[SWEET APPLE, s. An Anglo-Indian corruption of sītāphal, 'the fruit of Sītā,' the Musk Melon, Fr. Potiron. Cucurbita moschata (see [CUSTARD-APPLE]).]
SWEET OLEANDER, s. This is in fact the common oleander, Nerium odorum, Ait.
1880.—"Nothing is more charming than, even in the upland valleys of the Mahratta country, to come out of a wood of all outlandish trees and flowers suddenly on the dry winter bed of some mountain stream, grown along the banks, or on the little islets of verdure in mid (shingle) stream, with clumps of mixed tamarisk and lovely blooming oleander."—Birdwood, MS. 9.
SWEET POTATO, s. The root of Batatas edulis, Choisy (Convolvulus Batatas, L.), N.O. Convolvulaceae; a very palatable vegetable, grown in most parts of India. Though extensively cultivated in America, and in the W. Indies, it has been alleged in various books (e.g. in Eng. Cyclop. Nat. Hist. Section, and in Drury's Useful Plants of India), that the plant is a native of the Malay islands. The Eng. Cyc. even states that batatas is the Malay name. But the whole allegation is probably founded in error. The Malay names of the plant, as given by Crawfurd, are Kaledek, Ubi Jawa, and Ubi Kastila, the last two names meaning 'Java yam,' and 'Spanish yam,' and indicating the foreign origin of the vegetable. In India, at least in the Bengal Presidency, natives commonly call it shakar-ḳand, P.—Ar., literally 'sugar-candy,' a name equally suggesting that it is not indigenous among them. And in fact when we turn to Oviedo, we find the following distinct statement:
"Batatas are a staple food of the Indians, both in the Island of Spagnuola and in the others ... and a ripe Batata properly dressed is just as good as a marchpane twist of sugar and almonds, and better indeed.... When Batatas are well ripened, they are often carried to Spain, i.e., if the voyage be a quiet one; for if there be delay they get spoilt at sea. I myself have carried them from this city of S. Domingo to the city of Avila in Spain, and although they did not arrive as good as they should be, yet they were thought a great deal of, and reckoned a singular and precious kind of fruit."—In Ramusio, iii. f. 134.
It must be observed however that several distinct varieties are cultivated by the Pacific islanders even as far west as New Zealand. And Dr. Bretschneider is satisfied that the plant is described in Chinese books of the 3rd or 4th century, under the name of Kan-chu (the first syllable = 'sweet'). See B. on Chin. Botan. Words, p. 13. This is the only good argument we have seen for Asiatic origin. The whole matter is carefully dealt with by M. Alph. De Candolle (Origine des Plantes cultivées, pp. 43-45), concluding with the judgment: "Les motifs sont beaucoup plus forts, ce me semble, en faveur de l'origine americaine."
The "Sanskrit name" Ruktaloo, alleged by Mr. Piddington, is worthless. Ālū is properly an esculent Arum, but in modern use is the name of the common potato, and is sometimes used for the sweet potato. Raktālū, more commonly rat-ālū, is in Bengal the usual name of the Yam, no doubt given first to a highly-coloured kind, such as Dioscorea purpurea, for rakt- or rat-ālū means simply 'red potato'; a name which might also be well applied to the batatas, as it is indeed, according to Forbes Watson, in the Deccan. There can be little doubt that this vegetable, or fruit as Oviedo calls it, having become known in Europe many years before the potato, the latter robbed it of its name, as has happened in the case of [brazil]-wood (q.v.). The batata is clearly the 'potato' of the fourth and others of the following quotations. [See Watt, Econ. Dict. iii. 117 seqq.]
1519.—"At this place (in Brazil) we had refreshment of victuals, like fowls and meat of calves, also a variety of fruits, called batate, pigne (pine-apples), sweet, of singular goodness...."—Pigafetta, E.T. by Lord Stanley of A., p. 43.
1540.—"The root which among the Indians of Spagnuola Island is called Batata, the negroes of St. Thomè (C. Verde group) called Igname, and they plant it as the chief staple of their maintenance; it is of a black colour, i.e. the outer skin is so, but inside it is white, and as big as a large turnip, with many branchlets; it has the taste of a chestnut, but much better."—Voyage to the I. of San Tomè under the Equinoctial, Ramusio, i. 117v.
c. 1550.—"They have two other sorts of roots, one called batata.... They generate windiness, and are commonly cooked in the embers. Some say they taste like almond cakes, or sugared chestnuts; but in my opinion chestnuts, even without sugar, are better."—Girol. Benzoni, Hak. Soc. 86.