74 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



Asphodeline lutea Reichb. Liliaceae. asphodel. Jacob's rod. king's spear. 



Region of the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. This plant is mentioned as covering 

 large tracts of land in Apulia and as being abundant in Sicily. It was fabled to grow 

 in the Elysian fields, and hence the ancient Greeks were wont to place asphodel on the 

 tombs of their friends. The root is mentioned as an esculent by Pythagoras.' Pliny ^ 

 says the roots of asphodel were generally roasted vmder embers and then eaten with salt 

 and oil and when mashed with figs were thought a most excellent dish. Phillips,' exer- 

 cising some imagination, says: "Asphodel was to the ancient Greeks and Romans what 

 the potato now is to us, a bread plant, the value of which cannot be too highly estimated. 

 It has long since given way to its successors in favor." 



Aster tripolium Linn.- Compositae. aster. 



Northern Africa, Asia, the Orient and Europe. The somewhat fleshy leaves of this 

 aster are occasionally gathered to make a kind of pickle.* 



Astragalus aboriginorum Richards. Leguminosae. astragalus. 



Arctic North America. The roots are eaten by the Cree and Stone Indians of the 

 Rocky Mountains.^ 



A. adscendens Boiss. & Haussk. 



Persia. The plant affords an abundance of gum and also a manna.* 



A. boeticus Linn. Swedish coffee. 



Mediterranean region. In certain parts of Germany and Hungary, this plant is 

 cultivated for its seeds, which are roasted, ground and used as a substitute for coffee. 

 Its culture is the same as that of the common pea or tare. The name applied to the seeds, 

 Swedish coffee, would indicate that it is also grown in Scandinavia. 



A. caryocarpus Ker-Gawl. ground plum. 



Mississippi region of North America. The unripe fruits are edible and are eaten 

 raw or cooked. 



A. christianus Linn. 



Asia Minor and Syria. In Taxirus, the roots of the great, yellow milk-vetch are 

 sought as an article of food.' 



A. creticus Lam. 



Greece. This plant yields tragacanth * 



A. fiorulentus Boiss. & Haussk. 



Persia. The plant yields a manna.' 



Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Ph. lo6. 1879. 



2 Bostock and Riley Nat. Hist. Pliny 4:360. 1856. 



' PhiUips, H. Comp. Kitch. Card. 1:35. 1831. 



* Masters, M. T. Treas. Bot. 3:1173. 1870. 



'Brown, R. Bot. Soc. Edinb. 9:381. 1868. (Phaca aboriginorum) 

 ' Fluckiger and Hanbury Pharm. 174. 1879. 

 ' Fraser, J. B. Mesopotamia 2,5^- 1842. 

 BaiUon, H. Hist. Pis. 2:378. 1872. 



Fluckiger and Hanbury PAorm. 415. 1879. 



