


COOK AND COLLINS—ECONOMIC PLANTS OF PORTO RICO. 86 
Italians, which latter, by the way gave the name ‘apio’ (celery) to the plant 
because of its superficial resemblance to the Italian apio. 
“The plant thrives best in good rich soil, though growing successfully in bar- 
ren sandy soil. It resembles superficially celery. The plant is propagated from 
root cuttings almost exclusively, the enlarged leaf bases forming small * heads,’ 
which are cut from the edible roots and planted, one in each hill, just as onions 
are planted. Inthe course of eleven monthsa mass of edible roots the size of aman’s 
head has been formed, and a dozen or more of the ‘ heads,’ which can be used for 
planting the following season, after being removed from the roots and allowed 
partially to dry. How long these heads can be kept alive without planting is a 
question I have not been able to answer. According to Jose A. Diaz, El Agricul- 
tor, Venezolano o’ Lecciones de Agricultura Practica Nacionae, J. I. Caracas, 1877, 
pages 67-71, Senor Vargas has published @ an article on the culture of arracacha. 
In this article, which is quoted at length by Diaz, the statement is made that the 
plant originated in the provinces of Santa Fe and Caracas; and that now its cul- 
ture in Colombia is as common as that of the potato in England. It matures in 
three or four months sufficiently to be of value in the kitchen, although a longer 
period allows much larger roots to develop. The best variety comes from Lipa- 
con, near Norte de Santa Fe de Bogota, in Colombia. Specimens of the plant 
were imported into Europe in 1824, and in Liverpool a specimen flowered. These 
plants were, however, imported from Trinidad, and not from Venezuela. It is 
probable that those from the high regions of Colombia and Venezuela will suc- 
ceed better than those from the warm regions of Trinidad. Humboldt and Bon- 
pland mentioned having found in New Granada, near Teindala, province of Pasto, 
at 700 meters, a wild plant called ‘sacharacacha’ (a name similar to aracacha). 
This is possibly a variety of the Venezuelan plant. For trial in America the 
sprouts should be planted as soon as possible in the spring and given a long season 
to develop in. They should be tested in all the southern experiment stations, and 
may be even worthy of trial in the northern ones. The question of keeping the 
sprouts over winter may be a difficult one to answer, as the plant rarely sets 
seed.’ 
Arrayan. See Myrica cerifera, also Myrsine coriacea and M. floribunda. 
In the market of Ponce leaves of ‘* arrayan’’ were on sale as a remedy for rheu- 
matism. The application is made in the form of a tincture with rum. 
Arrowhead. See Sagittaria acutifolia. 
Arrowroot. See Maranta arundinacea. 
Artemisa. See Ambrosia. 
Artocarpus communis. BrEaDFRUIT. ARBOL DE PAN. 
Family Moraceae; in Porto Rico the breadfruit is commonly called ‘‘ castafia,’’ 
the Spanish name for the chestnut. This doubtless results from the fact that the 
seeds are the part generally used, and these bear considerable resemblance to large 
Spanish chestnuts. They are frequently sold in the market in a germinating con- 
dition (see photograph) and are boiled for a few moments before eating. Seedless 
varieties of the breadfruit also exist, but it was not ascertained that such have 
been introduced into Porto Rico. Insome regions the name breadfruitis restricted 
to the large seedless form, while those which produce seed are called ‘* bread nut.” 
This name is also applied to other species of Artocarpus. One of these is the 
“jack fruit,’ which has been introduced from the East Indies into Jamaica. It 
bears an oval fruit, 18 inches (45 centimeters) or more long, weighing 30 or 40 
pounds (13 to 18 kilograms). If this is not already known in Porto Rico steps 
should be taken to secure it. 

4 Annals of Botany (Sims & Kénig), Vol. I, p. 400. 

