156 PHASEOLUS LUNATUS (LIMA BEAN) 



in Mauritius gave it the name of tlie d'Achery pea they were 

 ignorant of the fact tiiat in Bourbon there was an edible pea 

 of the same variety called d'Achery, but of a totally different 

 colour, the bitter pea being reddish purple, whilst the 

 d'Achery pea is white. It is certain that not a few varieties 

 exist which have been modified and improved by cultivation, 

 and it is impossible to classify them as good or bad accord- 

 ing to their colour; generally speaking, however, those which 

 are reddish purple in colour or show veining on a red ground 

 are doubtful. 



Cossigny, who was the first, in his " Traite d'ameliora- 

 tion des Colonies," to treat of our Leguminos^e, has been 

 the unwitting cause of this confusion. When he spoke of 

 the d'Achery pea he certainlv meant the one which is culti- 

 vated and eaten in Bourbon, which was introduced into 

 Mauritius by a member of the d'Achery familv, settlers who 

 still inhabit Reunion. 



The same writer, in the treatise mentioned above, makes 

 no mention of its origin, nor of the date when d'Achery 

 introduced it ; but he does not speak of the peas having 

 poisonous properties, which tends to show that the peas 

 known at Mauritius as d'Achery peas are not identical with 

 those introduced by this settler. As a matter of fact, they are 

 absolutely distinct from those known and eaten in Reunion. 



Peas called " Pois de Chine " (China peas) were formerly 

 found in Mauritius, which, in Bourbon, were known as 

 " Pois d'Achery rouges." According to Cossigny, the 

 latter were thought to be considerably inferior to the \vhite. 

 These plants, like those of the present day, were perennial, 

 lived for several years, and spread considerably. 



The d'Achery pea is described by M. Jacob de Cordemoy 

 ("Flora, of Reunion") as follows: ''The tuberous root is 

 perennial. In the wild state this bean bears dark violet- 

 coloured seeds, almost polyhedrons in shape, and exceed- 

 ingly pK)isonous ; it is then called ' Pois amer ' (bitter pea). 

 Under the influence of cultivation the form and colour of 



