154 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



Catha edulis Forsk. Celastrineae. Arabian tea. kat. 



A shrub of tropical Africa. The leaves are used by the Arabs in the preparation of 

 a beverage possessing properties analogous to those of tea and coffee. Large quantities 

 of twigs with the leaves attached are annually brought to Aden from the interior. The 

 shrub is called by the natives cafta.^ Prior to the introduction of coffee, says Pickering,' 

 the use of kat was estabhshed in Yemen by Ali Schadheli ben Omar. Various virtues 

 are attributed to the leaves which are eaten with avidity by the Arabs. 



Caucalis anthriscus Huds. Umbelliferae. hedge parsley. 



Europe. Wilkinson ' says this is the anthriscum of Pliny, now called in Arabic gezzer 

 e'shaytan, and that it is esculent. 



C. daucoides Linn, bastard parsley, bud parsley, hen's foot. 



Europe and temperate Asia. Gerarde * calls this plant bastard parsley and hen's 

 foot. It is the sesslis of the Egyptians. It was called a potherb by Dioscorides and Pliny, 

 and Galen says it is pickled for salads in winter. 



Caulanthus crassicaulis S. Wats. Cruciferae. wild cabbage. 



Western regions of America. It is sometimes used as a food, says Rothrock,^ when 

 a better substitute cannot be fovmd. 



Cavendishia sp. ? Vacciniaceae. 



Frigid regions of the Andes of Peru. This is a tall, evergreen shrub with pink, edible 

 berries the size of a cherry.* 



Ceanothus americanus Linn. Rhamneae. mountain sweet, new jersey tea. wild 

 snowball. 

 North America. The leaves were used as a substitute for tea during the American 

 Revolution.'' 



Cecropia peltata Linn. Urticaceae. indian snakewood. trumpet tree. 

 American tropics. The yoimg buds are eaten as a potherb.* 



Cedrela odorata Linn. Meliaceae. barbadoes cedar, cigar-box wood. 



South America. Smith * says, in China the leaves of this tree are eaten in the spring 

 when quite tender. 



'Smith, A. Treas. Bot. 1:239. 1870. 



Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 811. 1879. {Celastrus edulis) 



Wilkinson, J. G. Anc. Egypt. 2:33. 1854. 



* Gerarde, J. Herb. 1023. 1633 or 1636. and Ed. 



Rothrock, J. T. U. S. Geog. Surv. Bot. 6:41. 1878. 



Mueller, F. Sel. Pis. \<)8. 1891. {Vacciniumalatum) 



'Gray, A. Man. Bot. 115. 5th Ed. 



Smith, A. Treas. Bot. 1:2^. 1870. 



Smith, F. P. Contrib. Mat. Med. China 56. 1871. 



