ORIGIN OF CULTIVATED PLANTS. 325 



of Comagra, in Darien (p. 148) ; but in a subsequent chapter 

 (dec. ii. c. 9., p. 191) he adds — as has been mentioned in a 

 preceding note — a third kind of roots, which the natives of the 

 province of Darien call " Batatas," that grow in their coun- 

 try spontaneously. From this date to the middle of the 16th 

 century the distinction between these roots, though occasion- 

 ally lost sight of, is generally observed. Oviedo (Historia, 

 1. vii. cc. 2, 3, 4, pp. 268-73) describes the " ca^abi " and two 

 species of the plant ("yuca") that yields it; "ajes"; and 

 " batatas." The " ajes," he says, were cultivated in Hispan- 

 iola and in all the other islands, and on the continent ; they 

 were of various colors — white, reddish, inclining to mulberry, 

 and tawny, but all white within, for the most part ; the stem 

 of the plant extends itself like that of " correhuela " (Con- 

 volvulus or Bindweed), but stouter; the leaves cover the 

 ground, and ai-e shaped much like " correhuela " and nearly 

 like Ivy or panela, with some delicate veins (" unas venas 

 delgadas "), and the little stems (" astilejos "), on which the 

 leaves hang, are long and slender, etc. The leaf of the 

 "'Batata," he says (p. 274), is more toothed or notched (har- 

 pada) than that of the " Aje," but of nearly the same fashion ; 

 and the two plants are much alike, but the " Batatas " are 

 sweeter and more delicate, etc. : some of the " Ajes " weigh 

 four pounds each, or more. In some parts of Castilla del Oro 

 (in Darien) there are "Ajes" that are small and yellow, etc. 

 (p. 273). His description of the two plants permits no rea- 

 sonable doubt that his "■ Ajes " were of the genus Dioscorea. 

 Moreover, they were not identical with — though they resem- 

 bled — the imported " name " or "yam": for Oviedo states 

 (Historia, lib. vii. c. 19, p. 286), " that ' name ' (called 

 ' nnames ') is a foreign fruit, not natural to these Indies, which 

 has been brought to HisjDaniola and other places, and is suited 

 to this evil race of negroes, and a profitable and good sub- 

 sistence for them. . . . These ' nnames ' seem to be ' ajes,' 

 but are not the same, and generally are larger than ' ajes.' " 

 They had already multiplied greatly in the islands and on the 

 mainland. 



The distinction between " Ajes " and " Batatas," though 



