STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 1 95 



Costus speciosus Sm. Scitamineae. wild ginger. 



East Indies and Malay. Ainslie ' says the natives of India preserve the root and 

 deem it very wholesome. Lunan^ says the roots of wild ginger are sometimes used as 

 ginger but are not as good. Browne ' says this species is found everywhere in the woods 

 of Jamaica. 



Cotyledon edulis Brewer. Crassulaceae. 



California. The young leaves are eaten by the Indians.* 



C. spinosa Linn. 



North America. The leaves are agreeably acid and are eaten.' 



C. umbilicus Linn, navelwort. 



Europe and the adjoining portions of Asia. This plant is classed by Loudon as a 

 spinach. 



Couepia chrysocalyx Benth. Rosaceae. 



Brazil. This beautiftil tree is said by Mr. Spruce * to grow plentifully a.long the 

 Amazon River from the Barra upward. The Indians plant it near their houses for the 

 sake of its edible fruits. 



C. guianensis Aubl. 



Guiana. The seed is edible. The fruit contains a sweet oil like that of the almond." 



Couma utilis Muell. Apocynaceae. 



Brazil. This species bears a fruit known as couma which is said by Bates to be 

 delicious. The fruit is a berry containing several seeds embedded in a pulp. 



Couroupita guianensis Aubl. Myrtaceae. cannon-ball tree. 



Guiana and Cayenne. The pulp of the fruit is vinous, white, acid and not 

 disagreeable.* 



Crambe cordifolia Stev. Cruciferae. colewort. 



Persia and the Caucasus to Thibet and the Himalayas. The root and foliage afford 

 an esculent.' 



C. maritima Linn, sea kale, scurvy grass. 



This plant is found growing upon the sandy shores of the North Sea, the Atlantic 

 Ocean and of the Mediterranean Sea. It appears to have been known to the Romans, 



' Ainslie, W. Mat. Ind. 2:165. 1826. 



Lunan, J. Hort. Jam. 2:281. 1814. 



Ainslie, W. Mat. Ind. 2: i6t. 1826. 



* Brewer and Watson Bot. CaL 1:211. 1880. 



' Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 812. 1879. (Sedum spinosum) 



Black, A. A. Treas. Bot. 1:341. 1870. 



' Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Pis. 2:^-j?,. 1832. {Acioa guianensis) 



Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Pis. 2:875. 1832. 



MueUer, F. Sel. Pis. 131. 1891. 



