sturtevant's notes on edible plants 73 



activated seed or that from the wild plant, without indicating preference. Pliny,' who 

 also wrote in the first century, says that asparagus, of all the plants of the garden, receives 

 the most praiseworthy care and also praises the good quality of the kind that grows wild 

 in the island of Nesida near the coast of Campania. In his praise of gardens,* he says: 

 " Nature has made the asparagus wild, so that any one may gather as found. Behold, 

 the highly-manured asparagus may be seen at Ravenna weighing three pounds. ' ' Palladius,' 

 an author cf the third century, rather praises the sweetness of the wild form found growing 

 among the rocks and recommends transplanting it to such places otherwise worthless 

 for agriculture, but he also gives full directions for garden culture with as much care as 

 did Cato. Gesner ^ quotes Pomponius, who lived in the second century, as saying that 

 there are two kinds, the garden and the wild asparagus, and that the wild asparagus is 

 the more pleasant to eat. Suetonius,* about the beginning of the second century, informs 

 us how partial the Emperor Augustus was to asparagus, and Erasmus ' also mentions it. 



A. racemosus Willd. racemose asparagus. 



East Indies, African tropics and Australia. In India, the tubers are candied as 

 a sweetmeat. This preparation, however, as Dutt states,' has scarcely any other taste 

 or flavor besides that of the sugar. Firminger * says the preserve prepared from the 

 blanched shoots is very agreeable. 



A. sannentosus Linn. 



East Indies. The long, fleshy, whitish root is used as food by the people of Ceylon 

 and, in the candied state, is often brought to India from China.' 



A. verticillatus Linn. 



South Russia. The young shoots, according to Chaubard,'" are eaten in the 

 Peloponesus. 



Asperula odorata Linn. Rubiaceae. woodroof. 



Europe and the adjoining portions of Asia. The flowers are sweet-scented. The 

 herbage is not fragrant when fresh but, after being gathered for a short time, it gives out 

 the perfvune of new hay and retains this property for years. In Germany, woodroof is 

 used for imparting a flavor to some of the Rhine wines. In England, it is ctiltivated 

 occasionally as a garden herb, being used for flavoring cooling drinks. Its seed is advertised 

 in American garden catalogs. Woodroof will thrive in the shade of most trees and grows 

 in all kinds of garden soil. 



' Bostock and Riley. Nat. Hist. Pliny 4: 188. 1856. 



' Pliny c. 19. 



' Palladius lib. 3, c. 24; lib. 4, c. 9. 



Script. Rei Rust. 1788, Lexicon, art. Asparagus. 



'Mcintosh, C. Book Card. 2:177. 1855. 



Ibid. 



' Dutt, U. C. Mat. Med. Hindus 260. 1877. 



Firminger, T. A. C. Card. Ind. 121. 1874. 

 Ainslie, W. Mat. Ind. 2:409. 1826. 



' Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 525. 1879. 



