120 STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 



rabi received its development in northern countries. The varieties now grown are the 

 White and Purple, in early and late forms, the Curled-leaf, or NeapoUtan, and the Arti- 

 choke-leaved. 



B. olearacea costata oblonga DC. Portugal cabbage. 



This cabbage is easily recognizable through the great expansion of the midribs and 

 veins of the leaf, in some cases forming quite half of the leaf, the midrib losing its 

 identity in the multitude of radiating, branching veins. In some plants the petioles are 

 winged clear to the base. Nearly all the names applied to this form indicate its distribu- 

 tion, at least in late years, from Portugal, whence it reached English gardens about 

 1821 ' and American gardens, tmder the name of Portugal Cabbage, about 1850.^ It 

 should be remarked, however, that a chou d la grosse cdte was in French gardens in 161 2 * 

 and in three varieties in 1824. 



This cabbage varies in a direction parallel to that of the common cabbage, or has 

 forms which can be classed with the kales and the heading cabbages of at least two 

 types. 



The peculiarity of the ribs or veins occasionally appears among the variables from 

 the seed of the common cabbage, hence atavism as the result of a cross can be reasonably 

 inferred. As to the origin of this form, opinion, at the present stage of studies, must be 

 largely speculative but we may reasonably believe that it originated from a different form 

 or a different set of hybridizations than did the common cabbage. The synonymy appears 

 to be: 



Choux d. la grosse cdte. Jard. Solit. 16 12. 



Chou blond aux grosses cotes. Bosc. Diet. 4, 43. 1789. 



Brassica oleracea aceppala costata. DC. Sysi. 2:584. 1821. 



B. oleracea costata. DC. Trans. Hort. Soc. Land. M. 5:12. 1824. 



Chou aux grosses cotes. Vilm. 1883. 



B, sinapistnun Boiss. charlock, field mustard. 



This is an European plant now occurring as a weed in cultivated fields in America. 

 In seasons of scarcity, in the Hebrides, the soft stems and leaves are boiled in milk and 

 eaten. It is so employed in Sweden and Ireland. Its seeds form a good substitute for 

 mustard. 



Bridelia retusa Spreng. Euphorbiaceae. 



A tree of eastern Asia. The fruit is sweetish and eatable.* 



Brodiaea grandiflora Sm. Liliaceae. californian hyacinth. 



Northwestern America. Its fruit is eaten by the Indians.^ In France, it is grown 

 in the flower garden.^ 



De CandoUe, A. P. Trans. Hort. Soc. Land. 5:12. 1821. 



'Buist, R. Fam. Kitch.Gard. 1851. Preface. 



' Jard. Solit. 158. 1612. 



Brandis, D. Forest Fl. 449. 1876. 



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



Vilmorin Fl. PI. Ter. 174. 1870. 3rd Ed. 



