DESCRIPTION OF CASTILLA. 21 



The hairs or bristles which clothe the branch are of a dull greenish- 

 yellow or brown color; they are sharp pointed, and with age become 

 stiff enough to penetrate and irritate the skin of the hands like the fine 

 spines of a cactus. Each leaf is covered, before it begins to open, by 

 a large hairy bud scale, ribbed lengthwise (PL III). On falling away 

 this leaves a narrow scar, which extends completely around the branch, 

 but is much higher on the side away from the leaf which the scale 

 covered. Below the scar is a row of small warts, at first white and 

 then turning reddish. Similar leaf scars and warts are also found on 

 the breadfruit and on the numerous species of figs. 



The leaves are of a fresh light-green color. When young they are 

 decidedly yellow below, because of the presence of numerous greenish- 

 yellow hairs, somewhat softer than those of the branches. The fully 

 expanded leaves appear less hairy because the hairs are distributed 

 over a larger surface. They are most numerous on the midrib and 

 larger veins, but are not confined to these. . The hairs of the veins 

 near the margin sometimes project past the edge in little tufts, 

 which give the appearance of fine marginal teeth. The base of the 

 leaf is composed of two broadly rounded lobes, which often extend 

 past the stem and overlap. The larger veins are very prominent; 

 they continue to branch and subdivide until a very delicate net- 

 work is formed. The veins of all sizes are more hairy than the 

 surface between them, but this is also distinctly hirsute. The upper 

 surface appears smooth by comparison and is a much darker green in 

 color. The veins are not prominent above and bear but few hairs. 

 Under a lens it may be seen that the upper surface is not really 

 smooth, but is set with very short pointed hairs, which render it 

 rather rough to the touch. 



The flowers and fruits of Costilla. — The flowers of Castilla are of 

 two very different kinds. Both usually occur on the same tree, 

 though young trees often produce only the male or staminate flowers. 

 These are shown in natural size in Plates IV, V, and VI, and consist 

 of scaly T flattened pods, opening along the edge like a bivalve shell. 

 Inside is a mass of creamy "white stamens. a 



The whole flower or head suggests a flattened fig, opening along the 

 edge instead of at a small aperture in_the middle. A pair of much 

 smaller and more fig-like clusters of male flowers is often attached 

 immediately under a cluster of female flowers. 



The most conspicuous difference the writer was able to find between 

 the Castilla of Alta Vera Paz in eastern Guatemala and that of the 

 Soconusco district of southern Mexico is in the scales of the male 



« In Modern Mexico for March, 1903, a correspondent writing from Oaxaca, Mex- 

 ico, states that the flowers of Castilla are "of a brilliant scarlet," which would seem 

 to indicate a variety distinct from those seen by the writer, unless the deep orange 

 color of the fruits has been confused with that of the flowers. 



