80 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



50583. CoLOCASiA esculexta (L.) Schott. Aracese. 



Dasheen. 



From Canton. Kwangtung, China. Tubers presented by G. Weidman Groff, 

 Canton Christian College. Received June 28. 1920. 

 ''Hung nga u. A popular variety widely planted in Kwantung. Xot so long in 

 form as the Pan long u, which it resembles except for the red coloring of the sprout 

 which gives it its name of 'redbud.' The flesh is white but spotted with yellow; ^•ery 

 mealy anjl good. A medium early variety and heavy yi elder. Planted in Februaiy 

 or March and harvested about September. It is planted widely and brings a high 

 price on the markets." (Groff.) 



From San Jose. Costa Eica. Collected by Wilson Popenoe, Agricultural Ex- 

 plorer of the United States Department of Agriculture. Received June 18, 

 1920. Quoted notes by Mr. Popenoe. 



(P. gratissima Gaertn. f.^i 



"(No. 386. May 30, 1920.) Budwood of avocado Xo. 44. from the grounds of 

 Chaille and Assmann, in San Vicente, a suburb of San Jose. This variety is 

 recommended by Don Oton Jimenez as the best with Avhich he is familiar. It is 

 of the West Indian race and is said to have been grown from a seed brought from 

 Santa Clara, on the Atlantic side of Costa Rica. The tree is probably 30 or 40 

 years old at least and is 40 feet high, broad, and round topped, with a well- 

 formed cro^vn and a shapely trunk branching 8 to 10 feet above the gi'ound. 

 The fruit, which is said to ripen in September and October, is green, obovoid in 

 form, and probably a pound in weight at maturit>\ I have not seen the mature 

 ^uit, hence can not describe its quality nor the size of the seed. 



"It is thought that some of the West Indian varieties of Costa Rica, which 

 have been grown in the highlands at altitudes of 4.000 to 6.000 feet, may ripen 

 theii' fruits at a time of the year which Vvdll make them valuable in California or 

 Florida, more probably the latter. The variety under consideration comes 

 from an altitude of approximately 4,000 feet. It can noUbe expected that it 

 will proA'e to be much hardier than the West Indian sorts now grown in Florida." 

 50585. Persea Americana Mill. Lam-aceye. 

 (P. gratissima Gaertn. f.) 



"(No. 387. May 30, 1920.) Budwood of the nguacate de anis, aguacate de mono, 

 or aguacate de manzana (anise-flavored avocado, monkey's avocado, or apple 

 avocado). A wild avocado which I have seen only in the vicinitj'" of La Palma 

 and San Isidro. about 15 miles fi-om San Jose, b^ut which is reported also fi-om 

 Turrialba. The character of the tree and fruit are such as to suggest that this 

 species, which is certainly indigenous in the mountains of central Costa Rica, 

 is the wild prototA-pe of the cultivated Guatemalan race, if not of the West 

 Indian as well (since it is believed that both races are deriv ed from a single 

 species). The fi-uiting habit of the tree suggests the Guatemalan race more than 

 the West Indian, as also the hard, granular shell and the general character of the 

 fruit. The only point in which the plant differs noticeably from the cultivated 

 Guatemalan avocado is in the aniselike odor and flavor of the bark, leaves, 

 and fi'uit. The wild tree, which has been studied by Don Oton .Jimenez 

 and myself, has been observed up to the present only at elevations be- 

 tween 4,500 and 5,000 feet. It is not found in the forest, but, like several 

 other species of Persea and allied genera which occur in Costa Rica, it 

 frequents open places close to small streams and brooks or is found asso- 

 ciated with a few other trees along the margins of such watercourses. 

 The region in which it grows is one of abundant rainfall with cool but never 

 cold weather, and the soil is a substantial clay loam. The trees we have seen 

 have not been in any case more than 40 feet high, and all were of erect, 



50584 to 50586. 



50584. Persea Americana Mill. Lauraceae. 



Avocado. 



