There are also several kinds of edible roots growing in the ponds or small lakes, which are gathered by the Indians for food.

The psui-cinh-chah, or swamp potato, is found in mud and water, about three feet deep.  The leaf is as large as the cabbage leaf.  The stem has but one leaf, which has, as it were, two horns or points.  The root is obtained by the Indian women; they wade into the water and loosen the root with their feet, which then floats, and is picked up and thrown into a canoe.  It is of an oblong shape, of a whitish yellow, with four black rings around it, of a slightly pungent taste, and not disagreeable when eaten with salt or meat.

The psui-chah, with a stem and leaf similar to the last, has a root about the size of a large hickory-nut.  They grow in deep water, and being smaller are much more difficult to get, but the Indians prefer them; they have an agreeable taste, and are harder and firmer when cooked.  Both these roots are found in large quantities in the musk-rat lodges, stored by them for winter use.

The ta-wah-pah, with a stem, leaf, and yellow flower, like the pond-lily, is found in the lakes, in water and mud, from four to five feet deep.  The Indian women dive for them, and frequently obtain as many as they are able to carry.  The root is from one to two feet in height, very porous; there are as many as six or eight cells running the whole length of the root.  It is very difficult to describe the flavor.  It is slightly sweet and glutinous, and is generally boiled with wild fowl, but is occasionally roasted.

In his exploring expedition into the interior of Guiana, in the region of the Upper Essequibo, Sir E. Schomburgk notices the discovery of a variety of Leguminosae, whose tubers grow to an enormous size, fully equal to the largest yam.  These roots were not, at the time he was there, in full perfection, but their taste was somewhat between the yam and the sweet potato.  The Taruma Indians called them Cuyupa.  The roots are considered fit for use when the herb above ground dies.  Sir Robert brought a few of the seeds of the plant with him on his return to Demerara.

Two interesting productions have been recently introduced into the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, from the Ecuador, by M. Bourcier, formerly Consul-General of France in that country.  One is the red and yellow ocas, which is of the form of a long potato, and has the taste of a chesnut; the other is the milloco, which has the taste and form of our best potatoes.  These two roots, which are found in great abundance in the neighbourhood of Quito, grow readily in the poorest land.  The oca is cultivated in the fields of Mexico, but only succeeds in the warmer districts.  From the bulbous roots of the cacomite, a species of Tigridia, a good flour is also prepared there.