146 STURTEV ant's NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 



potatoes. They are the size of a man's finger, of a very agreeable taste, with a cream- 

 like flavor.* 



C. kelloggil A. Gray. 



California. The root is used by the Indians of California as a food.* 



C. petroselinum Benth. & Hook. f. parsley. 



Old World. Parsley is cultivated everywhere in gardens, for use as a seasoning and 

 as a garnish. Eaten with any dish strongly seasoned with onions, it takes off the smell 

 of onion and prevents the after taste. It excels other herbs for communicating flavor to 

 soups and stews. Among the Greeks and Romans, parsley formed part of the festive 

 garlands, and Pliny states that in his time there was not a salad or a sauce presented at 

 table without it. The ancients supposed that its grateful smell absorbed the inebriating 

 fumes of wine and by that means prevented intoxication. Parsley seems to be the apium 

 of the ancient Romans, the selinon of Theophrastus,' who, 322 B. C, describes two varie- 

 ties; one with crowded, dense leaves, the other with more open and broader leafage. 

 Colimiella,^ 42 A. D., speaks of the broad-leaved and curled sorts and gives directions for 

 the culture of each; and Pliny,* 79 A. D., mentions the cultivated form as having varieties 

 with a thick leaf and a crisp leaf, evidently copying from Theophrastus. He adds, how- 

 ever, apparently from his own observation, that apium is in general esteem, for the sprays 

 find use in large quantities in broths and give a peculiar palatability to condimental foods. 

 In Achaea, it is used, so he says, for the victor's crown in the Nemean games. 



A little later, Galen,* 164 A. D., praises parsley as among the commonest of foods, 

 sweet and grateful to the stomach, and says that some eat it with smyrnium mixed with 

 the leaves of lettuce. Palladius,' about 210 A. D., mentions the method of procuring the 

 curled form from the common and says that old seed germinates more freely than fresh 

 seed. (This is a peculiarity of parsley seed at present and is directly the opposite to that 

 of celery seed.) Apicius,* 230 A. D., a writer on cookery, makes use of the apium viride 

 and of the seed. In the thirteenth century, Albertus Magnus ' speaks of apium and 

 petroselinum as being kitchen-garden plants; he speaks of each as being an herb the first 

 year, a vegetable the second year of growth. He says apium has broader and larger leaves 

 than petroselinum and that petroselinum has leaves like the cicuta; and that the petrose- 

 linum is more of a medicine than a food. 



Booth'" states that parsley was introduced into England in 1548 from Sardinia. In 

 addition to its general use, in Cornwall where it is much esteemed, it is largely used in 



^U. S. D. A. Rpt. 407. 1870. (Endosmia gairdneri) 

 Brewer and Watson Bot. Cat. 1:259. 1880. 

 ' Theophrastus lib. 7, c. 4. 

 Columella lib. 11, c. 3. 

 ' Pliny lib. 19, c. 37, c. 46; lib. 2C, c. 44. 

 Galen Aliment, lib. 2, 154. 1547. 

 ' Palladius lib. 5, c. 3. 

 ' Apicius Opson. 1709. 

 ' Albertus Magnus Veg. Jessen Ed. 1867. 

 "> Booth. W. B. Treas. Bot. 1:79. 1870. 



