ESCULENT ROOTS. 307 



closely resembling the Masawe, and employed for making 

 fences. It grows wild in the woods, and bears in Viti 

 Levu the name of Vasili Kau. It is as much as fourteen 

 feet high, and has lanceolate leaves, which, in common 

 with those of its allies, are good fodder for sheep, goats, 

 rabbits, and cattle. Its root is small, and thought unfit 

 for food. The Vasili damudamu or Ti Kula (Dracaena 

 ferrea, Linn.), has leaves similar in shape, but the idea 

 of its being possibly a variety of the preceding is pre- 

 cluded by the fact of its having large and edible roots. 



Amongst the esculent roots growing wild, and eagerly 

 sought for just before the regular crops come in. or in 

 times of scarcity caused by intertribal wars during the 

 planting season, or by unfavourable weather, may be 

 named the Yaka or Wa yaka (Pachyrhizus angulatus, 

 Rich.), a Papilionaceous creeper, with trifoliated leaves 

 and whitish flowers tinged with purple. In September 

 and October its tubers send forth new shoots, which 

 grow with rapidity and yield a tough fibre, invaluable 

 for fishing-nets. The plant delights in open exposed 

 places and a rich vegetable soil, where the roots, which 

 generally assume a horizontal direction, often attain 

 from six to eight feet in length and the thickness of a 

 man's thigh. When cooked, they have a dirty white 

 colour, and a slightly starchy but otherwise insipid fla- 

 vour, much inferior, I thought, to that of wild yams. 

 However, Mr. Charles Moore, of Sydney, ate them in New- 

 Caledonia, and is inclined to pronounce more favourably 

 upon their taste. Living plants were brought by him 

 to the Sydney botanic garden, where they are now grow- 

 ing with native vigour in the open air. 



X 2 



