Page transcription
FEBRUARY, 1912
THE CUBA MAGAZINE
Feijoa and White Sapote
Feljao Sellowiana
Casimiroa Edulis.
By F. W. POOPENOE,
Altadena, California.
THE FEIJOA is a fruit which is attracting considerable attention in California. It is a Myrtaceous shrub, very similar to its near relative, the Guava. It grows to an ultimate height of ten or twelve feet, and is of considerable value as an ornamental alone. The leaves are small, oval, dark green above and silvery white beneath, and the flowers, which are produced in spring, are very striking, the long tufted violet stamens forming a brilliant contrast with the white petals.
The Feijoa is a native of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, and was first introduced to cultivation in North America by Dr. Franceschi of Santa Barbara, California, in 1901. The fruit is about the size of a hen's egg, ordinarily oval in form, and green in color, with sometimes a touch of crimson on the cheek. The flesh is white, translucent, and melting, and of the most delicious flavor imaginable, combining the flavors of pineapple, strawberry, and banana.
One of the first tropical fruits introduced into California was the White Sapote, or Sapote Blanco, a native of northern and central Mexico. This fruit, while not yet produced in any great quantity, bids fair to become quite popular in the near future.
The tree is a rapid grower and very hardy. It is an evergreen, with glossy dark green foliage, the leaves palmate and of good size. In addition to its economic value it is quite ornamental, and possesses the characteristic of being extremely drought-resistant, thus making it valuable for planting in arid countries.
The fruits resemble in appearance an apple or a quince, and good specimens are from three to four inches in diameter. The flesh is whitish or creamy yellow, and contains three to five large seeds, very much like orange seeds on a larger scale. It is soft and melting when fully ripe, and of a flavor difficult to describe, but liked by almost everyone, and sometimes said to resemble that of the peach; it lacks, however, any trace of acidity or spiciness.
When grown from seed the White Sapote is liable to come true to type, and to obtain best results from this fruit it will be necessary to resort to some means of asexual propagation, so that the choicest seedling forms can be perpetuated. As yet grafting or budding have not been practiced, although it is probable they should not be successfully accomplished.
Among the seedlings which have fruited in California are several which are above the average in quality, and have been named as choice varieties. These are the Harvey, Gillespie, and Perquim, and it is expected that these will soon be put on the market in the form of budded or grafted trees.
The culture of the White Sapote presents no difficulties, it being one of the easiest fruits to grow, and is now in full cultivation in California. It flourishes in almost any soil, and requires but little irrigation during the dry months. When grown from seed it does not bear under an age of seven or eight years, but it stands to reason that budded trees would bear much younger.
