106 THE BOOK OF RARER VEGETABLES 



a height of from 

 6 to 9 feet. 

 The growth is 

 not unlike the 

 Black Bryony 

 found so plenti- 

 fully in hedge- 

 rows in some 

 parts of the 

 country, as the 

 twining stems 

 and shining 

 heart - shaped 

 leaves much re- 

 semble Byrony. 

 The second 

 named variety is 

 more like our 

 own Potatoes, 

 smooth and 

 regular in some 

 instances, in 

 others very 

 irregular, and 

 the roots do not 

 require such a 

 deep soil as they 

 grow much 

 nearer the sur- 

 f ac e. This 

 variety has been 

 cultivated in 

 CHINESE YAM many countries 



^One-sixth natural size) an( J wag i ntro . 



duced into France in 1854, and this, or a plant but differ- 

 ing little in shape and growth, is largely grown in South 



