WAYS OF THE WILD.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 267, 10 November 1928, Page 1 (Supplement)

WAYS OF THE WILD.

A' NATURALIST'S. NOTEBOOK.

I THE TAMO.

(By A. T. BYCROFTSJ

Botanical research' confirms the Maori traditions r that the four.principal cultivated food plants of the Maoris were brought with them from the islands iu tlio Pacific whence they came. An account of .three..of these plants,- the kumara, or sweet potato, .ti poro (Cordyline terminalisj and a gourd, tha hue,* lias already appeared in this column. To-day's article will deal with the fourth cultivated, food : plaiit. The taro (Colocasiaantiquorum) a member of the arum family. This plant is probably a'native of India and" Malaya, and possibly China; it is extensively cultivated in the tropics and was first introduced into England in .1551. It is largely cultivated in China, . : Colenso tells us this plant was pro- • pagated by planting its roots, or tubers, lor more properly speaking, its small , offset shoots, which; were carefully : pinched off for that purpose; but being : a perennial, and always "in season," its 1 tubers were not taken up.and stowed i away for future use, but' were generally dug up when wanted, for cooking, 1 etc. Hence it-was doubly useful to 1 the : Maoris, in some respects .more so . than the kumara. It was also very t prolific, increasing its set tubers rapidly, f both in size and in the off-shoots, in a r suitable soil, so that a clump of taro tubers passed into a proverb to show the .number and resources of a strong _ tribe. He" puia taro nui, hengata tani- " wharau, ekore e, ngaro—a cluster of f flourishing taro .plants, a hundred i devouring, slugs, cannot be extirpated, or in other words, it is difficult to _ destroy, them all. . •So . with a large s tribe.,. ;a -~ ..... .. Over Twenty.Varieties. ■ I > G Of this plant' there are. more than j twenty varieties; or'species, which like , the kumara, differed greatly in size, in ,' quality, and in the colour of the flesh; '{ besides one which'is known to have been 0 introduced since Cook's time. This newer ,_ one is called ti.ro hoia; it is a much, |j larger tuber and plant, and it.is also , coarser in its flesh, and is not so generj ally liked. : Both the tubers and the | thick succulent stems (petiole's) of the .' large leaves of the plants were eaten, s but only after being thoroughly cooked; a severe burning,of the lips, mouth, and throat, attended by constriction, followed' the imprudent eating, of it when not'fully dressed. This esculent tuber was made to play an important part in 'many of the-Maoris' : higher ceremonial observances—as, ! at the naming of a ■ newly -born' chief's child, at the death ,_ of a chief, at. the-exhumation which, in ." due time! always followed, and also at ' the visits; of welcome, strangers. For y each observance, or feast,' the ancient . Maoris used their particular varieties, or sorts; i a similar usage was also prac- ° tised. on such- occasions : with their varieties of animal 'food.' This custom they could not so well, have carried put |? with the kumara, as there-were seasons „ when '-it was. not-to he had at all.

According'to' Best, 'Cook' Strait' was tie. farthest l south, the taro was growu. It'.was, : however, seen ; growing, as far south as'Queen.Charlotte Sound iii IS39t—it ..possibly 'may have been the introduced variety at.the" latter place. One or two allied species of taro arc also largely grown.in Polynesia, especially the gigantic kape (Alocasia macrorhiza). How far either it, or the true taro, is indigenous in the Pacific islands Cheeseman says it is' almost impossible to say,- from the readiness with which they establish themselves 'in swampy places, or on the banks of streams, in a very short time presenting all the appearance of true natives. Both avo often cultivated in- artificial ponds,'- or swamps, ■ frequently' of large size, and fed by runlets of water conducted from the nearest stream. The construction of these ponds must have ■ iiivolved a very large amount of labour, considering the imperfect tools employed. First in importance' of the common food plants of tropical Polynesia is the banana. When' Cook ' first visited Tahiti Dr. Solander enumerated no less than twenty-three varieties as heing cultivated there, nineteen varieties are known at Fiji,'and eighteen at Earotonga.- These varieties were grown at these- places prior to the arrival of. Europeans. Next to the banana comes the bread fruit, which has a very similar history. Both the banana' and bread fruit probably originated from tropical Asia, or Malaya. Thirdly, the cocoaniit palm, whose ' native country is quite uncertain. -:■• ■ ■; ■.;.;;

5 The Yams of Polynesia. i Next comes the yams, five, or -six,' species are. grown in Polynesia, somu 1 species are undoubtedly indigenous, but others are probably introduced from ! tropical Asia, or Malaya. '. The kuniara would probably rank next in importance,' followed by the ti pore of the Maoris , (Cordyline terminalis). The huge,, tuber- . ous root of this plant was extensively \ used throughout Polynesia, • where it is a native. ■ It is known that the Polynesians were j great cultivators and that they regularly carried, plants from one part of the ' Pacific to another. ' The Maoris weve i patient, careful, and expert agricultur- ' ists. . Cheeseman, referring to the Polynesians custom of carrying plants from one part of the Pacific to another, says g that sufficient has been established to warrant the statement that at one time s the Polynesians regularly navigated the Pacific. Not only did Polynesians reach New Zealand, but they returned bring--3 ing back with them a knowledge of the '» country and its productions, and when 1 it was resolved to colonise this country " there can be no doubt that the canoes e of Maori history were steered by people % who knew well what direction to take 7 and what the duration of the voyage e would probably be. We are acquainted with the Polynesians successes iu bring- " ing four of their food plants to New " Zealand, but of their failures we know '•< nothing. But we can well imagine the - attempts that they would make to >» acclimatise the banana, the bread fruit, -and the cocoanut, and the disappoint.i ment they would feel in failing to ", establish the three staple food plants n of the Pacific. e Dr. Brown in.his book, "Mclanesians 1 and Polynesians," tells us that the New - Britain natives make a kind of bread s from taro, and that it was one of the 0 principal foods of the Samoans; it is in f fact the staple food of these islands, and i grows all the year round. The Samoans 1 state it is more nourishing than the yam Jor bread fruit. The great substitute t for meat all over Samoa was palusami; > this was made With the young_ and • tender leaves of the taro. A number of . these leaves. were placed one over anI other and doubled up into tij shape of a cup. This was filled with the ex--pressed juice. of the cocoanut and saiy water and the whole tied up in a bread fruit leaf and cooked. The taro leaf was also cooked with only salt water. It closely resembled spinach. Mm Jk