84 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



50597 to 50607— Continued. 



€0602. Maximilianea vitifolia (Willd.) Krug and Urb. Cochlospennaceoe. 

 {Cochlospermum hibiscoides Kunth.) 



"Silk cotton, seed and lint fi'om Summit, Canal Zone. " 



"A common shrub or small tree of eastern and central Guatemala from the 

 highlands at about 4,000 feet down to a level of 1,000 feet or perhaps lower. 

 The plant occasionally reaches a height of 35 feet, is always stiff, rather sparsely 

 branched, and bears stout branchlets which usually carry leaves only toward 

 their tips. The plant is leafless fr'om December or January to May in most 

 sections, and at this period it produces at the end of the branchlets numerous 

 large yellow flowers, single, brilliant in color, with a deep-orange center. Thiy 

 are followed by oval seed pods as large as a hen's egg. " ( Wilson Popenoe.) 



For pre\dous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 44821. 



50603. Mimosa ep. Mimosaceae. 



^'Espino, from Chobo, Las Guayas, Ecuador, a plant which may become a 

 pest in pastures, but is good for hedges. " 



50604. Peunus serotina Ehrh. Amygdalaceae. Capulin. 

 "Capulin, from Ambato, Ecuador." 



'* The wild cherry, found both wild and cultivated in the mountains of Guate- 

 mala, from elevations of about 4,000 feet up to 9,000 feet or perhaps higher. 

 As commonly seen, the tree is erect, often somewhat slender, reaching a height 

 of about 30 feet, the ti*unk stout and occasionally as much as 3 feet thick, and 

 the bark rough and grayish. The young branchlets are dotted with grayish 

 lenticels. The leaves, which are borne upon slender petioles three-fourths of an 

 inch long, are commonly 4^ inches in length, to inches in breadth at the 

 widest point, oblong-lanceolate in outline, with a long, slender tip. The upper 

 surface is dull green, the lower surface glaucous, and the margin is rather finely 

 serrate. The flowers, which are produced from January to May, are white, 

 about three-eighths of an inch wide, and very numerous on slender racemes 2 

 to 4 inches in length. As many as 15 or 20 fruits sometimes develop on a single 

 raceme, but many drop off before reaching maturity-, with the result that two 

 to five ripe fruits are commonly found on each raceme. The season of ripening 

 in Guatemala is from May to September. The ripe fruits, which are slightly 

 oblate in form and up to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, separate readily 

 from the short fruitstalks, lea™g the green 5-toothed calyxes adhering to the 

 latter. In color the fruit is deep glossy maroon-purple. The skin is thin and 

 tender, but so fii-m that the fruit is not easily injured by handling. The flesh 

 is pale green, meaty, but full of juice. The flavor is sweet, suggestive of the 

 Bigarreau t\'pe of cherr\% with a trace of bitterness in the skin. The stone is a 

 trifle large in comparison to the size of the fruit. 



"Pleasant to eat out of hand, this cherry can also be eaten in various other 

 ways — stewed or made into preserves or j ams . In Guatemala it is most commonly 

 eaten out of hand and as a sweet preserve. 



"This species does not appear to be adapted to hot tropical seacoasts, but it 

 seems to be distinctly subtropical in character. It may succeed in moist sub- 

 tropical regions, such as Florida, where other types of cherries do not thrive." 

 (Wilson Popenoe.) 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 44885. 



50605. PsiDiuM GUAJAVA L. Myrtaceae. Guava. 

 "Seeds from the largest fruit of this kind 1 have ever seen; it measured a little 



over 3 inches in diameter." 

 For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 48575. 



