STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 1 77 



Cladothrix lanuginosa Nutt. Amarantaceae. 



California and Mexico. According to Schott/ the Mexicans use a decoction of the 

 plant as a tea. 



Clausena excavata Burm. f. Rutaceae. whample. 



East India and Malay Archipelago. This shrub of China and the Moluccas is cul- 

 tivated in the West Indies. The fruit has a good deal the taste of the grape, accompanied 

 with a peculiar flavor, being very grateful to the palate.^ The fruit is borne in clusters, 

 resembling, when ripe, a diminutive lemon, about the size of an acorn. It contains three 

 large seeds which nearly fill the interior. The scanty pvilp has an anise-seed flavor.' 

 Williams * says in China it is pleasantly acid and held in esteem, as it also is in the Indian 

 archipelago. About two bushels are produced on a tree. 



Clavija sp. Myrsineae. 



A genus of South American shrubs or small trees. The fruits are fleshy and contain 

 nimierous seeds embedded in a piilp which is said to be eatable. They vary in size, but 

 are seldom larger than a pigeon's egg.' 



Claydonia rangiferina (Linn.) Web. Lichenes. reindeer moss. 



Northern regions. Reindeer moss is sometimes eaten by the people of Norway and 

 is crisp and agreeable. Reindeer moss, says Kalm,' grows plentifully in the woods around 

 Quebec. M. Gaulthier and several other gentlemen told him that the French, on their 

 long voyages through the woods, in pursuit of their fur trade with the Indians, some- 

 times boil this moss and drink the decoction for want of better food when their provisions 

 are exhausted. 



Claytonia caroliniana Michx. Portulaceae. 



Eastern United States. This plant has edible bulbs much prized by Indians.' 



C. exigua Torr. & Gray. 



California. The succulent leaves are in popular use as a potherb in California.* 



C. megarrhiza Parry. 



Western North America. This plant has a long, fleshy taproot but it is confined to 

 the summits of the Rocky Mountains and is seldom available.' 



C. perfoUata Donn. cuban spinach. 



North America. This species, according to Robinson,'" is cultivated in France as a 



' Toirey, J. U. S. Afex. Bound. Surv. 181. 1859. {Alternanthera lanuginosa) 

 Hooker, W.J. Journ. Bot. 7:1$$. 1855. (Cookia punctata) 

 ' Firminger, T. A. C. Card. Ind. 217. 1874. {Cookia punctata) 

 Williams, S. W. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 475. i860. 

 'Black, A. A. Treas. Bot. i:2g6. 1870. 



Kalm, P. T>av. No. Amer. 2:287,288. 1772. (Lichen rangiferinus) 

 ' Havard, V. Torr. Bot. Club Bui. 22: 107. 1895. 

 " Brewer and Watson Bot. Cal. 1:76. 1880. 

 'Havard, V. Torr. Bot. Club Bui. 22:107. 1895. 

 "> Robinson, W. Parks, Card. Paris 503. 1878. 



