TUBER-BEARING SPECIES OF SOLANUM. 495 
ground. Each year, at theend of June or the beginning of July, 
I have collected the tubers; but the rootstock creeps so widely 
that always plenty have remained in the ground to furnish stock 
for another year. It is my belief that it would be easy to im- 
prove the tubers by simply cultivating them. Already the culti- 
vated tubers are much better than those which I received from 
M. Ohrond. The wild tubers were scarcely bigger than small 
walnuts; but some of those of the cultivated plants have attained 
the size of small hen's eggs. I may add that the tubers are quite 
palatable, with a taste of chestnuts, but leaving in the mouth a 
slight flavour of acidity, like that of a potato that has sprouted. 
My workmen and I have tried them both boiled and baked in 
the oven; the latter are preferable. As to the hardiness of the 
plant it is complete, at least here at Brest. During the winter 
of 1881, when the thermometer fell two degrees Centigrade below 
freezing-point, the tubers took no harm, and up to the present 
time the plant has not been found to suffer in the least from 
disease.” 
Besides S. Commersoni there are two well-marked distinct 
species in Brazil with pinnate leaves—S. reptans of Bunbury and 
S. tenue of Sendtner. These are fully described by Dunal and 
Sendtner ; but, so far as is at present known, they do not produce 
tubers. Besides these I have seen the following from the pre- 
sent geographical area :— 
Solanum Maglia, * Buenos Ayres, Tweedie;" * Hort. : brought 
from Buenos Ayres;" and another, “ Hort. Glasgow, from wild 
root." 
Five specimens of a plant from Tweedie—two labelled * Uru- 
guay;" two “This has a considerable quantity of a nasty soft 
watery potato at its root, called Papas amarga, in consequence 
of its bitter taste;" and one, * Papa amarga of Buenos Ayres. 
Roots large, but poisonous.” This has the corolla of S. Maglia and 
S. tuberosum, associated with leaves with as many as 9—11 leaflets, 
with only a casual interspersed leaflet or none at all. This is 
most likely a marked variety of S. tuberosum, and is well worthy 
of further attention. 
3. PERU, BOLIVIA, EOUADOR, AND COLOMBIA. 
1. SOLANUM TuBEROSUM.—In their ‘ Flora Peruviana, vol. ii. 
p. 38, Ruiz and Pavon say of S. tuberosum, “ Habitat in Peruviæ 
