EDIBLE STEMS AND LEAVES 



picked while young enough, that is, like asparagus 

 sprouts and while the stems will still snap when 

 bent. Young leaves and all are good in that stage 

 of growth. 



The Buckwheat faniilv, which has yielded to civili- 

 zation not only the grain that bears the family name 

 but also the succulent vegetable Khubarb, has some 

 wild members with modest pretensions to useful- 

 ness. That common weed, naturalized from Europe, 

 the Curled Dock {Riimex crispus, L.), for instance, 

 is of this tribe ; and its spring suit of radical leaves 

 stands well with bucolic connoisseurs in greens. An- 

 other Eumex {R. liymenosepalus, Torr.), common on 

 the dry plains and deserts of the Southwest and be- 

 coming very showy when its ample panicles of dull 

 crimson flowers and seed-vessels are set, is famous 

 there as a satisfactory substitute for rhubarb, which, 

 indeed, the plant somewhat resembles. The large 

 leaves, nearly a foot long, are narrowed to a thick, 

 fleshy footstalk, which is crisp, juicy and tart. 

 These stalks, stripped off before the toughness of 

 age has come upon them, and cooked like rhubarb, 

 are hardly distinguishable from it. AVesterners 

 know it as Wild Rhubarb, Wild Pie Plant, and 

 Canaigre. Under the last name it has some celebrity 

 as tanning material, the tuberous roots being rich 



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