STARCHY FOODS 159 



which contains large seed. Both the seeds and rootstocks are 

 eaten, especially by the Chinese. The rootstocks contain about 

 70 per cent, of starch. The cultivation of lotus in Hawaii is 

 a rather extensive industry among the Chinese and Japanese. 



SEAWEED 



A large number of seaweeds are used as human food in 

 Malaya, China, Japan, and the Polynesian Islands. The edible 

 seaweeds include the brown, red, and blue-green species. In 

 Hawaii, seaweeds are known as limus. Hundreds of tons of 

 liraus, or seaweeds, are annually consumed in Hawaii. No 

 luau, or native feast, is complete without limu. More than 70 

 species of seaweeds are used in Hawaii as food. Formerly, 

 the Hawaiians ate limus raw. Now they are eaten either 

 cooked or raw. Limus contain in a fresh state i to 3 per cent, 

 of protein and 10 to 14 per cent, of starch. Limus yield about 

 75 per cent, of their dry weight in gelatine or agar-agar. 



Tl 



The well known ti (Cordyline terminalis) of Hawaii, Poly- 

 nesian Islands, Malaya, and China is a short-stemmed plant 

 with a tuft of lanceolate, leathery, shiny leaves about 2 to 4 

 feet long and panicles of greenish flowers. The whole plant 

 attains a height of 5 to 15 feet. The root is a thick, starchy, 

 saccharine structure. The roots are roasted and eaten as a deli- 

 cacy. When roasted they have a sweet flavor resembling that 

 of caramelized sugar. The roots are also fed to pigs and other 

 stock and are quite extensively used in fermenting a strong 

 alcoholic drink. In fact, ti roots are a common source of illicit 

 moonshine alcohol in Hawaii. The ti leaves are generally used 

 as plates at native feasts and for wrapping food and cut flow- 

 ers. Ti leaves have also been shown to be a valuable cattle 

 feed. In some of the Hawaiian dairies in the mountain sections 

 ti leaves constitute an important part of the ration of cows. 



