406 Lieut. -Col. Madden on some Plants 



" Phaphar, said by some to be a species of Amaranthus, called 

 Amardana in the low country; but others say that this is a 

 mistake. 



" Uyd, which I presume is rye, the natives saying that it is 

 neither barley nor wheat, but has a resemblance to both/^ 



The chief grains of Kullu, a hill province north of the Sutlej 

 river, now a British possession, were reported to Dr. Hamilton 

 to be Phaphar, Chuya, and Uya : '^ The Chuya, from the de- 

 scription given, would seem to be the Holcus Sorghunn, although 

 the coldness of the situation renders this doubtful ^^ (pp. 274, 

 275,315). 



The Uya is the Hordeum cceleste, well known to the residents 

 of Simla as the Ua jao, or Ua barley, being in high estimation 

 in the preparation of cakes. 



Phaphar or Phaphra is the Fagopyrum rotundatum, Bab. 

 [emarginatum, No. 1688, Wall.), near F. tataricum; it is known 

 as Bitter Buckwheat, and is very generally cultivated in the higher 

 and colder sites of the Himalaya ; Fagopyrum vulgare (or escu- 

 lentum), No. 1687, Wallich, being common lower down, and 

 known as Ogal or Ogla, and Kotu (not Kultu) ; distinguished 

 from the last as Sweet Buckwheat*. Chuya and Anardana are 

 one and the same : Amaranthus anardana, No. 2028 of the Cata- 

 logue (exclude synonym Amaranthus frumentaceus, Hort. Beng. 

 67?). "Anardana Hindice. Colitur in arvis Cosalse et Ne- 

 palse ;" and at Bhagalpur on the Ganges, according to Moquin 

 in DeCandolle. Anardana implies the supposed resemblance of 

 the grains to the carpels of the Pomegranate. I never met any 

 one who used the name, and incline to think Amardana, as 

 Dr. Hamilton once writes it, may be the true one, meaning ' im- 

 mortal grain,' and therefore nearly identical with Amaranthus : 

 nothing can better answer to the appellation than this species, 

 which is grown all over the Himalaya, and is also known as 

 Marsa and Bathu. It rises six to eight feet high, and is either 

 of a brilliant crimson or a rich yellow. The effect of a mountain- 

 side, terrace above terrace, covered with distinct fields of these 

 colours, and glowing under the rays of the afternoon sun, is 

 gorgeous indeed ; but as an article of food, it must be confessed 

 the reality falls far below the promise of the eye. Amaranthus 

 caudatus is occasionally cultivated for the same purpose, and is, 

 in Garhwal, called Ramdana, ' the grain of God.' 



Cynosurus corocanus : Maruya of Nepal : now Eleusine coro- 



* There is considerable discrepancy in the description of the Himalayan 

 Buckwheats given by Don (Prod. Fl. Nep. pp. 73, 74. Nos. 21, 22, 23), 

 Babington (Linn. Trans, xviii. 93 seq.)y and Meisner (PI. As. Rar. vol. iii.). 

 I am only acquainted with two cultivated species, the Ogal and the Pha- 

 I'har, as noticed in the text. 



