18 



CASE from the same species, and fruits of D. Palmer I W. Hill. 

 12. A flowering plant is shown in Cases No. 17 to 19. 



TaCCa Ov^QV {TaccacecB). A small Order of perennial 

 herbs with tuberous creeping rhizomes, natives of tropical 

 regions both of the new and old worlds. 



No. 31. Arrowroot or starch from Fiji, prepared from 

 the roots of Tacca pinnatpida, L. It forms a very important 

 article of food in the South Sea Islands. 



Yam Ord.Gr {Dioscoreacece). Herbaceous or twining 

 shrubs, with large tuberous rhizomes and net-veined leaves, 

 differing in this respect from most other Monocotyledons. 

 They are dispersed over the tropical and temperate regions of 

 the globe. 



No. 32. Yams. The tubers of various species of 

 Dioscorea, cultivated in nearly all tropical countries as impor- 

 tant esculents. The tubers abound in farinaceous matter, and 

 often reach a large size, weighing from 30 to 60 pounds. Their 

 culture is considered to have spread from South-east Asia and 

 the East Indian Islands, where at present D. alata, L., is the 

 most commonly grown ; a drawing of a tuber of this species is 

 shown on a lower shelf Observe biscuits of dried slices of 

 yams and samples of yam flour from Jamaica. 



Note also Otaheite Potato the tuberous rhizome of D. 

 sativa, X., cultivated in India. 



A drawing of D. sativa is shown on the wall of the descent 

 staircase. 



Observe on lower shelf rootstocks of Elephant's Foot 

 {Testudinaria Elephantipes, Lindl.) from which the slender 

 climbing stems start. These rootstocks are more or less 

 globular, and sometimes measure 4 feet across. They are 

 known at the Cape as Hottentots' Bread, because the fleshy 

 inside has been eaten as food by the Hottentots in times of 

 scarcity. 



A sample of the root of the Black Bryony (Tamus com- 

 munisy L.) is here shown. It contains a quantity of acrid juice 

 formerly used as a stimulating plaister in bruises, &c. 



CASE Lily Order {LiUacecE). A large and beautiful Order, 



13. embracing several groups very dissimilar in habit and geo- 



graphical distribution. Familiar examples are our garden 

 lilies, aloes, asparagus, and onions. 



