1066 
finca 'El Compromlso ' , about one-half mile from Maz- 
atenango. Others are said to occur in the forest, and 
are known to the natives, who eat the fruits in the 
same way as avocados, and consider them a variety of 
avocado,- ' tlpo de aguacate' , as they say. The anay 
is a tall, rather slender tree, reaching to a great 
height in the forest, the two which were seen being, 
probably, between 60 and 70 feet in height. The bark 
is nearly smooth, and of a rich red-brown color, gray- 
ish in places. The young branchlets are light brown, 
and finely pubescent. The leaf blades are broadly 
elliptic to oblong-lanceolate in outline, 8 to 13 
inches long, 3 to 6 inches broad, acute to shortly 
acuminate at the apex, rounded to broadly acute at 
the base, rigidly chartaceous, bright green and gla- 
brous above, with the exception of the costa and pri- 
mary transverse veins,, -which are sparsely hairy, the 
lower surface slightly lighter in color and glabrate. 
The young -leaves are softly pubescent below, sparsely 
hairy above. Petiole 1| to 2| inches long, terete, 
slender, but swollen just below the point of union 
with the lamina. The foliage, when crushed, has no 
aromatic odor as does the Mexican type of P. amerieana. 
The flowers are said by the natives to be produced in 
May. The fruits ripen in August and September. In 
form they are slender pyriform, sometimes curved, and 
sometimes pointed at the apex. Often the neck is long 
and sharply defined. The body of the fruit is slightly 
compressed on two sides. In length the fruit varies 
from 4 to. 6 Inches. The surface i.s smooth, glossy, 
and purplish black in color. The epicarp is exceed- 
ingly thin and membranous, and adheres closely to the 
firm, oily flesh, which is divided into two zones of 
color, the outer being pale green, and the inner, 
which is of the same thickness as the outer, greenish 
cream color. The two zones are more sharply defined 
than they ordinarily are in the cultivated avocados. 
The flavor of the flesh is rich and bland, like that 
of a very good avocado, but having a faint suggestion 
of sweetness. The outer seed coat Is developed Into 
a thick husk which may be practically be considered 
an endocarp. Within lies the seed, which is long and 
pointed, with the Inner seed coat, thin and membran- 
ous, surrounding the cotyledons closely. While the 
outer seed coat is extended clear to the base of the 
fruit, the inner does not always reach the apices of 
the cotyledons. The embryo lies immediately at the 
base of the cotyledons, while the avocado has the em- 
