1187 
reaching a height of about 30 feet, the trunk stout 
and occasionally as much as 3 feet thick, and the bark 
rough and grayish. The young branchlets are dotted 
with grayish" lenticels . The leaves, which are borne 
upon slender petioles f inch long, are commonly 4| 
inches in length, 1^ to If inches in breadth at the 
widest point, and oblong-lanceolate in outline, with 
a long, slender tip. The upper surface is dull green, 
the lower surface glaucous, and the margin is rather 
finely serrate. The flowers, which are produced from 
January to May, are white, about f inch wide, and very 
numerous on slender racemes 2 to 4 inches in length. 
As many as 15 or 20 fruits sometimes develop on a 
single raceme, but many drop off before reaching ma- 
turity, with the result that 2 to 5 ripe fruits are 
commonly found on each raceme. The season of ripening- 
in Guatemala is from May to September. The ripe 
fruits, which are slightly oblate in form and up to f 
inch in diameter, separate readily from the short 
fruit stalks, leaving the green, 5-toothed calyces 
adhering to the latter. In color the fruit is deep 
glossy maroon-purple. The skin is thin and tender, 
but so firm that the fruit is not easily injured by 
handling. The flesh is pale green, meaty but full of 
juice. The flavor is sweet, suggestive of the Bigar- 
reau type of cherry, with a trace of bitterness in 
the skin. The stone is a trifle large in comparison 
to the size of the fruit. Pleasant to eat out of hand, 
this cherry can also be eaten stewed, or made into 
preserves or jams. In Guatemala it is most commonly 
eaten out of hand and as a sweet preserve . This species 
does not appear to be adapted to hot tropical sea- 
coasts, but it seems to be distinctly subtropical in 
character. It may succeed in moist subtropical re- 
gions such as Florida, where other types of cherries 
do not thrive." (Popenoe.) 
Ruprechtia fagifolia Meisner. (Polygonaceae . ) 44878. 
Duraznillo seeds from Estacadita, near Sabanita de Coro, 
Venezuela. Presented by Mr. H. M. Curran. "Komari. A 
small tree, May, 1917 ." (Curran. ) South American tree 
with smooth bark which, in renewing itself each year, 
wrinkles in a peculiar way, giving the tree a charac- 
teristic appearance. In the spring it is covered with 
yellowish flowers which later become pinkish, making 
the tree very ornamental. The wood is of no commercial 
use, so far as is known. (Adapted from Lillo, Con- 
tribuci6n al Concimiento de los Arboles -de la Argen- 
tina, p. 83.) 
