CONVOLVULACEAE 



443 



taken from Rumphius, the plant actually described was a cul- 

 tivated specimen known in Cochin-China as khoai tu, in all 

 probability a cultural variety of Ipomoea batatas Poir. Choisy 

 transferred it to Ipomoea, as /. mammosa (Lour.) Choisy, in 

 Mem. Soc. Phys. Genev. 6 (1833) 475, and in de Candolle's Pro- 

 dromus, 9 (1854) 389, retained it as an Ipomoea under his 

 "Species non satis notae." Miquel, Fl. Ind. Bat. 2 (1857) 620, 

 compiled his description from Rumphius and Loureiro and placed 

 it at the end of the genus under the heading "Species denuo ex- 

 ami nandae." No previous author has suggested that the plant 

 figured and described by Rumphius was based on material from 

 more than one species, and nobody has previously suggested that 

 it is, for most part, referable to Opercidina turpethum S. Manso, 

 an explanation that is on the whole fairly satisfactory. Prain * 

 suggests that the form figured by Rumphius may be the same as 

 Convolvulus platypeltis Span., of Timor, which Choisy placed 

 as a doubtful synonym of Ipomoea campanulata Linn. ; Spanoghe's 

 species is entirely unknown to me, nor do I understand the 

 status of the form interpreted by Hallier f. as Merremia 

 mammosa Hallier f. In regard to Rumphius's statement as to 

 the Philippine origin of the plant he figured and described I 

 can merely add that no known Philippine species agrees with 

 the description and figure in toto. 



IPOMOEA Linnaeus 



IPOMOEA BATATAS (Linn.) Poir. in Lam. Encycl. 6 (1804) 14. 



Convolvulus batatas Linn. Sp. PI. (1753) 154. 



Batatas edulis Choisy Conv. Or. (1834) 53. 



Batatta Rumph. Herb. Amb. 5: 367, t. 130. 

 Amboina, Hoenoet, Robinson PI. Rumph. Amb. If02, October 8, 1913, 

 cultivated, altitude about 125 meters, locally known as batatas. 



The reduction of Batatta to Convolvulus batatas Linn, was 

 first made by Linnaeus, in Stickman Herb. Amb. (1754) 23, 

 Amoen. Acad. 4 (1759) 131, Syst. ed. 10 (1759) 922, Sp. PI. ed. 

 2 (1762) 220, and this has been followed by numerous other 

 authors, some under the Linnean name Convolvulus batatas, 

 others under the name Ipomoea batatas (Linn.) Poir. There is 

 no doubt whatever as to the American origin of this plant, but 

 Rumphius's opinion is well worth quoting in connection with 

 the matter. He states : 



Communis opinio est, quam etiam sequor usque ad ulteriorem decisionem, 

 Batattas primum per Castilienses ex Americanis reg'ionibus in Manilhas, 

 inde in Moluccas, ac Portugalos in reliquas porro Indiae Orientalis regiones 



* Journ. As. Soc. Beng. 74 2 (1905) Extra Number 307. 



