38 BULLETIN 743, XT. &. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



which has a small seed and flesh quite free from fiber. A coyo of this 

 character is a worthy rival of the best avocados. The flavor is dis- 

 tinct and agreeable. Indeed, it is considered by many people in 

 Alta Vera Paz to be superior to that of the avocado. 



DISTRIBUTION AND COMMON NAMES. 



While adapted to a greater range of elevation than the Guatemalan 

 race of avocados, the coyo is not so widely distributed in Guatemala 

 as the latter. It is grown most extensively in the Department of 

 Alta Yera Paz. It is frequently met with in the mountains of this 

 part of Guatemala, where it grows among other trees in the forest 

 and has every appearance of being indigenous. It is also common in 

 most of the villages and towns, where it is planted in gardens and 

 doorj^ards. In San Cristobal it is particularly abundant, there being 

 about as many coyo trees as avocados in the dooryards of the 

 inhabitants. 



Directly south of Alta Vera Paz, across the Sierra de las Minas, 

 the coyo is found in the Motagua Valley from El Rancho down to 

 Gualan. At Zacapa and Chiquimula it is well known. With the 

 exception of a single tree at. Amatitlan, however, it was not seen on 

 the Pacific slope of Guatemala. 



The lowest elevation at which the coyo was found is about 500 

 feet, the highest 5,500. It seems to be quite successful at both these 

 elevations. 



North of the Sierra de las Minas, in Alta Vera Paz, the species is 

 known as coyo, coyocte, or kiyau. South of the Sierra de las Minas 

 it is called shucte, chucte, or chaucte. It has been stated that the 

 coyo and the coyocte are different fruits; a careful investigation in 

 Alta Vera Paz, however, indicates that they are not specifically dis- 

 tinct. Many Indians who were questioned on the subject were unable 

 to define the difference between the two, and trees which were pointed 

 out as coyo and coyocte proved to be of one and the same species. 

 As far as could be determined the difference in nomenclature is as 

 follows : Trees' which are planted in dooryards or gardens are always 

 called coyo, while those growing wild in the mountains are some- 

 times called coyocte. The coyocte, or wild, trees usually produce very 

 poor fruit. 



THE COYO TREE. 



It is not difficult to distinguish the coyo tree from the avocado. 

 In both habit and character of growth it is quite distinct. While the 

 tree is about the same size as that of the avocado (PL XII), the 

 branches have a tendency to extend horizontally from the trunk, and 

 the young branchlets are stouter and stiffer than in the avocado, with 

 the leaves clustered toward the ends of the growths. The tips of the 

 branchlets as well as the lower surfaces of the leaves are covered with 

 a heavy brown pubescence, not seen in the avocado. The leaves differ 



