58 NORTH AMERICAN FLORA [Volume 25 



2. Averrhoa Carambola L. Sp. PI. 428. 1753. 



A tree, usually smaller than A. Bilimbi; leaves mostly 1—1 dm. long, the rachis 

 thinly pubescent ; leaflets commonly 5-10, the blades various, those near the base of the 

 rachis ovate, those higher up narrowly ovate, ovate-elliptic or elliptic, short-acuminate, all 

 pale beneath and finely pubescent or nearly glabrous ; flower-clusters borne in the axils of 

 the leaves ; sepals glabrous or nearly so, the outer ones ovate to obovate, the inner oval to 

 obovate, 2.5-3 mm. long, usually broader than the outer ones; petals spatulate, 4.5-6 mm. 

 long, white variegated with purple ; fruits oblong to oval, 6-11 cm. long, the ridges acute. 



Type locality: India. 



Distribution : West Indies and Central America. Introduced from the East Indies. Widely 

 distributed in the tropics, both cultivated and naturalized. 



Illustrations : Rheede, Hort. Mai. 3 : pi. 43, 44 ; Rumpf. Amb. 1 : pi, 35 ; Cav. Diss. pi. 202. 



