THE TERFAS OF AFRICA AND THE ORIENT 



Turkey, Persia, and Arabia, perhaps more 

 abundant near Smyrna, Damascus, and Bag- 

 dad; and also in many portions of northern 

 Africa, extending well into the Sahara 

 (Plate XIII, a). The writer found them 

 particularly abundant in the vicinity of Ben 

 Zireg and Ain Sefra in Algeria. 



Botanically, the terfas constitute a family 

 known as Terfeziacece. They are cer- 

 tainly allies of the TuheracecB, but well- 

 marked differences exist. Moreover, the 

 botanist makes two genera of the various 

 forms of kames. These two are Terfezia 

 and Tirmania. There are probably about 

 fifteen valid species of Terfezia known. Of 

 these six or eight at most would include all 

 of the larger edible forms. The smaller 

 species, which are economically valueless, 

 are not uncommon in southern Europe, espe- 

 cially in Spanish Mediterranean region. It 

 is believed, however, that only one edible 

 species invades European borders, and even 

 there it rarely becomes an article of impor- 

 tance. In general, the species of Terfezia 



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