322 HISTORY OF BOTANY. 



he had seen. Among such plants, we may note one 

 now well known, the potato ; which he describes as 

 being commonly used in Italy in 1586~ 2 ; thus throw- 

 ing doubt, at least, on the opinion which ascribes 

 the first introduction of it into Europe to Sir Walter 

 Raleigh, on his return from Virginia, about the 

 same period. As serving to illustrate, both this 

 point, and the descriptive style of Clusius, I quote, 

 in a note, his description of the flower of this 

 plant' 3 . 



The addition of exotic species to the number of 

 known plants was indeed going on rapidly during 

 the interval which we are now considering. Francis 

 Hernandez, a Spaniard, who visited America towards 



22 Clusius. Exotic, iv. c. 52, p. Ixxix. 



23 " Papas Peruanorum. Arachidna, Theoph. forte. Flores 

 elegantes, uncialis amplitudinis aut majores, angulosi, singulari 

 folio constantes, sed ita complicato ut quinque folia discreta 

 videantur, coloris exterius ex purpura candicantis, interius 

 purpurascentis, radiis quinque herbaceis ex umbilico stellar 

 instar prodeuntibus, et totidem staminibus flavis in umbonem 

 coeuntibus." 



He says that the Italians do not know whence they had the 

 plant, and that they call it Taratouffli. The name Potato was, 

 in England, previously applied to the Sweet Potato (Convolvulus 

 batatas), which was the common Potato, in distinction to the 

 Pirginian Potato, at the time of Gerard's Herbal. (1597 ?) Ge- 

 rard's figures of both plants are copied from those of Clusius. 



It may be seen by the description of Arachidna already quoted 

 from Theophrastus, (p. 263,) that there is little plausibility in 

 Clusius's conjecture of the plant being known to the ancients. 

 I need not inform the botanist that this opinion is untenable. 



