212  Botany  and  Materia  Medica.  {^l^nXm™' 
Of  fruits,  the  Carica  Papaya,  L.,  is  frequent  on  the  islands.  The 
native  or  natural  form,  called  by  the  Mayas,  Papaya  los  Pajaros,  or 
"  Bird  Papaya,"  has  nearly  globular,  non-edible  fruit,  about  I  inch 
in  diameter.  It  is  commonly  cultivated  throughout  the  peninsula, 
when  it  is  called  Papaya  Put,  and  is  greatly  improved  in  quality. 
In  the  island  of  Cozumel,  large,  pear-shaped  fruit  has  been  raised, 
from  12  to  16  inches  in  length  and  9  to  12  inches  in  diameter  at  the 
larger  end.  The  pulp  is  of  an  orange- red  salmon  color;  rich,  juicy 
and  delicious.  The  flavor  is  said  to  improve  as  the  number  of  seeds 
in  the  fruit  diminishes. 
The  Sapote  (Achras  Sapota,  L.)  is  natural  to  many  parts  of  the 
peninsula,  especially  in  the  eastern  section,  where  it  often  attains  a 
height  of  50  to  100  feet.  It  is  widely  cultivated  for  its  delicious 
fruit,  which  also  yields,  on  puncture,  the  finest  of  the  Yucatan  gum 
or  "  Chicle." 
The  genus  Ipomea  is  represented  by  the  following  species :  I. 
Jalapa,  I.  Bona-nox,  I.  puncticulata,  I.  Jamaicensis  and  I.  fastigiata. 
Rhizophora  Mangle,  L.,  is  stated  to  be  very  plentiful,  many 
small  "  islands  "  being  composed  entirely  of  this  species. 
The  Kew  Bulletin  for  September,  1895,  P- 
230,  under  this  title,  describes  the  Dioscorea 
Shu-Lang  Root.     ,  .  nr  r  . 
rhipogonoides,  Oliver,  a  species  of  yam  indige- 
nous to  the  mountainous  regions  of  Hong 
Kong  and  Formosa.  The  plant  appears  to  possess  some  economic 
value,  and  occurs  in  commerce  as  "  dye-root "  or  "  dye-yam,"  and 
in  Tonquin  the  French  call  it  "  faux  gambir."  It  is  usually  gath- 
ered in  spring  and  early  summer,  and  is  largely  shipped  to  Canton, 
where  it  is  used  to  dye  grass  cloth  (Boehmeria),  and  the  commoner 
grades  of  silk  cloth  used  for  summer  clothing,  a  peculiar  reddish 
brown. 
The  botanical  source  of  the  rubber  pro- 
Rubber  Industry   duced  in  this  British  possession  on  the  west 
in  Lag-os.         coast  of  Africa  is  now  decided  at  Kew  to  be 
Kickxia  Africana,1  Benth.  {Kew  Bulletin,  Octo- 
ber, 1895,  p.  241).    The  name  female  rubber  tree  is  locally  applied 
to  the  Kickxia  Africana,  to  distinguish  it  from  Holarrhena  Africana, 
1  The  seed  of  this  Apocynaceae  originally  entered  commerce  as  a  variety  of 
Strophanthus.    See  American  Journal  of  Pharmacy,  1895,  p.  45. 
G.  M.  B. 
