Uala. Plate 15 from the book: Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian Islands

Plate 15 of 44 from Isabella Sinclair's Indigenous flowers of the Hawaiian Islands (1885). The coloured illustration is accompanied by the following text describing the plant:

The Uala.

Ipomoea Batatas, Lam.

The uala, (commonly known as sweet potato), is one of the most widely distributed plants in the world, being found in almost every part of the globe which is at all suitable to its growth. Its natural habitat is a warm climate and rich soil, where it yields immense returns with very little labour. It is either indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands, or was introduced at such a remote period, that all record of the event is lost. In New Zealand, on the contrary (where it is called "Kumara"), there is a distinct tradition of its introduction.

The uala is propagated by planting pieces of the vine, which grow readily, maturing in five or six months, and even in less time, under favourable conditions.

Old natives enumerate nearly fifty varieties, but half that number could not be found in the islands at the present day, as for many years past, the natives have only cultivated the most easily grown kinds.

In Tahiti, the uala - or "umara" as it is there called, - was never prized very highly; but in these islands it has always been considered a superior article of food. On the island of Niihau, where kalo (Arum esculentum) is not grown, the uala has always been the principal means of subsistence; and considering that this island was once densely populated, and that the inhabitants are a strong athletic people, we must conclude that the uala is equal, if not superior, to the far-famed kalo, as an article of diet. A field of uala in vigorous growth, entirley covering the ground with dark green leaves interspersed with numerous blossoms, is quite a pretty sight, but unfortunately it is one that is becoming exceedingly rare, as the natives year by year diminish in number, and practice less and less their old healthful modes of life.