122 STURTEVANTS NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 



B. dioica Jacq. red bryony, wild hop. 



Europe and adjoining Asia. Loudon says the young shoots of red bryony are edible. 

 Masters ' says that the plant has a fetid odor and possesses acrid, emetic and pungent 

 properties. 



Buchanania lancifolia Roxb. Anacardiaceae. cheerojee-oil plant. 



East Indies and Burma. The tender, unripe fruit is eaten by the natives in their 

 curries.' 



B. latifolia Roxb. 



Tropical India and Burma. The fruit, says Brandis,* has a pleasant, sweetish, sub- 

 acid flavor and is an important article of food of the hill tribes of central India. The 

 kernel of the seed tastes somewhat like the pistachio nut and is used largely in native sweet- 

 meats. Drury * says these kernels are a general substitute for almonds among the natives 

 and are much esteemed in confectionery or are roasted and eaten with milk. 



Bumelia lanuginosa Pers. Sapotaceae. false buckthorn. 



North America. This is a low bush of southern United States which, according* to 

 Nuttall,^ bears an edible fruit as large as a small date. 



B. reclinata Vent, western buckthorn. 



Southwestern United States. In California, Torrey ' says the fruit is sweet and 

 edible and nearly three-quarters of an inch long. 



Bunias erucago Linn. Cruciferae. 



Mediterranean coimtries. In Italy, Unger ' says this species serves rs a salad for 

 the poor. 



B. orientalis Linn, hill mustard. Turkish rocket. 



Eastern Europe and Asia Minor. This plant is called dikaia retka on the Lower 

 Volga. Its stems are eaten raw. This rocket was cultivated in 1739 by Philip Miller 

 in the Botanic Garden of Chelsea and was first introduced into field ciolture in England, 

 as a forage plant, by Arthiir Yovmg. The young leaves are recommended by Vilmorin ' 

 either as a salad or boiled. 



Bupleurum falcatum Linn. Umbelliferae. hare's ear. 



Europe, Orient, Northern Asia and Himalayan region. The leaves are used for food 

 in China ' and Japan." 



' Masters, M. T. Treas. Bot. 1:176. 1870 

 Drury, H. Useful Ph. Ind. 89. 1858. 

 'Brandis, D. Forest PI. 127. 1874, 

 * Drury, H. Useful Pis. Ind. 89. 1858. 



Nuttall, T. No. Amer. Sylva 2:106. 1865. {B. macrocarpa) 

 ' Torrey, J. Bot. U. S., Mex. Bound. Surv. 2:iog. 1859. 

 'Unger, P. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 354. 1859. 

 ' Vilmorin Lj P/i. Po/og. 54. 1883. 

 Bretschneider, E. Bot. Sin. 51. 1882. 

 "Georgeson Amer. Card. 13:7. 1892. Fig. p, 9. 



