THE ECONOMIC PLANTS OF JAPAN— XII.- 



ROOTS AND TUBERS USED FOR FOOD. 



THE LIST here given includes most plants 

 of this class which have any importance 

 from an economic standpoint. Many are 

 wild plants used as food only occasionally, 

 or when necessity compels ; others are put to more 

 uses than one, and 

 their roots are not 

 in all cases the most 

 valued portion. 

 Some are grown for 

 ornament as well as 

 for use as vegeta- 

 bles, as in the case 

 of the lotus, the lily 

 and the iris. 



The roots of plants 

 n o t cultivated are 

 mainly valued for the 

 starch they contain, 

 and in many cases it 

 is this substance alone 

 that is sought. The 

 starch is extracted, 

 after the roots have 

 been cleaned, by first 

 crushing them in a 

 huge stone mortar ; 

 the pulp thus pro- 

 duced is then strained 

 through bamboo bas- 

 kets, which remove 

 all fibrous material. 

 The filtrate is now 

 washed, or stirred in 

 water, and allowed to 

 settle several times in 

 succession till all im- 

 purities have been re- 

 moved ; the starch is 

 then spread on trays 

 and set in the sun to 

 dry, and when this is 

 accomplished, it is 

 stored in boxes and 

 kept ready to be used 

 for food as occasion 

 may demand. The 

 starch of certain 

 plants has a bitter- 

 ness which mere washing cannot remove. It is sweet 

 ened by soaking for some hours either in lye or lime 

 *Copyright by the Author. 



Apios Fortunei — HODO 



water, after which it is again washed in clean water be- 

 fore it is dried. Starchcthus obtained constitutes no 

 inconsiderable portion off the food of the poor in coun- 

 try districts. 



AcoRUS spuRius, Schott.; Jap., Thobu. This flag has 

 upright, linear leaves 

 like the iris, some two 

 feet tall, and small 

 greenish flowers in a 

 dense head on a short 

 ]j/ scape. The whole 

 plant is somewhat 

 fragrant. The rhizo- 

 ma furnishes starch. 

 Nothing is more com- 

 mon in many country 

 districts than to see a 

 perfect hedge of this 

 plant on top of old 

 houses. The damp 

 atmosphere and fre- 

 quent rains keep it 

 well supplied with 

 moisture. The cus- 

 tom of planting it in 

 the thatch is said to 

 be due to a supersti- 

 tion that it protects 

 the inmates from 

 harm. The planting 

 is done on May 5, and 

 on the same day some 

 of its leaves are put 

 in the family bath, 

 where it is supposed 

 to exercise miraculous 

 influence in protect- 

 ing the bather against 

 disease. 



Apios Fortunei, 

 Maxim.; Jap., //(j</£7- 

 imo. (See illustration.) 

 The root produces 

 small ovate tubers of 

 very agreeable taste, 

 which are boiled and 

 eaten like potatoes. 

 It grows wild in the 

 wooded mountains 

 of central Japan, 

 md it is also occasion- 

 re fond of it as 



where the inhabitants gather it 

 ally cultivated by'such^of the natives 

 an article of food. 



