Other Vegetables 289 



It is usually grown from seeds, and being a twiner may be 

 supported on a low trellis. There are several varieties 

 from India, China, and Japan. The best kind is said to 

 be grown from cuttings. This vegetable has been well 

 recommended in several tropical and subtropical countries. 



EDIBLE JUTE (Corchorus olitorius var. edulis) 



This large tropical annual is much grown in Egypt and 

 India for the use of its tender shoots and leaves as a pot- 

 herb. The young leaves are also eaten in salads. It is 

 ready in forty to fifty days (Egypt), and may be cut twice. 

 It is one of the garden vegetables that should be grown in 

 tropical lands where green vegetables are often scarce. 



EDIBLE AMARANTH (Amamnthus oleraceus, A. gangeticus, 

 and A. viridis) 



Several forms of amaranth are cultivated as pot-herbs 

 in India, China, and tropical countries. The young shoots 

 are used in the place of asparagus. The best kinds 

 seem worthy of a place in the tropical vegetable-garden. 



PARA CRESS (Spilanthes okracea) 



This tropical composite hardly takes the place of a 

 cress. It is a creeping yellow-flowered annual. Its 

 leaves are used for a pungent medicinal salad, which, pre- 

 sumably from some narcotic quality, is often eaten in 

 tropical countries as a remedy against toothache. The 

 true watercress can usually be grown in tropical mountain 

 streams, 

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