22 



SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



54527 and 54528— Continued. 



54528. Annona purpurea Moc. and Sesse. Annonaceae. Soncoya. 



" Procnred September IS, 1921, from a tree growing beside the path 

 leading to the cove from the Hotel Aspinwall, Taboga. 



" The fruit is apparently little appreciated by the people, for it is left 

 to rot on the ground. Some of them were 5 or 6 inches in diameter and 

 very attractive looking, but the flesh was so fibrous and it had so little 

 character that I doubt whether it would be worth growing for its own 

 sake. The gorgeous orange-yellow color of the fruit flesh, however, may 

 make it of value as a species for breeding purposes." 



54529. Carica sp. Papayacete. 



From Rio Pescado, Panama. Seeds collected by Graham Fairchild. Re- 

 ceived October 4, 1921. 



"At first glance this fruit resembles the ordinary wild papaya, Carica papaya^. 

 but on examination it proves to be an entirely different thing. It is rather 

 typically papaya shaped, with more pronounced grooves, not as deep, however, 

 as those of the mountain papaw, Carica candamarcensis, of a golden yellow 

 color, very attractive, and has a faint and very pleasant aroma. The fruits are 

 of a peculiarly uniform size and shape. The interior is filled with a white frothy 

 arillus around the seed ; this arillus is acidulous in character but without very 

 much flavor. The flesh of the fruit is thin and has little flavor; the fruit as 

 it stands is comparatively worthless. The leaves, instead of being laciniate, are 

 almost entire. The texture of the leaves seems to be harsher than that of 

 the papaya. The tree grows to be about 20 inches high, I should judge. From 

 the low lands near the river." {David Fairchild.) 



Fruits of this papaya are shown in Plate II. 

 54530 to 54536. 



From Panama. Seeds collected by Dr. David Fairchild, Agricultural 

 Explorer in Charge of the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction. 

 Received October 4, 1921. Quoted notes by Doctor Fairchild. 



54530. Caryophyllus malaccensis (L.) Stokes. Myrtacese. Ohia. 

 {Eugenia malaccensis L.) 



" Seeds from beneath trees cultivated by the late Enrique Lewis at his- 

 place on the Sabana, Panama. Gathered September 17, 1921. 



" The fruit is much esteemed by members of Mr. Lewis's family and 

 by others, and I had the pleasure of tasting preserves made from it 

 which seem to have a characteristic flavor of some merit. When in 

 flower, the branches of this tree are gorgeous, covered as they are with 

 masses of large flowers an inch or so across, composed of hundreds of 

 beautiful deep rose-pink or crimson stamens. The tree itself is a beau- 

 tiful ornamental, and it would seem as though more work in the selec- 

 tion of this species should be attempted. The remarkable structure of 

 the seeds suggests a high degree of polyembryony. When the seed germi- 

 nates (as many of them were doing under the tree) the whole, large, 

 brilliant-green seed seemed to break up into fragments." 



For previous introduction, see S. P. I. No. 26412, 



54531. Capsicum annux'm L. Solanacese. Pepper. 



" Seeds of a brilliant-yellow pepper grown in Panama. Collected Sep- 

 tember 15, 1921. This specimen was collected on the Chillibrillo River 

 at a native Panaman hut. The owner of the plant described it as being 

 * hot as a candle.' In reality it is a rather mild, almost sw^eet pepper." 



54532. Spondias mombin L. Anacardiacese. Yellow mombiii. 



" Seeds of the ;o&o or yellow momhin, presented by Mr. Zetek, of 

 Panama, September 19, 1921. 



" Few fruit trees which I have ever seen are more heavily laden with, 

 fruits than this joho. It is a favorite fruit of the children of Panama, 

 and everyw^here at this season of the year you find children throwing; 

 sticks at the trees to knock down the io&os. The fruits vary tremen- 

 dously in flavor and amount of fruit flesh, also in the texture of the skin 



