92 



DiOSCOREA PENTAPHYLLA AND All ALLIED PLANT. 



The lower l)lock of plate viii illustrates some Indo-Malayan 

 Dioscoreas of the same section as D. dumetormn. First of all there is- 

 Dioscorea penfaphylla, Linn., var., Linnaei, an edible variety' of that 

 usually inedible species, cultivated in Southern India and Ceylon. 

 It is the D. pentaphylla which Linnaeus had from Ceylon in his 

 Herbarium, — a variety which probably was more commonly culti- 

 vated there in his time than now. Cooked properly it is a very 

 good vegetable, but as the figures show it buries so deeply that the 

 labour of digging it up is considerable, and the return is small. It 

 is likely therefore for all time to remain rather a curiosit}' than a 

 commodity. 



The stems and the leaves in this variety are much smaller than 

 those of most of the varieties of D. pe7itap]ii/Ua, and it is almost 

 deserving of specific rank. The leaves are relatively small and the 

 stem is wiry, prickly and pnrple-flecked. 



In Singapore, it flowers 6 — 8 months after the shoot has ap- 

 peared above ground, and later considerably than the varieties of 

 D. penfaphi/Ua from Xorthern India that liave lu'cii grown ex|)eri- 

 mentally alongside it. 



The four tul)ers at the top on the right of the same l)U)ck re- 

 present Dioscorea peniaplnjlla, Linn., var., iiialaica. The parent 

 tuber came from a garden hedge in Penang wliere it was but small ; 

 but in the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, tubers weigliing up to 

 9638 grammes or 21^^ lbs. have been raised. The variety may be 

 found here and there through the Malay Peninsula, and usually in 

 garden fences. 



The four tubers on the lower row to the rigiit represent two 

 Philippine stocks. They are numbered 196 and 198. No. 196- 

 furnished figure 5 on p. 207 of volume iii of the Philippine Agri- 

 culturist and Forester; and Xo. 198 furnished figure 6. The first 

 is certainly ascribable to Dioscorea pentaphj/lh. Linn. Its big 

 clavate tubers have very soft flesh, and keep very l)adly. It flowers 

 regularly. 



But Xo. lOS refuses to flower. However the stems and leaves 

 exactly match Philippine herbarium specimens which bear the 

 number "Ahearn's collector 1971" froin Bizal and these have female 

 flowers; but the female flowers are not altogether adequate to place 

 it and fruits must be sought. It also matches exactly the sterile 

 specimens of Ramos 12176 to which the note is attached "tuber 

 edible." The tubers are most abundantly lobed and with soft 

 white flesh. As it grows in the Botanic Gardens, Singapore, it 

 dies down in 6 — 7 months, i.e. as D. pentapliijlla var. Linnaei is 

 coming into flower. It produces an abundance of Indbils about 

 1 — 2 cm. long with a rough brown skin like shagreen. 



I. H. BURKILL. 



