﻿APRIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1917. 47 



flesh often adheres closely to the seed, making it difficult to prepare the coy6 

 for eating. I have seen some fruits, however, in which the two halves could 

 be separated, leaving a cavity in which seasoning can be placed. 



" The coyo is used by the Indians of Guatemala in the same manner as the 

 i avocado, which is to say that it is eaten out of hand, without the addition of 

 seasoning of any sort, and frequently to the accompaniment of tortillas — thin, 

 round cakes made from Indian corn, which are a staple article of diet through- 

 out this part of Central America. I have not yet experimented to see how the 

 I coyo tastes when prepared in salads or seasoned with vinegar, salt, and 

 { pepper, but I have found it excellent when diced and eaten in bouillon, as is 

 often done with the avocado by Guatemalans of the upper classes. To me its 

 flavor is decidedly agreeable, and a good coy6, free from fiber and with a 

 seed not too large in proportion to the size of the fruit, would impress me as a 

 worthy rival of the avocado. 



" The tree grows under a variety of conditions. In the valley of the Motagua 

 River, near Zacapa and El Rancho, it is found near the banks of streams. 

 The air in these regions is exceedingly hot and dry during a large part of 

 the year, and the hillsides are covered with typical desert vegetation — cacti, 

 euphorbias, thorny leguminous shrubs, and small trees. Contrasted with these 

 conditions, the upper Polochic Valley, in Alta Vera Paz, where the coy6 is 

 exceedingly abundant, is a very moist region with rainfall, as the inhabitants 

 state, ' thirteen months in the year.' In this part of Guatemala I have seen 

 coy6s at altitudes well above 5,000 feet. Like the Guatemalan race of avocado, 

 it is very abundant from 4,000 to 5,000 feet, but unlike the latter it seems also 

 to do very well at lower altitudes and is found around Zacapa at altitudes of 

 500 feet above the sea, where the Guatemalan race of avocados is usually re- 

 placed by the West Indian. 



" To judge from its behavior in Guatemala, the coyo ought to be successful 

 in both California and Florida. During the coming summer I hope to make a 

 search for superior trees and to obtain bud wood for introduction into the 

 United States. The season of ripening is from June to August in the lowlands 

 and from August to October or even November in the highlands. There are 

 thousands of trees in Alta Vera Paz, and it should certainly be possible to 

 find among them a few superior ones well worthy of propagation. 



" In the coy6 we have a fruit new to North American horticulture, yet one 

 which is grown by the Indians of northern Guatemala as extensively as the 

 avocado and apparently looked upon by them as almost its equal. When good 

 varieties have been obtained and propagated by budding, it seems reasonable 

 to expect that the coyo will find a place in the orchards of the United States 

 throughout approximately the same belt in which the avocado is grown." 

 (Popenoe.) 



For an illustration of the coy6 fruits, see Plate VII. 



See also The Avocado in Guatemala, U. S. Department of Agriculture Bul- 

 letin No. 743, p. 37. 



44683 and 44684. 



From Guatemala. Cuttings collected by Mr. Wilson Popenoe, agricultural 

 explorer. Received April 26, 1917. 



44683. Polygala FLORiBUNDA Bentli. Polygalacere. Chupak. 



"(No. 102. From Chitzuhai, near Tactic, Alta Vera Paz. April 17, 



1917.) A handsome flowering shrub found in the gardens of the Indians 



in the settlement called OMtzuhfii, about 5 miles north of the town of 



