STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 237 



Dialium guineese Willd. L^guminosae. vtelvet tamarind. 



Tropical Africa. The pod, about the size and form of a filbert, is covered with a black, 

 velvety down, while the farinaceous pulp, which sturounds the seeds, has an agreeably- 

 acid taste and is commonly eaten. ' 



D. indum Linn, tamarind plum. 



Java. The plant has a delicious pulp, resembling that of the tamarind but not quite 

 so acid.^ 



D. ovoideum Thw. 



Ceylon. The fruits are sold in the bazaars. They have an agreeable, acid flavor.' 



Dicypellium caryophyllatum Nees. Laurineae. 



Tropical America. The bark furnishes clove cassia.'' It is called by French colonists 

 bois de rose; in Carib, licari kanaliJ" 



Diefifenbachia seguine Schott. Aroideae. dumb cane. 



Tropical America. A wholesome starch is prepared from the stem, although the 

 juice of the plant is so excessively acrid as to cause the mouth of any one biting it f o swell 

 and thus to prevent articulation for several days.' 



Digera arvensis Forsk. Amarantaceae. 



Asia and tropical Africa. A very common, procumbent shrub of India, frequent 

 in cultivated ground. The leaves and tender tops are used by the natives in their curries.' 



Dillenia indica Linn. Dilleniaceae. 



Tropical Asia. The subacid, mucilaginous fruit, the size of an orange, is eaten in the 

 Eastern Archipelago. The fleshy leaves of the calyx v/hich surrounds the ripe fruit have 

 an agreeable, acid taste and are eaten raw or cooked, or made into sherbets, or serve 

 for jellies in India. They are commonly used in curries. The large amount of fiber they 

 contain is objectionable. This is the chulta of India. ^ In the Philippines, the juice of 

 the fruit serves as vinegar. 



D. pentagyna Roxb. 



East Indies. The flower-buds and young fruits have a pleasant, acid flavor and are 

 eaten raw or cooked in Oudh and central India. The ripe fruits are also eaten. 



D. scabrella Roxb. sandpaper tree. 



Himalayan region. The fleshy leaves of the calyx have a pleasantly acid taste and 



' Black, A. A. Treas. Bot. 1:397. 1870. {D. aculifolium) 

 Ibid. 



Ibid. 



Masters, M. T. Treai. So/. 1:405. 1870. 



' Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 674. 1879. 



Smith, A. Treas. Bot. 1:406. 1870. 



' Wight, R. /con. P/i. 2:732. 1843. (Desmochaeta muricata) 



' Firminger, T. A. C. Card. Ind. 211. 1874. (Q.speciosa) 



