Pomona College Journal of Economic Botany 



293 



surface is smooth and the carpellary areas are defined by raised lines, or in which 

 the carpellary areas are individually concave. There are, of course, many forms 

 intermediate between these two, and extreme forms of each. While both smooth 

 and rough fruits are sometimes produced by the same tree, and some trees produce 

 fruits which are covered with protuberances when young but become smooth at 

 maturity, there are many which uniformly produce fruits of one type. Thus in 

 the Mammillaris variety the mammiform protuberances are present on all speci- 

 mens, and in the Golden Russet the protuberances near the base, which disappear 

 towards the apex and are replaced by concavity of the carpellary areas, are char- 

 acteristics which are almost always present. 



2. Size. In this respect the Cherimoya is extraordinary, it being possible to 

 find mature fruits all the way from an inch to six inches in diameter on many trees, 

 whether seedling or budded. Ordinarily, only a small percentage of the fruits 



Figure 132. On the left a view in the huerta of Herman Evers, at Mazatlan, Mexico, 

 showing a young Cherimoya in bearing; on the right, a large tree near Colima, 

 Mexico, photographed during the winter season and showing the deciduous 

 nature of the tree in cold climates. 



attain large size, although some trees are more uniform in this respect than others. 



3. Form. The commonest form is conical or oblong-conical, but some varie- 

 ties are normally cordate and there are many seedlings among whose fruits it 

 would be difficult to determine a normal form. Rarely is there a tree whose fruits 

 are all of uniform shape. Even among perfect specimens there is considerable 

 variation, and many malformed fruits are produced, due^ without doubt, to imper- 

 fect fertilization of the flowers. 



4. Color. Although commonly a dull green, there is considerable variation 

 in coloring, some varieties being light russet at maturity. Since any other color 

 than green is only assumed in favorable weather, it is evident that coloring is 

 largely a matter of weather conditions, becoming most pronounced in the hottest 

 seasons. 



