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INSriTUTE OF SOCIAL ANTHROPOLOGY PUBLICATION NO. 1 1 



In addition to the above plants (all of which 

 were mentioned as cultivated, in the Relacion de 

 Michoacdn), there were undoubtedly a number of 

 other cultivated plants of lesser importance. 

 From the Gilbert! dictionary of 1559 and other 

 records of the first years of Spanish occupation we 

 know that there were cultivated in Michoacan 

 such plants as: Chayote {apujiu or apvpio), 

 Sechium edule Swartz; several species of cacti; 

 custard apple (chirimoya, ate) Annona cherimola 

 Mill.; white zapote {zapote bianco, uriata), Casi- 

 miroa edulis Llave and Lex.; avocado {aguacate, 

 cupanda), Persea gratissima Gaertn. or Persea 

 americana Mill.; Mexican wild cheixy, (capulin, 

 xengua), Prunus capuli Cav. The botanical 

 evidence would add such plants as the many- 

 flowering bean {Phaseolus multiflorus Willd.), 

 several Jrijolillo beans {Canavalia spp.), jicama 

 (Pachyrhizus angulatvs Rich.), chia {Salvia chia 

 Fernald), guava (Psidium guajava L.), Mexican 

 hawthorn (Crataegus mexicana Moc. et Sesse), etc. 



Within a few years after the Conquest the 

 Spaniards introduced a great many Old World 

 plants, according to the evidence of the various 

 censuses, relaciones geogrdjicas, and the reports of 

 Hernandez and Ponce — which cover the period 

 1529 to 1586. Some of the introductions were 

 made by the conquerors and encomenderos (especi- 

 ally of the more valuable crop plants such as wheat, 

 barley, horsebeans, and sugarcane), but the 

 majority were made by the friars and regular 

 clergy (especially of fruit trees, vegetables, flavor- 

 ing herbs, and ornamentals). Definitely by 1586, 

 and in most cases much earlier, the following 

 Old World plants were being cultivated in northern 

 Michoacdn: Onions, leek, garlic, water cress and 

 garden cress, asparagus, artichoke, lettuce, endive, 

 cabbages, mustard, radish, turnip, purslane, 

 parsley, carrot, beet, eggplant, cucumber, sorrel, 

 horsebean, chickpea, lentil, common peas, 

 wheat, barley, flax, hemp, anise, cumin, licorice, 

 sweet marjoram, pennyroyal, peppermint, cori- 

 ander, apple, apricot, banana, cherry, citron, date, 

 fig, grape, lemon, lime, mulberry, nectarine, olive, 

 orange, peach, pear, plum, pomegranate, quince, 

 sugarcane, walnut. The most important culti- 

 vated plants in the Pdtzcuaro Basin during the 

 sixteenth century (judging only from frequency of 

 mention) were: Maize, wheat, and barley among 

 the cereals; beans, pumpkins, and chile peppers 

 among the vegetables; and quinces, peaches, 



apples, figs, and magueyes among the fruits. 

 Among other plants mentioned specifically for the 

 Tzintzuntzan-Cocupao-Santa Fe area were olives, 

 walnuts, citrus fruits, mulberries, cactuses, lentils, 

 flax, hemp, and licorice. It is noteworthy that 

 rye, oats, millets and sorghums were not men- 

 tioned, since these cereals have never been of 

 importance in northern Michoaciin, and are prac- 

 tically lacking today in the Pdtzcuaro Basin. 

 Potatoes (known in the wild state) probably were 

 not introduced from South America until the end 

 of the sixteenth century, and are still relatively 

 unimportant. During the sixteenth and seven- 

 teenth centuries a number of other plants were 

 introduced from South America, among which were 

 several that reached the Patzcuaro Basin: 

 Oca del Peru, also known as papa de castilla and 

 papa colorada {Oxalis tuberosa Molina) ; the true 

 squash or calabaza de Castilla (Cucurbifa maxima 

 Duch.) ; and a number of ornamentals. Although 

 there were a few later plant introductions, no 

 important economic plant was involved. In fact, 

 the plants already present at the time of the Con- 

 quest and those introduced within the next 

 30 years (1522-52) comprise more than 99 percent 

 of the agricultural production (by area planted, 

 by volume and weight produced, and hy value) in 

 the Quiroga area. The leading crops at present 

 are: (1) Field crops — maize, wheat, habas, kidney 

 beans, barley, cucurbits, and alfalfa; (2) garden 

 crops — cucurbits, cabbages, lettuce, chiles, toma- 

 toes and husk tomatoes, and onions; (3) tree 

 crops — peaches, citrus fruits, figs, apricots, white 

 zapotes, avocados, hawthornes, and capulines; 

 (4) shrub crops — agaves and cactuses. 



SOILS AND EROSION 



In general, the soils of Quiroga are poor zonal 

 soils formed under mesothermal humid conditions 

 from extrusive rocks. SpecificaUy, subtropical 

 reddish-brown clays and loams formed from 

 basaltic rocks predommate. The bedrock is 

 nearly everywhere basalt flows, brecchias, and 

 tuffs, excepting the small areas of andesites 

 chiefly in the uplands. A mesothermal humid 

 climate prevails over all of the Quiroga area, 

 characterized by a total precipitation of more 

 than 1,000 mm. concentrated in the summer 

 months, a moderate range of temperature, in- 

 frequent temperatures below freezing and mod- 

 erate winds and evaporation. There is an in- 



