42 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



52574 to 52580. 



From Ambato, Ecuador. Collected by Wilson Popenoe, Agricultural Ex- 

 plorer of the United States Department of Agriculture. Received Febru- 

 ary 4, 1921. Quoted notes by Mr. Popenoe. 



52574. Carica sp. Papayaceae. Babaco. 

 "(No. 533a. Ambato, Ecuador. January 3, 1921.) Seeds of a rather 



dwarf species 8 to 10 feet in height, which can probably be grown in the 

 open in southern California. The fruits are about a foot long and 

 nearly seedless; from 17 good specimens only 10 seeds were obtained, 

 and it is rare to find specimens which contain more than 3 seeds. The 

 fruit is like a slender papaya in form and appearance, but has highly 

 aromatic flesh containing much papain. It is not good for eating until 

 cooked, when it yields an excellent sauce with plenty of ' character.' 

 The local name for this fruit is habaco and the plant is commonly propa- 

 gated by cuttings. For cultivation in southern California and for hy- 

 bridizing with the common papaya, I believe it to be a fruit of genuine 

 merit." 



52575. DuRANTA TRiACANTHA Juss. VerbeuacejE. 



"(No. 536a. Ambato, Ecuador.) Chivo. A common indigenous shrub 

 in ravines and on hillsides about Ambato, growing to a height of 15 feet 

 and heavily armed with stiff sharp thorns, for which reason it ought to 

 make an excellent hedge plant. Its pale-blue flowers, borne in clusters 

 3 or 4 inches long, are followed by golden berries half an inch in diame- 

 ter. The plant should be sufficiently hardy for cultivation in California 

 and Florida." 



52576. Fragaria chiloensis (L.) Duchesne. Rosacese. 



Chilean strawberry. 



"(No. 534. Ambato, Ecuador. December 29, 1920.) Ambato straw- 

 berry. That this plant has been cultivated at Ambato since a remote 

 day is evidenced by the following passage, taken from Velasco, Historia 

 del Reino de Quito, 1789 : ' The strawberry of Quito, erroneously called 

 frutilla (little fruit), since it is as large as two or three European 

 strawberries. It bears every day in the year, and although it is common 

 in several provinces, in no other is it produced in such abundance and 

 perfection as in that of Tungurahua.' 



" This remarkable fruit more recently attracted the attention of Rob- 

 ert Spruce, the English naturalist, who wrote (according to the Florist 

 and Pomologist, Jan., 1870, p. 24) : 'In the equatorial Andes the Province 

 of Ambato is famed for its strawberries, which equal in size and flavor 

 some of our best varieties and are to be seen exposed for sale in the 

 market place of Ambato every day in the year. They are cultivated at 

 an altitude of from 7,000 to 9,500 feet above the sea, where the mean 

 temperature of the year ranges between 59° and 67° F. ; but the best 

 are grown a little way out of Ambato, as you go toward Guayaquil, on 

 the slopes of Guachi (lat. 1^° S.) at near 9,000 feet, and in a mean 

 temperature of 60° F. ; where, however, the thermometer does sometimes 

 descend, perhaps half a dozen times in the year, to the freezing point 

 in the early morning and scarcely ever on two successive days.' 



" It is only in the region of Guachi that this species is commercially 

 cultivated in Ecuador. Distant about 5 miles from Ambato, it lies at 

 an altitude varying from 9,500 to 10,000 feet, and consists of a series of 

 rolling hills, almost devoid of trees and with a soil which can be char- 



