1 86 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



to yams. In 1844, this species was cultivated by Needham Davis ^ of South Carolina, 

 who says one acre of rich, damp soil will produce one thousand bushels by the second 

 year. In India, colocasias are universally cultivated and the roots are without acrimony.* 

 The tubers, says Firminger,' resemble in outward appearance those of the Jerusalem arti- 

 choke. They are not in great request with Europeans in Bengal where potatoes may 

 be had all the year through but in the Northwest Provinces, where potatoes are vmobtain- 

 able during the simimer months, they are much consumed in the way of a substitute. 

 Their flavor is not vmlike salsify. The plant is cultivated extensively by the Polynesians, 

 who call it taro; the tubers are largely consvmied and the young leaves are eaten as a 

 spinach.^ 



C. antiquorum esculenta Schott. elephant's ear. kalo. taro. 



This plant is largely grown in Tahiti, and Ellis ' says the natives have distinct names 

 for 33 of the varieties. Nordoff ' says more than 30 varieties of kalo are cultivated in 

 the Hawaiian Islands and adds that all the kinds are acrid except one which is so 

 mild that it may be eaten raw. Simpson ' says, " Kalo forms the principal food of the 

 lower class of the Sandwich Islanders and is cultivated with great care in small enclosures 

 kept wet." From the root a sort of paste called poi is made. Masters * says it is called 

 taro, and the rootstocks furnish a staple diet. It is also grown in the Philippines ' and 

 is enumerated by Thunberg '" among the edible plants of Japan. In Jamaica, Sloane " 

 says the roots are eaten as potatoes, but the chief use of the vegetable, says Lunan,'^ is 

 as a green, and it is as delicate, wholesome, and agreeable a one as any in the world. In 

 soup it is excellent, for such is the tenderness of the leaves that they, in a manner, 

 dissolve and afford a rich, pleasing and mucilaginous ingredient. It is very generally 

 cultivated in Jamaica. Adams " found the boiled leaves very palatable in the Philippines 

 but the uncooked leaves were so acrid as to be poisonous. At Hongkong, the tubers are 

 eaten under the name of cocoas. In Europe and America it is grown as an ornamental 

 plant. 



C. indica Hassk. 



Southern Asia. This plant is adtivated in Bengal for its esculent stems and the 

 small, pendulous tubers of its root, which are eaten by people of all ranks in their curries." 



' Davis, N. Trans. N. Y. Agr. Soc. 517. 1845. 



'Royle, J. F. lilustr. Bot. Himal. 1:406. 1839. 



'Firminger, T. A. C. Card. Ind. iii. 1874. 



Seemann, B. Fl. Viti. 285. 1865-73. 



'Ellis, W. Polyn. Research. 1:48. 1833. 



' Nordhoff, C. No. Cat., Sandwich Is. 253. 1874. Notes. 



' Simpson, G. Journ. Around World 2:33. 1847. 



Masters, M. T. Treas. Bo/. 1:315. 1870. 



Adams, A. Voy. Samarang 2:32^. 1848. 

 Thunberg, C. P. Fl. Jap. 234. 1784. {Arum escvlentum) 

 " Sloane, H. Nat. Hist. Jam. 1:167. I707- (Arum minus) 

 " Lunan, J. Horl. Jam. 1:415. 1814. 

 " Adams, A. Voy. Samarang 2:331). 1848. 

 " Wight, R. Icon. Pis. 3:794. Bears no date. (Arum indica) 



