44 



SEEDS AiSTD PLANTS IMPORTED. 



52574 to 53580— Continued. 



52579. Peunus serotina Ehrh. Amygdalaceie. Capulin. 



"(No. 538a. Ambato, Ecuador.) Capulin. Seeds from ordinary fruits, 

 to be grown for trial as stock plants on which to graft superior varieties 

 of this and other rosaceous fruits. 



" Theodor Wolf [" Ecuador," published at Leipzig, 1892] says, ' The 

 cajnilin is as distinguishing a characteristic of the Sierra as the coco- 

 nut is of the coast. I do not doubt that it is indigenous, but com- 

 monly it is found in cultivation about the "huts of the Indians, and 

 in their fields and orchards.' The distribution of this species in the 

 Interandean region of Ecuador is widespread, but it is seen in much 

 greater abundance in some regions than in others. Beginning in 

 the northern part of the country, it is frequent in the Provinces of 

 Carchi and Imbabura, but not particularly so in the former. Around 

 the Lake of San Pablo it grows in great abundance. In Pichincha 

 Province it is .only fairly common. From Latacunga to Riobamba it is 

 one of the few trees which grows upon the cold, sandy plains, and it here 

 attains greater economic importance, perhaps, than in any other part 

 of the country. In the Azuay it is almost as abundant and important, 

 however, and in certain portions of this Province, together with that of 

 Canar, it has the appearance of an indigenous species. In Loja it is 

 not rare, but not sufficiently abundant to play a very important part, 

 in the list of economic products. Its range in general is from 6,000 to 

 11,000 feet. 



"The historian Gonzalez Suarez recounts that the capulin tree was 

 worshipped by the inhabitants of Canar Province in pre-Columbian times ; 

 and it is found in a wild, though not certainly indigenous, condition at 

 the present time. It is a curious though not unique circumstance that it 

 should be known throughout the country, even among the Indians who 

 speak Quichua, under a name taken from the Aztec tongue. I have 

 nowhere been able to find any other name than that of capttUn; and in 

 certain places the latter has been combined with Quichua words to make 

 compound names such as capulin-urcu (the name of a certain mountain), 

 and sacha-capulin (the name given to a species of Vallea thought to re- 

 semble the capulin in appearance). 



"This plant, which is cultivated from Peru northward to Mexico, 

 becomes a stout tree up to 40 or 45 feet in height. The leaves are 

 oblong-lanceolate to lanceolate, finely serrate, and 3 to 5 inches long. 

 The flowers, which are produced on slender racemes 3 to 8 inches long, 

 are white and about three-quarters of an inch broad. The fruits re- 

 semble a European cherry in appearance; they are oblate or nearly 

 round, from one-half to three-quarters of an inch in diameter, deep 

 purplish maroon in color when fully ripe, with a thin, tender skin sur- 

 rounding greenish flesh and a single hard seed. The flavor and quality 

 of the fruit, as also the size, vary greatly ; as commonly seen, the capulin' 

 is not over half an inch in diameter, and its flavor is disagreeably bitter. 

 In several regions, however, there are very superior forms, well worthy 

 of vegetative propagation. Some of the best ones are those of Cuenca 

 and Ambato. At Catiglata, near the latter town, there is a famous tree 

 whose fruit is large, very juicy, and as sweet as the best European 

 cherries." 



