Inventory 44, Seeds and Plants Imported. 



Plate VIII. 



ROOTSTOCKS OF THE OCA, OXALIS TUBEROSA MOLINA, A VEGETABLE FROM THE 



Andes of Peru and Bolivia. (See S. P. I. Nos. 41168 to 41176.) 



Ocas are eaten raw as well as cooked and also when frozen and dried. The tubers are tender and 

 crisp, but juicy, and when first dug have a distinctly acid taste, which is lost on exposure to the 

 sun. The color varies from white to light pink and through darker pinks and yellows to deep 

 purplish red. The surface of the tubers is smooth, so that in general appearance they are very 

 attractive. In form, some tubers are nearly cylindrical, while others are slender al the base, 

 becoming strongly thickened at the apex. (Photographed by <:. B.Gilbert for the Yale-National 

 Geographic Socioty Peruvian Expedition, Santa Rosa, Peru, April 12, l'Jlo; natural size; 

 P17783CA.) 



