126 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



a pitiful remnant of a once splendid stock. They are the chief 

 consumers of taro and poi ; the other nationalities now domi- 

 nant : American, Japanese, Chinese, Portugese, Spanish Fili- 

 pino, etc., use relatively insignificant quantities. It is to be 

 hoped that taro and its products will become more generally 

 known to Americans, not only in Hawai'i, but also on the 

 mainland, especially in the Southern states. Its simple cul- 

 ture, its comparative freedom from insects and fungous pests, 

 its high yields per acre, its excellent storage qualities, its varied 

 uses, and its extraordinary nutritive values, all combine to 

 make the Hawai'ian taro a food-plant of much interest and of 

 large economic possibilities. This is particularly true at the 

 present time, when the attention of the nation is focused upon 

 the conservation of food and the wheat shortage places special 

 emphasis upon the starches. 



AN INTERESTING TRILLIUM 



By L. S. Hopkins. 



TX the spring of 1917, Mr. H. G. Weisgerber of Salem, O., 

 **• sent the writer a picture of a freak specimen of Trillium 

 grandfflorum. As it will doubtless be of interest to many 

 botanists, brief mention- may be made of it in this publication. 

 As shown in the illustration, the plant had four fully developed 

 petals. It also had four sepals, four leaves, eight stamens and 

 four divisions of the pistil. Mr Weisgerber writes of it as 

 follows : "The plant grew behind some bushes within five feet 

 of the path that I had travelled for many mornings during the 

 'bird season,' but I did not notice it until the morning of 

 Decoration Day. When I found that I had not succeeded in 

 getting a good negative of it, I went back the next morning 

 intending to photograph it again and then to mutilate the 



