
          46337. PERSEA AMERICANA. Gottfried Avocado, on Mexican roots. This 
variety, which originated at the Plant Introduction Garden, Miami, 
Florida, is of the Mexican race. The fruit is slender pyriform, weighing 
14 to 16 ozs.; surface smooth, sometimes glossy, olive green to dull 
purple in color; skin of average thickness for large-sized fruits of 
the Mexican race, easily broken; flesh pale yellow, with a few fibers 
toward the stem end of the fruit, buttery, becoming very soft, flavor 
rich, nutty, characteristic of the Mexican race; seed not large, ovoid-
elliptic in form. Season late August to the first of October at 
Miami, Florida.

Because of its resistance to frost; its size, which is much 
larger than the average of its race; and its good quality, Gottfried 
deserves a wide trial in those avocado-growing regions which are 
slightly too cold for the Guatemalan race.

55736. PERSEA AMERICANA. Itzamna Avocado, on West Indian roots. This 
variety was introduced from Guatemala in 1916, but was not propagated 
for distribution until several years later.

Itzamna is the best late-ripening Guatemalan avocado yet tested 
at the Plant Introduction Garden, Miami, Florida. The tree is a strong 
grower, shapely, with stiff branches. Up to the present, it has borne 
regularly, its behavior in this regard being more satisfactory than that 
of many other Guatemalan varieties. The fruit, which matures at Miami 
from March to early May, is slender pyriform, 14 to 18 ounces in weight, 
dark green and somewhat rough on the surface; flesh deep yellow, free 
from discoloration or fiber, smooth, very dry, and of rich nutty flavor; 
seed medium sized, tight in the cavity. West Indian roots are probably 
the best for southern Florida, but for the colder parts of the state, and 
for California, Mexican roots are preferable.

55736. PERSEA AMERICANA. Itzamna Avocado, on seedling Gottfried roots. 
(See above for description of this variety.) Trees budded on Gottfried 
roots (Mexican race) are likely to prove better adapted for cultivation 
in California than those on West Indian, since the latter is subject 
to frost injury, especially when the plants are set out in the orchard 
with the point of union between stock and scion an inch or two above 
the surface of the ground.

54767. PHOENIX OUSELEYANA. From Calcutta, India. Presented by Percy 
Lancaster, secretary, Agri-Horticultural Society of India. An armed 
palm with a stem 9 inches thick, reaching only 12 feet in height. The 
fruits are orange-colored until fully ripe when they turn black and are 
edible. Native to the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Preliminary 
tests at the Plant Introduction Garden, Bell, Md., suggest that this 
may prove to be an unusually good palm for house culture. It is of slow 
growth, and is fully characterized by the time it is three or four 
inches high. The pinnae are narrow, delicate, and gracefully arched; 
the plant seems to stand living-room conditions admirably; and it is 
much less exacting than Cocos weddelliana in regard to moisture. In 
California and Florida it may prove an excellent dwarf palm for garden 
decoration.

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