STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 327 



Laserpitiuni latifolium Linn. Umbelliferae. lasewort. 



Europe. The Romans, says Glasspole,' used the root of lasewort, with cumin, in 

 seasoning preserved artichoke. 



Latania commersonii J. F. Gmel. Palmae. 



Bourbon Island. The fruit is eaten by the negroes, says Seemann,* but that argues 

 little for their taste, as it has a rather disagreeable flavor. 



Lathyrus aphaca Linn. Leguminosae. yellow-flowered pea. 



Europe and the Orient. The seeds, according to Lindley,' are served sometimes at 

 table while young and tender but if eaten abundantly in the ripe state are narcotic, pro- 

 ducing severe headache. 



L. cicera Linn, lesser chick-pea. vetch. 



Europe and the Orient. This species is an annual with red flowers, occasionally grown 

 in the south of Europe for its peas, but these are of inferior quality and are said sometimes 

 to be very unwholesome.^ Vetches were carried to the West Indies by Columbus, says 

 Pickering,* but their cultivation at the present day seems unknown in America. . 



L. magellanicus Lam. cape horn pea. 



Magellan region. The Cape Horn pea was eaten by the sailors of Lord Anson in 

 default of better vegetables but is inferior to the worst sort of cultivated pea.* 



L. maritimus Bigel. heath pea. seaside pea. 



North America and Europe. The seeds are very bitter. In 1555, the people of a 

 portion of Suffolk County, England, suffering from famine, supported themselves to a great 

 extent by the seeds of this plant.' 



L. montanus Bernh. bitter vetch, heath pea. mountain pea. 



Europe and northern Asia. Bitter vetch is a native of Europe and the adjoining 

 portion of Asia and has been cultivated on a small scale in kitchen gardens in Britain. 

 The Highlanders of Scotland have great esteem for the tubercles of the roots; they dry 

 and chew them to give a better relish to their whiskey. In some parts of Scotland a spirit 

 is extracted from them. The tubers are sweet in taste and very nutritious and are some- 

 times boiled and eaten. In Holland and Flanders, the peas are roasted and served as 

 chestnuts.* According to Sprengel,' the peas are eaten in Sweden and form an article 

 of commerce. In England, the plant is called heath pea." 



' Glasspoole, H. G. Ohio Slate Bd. Agr. Rpt. 30:533. 1875. 

 Seemann, B. Pop. Hist, of Palms 229. 1856. 

 ' Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 826. 1879. 



* Treas. Bot. 2:662. 1870. 



' Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 220. 1879. 



Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Pis. 2:331. 1832. {Pisum americanum) 



' Johnson, C. P. Useful Pis. Gt. Brit. 82. 1862. {Pisum maritimum) 

 Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Pis. 2:340. 1832. {Qrobus tuberosus) 

 Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 435. 1879. (Qrobus tuberosus) 

 " Ibid. 



