42 



G p. W. Collection. pLATE XIX. 



Casiiuiroa c dulls. 



WHITE SAPOTA. 



This tree, which is a native of ^Mexico, is said to have been 

 named after Cardinal Casimiro Gomez. The first tree of its 

 kind in Hawaii, was planted in 1884, at the Government Nursery, 

 Honolulu. The seed came from Santa Barbara, California, where 

 there grows today, a tree more than 80 years old, and which still 

 bears its fruit. It is a tall evergreen with irregular branches ; 

 its digitate leaves are dark and glossy. The trunk is ashen grey, 

 with warty excrescences. The fruit, which matures in April 

 and ]\Iay, is large, 1-4 inches in diameter; it is depressed- 

 globular and somewhat ribbed, like a tomato; in color it is a light 

 green, turning to a dull yellow when ripe, and it has a very thin 

 skin. The pulp is yellow, resembling that of an over-ripe papaia, 

 and has a melting, peach-like flavor. It contains from 1-3 large 

 oblong seeds which are said to be deleterious. 



