154 Select Plants for Industrial Culture and 



Dioscorea Brasiliensis, Willdenow. 



From Guiana to Brazil. Tuber ovate, to nearly 1 foot diameter. 

 Particularly lauded by Dr. Tlieo. Peckolt as palatable, but not so 

 rich in starch as some other species. 



Dioscorea bulbifera, Lome. (D. sativa, Linne partly.) 



Southern Asia, east as far as Japan, also in the South-Sea 

 Islands, North- and tropical East- Australia, likewise recorded from 

 tropical Africa. Stem cylindrical, not prickly. The acrid root 

 requires soaking before boiling. The plant has proved hardy in 

 the Southern States of North- America. Starch is very profitably 

 obtainable from the tubers. 



Dioscorea dodecaneura, Yelloso. 



Southern Brazil. Tubers attain a weight of 3 Ibs., of excellent 

 taste. Starch about 18 percent. [Peckolt]. 



Dioscorea fasciculata, Roxburgh. 



Continental India. This species is there cultivated to a con- 

 siderable extent, not only for food, but also to make starch. The 

 tubers are of the size of a large potato, which they resemble in 

 mealiness and flavor, and are highly esteemed [Dr. G. Watt]. 



Dioscorea grlabra, Roxburgh.* (D. Batatas, Decaisne.) 



The Chinese Yam. From India to China. The hardiest of all. 

 Not prickly. The root is known to attain a length of 4 feet, with a 

 circumference of 14 inches, and a weight of about 14 Ibs. The inner 

 portion of the tuber is of snowy whiteness, of a flaky consistence 

 and of a delicious flavor; preferred by many to potatoes, and 

 obtainable in cliines too hot for potato-crops. The bulblets from 

 the axils of the leaf-stalks, as in other Dioscoreas, serve as sets for 

 planting, but the tubers from them attain full size only in the 

 second year. The upper end of the tubers offers ready sets, but 

 there are dormant eyes on any portion of the surface of the tubers 

 [Sir Samuel Wilson, General Noble]. First grown in Australia by 

 the author in 1858. A remarkably hardy species ; its yam-root 

 keeps well [Vilmorin]. Not so easily dug up as those of some 

 other species. 



Dioscorea globosa, Roxburgh. 



India. Roxburgh states this to be the most esteemed yam in 

 Bengal. 



Dioscorea liastifolia, Nees. 



Extra-tropical Western Australia, as far south as 32. It is 

 evidently one of the hardiest of the yams, and on that account 

 deserves particularly to be drawn into culture. The tubers are 

 largely consumed by the local aborigines for food. The only plant, 

 on which they bestow any kind of cultivation, crude as it is. Fit 

 for arid situations, but fond of lime. 



