24 SURG. -MA. J. J. E. T. AITCHISOK Olf THE FLORA OF 



14. Indigenous Plants for Food Sfc. in use. 



Having mentioned the plants which are cultivated in the Kuram 

 valley, I will now describe such as are employed by the people as 

 a substitute for these or together with them. Eremurus auran- 

 tiacus is the sole vegetable upon which the inhabitants of the 

 Hariab district depend for fully two months of the year. The 

 leaves are simply cut off the root-stock, if I may so call it, as close 

 to the ground as possible, leaving the stock intact, but for which 

 the plant would long ago have been extirpated. This as a vege- 

 table was considered very good by the army, and boys brought 

 daily baskets' full of leaves into camp for sale. It resembles in 

 flavour no other vegetable I ever tasted, it being hard and crisp 

 without being either tough or fibrous, and it might prove under cul- 

 tivation a welcome addition to our limited list of spring vegetables. 

 The young shoots of asparagus are collected and cooked, as are 

 also the leaves of the cultivated fig, of Carum Bulbocastanum (not 

 the tubers), and, lastly, the rhizomes of Polygonatum verticillatum. 

 Between Badishkhel and Thai the stems of Boucerosia Aucheri 

 and the young flowering shoots of Chamcerops Bitchieana are 

 eaten raw, as are also the roots of the turnip-rooted JVepeta, which 

 occurs from near Badishkhel to Karatigah. It is curious to note 

 that the bark of this root is flavoured like the turnip, whereas the 

 heart of the bulb has the flavour of fresh almonds. The leaf- 

 stalks of both rhubarbs, of wild onions, the leaves of the common 

 clover {Trifolium resupinatum), and the stems of the young flower- 

 ing shoots of an Orobanche which is parasitical upon Artemisia 

 are all eaten raw. The stems of the last have not much flavour, 

 but are cool and crisp. 



The following Fungi are collected and eaten cooked : — Mor- 

 chella esculenta, Agaricus campestris, RelveUa crispa, and Hydnum 

 coralloides ; as a precautionary measure the natives recommend 

 them to be cooked with a mixture of fat. 



In addition to the cultivated fruits, there are also eaten :—Ber- 

 chemia, here called "Mamahuea," the name given to zSageretia fur- 

 ther east ; Chamcerops Bitchieana, which is sold in the market at 

 Thai, and there called by the same name as dates ; Bijrus Janata, 

 Don, called by the same name as that given to the fruit of the Dio- 

 spyros ; wild plums, blackberries, berberries, Elaagnus, strawber- 

 ries, gooseberries, and Prunus Padus, the two latter being called 

 " wild grapes." The nut of the wild almond, the fruit of the pome- 

 granate, and the wild walnut are all uneatable. Mulberries are 



