THE KAKI AND ITS RELATIVES 355 



The fruit is oblate to slender conic in form, and from 1 to 

 3 inches in diameter. It has a thin membranous skin orange- 

 yellow to reddish orange in color; soft (sometimes almost 

 liquid) orange-colored pulp of sweet and pleasant flavor; and 

 occasionally as many as eight elliptic, flattened, dark brown 

 seeds, although there are frequently not more than half that 

 number, and seedless fruits are of common occurrence. 



The kaki was formerly thought a native of Japan, but it is 

 now understood that it was originally confined to China, whence 

 it was carried to Japan several centuries ago. Hume believes 

 that the cultivated kakis may be derived from more than one 

 wild species. This theory was suggested by the different 

 reactions of certain varieties to the stimulus of pollination. 

 After describing these reactions 1 he asks : 



"Why is it that D. kaki presents these peculiar character- 

 istics? Why is it, for instance, that Tsuru is always light 

 fleshed whether the fruit contains seeds or not, while Yemon 

 is light fleshed when seedless and dark fleshed when seedy ? Is 

 it not likely that D. kaki is not a true species but rather a 

 mixture of two or more species, hybridized and grown under 

 cultivation for centuries? Is it not possible that the present 

 cultivated varieties known under the name of D. kaki are 

 derived from two distinct species, one bearing dark fleshed 

 fruit and the other light fleshed fruit? ... In shape and 

 peculiarities of fruit, color and characteristics of bark, size and 

 shape of leaves, habit of growth and size of tree, they vary 

 much more than any of our common fruits usually regarded as 

 being derived from a single species." 



From Japan the kaki has been carried around the world. Its 

 cultivation in France has already been mentioned ; it is limited 

 principally to the Cote d'Azur (the Riviera) and Provence. On 

 the opposite shore of the Mediterranean, in Algeria, it is grown 

 to a limited extent. It has never been cultivated widely in 

 1 Journal of Heredity, Sept., 1914. 



