JUNE 1 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1920. 



11 



50652 to 50678— Continued. 



50678. AscLEPiAS ctjbassavica L. Asclepiadacese. 



"(No. 367a.) Viborana. Described as a small tree which produces 

 small red flowers in March." 



60679 to 50681. 



From San Jose, Costa Rica. Collected by Wilson Popenoe, Agricultural 

 Explorer of the United States Department of Agriculture. Received June 

 26, 1920. Quoted notes by Mr. Popenoe. 



50679. GuiLiELMA UTiLis Ocrst. Phoenicaceae. Palm. 

 (Bactris utilis Benth. and Hook.) 



(No. 391a. June?, 1920.) Pejibaye palm. Seed of a remarkable food 

 plant, of ancient cultivation in Costa Rica, and certainly deserving of 

 wide dissemination in the Tropics. Pittier says : * The Indians [of Costa 

 Rica] have cultivated it since a remote period, and it is not now known in 

 the wild state.' And Gagini quotes Alcedo to the effect that the fruit 

 is almost the only food of the Guaimies and the Indians of southern 

 Talamanca. in this country. It is to-day grown commercially in the 

 vicinity of Tucurrique. on the Atlantic side, and is also known on the 

 Pacific side, though not so abundant there. In ihe markets of San Jose 

 the fruit is always in great demand and fetches a high price. The name 

 is sometimes written pejivalle, pijivay, and pixbay ; it is pronounced 

 pe-he-vy-e. with the e's short. 



" The palm is a beautiful pinnate-leaved species, with a slender trunk 

 reaching to 50 feet, though commonly not more than 35 feet. The leaves 

 resemble those of Cocos plumosa and other palms of that type, while the 

 trunk is armed from top to bottom with thin, sharp spines about 2 inches 

 long. Flowers are produced in spring, from March to June (occasionally 

 at other times of the year), and are followed by stout racemes of fruit 

 which matures principally in the autumn. The racemes sometimes weigh 

 25 pounds, and as many as five or six are produced by the palm in a 

 single crop. The individual fruits are top shaped, up to 2 inches long, 

 yellow to deep orange, with a thin skin, and a hard seed in the center 

 surrounded by abundant flesh of orange or yellow color, firm texture, 

 and dry, farinaceous character. Seedless varieties are known, and since 

 these can be propagated, like date palms, by means of offshoots, of 

 which the plant produces several in the course of its life, the establish- 

 ment of superior forms should be simple. 



" The pejibaye, which is one of the most popular of all Costa Rican 

 fruits (though it should not, perhaps, be called a fruit, except in 

 the botanical sense), is prepared for eating by boiling it for three hours 

 in salted water, after which the skin is pared off with a knife, and 

 the flesh, which strikingly resembles boiled chestnuts in appearance and 

 flavor, is eaten without seasoning of any sort. Doubtless the fruit 

 would lend itself to many uses, such as stuffing for fowl, but it is 

 so good in its simple form that Costa Ricans have not sought to 

 improve it by bringing it under the influence of the culinary art. 



" The palm is said to come into bearing at 6 to 8 years from seed, 

 and to live at least 50 years. It is found in Costa Rica from sea 

 level up to 5,000 feet elevation, but in extremely wet regions above 

 4,000 feet some of the palms do not bear. The ideal region for it seems 



