I 
A NEW SPECIES OF TACCA. 307 
style short, cylindrical, with three furrows, stigmas three, 
spreading, dilated, cloven. Berry, ovate, angular, of one cell. 
Seeds, numerous, ovate, striated, inserted into three receptacles 
annexed to the coat of the berry. Brown. The regular 
pedunculated campanulate six cleft flowers, with six sta- 
mens concealed in petaloid appendages, and disposed in 
an involucrate umbel, with an inferior germ of six angles, 
&c., prove its near affinity to the Liliaceae, approaching, even 
though vaguely, to the genus Brodiaea; while the foliage, habit, 
and roots, bring it back again to the Aroideae. It belongs to 
Hexandria Monogynia, L. 
The name Tacca, was employed by Rumphius, and adopted 
by Foster. The species described by the latter, is the 
Tacca pinnatijida. It is stated to be a native of the East 
Indies, Cochinchina, the tropical part of New Holland, and 
the Society Islands, and was carried to England by Captain 
Blight, in 1792. The root is tuberous and perennial. 
Leaves one or two, radical, on long stalks, erect, deeply three 
cleft, with deeply and variously pinnatifid acute entire lobes, 
a foot long, smooth, reticulated with veins. Footstalk hollow, 
smooth. Flowerstalk radical, about three feet high, hollow, 
erect, unbranched, terminating in a simple umbel of several 
drooping, green, somewhat glaucous flowers, — accompanied 
by an involucrum of about as many upright partly pinnatifid 
green leaves, near two inches long, with a greater number of 
much longer thread-shaped bodies, suspected by Mr. Brown 
to be abortive peduncles. The berries are black, larger than 
a gooseberry, but little juicy when ripe. 
Foster states that the fresh root is intensely bitter and 
acrid, though somewhat milder when cultivated. By being 
grated and repeatedly washed in fresh water, it yields a very 
white, mild powder, like starch, which is dried in the sun and 
then serves for food; either in the manner of salep, or baked 
into cakes, which are even better than those made of sago. 
It has been called Otaheite salep. This root is also applied as 
a plaster, for deep wounds made with darts or other weapons. 
The article which is known as Sandwich Island arrow-root. 
