9t 



689 



4 



grounds, Yola, but never cultivated (Dalziel, Kbav Bull. 1910, 

 p. 140) except " in some districts, chiefly by the Fulani 

 gathered wild in the Benue district and sold in the form of 

 a starchy meal (Dalziel, Hausa Bot. Voc, p. 9). A sample of 

 Tacca Arrowroot from the East Africa Protectorate was submitted 

 to commercial experts (Oct. 1905) who stated that it would be 

 readily saleable as a cheap manufacturing arrowroot at about 

 135. 6d~14s. per cwt. and as an arrowroot it would be con- 

 sidered rather poor and would compete with cheap grades of 



(M, 



it rarely appears 



in the European markets (CoL Rep. 3Iisc. No. 71, 1910, p. 225). 



The flower stems afford a white shining straw used for 



platting, Tahiti (Bot. Mag, I.e.) ; and there are specimens (under 



the names " Pia " or '' Chou Chou ") of plait for ladies' hats, 



Walser 



(Ml 



The fibre from India has been reported on for use as a braiding 

 material, it is recommended that ribbons should not be less 

 than 10-12 in. long; only used in a limited quantity (Col. Rep. 

 Msc. No. 58, 1909, pp. 132-133). The petiole from which the 

 fibre is obtained grows 1-3 ft- long. 



TJie plant is a herbaceous perennial with a globose root- 



«« 



s 



tock 



Mag, I.e.) reaching 1 ft. 



diam. (Fl. Trop. Afr. I.e.); found in shady and somewhat moist 

 places in bush, Zungeru (Dalziel, Herb. Kew^), common in all 

 soils from the river side to the tops of the hills (Barter, Herb. 

 Kew) and found growing in a crevice on rock on top of hill near 

 Budonga forest, Uganda (Daw^e, Herb. Kew). The wild plant is 

 described by Forster (^ee references under illust. and Bot. Mag. 

 I.e.) as the most bitter and acrid of roots but rendered milder by 

 cultivation. 



Ref, — Fecule de Pia {Tacca pirmafifida) in Tahiti, Cuzent, 



pp. 172-175 (Rochefort, 1860). '' Sur Deux Plantes Alimen- 



taires Coloniales peu connues {Dioscorea btdbifera et Tacca involu- 

 crata), Heckel & Schlagdenhauffen, in Bull. Soc. Nat. d'Accl. 

 France (Revue des Sciences Natural Appliquees) P^ 1892, 



de Tacca involucrata, du Gabon et Soudan," pp. 373- 



383. " Tacca pinnatifida die Starkemehlreichste Knollen- 



frucht der Erde,'' Wohltmann, in Der Tropenpflanzer, ix. 1905, 



pp. 120-128. *' Tacca Arrowroot" in Bull. Imp. Inst. v. 



1907, p. 238, from B.E. Africa. ''Tacca pinnatifida,'' in 



Col. Rep. Misc. No. 58, 1909, pp. 132-133, fibre from India. 



" Tubercles 



DIOSCOREACEAE. 



Dioscorea, Linn. 



Dioscorea alata, Linn.\ Fl. Trop. Afr. VII. p. 417. 



/«.— BurkiU, Gardens BuU. Str. Sett. Aug. 31st 1915, pp. 299, 

 301 (tubers); Aug, 12th, 1918, tt. 1-4 (tubers); Sept. 12th, 



