Ullucus
(from Ulluco, the Quitan name). SYN. Melloca. ORD. Chenopodiaceae. A monotypic genus. The species is a half-hardy, fleshy, decumbent and twining herb, its creeping rhizome and angular stem emitting tuber-bearing roots. It is extensively grown in the mountains of Peru and Bolivia for the sake of its small tubers. As a substitute for the Potato, the plant has been unsuccessfully tried in this country. It thrives in any light soil, and may be increased by its tubers.
U. tuberosus (tuberous-rooted). fl. golden, in ample, axillary, loose-flowered racemes; perianth rotate, five-parted, with a very short tube; bracts at the bases of the pedicels lanceolate, persistent; bracteoles below the flowers very conspicuous. June. l. alternate, on thick petioles, rounded-cordate, acute, entire. h. 1ft. Andes of South America, 1846. (B. M. 4617; G. C. n. s., xxiii., p. 216; L. J. F. 221.)