Trumbull and Gray—Helianihus tuberosus. 349 



Hartford, Conn., March 26, 1877. 

 My dear Prof. Gray: — I cannot refer you to the authority 



f ' ' > >< f«.i D J' ,i \ - ~ r i • ■ ut that the Indians of 

 New England cultivated " a species of sunflower whose esculent 

 tuberous root resembled the artichoke in taste." but there can 

 be, I think, little doubt of the fact. The historical evidence 

 that ''artischoki sub terra" were cultivated in Canada and in 

 some parts of New England before the corning of Europeans is 

 tolerably clear. The only question, if there be any, is as to 

 species, and this does not appear to have been raised for more 

 than half a century aftm the -Jerusalem artichoke" was known 

 and Continonial botanists. 



I can discover no authoritv whatever, before 1700, for ascrib- 

 ing to the lb 'ri,,il,n< tuh,ri^'ns, either a Brazilian or a Mexican 

 origin, except — and the exception is unimportant — in C. 

 Bauhin's identification (in his Pi.>,a.r, 277) with - Helianthemum 

 Iitdicum tuberosum " (H. tuberosus, L.), of a plant that he had 

 described in lib. m.rimr /'/< ,l„,,am{e&. 1671, p. 70) as "Chrysan- 

 themum hitifblium BrasiHannm." from a dried specimen sent 

 to him "eo nomine" from the garden of Contarini. 



The first trace I find of this species, in Europe, is in the 

 2d part (cap. 6) of Fabio Ommna'- " E -phm^ minus cognita- 

 rum stirpium," published at Eome in 1616. He described it 

 from a plan; den of Cardinal Farnese. The 



sunflower was already well known to European botanist-, and 

 had been d. - -.v Dodoena (1563) and Lobel 



(1576) as "Chrysanl ' and " F1; * >,,hs 



P ,■„,;.,„„.<;' With reference to these d- 

 Colonna eav, the m : - t a,- tl . mm ■ >i " A-t. 

 tuberosar..! ■daim-. (lie gave 



a more particular d^m. .tion of the pla it i i his . 

 to Recchi's Hernandez. Plant. Mexi- . Hist., 1651, pp. 878, 881, 

 as '• Peruanus Solis flos ex ftidiis tuberosus. 7 ) 



Theauth , inHorto 



Farnesiano," published under the name of Tobias Aldmus 

 (Rome, 1625), gave some account of the roofs, which be calls 

 "Tubera I, . ,- tuben-a-. -u Flos Fames- 



lanus Fabii Columna3 " (p. 91). It may be observed, that sev- 



■ ■ • 

 from "Cane m-fadmir- 



} n Al liuusi is described under its 1 -, 



' Mo-,,,, ; - , „. -M,,-,. '.-■• of John Smith and Strachey) , 



B .therwiee named "Campan- 



VS^VZ : in 1623), ed. 1671 



p. 276, no-- lemum Indicum tuberosum is 



i rvsanthemum e Canada, quibusdam. Canada et A.r- 

 tischoki sub terra, aliis. Gigantea, £urgundis. 



