1888.] Toxic Principle of the Aroideas. 107 



male by a tuffc of hair-like neuter flowers, which blend above into the 

 male condition. Stamens 3 — 4 : anthers sessile, opposite or sub-opposite, 

 obovoid, dehiscing by a slit towards the apex, co7inective more or less 

 prolonged : pollen vermiform. Ovary oblong-obtuse, 1-locular ; stigma 

 sessile : ovules 6 or many, orthotropous, erect : funiculus short : placenta 

 parietal 2 — 3-seriate : micropyle superior. Fruit an obovoid many-seeded 

 berry. 



The following account of the species found in India we have 

 abstracted chiefly from Roxburgh's Flora Indica, Watt's Dictionary 

 of the Economic Products of India, Dymock's Vegetable Materia Medica 

 of Western India, and O'Shaughnessy's Bengal Dispensatory. 



A. campanulatum, Syn. for Amorphophallus campanalatus^ has a 

 tuberous root, which, when peeled and cut into segments, is sold in Bombay 

 under the name of Madan-mash. The segments are usually threaded upon 

 a string, and are about as large as those of an orange, of a reddish brown 

 colour, shrunken and wrinkled, brittle in dry weather ; the surface is 

 mammillated. When soaked in water, they swell up and become very 

 soft and friable, developing a sickly smell. The tubers contain a large 

 quantity of farinaceous matter mixed, according to Baden-Powell, with 

 a poisonous juice which may be extracted by washing or heat. The fresh 

 tubers produce intense itching of the tongue when tasted, and when used 

 as food they are often first boiled with tamarind leaves and paddy husks 

 to remove this irritating property. The dried tubers — Madan-mash — have 

 a mucilaginous taste, and are faintly bitter and acrid. Under cultivation 

 the plant loses much of its acridity. It is largely used as a vegetable, 

 and has a reputation as a remedy for piles. It is also used externally in 

 the form of a poultice for insect bites, and as a stimulating application. 

 In Bengal the tubers are known under the name of ol. 



A. lyratum, Syn. for Amorphophallus lyratus. 



A. colocasia, Syn. for Golocasia antiquorum. This variety is known 

 in most parts of India as Kachu. Roxburgh describes two cultivated 

 and three wild varieties of this species ; the cultivated being Goori 

 Kachu and Asoo or early Kachu ; and the wild, Kalla, or dark-coloured 

 Kachu, found on the edges of ditches and other wet places, Char 

 Kachu, found on dry ground chiefly by road sides, or on dung heaps 

 and among rubbish, and Ban- Kachu in situation and form very like the 

 last mentioned variety. The tubers of the cultivated varieties are used 

 as food. Of the wild varieties the leaves and foot-stalks of the dark 

 coloured Kachu are the parts chiefly eaten by the natives of Bengal ; 

 the other wild varieties arc rarely eaten in Bengal when better veget- 

 ables are procurable. 



A. cucullatum^ Syn. for Alocasia cucullata* 



