776 ON THE VOLCANO OF TAAL, 



in the tropics, is extremely doubtful. The whole question can 

 be seen in De Candolle, loc. cit. He gives the name in China 

 as Chu ; in Punti I find the name is Fan-shu ; in Japanese it is 

 called Satsuma-imo and Riukiu-imo. Common potatoes are 

 called Jagatara-imo, Imo being an edible root. It is one of the 

 most important articles of diet in Japan — a small red variety. 



164. Ipomcea pes-tigridis, L. A species with the leaves 

 palmately five-lobed and peduncled, with many funnel-shaped 

 purplish flowers. Common in the East Indies, Archipelago and 

 Philippines. 



165. Ipom(EA sepiara, Kcenig, MS., Wall. Fl. Ind. A very 

 common species in India, the Archipelago, and China, with oblong^ 

 cordate leaves and clusters of large flowers of a beautiful rose 

 colour. 



166. Lepistemon reniformis, Hasselquist. A climbing peren- 

 nial herbaceous member of the convolvulus order of no particular 



interest. 



SO LANACE^. 



167. SoLANUM NIGRUM, L. Waste places all over the world; 

 it being a weed which follows the footsteps of civilised man. The 

 berries though thought to be poisonous are edible, and in the 

 Philippines the leaves are used as a pot-herb. 



168. SoLANUM VERBASCIFOLIUM, Aiton ; Duual in DC. Prod. 

 This tall and somewhat showy shrub is found on the river banks of 

 all warm countries. The natives in Java roast and eat the 

 berries. In some places in South Queensland it forms dense 

 thickets. 



169. SoLANUM MELONGENA, L. Foki-foki, Temate and Celebes. 

 The egg-plant Aubergines or Brinjals, the latter an Indian name ; 

 Chinese, Wong-ke-fa ; Japanese, Nasubi ; Malay, Terong. When 

 one sees the extent to which this useful vegetable is eaten in 

 Asia, it must be a matter of regret that it is so little known and 

 cultivated among western nations. In the Malay peninsula, 



