
          elongated rather than oval corms, with none of the oval lateral tubers 
which in the dasheen are an important part of the crop. The tubers of 
the Penang are oddly shaped, and nearly all are very small. The white 
flesh of the corms and tubers is traversed by numerous, delicate, purple 
fibers; in cooking the coloring matter is dissolved and gives a 
pinkish hue to the flesh. While being baked, the Penang taro gives off 
a distinctive aroma of which one soon becomes exceedingly fond. This 
taro is even drier than the Trinidad dasheen; the corms and tubers are 
acrid when raw. This variety is not a good keeper, but its excellence 
as a table food has made it a favorite with nearly all who have eaten 
it. The culture is the same as that of the dasheen, but a slightly 
longer season is required for maturity.

47002. COLOCASIA ESCULENTA. Sacramento Dasheen. Originally from 
China. Grown from selected imported tubers obtained in Sacramento, 
Calif. A dasheen similar in leaf characters to the Trinidad variety, 
but with the bases of the leaf stalks and the buds of the corms and 
tubers much more reddish. Compared with the Trinidad dasheen the 
Sacramento produces fewer and larger tubers, and both corms and tubers 
are more regular in form. They are also usually lighter in color when 
cooked, less dry, and somewhat less flavorous. The corms do not always 
become mealy when cooked, and their quality needs to be ascertained by 
cooking tests by the grower each year. In other respects the Sacramento 
is a very promising variety for commercial cultivation.

47147. COLOCASIA sp. Taro. Of uncertain origin, -probably from the 
Orient. This taro resembles the Trinidad dasheen in its habit of 
developing oval cormels, or lateral tubers, but differs materially 
from it in several important respects: (1) It is a better keeper; (2) 
the lateral tubers rarely send up leaf-shoots, which makes the harvesting 
and cleaning of the crop easier; (3) the corms and tubers are much 
more moist and require a curing period of six or eight weeks after 
harvesting before they are entirely suitable for table use; (4) the 
flesh remains more nearly white when cooked; and (5) the flavor is 
even more mild than that of the Trinidad dasheen. In unsuitable soil 
the corms often lose the mealy-looking character. The culture is the 
same as for the dasheen. Because of the necessity for a curing period, 
this taro is to be considered mainly as one for late winter and spring 
use. Since it is less dry and firm than the Trinidad dasheen, and 
has less tendency to darken after cooking, it is believed that in its 
proper season this variety will prove very popular on the market. The 
lateral tubers are much better baked than boiled.

56085. CORNUS CAPITATA. Dogwood. From Yunnan, China. Collected 
by J. F. Rock, Agricultural Explorer, in the mountains of western 
China. A very handsome deciduous or partially evergreen flowering 
tree of bushy habit. As in the American flowering dogwood, the apparent 
petals are really large, showy, cream-white or yellow bracts 2 
inches long, subtending the cluster of inconspicuous flowers. Before 
falling, the bracts turn ruddy. The fruit is a fleshy, strawberry-
shaped, crimson head a little more than an inch wide, with yellow, 
sweet, and edible flesh, very popular in China where it is sold in 
the markets.

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