STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 43 



in 'Egyptian cookery. It possesses similar properties to the marshmallow and is used for 

 similar purposes in Greece.' 



Am ara n thus blitum Linn. Amarantaceae. amaranthus. wild elite. 

 Temperate and tropical zones. The plant finds use as a pot-herb.'' 



A. campestris Willd. 



East Indies. This species is one of the pot-herbs of the Hindus.' 



A. diacanthus Rafin. 



North America. Rafinesque ^ says the leaves are good to eat as spinach. 



A. gangeticus Linn, amaranthus. 



Tropical zone. This amaranthus is cultivated by the natives in endless varieties 

 and is in general use in Bengal. The plant is pulled up by the root and carried to market 

 in that state.* The leaves are used as a spinach.' Roxburgh ' says there are four leading 

 varieties ctiltivated as pot-herbs: Viridis, the common green sort, is most cultivated; Ruber, 

 a beautiful, bright colored variety; Albus, much cultivated in Bengal; Giganteus, is five 

 to eight feet high with a stem as thick as a man's wrist. The soft, succulent stem is 

 sliced and eaten as a salad, or the tops are served as an asparagus.* In China, the plant 

 is eaten as a cheap, cooling, spring vegetable by all classes.' It is much esteemed as 

 a pot-herb by all ranks of natives.'" This species is cultivated about Macao and the neigh- 

 boring part of China and is the most esteemed of all their svunmer vegetables." 



A. paniculatus Linn, prince's feather, red amaranth. 



North America and naturalized in the Orient. This plant is extensively cultivated 

 in India for its seed which is ground into flour. It is very productive. Roxburgh ^ says 

 it will bear half a pound of floury, nutritious seed on a square yard of ground. Titford '' 

 says it forms an excellent pot-herb in Jamaica when boiled, exactly resembling spinach. 



A, polygamus Linn, goose-foot. 



Tropical Africa and East Indies. This plant is cultivated in India and is used as 

 a pot-herb." It has mucilaginous leaves without taste.'* This amaranthus is a common 



Masters, M. T. Treas. Bot. 1:46. 1870. 

 Balfour Man. Bol. 562. 1875. 

 Ainslie, W. Mat. Ind. 2:3^2. 1826. 

 Rafinesque, C. S. Fl. La. 32. 1817. 

 ' Roxburgh, W. Hort. Beng. 67. 1814. 

 Firminger, T. A. C. Card. Ind. 142. 1874. 

 Ibid. 

 'Ibid. 



Smith, F. P. Conlrib. Mat. Med. China 12. 187 1. 

 "Wight, R. Icon. Pis. 2:71:^. 1843. (A. tristis) 

 "Livingstone,!. Trans. Hort. Soc. Land. 5:54. 1824. (A. tristis) 

 Mueller, F. Sel. Pis. 34. 1891. 



" Titford, W. J. Hort. Bot. Amer. VII of Addenda. 1812. (A. sanguineus) 

 "Royle, J. F. Illustr. Bot. Himal. 1:321. 1839. 

 " Ibid. 



