233 



Formosa (Watters, Mus. Kew). The tough fibre obtained from the 

 stems is used for making fishing nets in Fiji (Don, I.e.) : branches 

 and stems used for making ropes in Fiji (Seemann, Herb. Kew). 

 Ref. — " Short-podded Yam Bean {Pachyrhizus angulatus)," in 



Kew Bull. 1889, p. 121. " Pachyrhizus bulbosus (P. angulatus) 



Yambohne," in Pflanzenwelt Ost. Afr. Engler, Part B. p. 123. 



Pachyrhizus tuberosus, Spreng. Syst. iv. Cur. Post. p. 281. 



Roots tuberous. Stem herbaceous, twining, 10-20 ft. long. Leaves 

 pinnate, 3-foliolate, long-petioled ; stipules linear-lanceolate ; leaflets 

 broadly rhomboid-ovate, pointed, entire or obscurely sinuate, in 

 young specimens sometimes shallowly lobed, terminal leaflet broadly 

 cuneate at the base, lateral leaflets oblique, stipels subulate. Racemes 

 sub-compound, lower branches very short, with flowers in fascicles. 

 Calyx 5-lobed, lobes as long as the tube, superior shorter. Corolla 

 white. Legume 8-12 in. long, 9-10 lin. broad, slightly hairy, 

 compressed when young, somewhat bent, with deep transverse 

 depressions between the red, black, or pale spotted seeds. 



III. — Plumier, Ic. Burm. t. 220 (Dolichos foliis integer ri mis) ; 

 Hook. Ic. PL t. 1813 ; Kew Bull. 1889, p. 62. 



Yam Bean : Starch Bean. 



Commonly cultivated in the Tropics and warm countries. 



The tuberous roots are eaten as food and a starch is obtained from 

 them. An analysis made in Jamaica shows that the root contains : 

 moisture 69*13 per cent., solids 30*57, starch 17*73, sugars 2*86, 

 Nitrogen 0*12 ; regarded as inferior to the sweet potato in feeding 

 value (Ann. Report, Pub. Gdns. & Plantations, Jamaica, 1907, p. 10). 



Both the tubers and beans contain a poisonous resin, the latter 

 yielding over 2 per cent. The resin is a very active fish poison. The 

 beans have a high value as foodstuffs and resemble the Soy Bean 

 (Glycine Soja) in composition (Kew Bull. 1895, p. 18). 



No cyanogenetic glucosides have been found in the seeds (Bull. 

 Imp. Inst. i. 1903, p. 17). 



Grown from seed about 2 it. apart in rows about 3 ft. apart ; 

 otherwise the cultivation is the same as for yams (Dioscorea satire/) 

 planted on mounds and trained on poles. The plants come to 

 maturity in about 9 or 10 months. 



The yield in Montserrat has been at the rate of 27,780 lbs. of 

 tubers per acre (Report Bot. St. Montserrat, 1906-07 p. 13) ; in 

 Dominica 8'6 tons (blue-flowered native) and 7*6 tons (white-flowered 

 Porto Rico) was obtained (Report Bot. St. Dominica, 1905-06, p. 22). 

 Up to 5£ lbs. is given as the weight of one tuber (Report Bot. St. 

 St. Kitts-Nevis, 1905-06, p. 17). 



fief.— "Yam Bean" in Kew Bull. 1889, pp. 62-63. Ibid. 



1895, pp. 17-48, with analyses of tubers and seed. 



PSOPHOCARPUS, Neck. 



Psophocarpus longepedunculatus, Hussk. ; Fl. Trop. Afr. II. p. 208. 



III. — Mart. Fl. Bras. xv. pt. 1, t. 52 ; Endlicher, Atakta Botanica 

 i. tt. 1, 2 (Diesingicc scundens) ; Engl. & Prantl, Pflan. iii. pt. 3, 

 f . 133 D-E ; Engl. Pflan. Ost. Afr. t. 21, ff. 0-<^ (pod and seed). 



Old Calabar ; Nupe ; Kontagora, Cultivated throughout the 

 Tropics. 



Tuberous root, may be eaten like that of Pachyrhizus. The 

 young pods can be used as a vegetable (Engler, Pflan. Ost Afr. 

 Part B, p. 121). 



