cultivating in England. By Mr. John Lindley. 87 



In Psidium pyriferum the leaves are elliptical and the 

 flowers solitary. The fruit has the form and size of a middle- 

 sized Pear ; when ripe it is of a light straw colour, with a 

 pale, soft, sweet pulp, containing a considerable number of 

 small seeds. It is in perfection before it is quite ripe, and if 

 gathered early in the morning, before the sun has shone upon 

 it, the flavour is much brisker than when plucked at mid-day. 

 It is frequently eaten with wine and sugar.* For figures, see 

 the Herbarium Amboinense, Vol. i. plate 47, and the Hortus 

 Malabaricus, Vol. iii. plate 34. 



Psidium pomiferum differs from the preceding in having 

 square shoots, and more lanceolate leaves. The fruit has al- 

 ways a dark grass green colour, and before maturity, is dashed 

 with a tinge of red, which afterwards disappears ; it is quite 

 round, and not bigger than a large Plum. On the outside it 

 is a little rugose and tuberculated. Its flesh is very firm, 

 and the skin thick; but the flavour is more grateful than 

 that of P. pyriferum. The tree always grows in the worst 

 soils.+ The pulp is sometimes mixed with cream by Euro- 

 peans, to imitate Strawberries.J It is represented in the 

 II crhdrium Amboinense, Vol. i. plate 48, and in Rheede, 

 Vol. iii. plate 35. An admirable coloured figure is among the 

 Indian Drawings belonging to the Society. 



In the West Indies, of each of the above kinds there are 

 two varieties, the one with red, and the other with white 

 fruit ; those of the pear-shaped or perfumed species are the 

 most highly esteemed. || 



* Rumphius, Vol. i. page HO. f Rumphius, Vol. i. page 142. 



% Marsden, page 100. || Hughes, page 132. 



