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Manual Of Tropical And Subtropical Fruits | by Wilson Popenoe



My intention in preparing the present work has been to bring together, for the guidance of those who live in the tropical and subtropical regions of the globe, the available information concerning the principal fruits cultivated, or which may be cultivated, in those regions.

TitleManual Of Tropical And Subtropical Fruits
AuthorWilson Popenoe
PublisherThe Macmillan Company
Year1920
Copyright1920, The Macmillan Company
AmazonManual Of Tropical And Subtropical Fruits

Manual Of Tropical And Subtropical Fruits Excluding The Banana, Coconut, Pineapple, Citrus Fruits, Olive, And Fig

By Wilson Popenoe, Agricultural Explorer, United States Department Of Agriculture

-Preface
My intention in preparing the present work has been to bring together, for the guidance of those who live in the tropical and subtropical regions of the globe, the available information concerning the...
-Chapter I. The Outlook For Tropical Fruits
The thickly peopled countries of the Temperate Zone must look more and more to the tropics to supplement their own food resources, whether by direct supplies, made possible in increasing measure by ev...
-The Outlook For Tropical Fruits. Continued
Because of this rare occurrence, among tropical fruits, of fine horticultural varieties as compared with the profusion of semi-wild seedlings, much criticism has been ignorantly directed at these frui...
-Chapter II. The Avocado
Plates I-IV North American horticulturists are accustomed to view the avocado as one of the greatest undeveloped sources of food which the tropics offer at the present day. From their standpoint th...
-Avocado Botanical Description
The genus Persea, to which the avocado belongs, is a member of the laurel family (Lauraceae); hence it is related to the cinnamon tree, camphor, and sassafras. The avocados cultivated in the United St...
-Avocado History And Distribution
The native home of the avocado is on the mainland of tropical America. Persea drymifolia is abundant in the wild state on the lower slopes of the volcano Orizaba, in southern Mexico, as well as in oth...
-Composition And Uses Of Avocado
Due to the investigations of M. E. Jaffa and his associates at the University of California, much light has been thrown on the food value of the avocado in recent years. The following table shows the ...
-Avocado Climate And Soil
It is impossible to define in few words the climatic conditions most favorable to the avocado, since the different races do not always succeed under the same conditions. The subject must, therefore, b...
-Avocado Climate And Soil. Continued
Webber further says: Trees which needed irrigation when the freeze came suffered rather severely, as did also trees that had been irrigated three to five days before the freeze and were thus gorged w...
-Avocado Cultivation
Regarding the best time to plant avocados in southern Florida, Krome says: I have planted at least a few avocados every year since 1905 and these plantings have been made during every month of the...
-Avocado Tillage, Mulching, And Cover-Crops
The ground around the young trees should be kept liberally mulched with weeds, straw, barnyard litter, seaweed, or any coarse material which is not injurious and will not pack and form a layer impervi...
-Avocado Fertilizer
Little systematic attention has yet been given to this subject. Not only is the question difficult, but it is also one of the most important in connection with avocado culture in Florida. The followin...
-Avocado Irrigation
An abundance of water is especially important during the first two or three years after the tree is planted, if rapid healthy growth is to be maintained. In Florida, particularly in sections where the...
-Avocado Pruning
The amount of pruning required by the avocado depends largely on the variety. Some make short stocky growths and form shapely trees without the assistance of the pruning-shears, while others take long...
-Avocado Propagation
Avocados do not come true from seed; that is, a tree grown from a seed of the Trapp variety will not produce Trapp fruits, although it may produce fruits similar in character. For commercial purposes ...
-Avocado Stock Plants
In Florida it has been the custom to bud or graft West Indian varieties on seedlings of the same race. In California the Guatemalan race has usually been budded on the Mexican, in the belief that the ...
-Essential Features Of Avocado Bud Propagation
Shield-budding is most successful when the stocks are small and full of vigor. If the plants are once allowed to cease the rapid thrifty growth with which they spring from the seed, the wood hardens, ...
-Avocado Grafting
One method of grafting has been employed extensively for the production of nursery stock in Florida, and another has been used on a limited scale for top-working old trees. The system extensively u...
-Top-Working Old Avocado Trees
Large numbers of seedling avocados have been planted in Florida and California. Many of these produce fruits inferior in quality to the best budded varieties, while quite a number do not produce at al...
-Avocado Crop
The age at which budded avocado trees come into bearing varies with the different races, and also among the varieties of the same race. Furthermore, experience indicates that many kinds will bear at a...
-Avocado Season
The season during which avocados are obtainable in southern Florida has been, until very recently, from July until January. A few Trapps may hang on until February or even as late as March, but the fr...
-Avocado Picking, Packing, And Marketing
Avocados are picked best with orange clippers. The stem is usually swollen just above the point of attachment with the fruit; it should be severed with the clippers immediately above this swollen port...
-Avocado Pests And Diseases
In the early stages of many horticultural industries insect pests and fungous diseases are not troublesome, but as the industry develops its enemies become more numerous. So it has been with the avoca...
-Avocado Pests And Diseases. Continued
Another fungus, a species of Colletotrichum, is often observed in diseased spots on leaves and fruits. This fungus is closely related to Gloeosporium and the injuries with which it is associated rese...
-Avocado Races And Varieties
The avocados cultivated in the United States are classified horticulturally in three races: the West Indian, the Guatemalan, and the Mexican. The West Indian and Guatemalan races, so far as can be jud...
-Avocado. West Indian Race
This race is the predominant one in the West Indies and throughout the low-lying portions of the tropical American mainland. It is found as far north as Florida and the Bahama Islands, and as far sout...
-Avocado. Guatemalan Race
Although planted in California as early as 1885, the Guatemalan race did not begin to attract attention until about 1910. With the increase of interest in avocado culture which had its inception in Ca...
-Avocado. Mexican Race
This race, which embraces the hardiest avocados cultivated in the United States, is particularly valuable for regions too cold for the West Indian and Guatemalan varieties. It is extensively cultivate...
-Avocado. Hybrids
This group has been established to include hybrids between Persea drymifolia (the Mexican race of horticulture) and P. americana (the Guatemalan and West Indian races). Fuerte is the only variety whic...
-Chapter III. The Mango
Plates V-VI Akbar, the Mughal emperor who reigned in northern India from 1556 to 1605, planted near Darbhanga the Lakh Bagh, an orchard of a hundred thousand mango trees. Nothing, perhaps, more elo...
-Mango Botanical Description
The family Anacardiaceae, to which the mango belongs, includes a large number of plants found within the tropics and a few growing in the Mediterranean region, Japan, and temperate North America. The ...
-Mango History And Distribution
Alphonse DeCandolle considered it probable that the mango could be included among the fruits which have been cultivated by man for 4000 years. Its prominence in Hindu mythology and religious observanc...
-Mango History And Distribution. Continued
The Ain-i-Akbari, an encyclopedic work written during the reign of Akbar (about 1590), contains a lengthy account of the mango. Akbar, it may be remembered, was the Mughal emperor who planted the Lakh...
-Mango Composition And Uses Of The Fruit
The mango contains much sugar. The proportions of other constituents, such as acids and protein, are low in the ripe fruit. The following table, from analyses made in Hawaii by Alice R. Thompson, show...
-Mango Climate And Soil
While the mango grows in humid tropical regions subject to heavy rains throughout the year, it is not successfully cultivated for its fruit under these conditions. It requires the stimulus of a dry se...
-Mango Climate And Soil. Continued
The mango resists heavy winds much better than does the avocado. The wood is tough, and ordinarily the tree (except in the Cambodiana group) assumes a low compact form if not crowded. It is not essent...
-Mango Cultivation
The best site for the mango orchard is one which has good drainage together with soil of such nature that it will dry out thoroughly when no rain falls for a few weeks. In regions where the soil is de...
-Mango Cultivation. Continued
The mango requires less water than the avocado, although young trees are benefited by frequent irrigations. In Florida, old mango trees will be found growing and fruiting in fence corners and abandone...
-Mango Propagation
Like many other fruit-trees, the mango has been propagated in the tropics principally by seed. In some instances seedling trees produce good fruits; this is particularly true of certain races, such as...
-Mango Propagation. Part 2
G. L. Chauveaud 1 has advanced the theory that polyembryony is a more primitive state than monoembryony, which would seem to be borne out by this observation; for it must be true that the choice mango...
-Mango Propagation. Part 3
Various methods of budding, beginning with the patch-bud, have been tried at different times, but shield-budding (Fig. 11) is the only one which has proved altogether satisfactory for nursery purposes...
-The Mango Flower And Its Pollination
The scanty productiveness of many Indian mangos has been attributed by several writers to defective pollination. A. C. Hartless, superintendent of the Government Botanical Gardens at Saharanpur, India...
-Mango Crop
In the tropics seedling mangos usually come into bearing four to six years from the time of planting. More time than this may be required in some instances. Certain races are more precocious than othe...
-Mango Crop. Continued
Some varieties will keep much longer after picking than others. William Burns,1 in his article on the Pairi mango, says that Alphonse can be kept two months, if properly stored. Pairi, on the other ha...
-Mango Pests And Diseases
The commonest and most troublesome enemy of the mango in tropical America is anthracnose. This is a parasitic fungus (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz.) which attacks many different plants, and is ...
-Mango Races And Varieties
The classification of mangos must be considered from two distinct standpoints. First, there are numerous seedling races; and second, there are horticultural groups of varieties propagated by grafting ...
-Mango Mulgoba Group
In this group the tree is usually erect, with a broad, dense crown. The leaves are slender, smaller (especially in the variety Mulgoba) than in some of the other groups, the primary transverse veins 2...
-Mango. Alphonse Group
The trees of this group are usually broad and spreading in habit, but in a few cases, e.g., Amini, they may be rather tall, with an oval crown. The foliage is abundant, bright to deep green in color, ...
-Mango. Sandersha Group
The tree is erect, stiff, with the crown less broad than in the Mulgoba group and usually not so umbrageous. The foliage is fairly abundant, deep green in color, the leaves comparatively small but bro...
-Mango. Cambodiana Group
In this group the tree is erect, with the crown usually oval, never broadly spreading, and densely umbrageous. The foliage is abundant, deep green in color, the leaves medium sized to rather large, wi...
-Chapter IV. Relatives Of The Mango
While the mango is the leading fruit of the Anacardiaceae or Cashew family, yet other species are more or less cultivated and should be briefly discussed here. The family comprises as a whole some 400...
-The Cashew (Fig. 22) (Anacardium Occidentale, L.)
The Brazilians are the only people who fully appreciate the cashew. Father J. S. Tavares, whose studies of Brazilian fruits are probably the most exhaustive as well as the most interesting which have ...
-The Cashew (Anacardium Occidentale, L.). Continued
In Mexico and Central America the cashew is common on the seacoast but is rarely found at elevations higher than 3000 feet. At altitudes of 5000 or 6000 feet the climate appears to be too cool for the...
-The Imbu (Fig. 23) (Spondias Tuberosa, Arruda.)
Of the several fruits belonging to the genus Spondias which are grown in various parts of the tropics, the imbu, although relatively little known, is perhaps the best. It merits cultivation wherever c...
-The Ambarella (Plate VI) (Spondias Cytherea, Sonnerat.)
This is probably the most widely cultivated species of Spondias, although it is not so extensively distributed, in its wild state, as the yellow mombin. It is known in many tropical countries and can ...
-The Red Mombin (Plate VII) (Spondias Mombin, L.)
No other species of Spondias is so extensively used in tropical America as this. In many parts of Mexico and Central America it is a fruit of the first importance. It occurs in a wide range of seedlin...
-The Yellow Mombin (Spondias Lutea, L.)
This species is generally considered inferior in quality to the red mombin. Its cultivation is much less extensive, but it occurs abundantly as a wild tree in many tropical regions. The name hog-plum,...
-Chapter V. The Annonaceous Fruits
The annonas are tropical fruits composed of more or less coherent fleshy carpels or parts. More than 50 species are known, several of which are widely cultivated for their fruits. The family comprises...
-The Cherimoya (Plate VIII) (Annona Cherimola, Mill.)
Deliciousness itself is the phrase Mark Twain used to characterize the cherimoya. Sir Clements Markham quotes an even more flattering description : The pineapple, the mangosteen, and the cherimo...
-The Cherimoya (Annona Cherimola, Mill.). Continued
The name by which this fruit is known in Spanish-speaking countries, cherimoya or chirimoya, is derived (as mentioned above, quoting Safford) from the Peruvian name chirimuya, signifying cold seeds. T...
-Cherimoya Cultivation
The climatic requirements of the cherimoya have been indicated in the discussion of the regions in which it is cultivated. It is essentially a subtropical fruit, and in the tropics succeeds only at el...
-Cherimoya Propagation
In many regions seed-propagation is the only method which has been used with this plant. In the United States, in Madeira, in Algeria, and in the Philippines, cherimoyas have been grafted and budded s...
-The Cherimoya Crop
Seedling cherimoyas, when grown under favorable cultural conditions, begin to bear the third or fourth year after planting. Most of them, even at fifteen or twenty years of age, do not produce annuall...
-Cherimoya Pests And Diseases
Although the cherimoya has up to the present suffered little from the attacks of insect and other pests in California and Florida, it is far from being exempt from them in regions where it has been gr...
-Cherimoya Varieties (Fig. 24)
While there are important differences among seedling cheri-moyas, affecting not only the productiveness and foliage of the tree but also the size, form, character of surface, color, quality, and numbe...
-The Sugar-Apple (Fig. 25) (Annona Squamosa, L.)
With the exception of the little-known ilama (described later), the sugar-apple is the best of the tropical annonas. In its climatic requirements it resembles the bullock's-heart and the soursop, rath...
-The Soursop (Plate VIII) (Annona Muricata, L.)
For the preparation of sherbets and other refreshing drinks, the soursop is unrivaled. Those who have visited Habana and there sipped the delectable champola de guandbana will agree with Cubans that i...
-The Bullock's-Heart (Fig. 26) (Annona Reticulata, L.)
The bullock's-heart, although widely grown, is a fruit of little value. Compared with the sugar-apple and the cherimoya it lacks flavor. An occasional seedling produces fruit of fair quality, but ther...
-The Ilama (Fig. 27) (Annona Diversifolia, Safford)
The ilama is probably the finest annonaceous fruit which can be grown in the tropical lowlands; yet it has not, until very recently, been planted outside the region in which it is indigenous. Now that...
-Minor Annonaceous Fruits
Pond-apple (Annona glabra, L.). - This species is of no value as a fruit, but has been used as a stock for other annonas. It grows wild in south Florida around the shores of Lake Oke-chobee and along ...
-Chapter VI. The Date
Plates IX-X Honor your maternal aunt, the palm, said the prophet Muhammad to the Muslims; for it was created from the clay left over after the creation of Adam (on whom be peace and the blessing...
-The Date. Continued
In very early times the palm had become naturalized in northern India, northern Africa, and southern Spain. From Spain it was brought to America a few centuries ago. In the last quarter of a centur...
-Date Cultivation
While the date palm grows luxuriantly in a wide range of warm climates, it is, for commercial cultivation, adapted only to regions marked by high temperature combined with low humidity. Properly speak...
-Date Propagation
The date palm can be propagated in only two ways: by seed, and by the offshoots or suckers which spring up around the base or sometimes on the stem of the palm until it attains an age of ten to twenty...
-Date Yield And Season
Most varieties of date palm, if properly cared for, will begin to bear in the fourth year, and should yield a considerable return in the fifth and succeeding years. Under Arab treatment they usually t...
-Date Picking And Packing
The picking process offers no particular problems, although the methods are not the same with all varieties. Usually two persons can pick together conveniently, one holding the basket and the other ga...
-Date Pests And Diseases
There are two scale insects, found wherever dates grow, that are troublesome to the orchardist. The Parlatoria scale (Parlatoria blanchardii Targ. Tozz.) remains dormant during the winter but is activ...
-Date Varieties And Classification
Several thousand varieties of dates have been recognized, but those which have any commercial importance are limited to a few score, while those that are of real merit number only a few dozen, since m...
-Date Varieties And Classification. Continued
According to modern Omani etymologists, the name means The Separated, because of the way the dates are arranged in the bunch; but the ancients, who are entitled to more credit, spell it in a way that ...
-Chapter VII. The Papaya And Its Relatives
The papaya (sometimes called papaw) and the passionflowers are closely related, and the fruit-bearing kinds are treated together in this chapter. Some botanists place them all in one family even thoug...
-The Papaya (Plate XI) (Carica Papaya, L.)
There is also a fruite, wrote the Dutch traveler Linschoten in 1598, that came out of the Spanish Indies, brought from beyond ye Philipinas or Lusons to Malacca, and fro thence to India, it is call...
-Table IV. Composition Of The Papaya
Strain Total Solids Ash Acids Protein Total Sugars Fat Fiber % % ...
-Papaya Cultivation
The papaya is tropical in its requirements, but it can be grown in regions where light frosts are experienced. It prefers a warm climate and rich, loamy, well-drained soil. In southern Florida it grow...
-Papaya Propagation
The papaya is usually propagated by seeds, which in Florida should be sown as early in the year as possible, preferably in January, in order to have the plants in bearing by the following winter. If s...
-Papaya Yield And Market
In the tropics papayas are in season during a large part of the year and the yield is enormous, a single plant bearing in the course of its life (not more than a few years) a hundred or more immense f...
-Papaya Pests And Diseases
Two pests have become sufficiently troublesome in south Florida to require attention. One, the papaya fruit-fly (Toxo-trypana curvicauda Gerst.) threatened at one time to become serious. This insect o...
-Papaya Seedling Races
With the introduction of grafting as a means of propagating choice papayas in Florida, one named variety, the Simmonds, was established, but the stock has degenerated and it is no longer grown. Grafte...
-The Mountain Papaya (Caricacandamarcensis, Hook. F.)
Since it comes from elevations of 8000 or 9000 feet in the mountains of Colombia and Ecuador, this species is more frost-resistant than its near relative the papaya, and in this characteristic lies it...
-The Purple Granadilla (Plate X) (Passiflora Edulis, Sims)
The passifloras are known in the Temperate Zone as flowering plants, but the species commonly grown in the tropics are cultivated principally for their edible fruits. The most important one is the pur...
-The Purple Granadilla (Passiflora Edulis, Sims). Continued
The chief feature about the passion-vine, however, is its habit of producing two crops per annum. The summer crop comes in about February or March, and prices are necessarily low. The winter crop is ...
-The Giant Granadilla (Fig. 31) (Passiflora Quadrangularis, L.)
While this is the largest-fruited species of the genus, and one of the most widely distributed, it is not the best in quality. From its native home in tropical America it has been carried to the easte...
-Chapter VIII. The Loquat And Its Relatives
Herein are grouped the few fruits of the Rose family that are cultivated to any extent in the tropics and subtropics. In temperate regions, this family supplies the leading tree-fruits, as apple, pear...
-The Loquat (Plate XII) (Eriobotrya Japonica, Lindl.)
The production of loquats in Japan is estimated at twenty million pounds annually. From one small village in the Che-kiang Province of China, twenty thousand dollars' worth have been shipped in a sing...
-Table V. Composition Of The Loquat
Variety Water Protein Fat Sugar Fiber Ash Dextrose Sucrose % ...
-Loquat Cultivation
The climatic requirements of the loquat, except as an ornamental plant, are distinctly subtropical. It is not successful in the hot tropical lowlands, nor can it be grown for fruiting purposes in regi...
-Loquat Propagation
In many countries it is still the custom to propagate the loquat by seed, but in regions where the commercial cultivation of this fruit has received serious attention, this method has been replaced by...
-Loquat Yield And Picking
The loquat tree is productive, and a regular bearer. Barring crop failures due to severe frosts at flowering time, the trees rarely fail to produce well every year. Their tendency is to overbear, with...
-Loquat Pests And Diseases
The principal enemies of the loquat in California are pear-blight (Bacillus amylovorus Trev.) and loquat-scab (Fusi-cladium dendriticum var. eriobotryce Scalia). Condit says of the former: The pear b...
-Loquat Varieties
The regions in which named varieties of the loquat have been developed are China, Japan, Queensland, India, Sicily, Algeria, and California. Little is known of the Chinese varieties. Frank N. Meyer...
-The Capulin (Plate XIII) (Prunus Salicifolia, Hbk.)
One of the best rosaceous fruits of tropical countries is the capulin or wild cherry of Central America and northern South America. In its present wild and semi-wild state a fruit of fairly good quali...
-The Manzanilla (Plate XIII) (Crataegus Spp.)
The manzanilla of Guatemala and the tejocote of Mexico are fruits so similar in character that they may perhaps belong to one species; the former is considered at present to be Cratoegns stipulosa, St...
-The Icaco (Chrysobalanus Icaco, L.)
Although not a fruit of great value, the icaco is extensively used in the tropics, especially by the poorer classes. It is abundant along the seacoasts of tropical America as a wild plant, and is freq...
-Chapter IX. Fruits Of The Myrtle Family
The myrtaceous fruits comprise an interesting lot of aromatic things, and with blossoms bearing many long and conspicuous stamens. The Myrtaceae include many of the spices, as clove, cinnamon, allspic...
-The Guava (Fig. 35) (Psidium Guajava, L.)
The guava, while useful in many ways, is preeminently a fruit for jelly-making and other culinary purposes. To the horticulturist the species is admirable as being one of the least exacting of all tro...
-The Guava (Psidium Guajava, L.). Continued
The fruit is eaten in many ways, out of hand, sliced with cream, stewed, preserved, and in shortcakes and pies. Commercially it is used to make the well-known guava jelly and other products. When well...
-The Strawberry Guava (Fig. 36) (Psidium Cattleianum, Sabine)
Unlike the preceding species, the strawberry guava is subtropical in its requirements, and can be grown wherever the orange succeeds. It is ornamental in appearance, and for this reason has become a f...
-Costa Rican Guava (Psidium Friedrichsthalianum, Ndz.)
This is a species from Central America which recently has been introduced into California, Florida, and a few other regions. In the countries where it is native it is found occasionally in gardens, bu...
-Guisaro (Psidium Molle, Bertol.)
This shrub from southern Mexico and Central America is now cultivated in a few gardens in southern California and southern Florida. The acid fruits, smaller than those of the Costa Rican guava, are us...
-Brazilian Guava (Psidium Guineense, Sw.)
While this species is scarcely known horticulturally, so much confusion has existed regarding its identity that it seems desirable to include it here. As was stated on a former page, the guava which h...
-Para Guava (Britoa Acida, Berg)
Since it does not belong to the genus Psidium this fruit is not properly entitled to be called a guava, but its similarity to the true guavas in nearly every respect makes it horticulturally permissib...
-The Pitanga (Fig. 37) (Eugenia Uniflora, L.)
The pitanga is the best of the Eugenias. Outside of Brazil it is not appreciated as it deserves to be, although it is commonly grown in several countries. In its native home it is a popular favorite. ...
-The Feijoa (Plate XIV, Fig. 38) (Feijoa Sellowiana, Berg)
Edouard Andre, one of the greatest French horticulturists of the past century, took home with him when he returned from a voyage to South America in 1890 plants of Feijoa Sellowiana, a fruit at that t...
-The Feijoa (Feijoa Sellowiana, Berg). Continued
The amount of manure which can be used advantageously has not been determined. It has been the general practice in California to give the young plants an abundance of stable manure, and the effect of ...
-The Jaboticaba (Plate XV) (Myrciaria Spp.)
In southern Brazil there are a number of indigenous fruits of genuine merit. The jaboticaba is one of the best, but like many of the others it has until recently received little attention outside its ...
-Grumichama (Eugenia Dombeyi, Skeels) (Fig. 39)
This is a better fruit than several other species of Eugenia which are much more widely grown. It is found both wild and cultivated in southern Brazil, particularly in the states of Parana and Santa C...
-Jambolan (Eugenia Jambolana, Lam.)
This species, whose native home is in the East Indies, is of little value in comparison with several of its congeners. It is a small tree, with large, oblong, apiculate, glossy leaves, white flowers, ...
-Rose-Apple (Eugenia Jambos, L.) (Plate XVI)
As an ornamental tree, the rose-apple is of value for all tropical and subtropical regions. As a fruit it is beautiful and interesting, but is not much used except for making preserves. The tree gr...
-Pera Do Campo (Eugenia Klotzschiana, Berg) (Fig. 40)
This is a rare eugenia from the campos or rolling plains of central Brazil (Minas Geraes), which has recently been introduced into the United States. It is slender in habit and grows not more than 4 o...
-Pitomba (Eugenia Iuschnathiana, Berg)
This is a fruit-tree found wild and cultivated in the state of Bahia, Brazil. It attains a height of 25 to 30 feet, and is of handsome appearance. The leaves are lanceolate, 3 inches long, glossy and ...
-Ohia (Eugenia Malaccensis, L.) (Fig. 41)
This species is a native of the Malayan Archipelago, whence it has been introduced into other tropical regions. It is now the most important eugenia in the Hawaiian flora. Vaughan MacCaughey 1 says of...
-Uvalha (Eugenia Uvalha, Cambess.)
This shrub or small tree is found both wild and cultivated in southern Brazil. The leaves are oblong, obtuse, and aromatic when crushed; the fruits are round or oblate in form, 1 inch in diameter, yel...
-Cabelluda (Eugenia Tomentosa, Cambess.)
This myrtaceous fruit is found both indigenous and cultivated in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. When well grown, the tree is handsome and of value as an ornamental plant. It reaches a height ...
-Guabiroba (Abbevillea Fenzliana, Berg)
This is another small tree found both wild and cultivated in southern Brazil, especially in the vicinity of Rio de Janeiro. It grows to 30 or 40 feet in height, and has foliage which resembles that of...
-Downy Myrtle (Rhodomyrtus Tomentosa, Wight)
This myrtle is a small, handsome shrub, valuable as an ornamental plant as well as for its fruit. The leaves are elliptic or obovate, obtuse, 1 to 2 1/2 inches long. The rose-pink flowers are followed...
-Chapter X. The Litchi And Its Relatives
The Sapindaceae or Soapberry family comprises a number of fruits prized in the tropics, which may be brought together in one chapter. In temperate climates the family yields no important edible fruits...
-The Litchi (Plate XVII, Fig. 42) (Litchi Chinensis, Sonn.)
While living in exile at Canton, the poet Su Tung-po declared that litchis would reconcile one to eternal banishment. Yet he did not allow his enthusiasm to draw him into gastronomic indiscretions, fo...
-Litchi Cultivation
In general it must be considered that the litchi is tropical in its requirements. It likes a moist atmosphere, abundant rainfall, and freedom from frosts. It can be grown in subtropical regions, howev...
-Litchi Propagation
Propagation of the litchi is commonly effected by two means : seed, and air-layering (known in India as guti). Higgins writes on this subject: As seeds do not reproduce the variety from which they...
-Litchi Yield And Season
Seedling litchis have been known to bear fruit at five years of age. It is commonly held that they should bear when seven to nine years old. In some instances, however, trees twenty years old have fai...
-Litchi Pests And Diseases
Little is known regarding the enemies of the litchi in China. Brewster says: There is a worm which makes a ring around the trunk under the bark. When the circle is complete the tree dies; but the bar...
-Litchi Varieties
Since the litchi has been propagated vegetatively from ancient times, it is natural that many horticultural varieties should be grown at the present day. Most of these, however, are unknown to the wes...
-The Longan (Euphoria Iongana, Lam.)
Opinions differ regarding the value of the longan. It is popular among the Chinese, but Americans who have tested longans produced in California and Florida have not as a rule considered them good. Fr...
-The Rambutan (Plate XX) (Nephelium Lappaceum, L.)
In the Malay Archipelago are found several valuable tropical fruits which have not yet become extensively cultivated elsewhere. The rambutan is one of them. It is grown in nearly every garden in Singa...
-The Pulasan (Fig. 43) (Nephelium Mutabile, Bl.)
In the markets of Singapore, the pulasan is sold as a variety of the rambutan. It is, however, a distinct species and is known elsewhere in the Malayan region under a different name. The tree, whic...
-The Akee (Plate XVIII) (Blighia Sapida, Koen.)
Like the oil palm (Eloeis guineensis), now common on the coast of Brazil, the akee is an African plant which was brought to America in the days of the slave trade. According to William Harris, it reac...
-The Mamoncillo (Melicocca Bijuga, L.)
Unlike its oriental relatives the litchi, the longan, and the rambutan, the mamoncillo is strictly an American plant. It is cultivated in the West Indies and on the neighboring mainland of South Ameri...
-Chapter XI. The Sapotaceous Fruits
The sapotaceous fruits are so named from the family Sapota-ceae, to which they belong, and which in turn is named from the old generic name Sapota (now represented in Achras Sapota, the sapodilla). Th...
-The Sapodilla (Plate XIX) (Achras Sapota, L.)
Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo, who was one of the first Europeans to study the plants of the New World, called the sapodilla the best of all fruits. More recently, Thomas Firm-inger, an English horticul...
-The Sapote (Fig. 44) (Calocarpum Mammosum, Pierre)
The sapote is one of the important fruits of the Central American lowlands. It furnishes to the Indians a nourishing and agreeable food, obtainable during a certain part of the year in considerable ab...
-The Green Sapote (Plate XX) (Calocarpum Viride, Pittier)
While greatly superior in flavor to its congener the sapote (C. mammosum), the green sapote is much more limited in its distribution. It is common in the Guatemalan highlands and is found also in Hond...
-The Star-Apple (Fig. 45) (Chrysophyllum Cainito, L.)
In Cuba, Jamaica, and several other tropical American countries, the star-apple is a common dooryard tree and its fruit is held in much the same estimation as the sapote, the sapodilla, and the sugar-...
-The Canistel (Lucuma Nervosa, A. Dc.)
Opinions differ regarding the value of the canistel. By some it is considered a delicious fruit; others find it too sweet and its musky flavor unpleasant. It is popular among residents of the Florida ...
-The Abiu (Fig. 46) (Pouteria Caimito, Radlk.)
Although the abiu is one of the best of the sapotaceous fruits, it is not so widely cultivated as several other species. It greatly resembles the canistel in habit of growth and in foliage, but is eas...
-The Yellow Sapote (Lucuma Salicifolia, Hbk.)
Both in foliage and fruit the yellow sapote closely resembles the canistel, but its fruit is, perhaps, slightly the better of the two. It is a small tree, attaining 25 feet in height, and usually of s...
-The Lucmo (Lucuma Obovata, Hbk.)
Pittier has recently called attention to this species, which has been cultivated in Peru since ancient times. It is a tree 25 to 35 feet high, with a dense rounded crown. The leaves, which arc in bunc...
-Chapter XII. The Kaki And Its Relatives
The genus Diospyros comprises about 200 species, mostly tropical and subtropical. One of them is the native persimmon (D. virginiana), which reaches as far north as Connecticut. The oriental kinds are...
-The Kaki Or Japanese Persimmon (Plate XXI) (Diospyros Kaki, L. F.)
The Japanese, who cultivate more than 800 varieties of the kaki, consider it one of their best fruits. The Chinese also value it highly and devote large areas to its production. Although it has been g...
-Table VI. Composition Of The Kaki
Variety Total Solids Ash Protein Total Sugars Tannin % % % % %...
-Japanese Persimmon Cultivation
The kaki is distinctly a subtropical fruit and thus is not successful in the moist tropical lowlands, although there are many elevated valleys and plateaux in the tropics where it can be grown. Its cu...
-Japanese Persimmon Propagation
It has long been known, especially in Florida, that some varieties flower profusely but fail to develop any fruits. In other instances, though good crops are produced one season, yet the following yea...
-Japanese Persimmon Picking And Shipping
If the fruit is to be shipped to distant markets, it should be gathered when fully grown but before it has begun to soften. Clippers or picking-shears should be used, and the fruit must be handled car...
-Japanese Persimmon Pests And Diseases
There are few insects or fungous diseases which need cause the American kaki-grower serious concern. The Mediterranean fruit-fly (Ceratitis capitata Wied.) attacks the fruit in Australia, but this ins...
-Japanese Persimmon Varieties
Although 800 varieties are grown in Japan, Ikeda does not consider more than 90 to be valuable. In the United States the number offered by nurserymen is relatively small. The nomenclature of the horti...
-Japanese Persimmon Group Of Pollination Constants
Costata. - Form conical, pointed, somewhat four-angled in transverse section; size medium, length 2 5/8 inches, thickness 2 1/8 inches; surface salmon-yellow; flesh light yellow, dark-colored flesh or...
-Japanese Persimmon Group Of Pollination Variants
Gailey. - Form oblong-conical, sharp at the apex; size small; surface dull red, pebbled; flesh meaty, firm, and juicy; flavor pleasant. This variety regularly produces staminate flowers every year,...
-The Black Sapote (Plate XXII) (Dios.pyros Ebenaster, Retz.)
Outside of Mexico the black sapote is little known; in that country, however, it is one of the popular fruits and is grown from sea-level up to elevations of 5000 or even 6000 feet. Unfortunately, the...
-The Mabolo (Diospyros Discolor, Willd.)
Like the durian and the santol, the mabolo is a Malayan fruit little known outside its native area. It is a medium-sized tree with oblong-acute leaves 4 to 8 inches long, shining above and pubescent b...
-Chapter XIII. The Pomegranate And The Jujube
The pomegranate and jujube are not closely related botani-cally, but the cultural requirements are similar. The pomegranate is the only genus of its family (the Punicaceae), while the jujube (genus Zi...
-The Pomegranate (Plate XXII) (Punica Granatum, L.)
Eat the pomegranate, sententiously said the prophet Muhammad, for it purges the system of envy and hatred. Far earlier than in the days of Muhammad, however, was this fruit esteemed in the Orient....
-The Pomegranate (Plate XXII) (Punica Granatum, L.). Part 2
In regard to soil, the species is not exacting but it is considered to succeed best on deep, rather heavy, loams. It is on soils of this type that the excellent pomegranates of Mesopotamia are grown. ...
-The Pomegranate (Plate XXII) (Punica Granatum, L.). Part 3
Regarding the best methods of picking and handling the fruit, Hodgson says: On account of the common habit of splitting, the fruit of most varieties must be picked before fully mature. . . . Some ...
-The Jubube (Zizyphus Spp.)
The jujube writes David Fairchild, is one of the five principal fruits of China, and has been cultivated for at least 4000 years. It is only in the large-fruited Chinese varieties that the jujube ...
-Chapter XIV. The Mangosteen And Its Relatives
Of the Guttiferae or Garcinia family few plants are grown for fruit, and the mangosteen is the chief one. It is a tropical family of nearly 400 species and 30 to 40 genera. The family yields drugs, gu...
-The Mangosteen (Plate XXIV ) (Garcinia Mangostana, L.)
Since the days when early voyagers returned to Europe with more or less fabulous stories of the wonders of the East, the mangosteen has received unstinted praise. It has been termed the Queen of Frui...
-Mangosteen Cultivation
Horticultural writers have asserted that the mangosteen can be grown only within four or five degrees of the equator. Experience has shown that such a statement is not warranted by facts. It is true t...
-Mangosteen Propagation
The work of George W. Oliver in the greenhouses of the Department of Agriculture at Washington has thrown much light on the requirements of young mangosteen plants, and on the best methods of propagat...
-Season And Enemies Of The Mangosteen
Seedling trees may begin to bear fruit when seven or eight years old, but it is rare for them to do so before the ninth year. It is not yet known how many years will be required for an inarched or bud...
-The Mamey (Mammea Americana, L.)
Christopher Columbus, after his first visit to Veragua in 1502, is said to have described the mamey as a fruit the size of a large lemon, with the flavor of the peach. Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo, abo...
-The Bakuri (Platonia Insignis, Mart.)
In northern Brazil, particularly in the Amazon region, the bakuri occurs wild. It is scarcely known in cultivation, but the fruit gathered from trees in the forest is preserved in tins and sold commer...
-The Bakupari (Fig. 51) (Rheedia Brasiliensis, Planch. & Triana)
This handsome tree is indigenous to the state of Rio de Janeiro in southeastern Brazil. It closely resembles its near relative the bakuri (Platonia insignis). The fruit is smaller in size than that of...
-Chapter XV. The Breadfruit And Its Relatives
Notwithstanding their very different appearance, the breadfruits are of the same family (Moraceae) as the mulberries, fig, and osage orange. The breadfruits, however, are tropical, whereas the fig is ...
-The Breadfruit (Figs. 52, 53) (Artocarpus Communis, Forst.)
Among the horticultural products brought to the attention of Europeans by the early voyagers to the East, few were considered of such interest and value as the breadfruit. The importance of its introd...
-Table VII. Composition Of The Breadfruit
Variety Total Solids Ash Acids Protein Total Sugars Fat Fiber Hydrolyzable Carbohydrates other than ...
-The Jackfruit (Plate XXIII) (Artocarpus Integrifolia, Forst.)
There is again another wonderful tree wrote the pioneer traveler John de Marignolli in 1350, called Chake-Baruke, as big as an oak. Its fruit is produced from the trunk, and not from the branches,...
-The Marang (Artocarpus Odoratissima, Blanco)
The marang has been brought recently to the attention of horticulturists by P. J. Wester, who considers it a fruit of unusual promise. It resembles the jackfruit and the seeded breadfruit in appearanc...
-Chapter XVI. Miscellaneous Fruits
Having discussed in the different chapters the fruits that are more or less closely related botanically and culturally, we may now put the remaining kinds together in a single final fascicle. Most of ...
-The Durian (Plate XXIV) (Durio Zibethinus, Murr.)
Except for the fact that a few trees have been planted in the West Indies and elsewhere, and that P. J. Wester has shown that it can readily be budded (thus paving the way for its improvement), the du...
-The Santol (Sandoricwn Koetjape, Merr.)
Few writers recommend the santol as a fruit worthy of extensive cultivation. It is known chiefly in the Malayan region, where it is indigenous. The tree is medium sized, attaining to 50 feet in height...
-The Langsat (Fig. 54) (Lansium Domesticum, Jack)
While it cannot be said to rival the mangosteen, the langsat is considered one of the best fruits of the Malayan region. Like the mangosteen it differs from many other tropical fruits in being juic...
-The Carambola (Fig. 55) (Averrhoa Carambola, L.)
There is another fruit called Carambola, wrote the Dutch traveler Linschoten in 1598, which hath 8 corners, as bigge as a smal aple, sower in eating, like unripe plums, and most used to make Con-se...
-The Bilimbi (Averrhoa Bilimbi, L.)
Like its congener the carambola, this tree is probably a native of the Malayan region, but it is known only as a cultivated species. The fruit is too highly acid to be eaten out of hand; it may be pic...
-The Tamarind (Fig. 56) (Tamarindus Indica, L.)
In addition to the usefulness of its fruit, the tamarind has the advantage of being one of the best ornamental trees of the tropics. It is particularly valued in semi-arid regions, where it grows luxu...
-The Carissa (Fig. 57) (Carissa Grandiflora, A. Dc)
For its ornamental value as well as its edible fruits the carissa deserves to be cultivated throughout the tropics. Within the last few years it has become fairly common in southern Florida, and it ha...
-The Ramontchi (Fig. 58) (Flacourtia Ramontchi, L'Herit.)
While it must be listed among the minor fruits, the ramontchi (more commonly known in the West Indies as Governor's-plum) is not devoid of interest and merit. It is an excellent hedge plant, and its p...
-The Umkokolo (Fig. 59) (Dovyalis Caffra, Warb.)
While its scented fruit is not of great value for eating out of hand, the umkokolo, often called in English kei-apple, is a useful and interesting plant. It is unexcelled for hedges in regions where t...
-The Ketembilla (Dovyalis Hebecarpa, Warb.)
The ketembilla is a better fruit than its congener the um-kokolo, but the plant is somewhat more limited in its distribution. From its native home in Ceylon it has been brought to the Western Hemisphe...
-The White Sapote (Fig. 60) (Casimiroa Edulis, La Llave)
In the highlands of Mexico and Central America, where it is believed to be indigenous, the white sapote ranks among the principal cultivated fruits. Outside of this region it is not well known, althou...
-The Tuna (Opuntia Spp.)
Several species of Opuntia, notably 0. Ficus-indica, Mill., and 0. megacantha, S. D., are extensively grown in tropical and subtropical countries for their fruits, commonly known as tunas, prickly-pea...
-The Pitaya (Fig. 61) (Hylocereus, Lemaireocereus, And Cereus)
The fruits of many cacti are known in tropical America by the name pitaya, also spelled pitahaya, pitajaya, pitajuia, pitalla, and pithaya. These belong to several genera, formerly classified under th...
-The Tree-Tomato (Fig. 62) (Cyphomandra Betacea, Sendt.)
Several food-plants which were cultivated by the agricultural Indians of ancient Peru have become of economic importance to the modern world, one of them, the potato, of immense value. The tree-tomato...
-The Genipa (Genipa Americana, L.)
In parts of Brazil and in Porto Rico the genipa is a popular fruit. Elsewhere it is of little importance. Outside of its native area, which is considered to be northeastern South America and the West ...
-Bibliography
Much of the literature on tropical fruits exists in the form of bulletins and brief articles in the horticultural press. Reference has been made in the text of this work to the most important. The ...







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