38 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



ing at Mobile, Ala., in 1775 and as ciiltivated by the Choctaw Indians. The reference 

 to leeks by Cortez is noticed under A. cepa, the onion. The lower, or blanched, portion 

 is the part generally eaten, and this is used in soups or boiled and served as asparagus.' 

 Buist * names six varieties. The blanched stems are much used in French cookery. 

 A. reticulatum Fras. 



North America. This is a wild onion whose root is eaten by the Indians.' 

 A. roseum Linn, rosy-flowered garlic. 



Mediterranean countries. According to Heldreich,* this plant yields edible roots. 

 A. rotundum Linn. 



Europe and Asia Minor. The leaves are eaten by the Greeks of Crimea.^ 

 A. rubellum Bieb. 



Europe, Siberia and the Orient. The bulbs are eaten by the hill people of India 

 and the leaves are dried and preserved as a condiment.* 



A. sativum Linn, clown's treacle, garlic. 



Europe. This plant, well known to the ancients, appears to be native to the plains 

 of western Tartary ' and at a very early period was transported thence over the whole 

 of Asia (excepting Japan), north Africa and Europe. It is believed to be the skorodon 

 hemeron of Dioscorides and the allium of Pliny. It was ranked by the Egyptians among 

 gods in taking an oath, according to Pliny. The want of garlics was lamented to Moses 

 by the Israelites in the wilderness. Homer' makes garlic a part of the entertainment 

 which Nestor served to his guest, Machaon. The Romans are said to have disliked it on 

 account of the strong scent but fed it to their laborers to strengthen them and to their 

 soldiers to excite courage. It was in use in England prior to 1548 and both Tvimer ' and 

 Tusser '" notice it. Garlic is said to have been introduced in China 140-86 B. C." and to 

 be found noticed in various Chinese treatises of the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and 

 eighteenth centuries.''' Loureiro " found it under cultivation in Cochin China. 



The first mention of garlic in America is by Peter Martyr," who states that Cortez 

 fed on it in Mexico. In Peru, Acosta " says " the Indians esteem garlike above all 

 the roots of Europe." It was cultivated by the Choctaw Indians in gardens before 



Burr, p. Field, Card. Veg. 126. 1863. 

 ,' Buist, R. Fam. Kitch. Card. 84. 1851. 



' Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 605. 1879. 



* Mueller, F. Sel. Pis. 28 B. 1891. 



' Pallas, P. S. Trav. Russia 2:449. 1803. (A. descendens) 



Royle, J. F. Illustr. Bot. Himal. 1:393. 1839. 



' Pickering Chron. Hist. Pis. 145. 1879. 



' Treas. Bot. 1:41. 1870. 



Miller Card. Diet. 1807. 



"Mcintosh, C. Book Card. 2:29. 1855. 



" Bretschneider, E. On the Study 15. 1870. 



" Bretschneider, E. Bot. Sin. 59, 78, 83, 85. 1882. 



" Loureiro i''/. CocWn. 201. 1790. 



"Eden Hist. Trav. 1577. 



" Acosta Nat. Mor. Hist. Ind. 261. 1604. Hakl. Soc Ed. 1880. 



