it has been found quite hardy along the 

 coast. It has also proved hardy in the garden of A. Robertson- 

 Proschowsky at Nice, on the Mediterranean coast of France. 

 In Cuba it is occasionally seen in gardens. In the United 

 States its culture is limited to Florida and California. Writ- 

 ing in 1887, P. W. Reasoner said : " The tree is quite frequently 

 met with in Orange county and middle Florida, and is gaining 

 in favor as a fruit-bearing plant." It is now common in 

 gardens along the lower east coast of Florida (especially in the 

 vicinity of Miami, where the fruit has begun to appear in the 

 markets) and on the west coast from Fort Myers northward 

 to Tampa Bay. After the plants have attained the requisite 

 age, they fruit abundantly, sometimes producing two crops a 

 year. 



In California the pitanga has not become so common as in 

 Florida, owing perhaps to the fact that many of the plants 

 which have been tested in various parts of the state have not 

 fruited well. F. Franceschi reported in 1895 that it was grow- 

 ing at Montecito, near Santa Barbara, but it still is rare in 

 1 Revue Horticole de 1'Algerie, p. 161, 1908. 



