THE KAKI AND ITS RELATIVES 371 



and is somewhat obscurely ribbed or lobed, is 2 to 5 inches in 

 diameter and olive-green in color. The pulp which lies within 

 its thin skin is soft, unctuous, dark chocolate brown in color, 

 and of sweet flavor similar to that of the kaki but scarcely so 

 pleasant. The seeds, one to ten in number (occasionally none), 

 are oval, compressed, and about f inch long. 



William Philip Hiern, a recent monographer of the Ebenacese, 

 following the botanist Manuel Blanco, considers the black 

 sapote to be indigenous in the Philippine Islands. Other 

 authorities, however, hold that its native home is in Mexico, 

 and perhaps also in the West Indies. Many American plants 

 were carried to the Philippines in the early days by the Spanish 

 galleons which plied between Acapulco and Manila, and con- 

 versely, certain Philippine plants were brought to America. 

 Elmer D. Merrill 1 observes regarding the black sapote : 

 "Rarely cultivated, flowering in March; of local occurrence 

 in the Philippines. Introduced from Mexico at an early date, 

 4 and apparently formerly much more common than now." The 

 existence of an Aztec name, tliltzapotl (if Manuel Urbina is 

 correct in believing that this name was applied by the Aztecs to 

 Diospyros Ebenaster) would argue an ancient cultivation in 

 America, though it would not necessarily indicate that the 

 species is indigenous here. But on the whole, the evidence 

 seems to weigh heavily in favor of an American, as opposed 

 to an Asiatic, origin. 



At the present time, the black sapote is cultivated on a very 

 limited scale in the West Indies and in Hawaii, and rarely 

 in the East Indies. It has been planted at Miami, Florida, 

 where it gives promise of being quite successful. It is some- 

 times injured by frost in that region, but danger from this 

 source seems to be no greater than with the mango. Although 

 many seedlings have been planted in California, they have 

 failed to survive the winters, even when grown in the most 

 1 Flora of Manila. 



