1383 
These are eaten raw, as well as cooked, and are also 
frozen and dried. Raw ocas, when first dug, have a dis- 
tinctly acid taste, like sheep sorrel, but this is lost 
after the tubers have been exposed to the sun. The 
plant attains a height of a foot or more and has the 
appearance of a large sheep sorrel. The flowers are 
yellow and the leaflets are folded at night or in wet 
weather, the same as in the sheep sorrel. The varieties 
are numerous, though much fewer than in the case of the 
potato. The tubers are very tender, rather crisp and 
juicy. in form some are nearly cylindrical, while 
others are slender at the base and strongly thickened 
at the end. The colors vary from white or light pink 
through darker pinks or yellows to deep purplish red. 
In addition to the pleasing coloration, the surface of 
the tubers is smooth and clear, so that the general 
appearance is very attractive. If the taste should 
prove acceptable ocas might become very popular for 
salads and pickles. The nature and habits of the plant 
indicate that it may be adapted to acid soil, which 
would be a distinct advantage in some parts of the 
United States. (Adapted from notes under S. P. I. No. 
41168, by Mr. 0. F. Cook. ) 
Pentstemon palmeri ( S c r o phul ariaceae), 46595. Beard- 
tongue. Plants grown at the Plant Introduction Field 
Station, Chico, California. "Pentstemon palmeri, from the 
western and southern slopes of the San Francisco Moun- 
tains of Arizona, is one of our best and most promis- 
ing native species of this useful genus of ornamental 
plants. It withstands droughty conditions well and 
responds remarkably to good treatment. In nature the 
spikes stand 4 to 6 feet high and the plant is reduced 
to little more than a rosette of basal leaves at the 
close of the long dry, late summer and autumn. Under 
conditions at Chico, California, the flowering stems 
may stand 6 to 7 feet high and the plants go into winter 
with a vegetative growth of 18 inches or more. Its 
abundant glaucous green foliage , long spike (2 to 3 ft.) 
of large pink flowers opening progressively from below, 
together with its very robust habit , make it a desirable 
acquisition to our long list of pentstemons . It has good 
seed habits and if started early in flats and trans- 
planted into the open in early spring it will blossom 
sparingly the same year." (Griffiths.) 
