54 AUSTRALIAN NATIVE PLANTS. - 
smaller one to be held in the hand for grinding), and of the flour 
they make a coarse paste. See Marsilea. 
““We had almost daily occasion to praise the value of the 
Purslane, which not only occurred in every part of the country 
explored, but also principally in the neighbourhood of rivers, 
often in the greatest abundance. We found itin sandy and grassy 
localities so agreeably acidulous as to use it for food without any 
preparation, and I have reason to attribute the continuance of our 
health partly to the constant use of this valuable plant. The 
absence of other antiscorbutic herbs in the north, and the facility 
with which it may be gathered, entitle it to particular notice.” 
Baron Mueller’s Bofanical Report of the North Australian Expe- 
dition (quoted by Dr. Woolls). 
All the colonies, except Tasmania. 
171. Pteris aquilina, Linn., var. esculenta, Hook., (Syn. P. escu- 
lenta, Forst.), N.O., Filices, B.FI., vii., 731. 
‘“‘ Brake-fern ” or “‘ Bracken.” pais! called ‘“ Tara”’ by the abori- 
ginals of Tasmania. 
The aboriginals use the bate rhizomes of this plant for 
food. They are eaten both raw and roasted. By crushing and 
washing, the little starch they contain can easily be obtained. In 
Tasmania this fern is often tall enough to conceal a man on 
horseback. An interesting account of the economic value of this 
fern, by Mr. J. R. Jackson, will be found in the Pharm. Fourn. 
[2], vili., 354. 
In Japan the starch from this fern is called ‘‘ Warabi,” and is 
obtained in the following manner :—“ In the season when the fern 
is withered, and no young shoot is to be seen, its root is collected, 
cut up into pieces, pounded, washed, decanted, and the settled 
starch is collected and dried. It is mixed with wheat-flour or rice- 
meal and made into cakes, or when made into paste by boiling with 
water mixed with the astringent juice of the Japanese date-plum 
(Diospyros Kakz), it is used for joining paper together ; the joint 
does not part though exposed to rain, hence it is widely used for 
this purpose.” (Catal. of Fapanese Exhibits at the Health Ex- 
hibition, London, 1884). 
All the colonies. 
