THE PI.ANT WORLD 249 



varieties (the taros) and Xa^ithosoma (the taniers) holds about the same 

 number of kinds. Until recently the Taniers were confused with the 

 Taros, the usual local confusion of names helping to perpetuate the error 

 even among those who must have known better. To be sure there is 

 some similarity between the two plants in their appearance above ground, 

 but the intrinsic characters of the leaves, flowers, and roots are very dis- 

 tinct. 



Though its varieties have scores of names throughout Tropical 

 America, " Yautia " is probably the oldest name of which we have any 

 record ; this was the general term applied by the aborigines when the 

 Spaniards arrived in Porto Rico, the island which, from the first, was most 

 famous for its agricultural advancement. And in this island has the 

 Yautia ' ' reached its highest development — running here into some 

 twenty distinct native varieties. About ten kinds are grown in the Wind- 

 ward Islands ; northern South America has but very few ; Cuba and Hayti 

 have half a dozen or less ; and the few varieties of Central America appear 

 coarse and unproductive in comparison with the Porto Rican sorts. Taya, 

 Tanier, or Cocoe are the common names in the British West Indies ; in 

 Cuba and Santo Domingo both Taro and Tanier are included under the 

 name ' ' Malanga ' ' ; while in the Central American republics it passes 

 under almost as many names as there are Indian tribes. 



Few plants yield a higher proportion of food material for the weight 

 of the entire plant than does the Tanier ; in fact fulh^ 75 per cent of the 

 weight of some types is food. In the " Rollisa " variety of Porto Rico 

 the tubers comprise about 35 per cent of the weight of the living plant 

 and the edible rootstock about 20 per cent more ; the young leaves are 

 also edible, closely resembling spinach when boiled, but having more 

 "body " and a richer flavor. The central stem, or rhizome, of many 

 varieties is commonly eaten by the poorer classes but contains some fiber 

 and only 15 to 20 per cent of starch. 



The obovoid or roundish tuberous roots are borne just below the 

 surface of the soil, loosely attached at right angles to the central stem. 

 In cropping, the leaves are grasped in the hands and the whole mass of 

 tubers usually comes up with one good pull, and a quick shake will detach 

 most of them from the parent root. Individual tubers weigh from a few 

 ounces in some types to one and one-half or even two pounds in the better 

 sorts. Each plant produces from two to four pounds, but since six 

 thousand to ten thousand plants can be grown on an acre the yield is six 

 to twenty tons of superior roots containing 20 per cent to 30 per cent of 

 starch and little fibrous matter. Five to ten tons of the rhizomes, which 

 may be utilized for feeding swine or for making starch, may be added to 

 these figures. By removing the first tubers as soon as ripe, by means of 

 a "machete," and allowing the plant to remain in situ for six months 



