814 STARCHES OP MARANTACE^. 



stellate manner. Forms resembling Bermuda arrowroot are known as Montserrat and St. Vincent 

 arrowroots. The grains of the former are stated to be larger and to have a larger number of narrow 

 fissures; while those of the latter not only show a larger number having fissures than in the Bermuda 

 variety, but also form larger masses or clumps of grains, and the starch is not so white. Nageli's 

 description, recorded a few years later, will be found on page 224. 



The starch Maranta arundinacea is described by Wiesner, a very recent authority, as being 

 in the form of simple grains, and that when viewed from the side they are oval, rounded triangular, 

 or deltoid-shaped with obtuse angles; and in transverse section, circular or somewhat flattened. 

 The size of the grain is very variable, so that the average can not be expressed by one number, but 

 by the range. The longest diameter of the starch-grain varies between 13 and 70^1, the average being 

 between 27 and 54/x. Lamellae can always be traced but are never strongly marked. The hilum 

 may lie in the center, but more frequently is about one-sixth eccentric and then located nearer the 

 broad or the narrow end. There is usually a transverse cleft, filled with air, proceeding from the 

 hilum, this cleft being usually in the form of a double curve. 



East Indian arrowroot comes from two entirely different sources, one in the rhizomes of M. 

 arundinacea and the other in the roots of several species of Curcuma (Zing^eracece) , especially C. 

 angustifolia, C. leucorrhiza, and C. ruhescens. The Curcuma starches are also known as tikor, Bom- 

 bay, Malabar, and Tellicherry arrowroot, and also as white and buff-colored tikor. The white 

 tikor, according to Pariera {loc. cit., page 238), differs from the buff-colored by the absence of various 

 impurities, indicating that both have a common source of origin, the difference being due to differ- 

 ent degrees of care in the preparation. White tikor is described as being in the form of a fine, white 

 powder, transparent, flattened disks (about 0.0003 inch in thickness, the largest being about 0.0027 

 inch long and 0.00129 inch broad), ovate, oblong ovate, with a very short neck or nipple-like pro- 

 jection at the extremity at which the hilum is located. The hilum is very small, circular, not very 

 distinct, and placed at the narrow end of the grain. The lamellae are apparent on both the flat 

 surfaces and the edges, and are numerous, close, and very fine. (See Curcuma, page 790.) 



Portland arrowroot or Portland sago, made in the island of Portland, is obtained from the 

 conns of Arum maculatum (Aroideoe) and is described by Pariera (loc. cit, 158) as being in the form of 

 exceedingly small (average size, 0.00022 inch in diameter), circular, muller-shaped, or polygonal 

 grains, having angularities which appear to be due to compression. The hilum is circular and ap- 

 parently lies in a small depression and it cracks in a linear or stellate manner. Tavoo starch is said 

 to come from Arum esculerdum. (See Arum, page 440.) 



Queensland arrowroot is prepared from the rhizomes of various Cannas (Cannacece). The 

 grains are stated to belong to the same type as the true arrowroots and are described by Hanausek (loc. 

 dt., page 46) as being simple, rarely in semi-aggregates, flattened, broadly ovate, or reniform, or 

 even fiddle-shaped, drawn out at the end into a short point. An eccentric hilum is always evident, 

 and the starch is characterized by the large grains which vary in size up to ISOyu in length. Tous- 

 les-mois, a well-known arrowroot of the English and French, was for a time thought to be derived 

 from Canna cocdnea, but Pariera {loc. dt., page 227) states that the probable source (since confirmed) 

 is C. edulis, a plant known on the western coast of South America as achira. He records the grains 

 as being very large (in this respect exceeding those of all other starches), somewhat egg-shaped, 

 oval or oblong, but generally more or less ovate. The hilum is very distinct, circular, and usually 

 placed at the narrow extremity of the grain; very rarely it is double, and once it was seen to be 

 triple. The rings are fine, numerous, concentric, and regular, but somewhat irregularly spaced. 

 The hilum and the body of the grain are frequently cracked. (See Cannacece, page 796.) 



Two entirely different kinds of arrowroot come from Guiana. One form known as Guiana 

 arrowroot, or yam starch, is made from several species of Dioscorea (Dioscoreacece) , especially D. 

 saliva and D. alata. These grains are described by Hanausek {loc. dt., page 47) as being simple, 

 flattened, irregularly ovate, elliptical, or club-shaped, with a more or less distinct point at which 

 the hilum is located. The large grains are 14 by SO/x, usually 30 by 45^ long. The other starch is 

 derived from the fruit of the banana, chiefly from Musa sapientum and M. paradisiaca, which latter 

 is probably not a distinct species but merely a variety of M. sapientum. Hanausek {loc. dt., page 47) 

 states that the simple starch-grains are elongated, ovate, pear-shaped, and rod-shaped, with an 

 eccentric hilum, distinct rings, and SO/t to 76;u long. (See Musacece, page 771.) 



Brazilian arrowroot, variously known as cassava, manioc, mandioca, and tapioca, is obtained 

 from the tuberous roots of several species of Manihot, chiefly from Manihot viilissima, M. aipi, 



