1. DioscoREA.] 152. DI08C0REACEM. 



with well-marked close sub-parallel cross-nervules between the costse 

 beneath. Male spikes '75-2" long, lax-flowered, not whorled but 

 unilaterally 2-3-nate on the rhachis, usually branched and frequently 

 copiously panicled, the panicles axillary 4-6" long, more rarely on 

 long slender leafless branches. Flowers broadly oblong, base of 

 perianth very broad and sessile, sej). nearly free oblong obtuse dotted 

 and with scarious margins, pet. ell. -oblong nearly as long. Fem. 

 with cylindrical beak between ovary and perianth. Capsule 1" long 

 by 1-5" broad, often with the wings inclined upwards so that it is 

 deeply cordate or retuse above, but not at base, sometimes apex 

 truncate (except for the short beak). 



Rocky valley forests, less common on the ridges and slopes. .Singbhum ! 

 Palamau ! Hazaribagh (also on Parasnath) ! Pmi ! AngiU ! Narsingpur ! 

 feambalpur ! Fl. Sept.-Nov. Fr. Jan.-March. 



Woody rootstock -5-1" diam. From this proceed the fleshy fibres which end 

 in tubers 3-12" long and up to 1-8" diam. with grey skin arid slender rootlets, 

 rouglily tmbinate or cylindrical but often irregular in shape and flattened by 

 wedging tliemselves between rocks. Bulbils linear or Unear clavate, brown, 

 somewhat muricate Avith incipient roots. L. sometimes attain 12", as variable in 

 shape as those of D. glabra, but even those on the flowering branches nearly always 

 more or less cordate at base, costse often 9, and secondary nerves distinctly scalari- 

 form, although some of them may be forked one end ; cusp or acumen frequently 

 curved. Petiole long slender, nearly always thickened and ridged or sub-alate in 

 the upper portion by the deciurent costse of the blade, base thickened and some- 

 times curled round a support. Fls. "06" long or rather less. Bract very short 

 ovate cuspidate appearing deflexed and base decurrent upwards on the rhachis 

 forming a shallow trough in which the bracteole and flower sit, apex not reaching 

 half-way up the flower ; petals much romided, not thickened, sometimes 2-ridged 

 within. St. on a short column about |ths as long as petals, filaments rather 

 longer than the 6 perfect broadly oblong anthers. Pistillode 3-gonous at top. 

 Fem. spikes usuafly 1-3 in each axil, 3-5" long with angular rhachis, glabrous, 

 ovary long-beaked. Per. up to -05" long, sep. broadly ovate rounded, not keeled ; 

 pet. obovate nearly as long. 



The most highly prized of oivr forest yams. I have found it excellent and very 

 floury when cooked. But it is often impossible to obtain from being wedged in 

 the fissiues of rocks. 



5. D. Wallichii, H. J. S^-n. D. aculeata, L. ; Kulu, Tungam-sanga, 

 K. ; Tunga-alu, Pita-alu, Or. 

 Stems very stout and woody, often thorny below and characterized 

 by the hard thick bases of the articulate petioles which (the bases) 

 are also frequently thorny. Tubers attached directly to the base of 

 the stem without the intervention of long fibres or roots. Leaves all 

 alternate or some opposite, rather coriaceous and shiny or dull, large, 

 suborbicular or broadly ovate with a large broad basal sinus, usually 

 cuspidate or caudate, nerves betAveen the costse rarely somewhat 

 scalariform, petioles long. Male spikes -5-1" long, rather lax, 

 2-3-nate on the branches of a compound panicle 1-5-4" long. Fl.- 

 buds subglobose and 3-lobed, sometimes puberulous, fls. subglobose 

 •04- -05" long and broad or sometimes broader Avhen open, base broad 

 adnate to base of bracteole. Fem. spikes panicled on an abbreviated 

 lateral branch, often very short 1-2-5" long, sometimes 10" long, 

 rhachis often sharply ridged, but not regularly angled as in Hamiltonii, 

 ovary and fruit not at all beaked under the perianth. Ripe capsule 

 -G--7" long excluding the - 1" obconic base, 1-2-1-5" broad, depressed 

 at the apex. 



1120 



