Remarks on Brazilian Esculents and Fruits. 329 



in Miller's time. After his death, the plant was lost to that 

 garden, and to the collections of this country. Sometime after- 

 wards Ipomce v a macrorhiza usurped the place of the jalap plant 

 in our stoves. Curious collectors latterly had each his jalap 

 plant in his stove. At Haffield, we had our jalap plant, but not 

 Ipomceva macrorhiza. 



My present esteemed employer received a few tubers last year 

 from his Mexican collector : they were from Xalapa ; and from 

 the appearance of their foliage, when they began to grow, I took 

 them to be a species of Dioscorm (the venation of the leaves in 

 that genus being no index to its botanical affinity), and paid 

 little attention to them. One I kept all the season in the Cacti 

 house where it flourished well, and seemed quite at home, but 

 did not flower ; another I planted in the open garden, against a 

 rhododendron bush, a good plan for all duplicate novelties from 

 such a country as Mexico, from which both hardy and tender 

 species have been received. This latter plant showed a con- 

 siderable number of flower buds in September, in twos and threes 

 on short peduncles in the axils of the leaves. Only one of these, 

 however, expanded, owing to the lateness of the season ; and it 

 had a long narrow tube, and a spreading medium-sized limb of 

 a delicate violet colour; and the plant altogether appeared a 

 graceful climber. You may guess my surprise on sending this 

 flower to one of the first botanists of the age, to be told that it 

 was the plant which produced the true jalap of commerce, Con- 

 volvulus Jaldpa. I think from this statement we may safely 

 infer that the true jalap plant will flower better in a cool house 

 than in the stove. I expect our plant will flower well out of 

 doors this season, being preparing it now for that purpose. It 

 was received last year in May, and, of course, lost much time of 

 the growing season. If this is different from the Edinburgh I. 

 purga, I shall be glad to send a dried specimen of it to the Bo- 

 tanical Society there; but I shall learn this "time enough" 

 from Mr. M'Nab, who, I am happy to see, is one of the coun- 

 cillors of that Society. 



Kingsbury^ April 6. 1839. 



Art. X. Some Remarks on Brazilian Esculents and Fruits. 

 By Dr. John Lhotsky. 



Although the objects, to which the following paper relates are mostly 

 known, as far as their botanical description is concerned, their economical, 

 horticultural, and similar relations have been hitherto but little broached. 

 Besides, every thing connected with practically useful plants, is so far important, 

 as no one can say whether any, less known or not properly appreciated at the 

 present moment, may not become hereafter of a paramount importance. The 

 most useful esculent substance of the Brazils, is the Farinha, the fecula or 

 farina produced from the roots of Jatropha Manihot L., Janipha Manihot 



