ESCULENT ROOTS. 307 
closely resembling the Masawe, and employed for making 
fences. It grows wild in the woods, and bears in Viti 
Levu the name of Vasili Kau. It is as much as fourteen 
feet high, and has lanceolate leaves, which, in common 
with those of its allies, are good fodder for sheep, goats, 
rabbits, and cattle. Its root is small, and thought unfit 
for food. The Vasili damudamu or Ti Kula (Dracena 
ferrea, Linn.), has leaves similar in shape, but the idea 
of its being possibly a variety of the preceding is pre- 
cluded by the fact of its having large and edible roots. 
Amongst the esculent roots growing wild, and eagerly 
sought for just before the regular crops come in, or in 
times of scarcity caused by intertribal wars during the 
planting season, or by unfavourable weather, may be 
named the Yaka or Wa yaka (Pachyrhizus angulatus, 
Rich.), a Papilionaceous creeper, with trifoliated leaves 
and whitish flowers tinged with purple. In September 
and October its tubers send forth new shoots, which 
grow with rapidity and yield a tough fibre, invaluable 
for fishing-nets. The plant delights in open exposed 
places and a rich vegetable soil, where the roots, which 
generally assume a horizontal direction, often attain 
from six to eight feet in length and the thickness of a 
man’s thigh. When cooked, they have a dirty white 
colour, and a slightly starchy but otherwise insipid fla- 
vour, much inferior, I thought, to that of wild yams. 
However, Mr. Charles Moore, of Sydney, ate them in New 
Caledonia, and is inclined to pronounce more favourably 
upon their taste. Living plants were brought by him 
to the Sydney botanic garden, where they are now grow- 
ing with native vigour in the open air. 
X 2 
