216 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
the alligator pear is used in large quantities in America in soap manufacture, 7 
but the seat of the oil industry is not stated. 
There are a great many varieties of the alligator pear, but the forms already in 
Porto Rico compare well with those of other countries. In viewof the difficulties 
experienced in shipping this fruit, an effort should be made to secure some of the > 
thick-skinned varieties of Central America. Selection, or the introduction of new 
varieties that will extend the season, will also greatly improve the chances of 
making their culture profitable. 
One danger in relying on alligator pears as a source of Income arises from the 
brittle nature of the wood, the branches being easily broken by strong winds, 
only occasional trees having been left uninjured by the storm of August, 1901. 
The tree is rather handsome, but never reaches very large size, old specimens 
being 35 to 40 feet (10 to 12 meters) high and a foot or 18 inches (30 to 45 centi- 
meters) in diameter. There is a wild species in Cuba, P. sylvestris, there called 
“ aguacate silvestre.”’ 
It furnishes a rather soft wood, with a specific gravity of 0.643. The grain is 
very fine. The texture is fibrous and rather brittle. The color is reddish brown, 
or sometimes light brown, with poorly-marked lines or undulations, more visible 
in the white parts, while the heart is mottled with light, irregular, curved spots — 
of different colors, disposed almost symmetrically, and giving to the whole a most 
beautitul aspect. This wood, which is not used at all, is very brittle, but might, 
in our opinion, be employed in cabinet work. The bark is rather thick, very 
rough, irregular, ash-colored. (Grosourdy, 2: 358.) 
Petangueira. See Eugenia portoricensis. 
Petitia domingensis. CapA BLANCA. 
Family Verbenaceae; a tree 10 meters high. The hard wood is good for fine 
work. Reported from Rancon and Utuado. (Stahl, 6: 223.) 
Petiveria alliacea. 
Family Phytolaccaceae; a slender weed very common in waste places but pre- 
fering partial shade. It has a very disagreeable odor, strongly suggesting onions 
or garlic, and is said to injure the milk of cows, which seems entirely probable. 
Phasemy. See Phaseolus semierectus. 
Phaseolus adenanthus. HasicHUELA CIMARRONA. 
Family Viciaceae; a woody, climbing annualin hedges and at the base of moun- 
tains. (Stahl, 3: 76.) 
Phaseolus lanceolatus. HABICHUELA CIMARRONA. 
(Stahl, 3: 78.) 
Phaseolus lunatus. Hasas. LIMA BEAN. 
A twining climber, both cultivated and escaped. (Stahl, 3: 81.) 
Phaseolus semierectus. PHASEMy. HABICHUELA PARADA. 
An herbaceous, erect, branching annual 50 centimeters high, found in pastures. 
(Stahl, 3: 77.) 
In British Guiana experiments with this plant have seemed to warrant the 
belief that it will prove to be a tropical substitute for alfalfa. 
Phaseolus vulgaris. Bran. HaABICHUELA. 
Several varieties of the common bean are imported into Porto Rico, but the one 
most favored for local cultivation is a rather large. red variety. A bean collected 
near Ponce (No. 796) has the pods warted along both edges. It was called — 
““haba,”’ but is not the Lima bean to which that name is more often applied. 
Phoebe cubensis. 
Family Lauraceae; the form antillana is reported from Bayamon. 


