1396 
Annona diversifolia ( Annonaceae ) , 46781. Papauce. From 
Mexico. Seeds collected by Mr. Wilson Popenoe and pre- 
sented through Dr. H. J. Webber, Director, Citrus Experi- 
ment Station, University of California. "Among the 
lesser known fruits of Mexico the papauce impresses me 
as one of the most meritorious. It seems strange that 
it should still be included among the lesser known 
species, for it is considerably superior in quality 
to some of its congeners whose cultivation is wide- 
spread. For example, it is a vastly better fruit 
than the custard -apple (A. reticulata) , and because of its 
larger size and more sprightly flavor , it is preferable 
to the sugar-apple (A. squamosa) ,- yet both these species 
are much more widely grown than the papauce. I consider 
a good papauce almost equal to a good cherimoya. Its 
larger seeds are slightly against it, but the color and 
texture of the flesh, and the rich, subacid flavor 
entitle it to a place among the very best of the ano- 
nas. I first saw the papauce on the border between 
Guatemala and Honduras, in April, 1918. I did not find 
ripe fruit at the time, however, and had never had an 
opportunity to test the quality of this, interesting 
species until I reached Tapachula. Here the fruit is 
abundant, and though the season is not yet at its height, 
p&pauces are to be seen in the market practically every 
day. I believe they will be abundant from now (June 24) 
until the' middle of August. The season, unfortunately 
is not long. In Guatemala the common name for this spe- 
cies is anona blanca (white anona) ; so far, here in Mexico 
I have heard it called nothing but papauce. Safford, I 
believe, says it is called ilama in this country, but I 
have only heard this name applied to A. purpurea, which 
is common in the state of Vera Cruz. The papauce tree 
grows to an ultimate height of about 25 feet in this 
region. It is slender in habit, the trunk not more 
than 10 inches thick, often branching from the ground 
to form 3 to 6 divisions, each 2 or 3 inches thick. Some 
trees form an erect, slender crown; others are broad 
and spreading in habit. The foliage somewhat resembles 
that of A. squamosa, but is larger, with the leaf-blades 
commonly oblanceolate in outline, obtuse to subacute 
at the apex. A distinguishing character of this species 
is the presence of orbicular, leaf-like bracts at the 
base of many of the smaller branchlets. There is a 
great amount of variation in the productiveness of the 
trees. About two-fifths of those I have examined here 
are not carrying any fruit. If they had produced any 
this year at least part of the crop would still be on 
