354 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



staple food. In Burma, the root is boiled and eaten. In the Philippines, manioc is 

 cultivated in many varieties. In 1847, a few dozen plants were introduced to this 

 country and distributed from New York City, and in 1870 some were growing in con- 

 servatories in Washington. The first mention of cassava is by Peter Martyr ' who 

 says " iucca is a roote, whereof the best and most delicate bread is made, both in the 

 firme land of these regions and also in Ilandes." In 1497, Americus Vespucius, speak- 

 ing of the Indians of South America, says, " their most common food is a certain root 

 which they grind into a kind of flour of no unpalatable taste and this root is by some 

 of them called jucha, by others chambi, and by others igname." 



Maranta arundinacea Linn. Scitamineae. arrowroot. 



South America. This is the true arrowroot plant of the West Indies, Florida, Mexico 

 and Brazil.' It furnishes Cape Colony and Natal arrowroot and Queensland arrowroot 

 in part. It is also ciiltivated in India, where it was introduced about 1840.' In 1849, 

 arrowroot was grown on an experimental scale in Mississippi, and in 1858 it was grown as 

 a staple crop at St. Marys, Georgia. The plant is stated to have been carried from the 

 island of Dominica to Barbados and thence to Jamaica.'' The starch made from the 

 root is mentioned by Hughes,' 1751, and the mode of preparing it is described by Browne," 

 1789. The Bermuda arrowroot is now most esteemed but it is cultivated in the East 

 Indies, Sierra Leone and South Africa as well. Wilkes ' found the natives of Fiji making 

 use of arrowroot from the wild plant. 



Marathrum foeniculaceum Humb. & Bonpl. Podostemaceae. 



Mexico and New Granada. This plant resembles seaweed and grows in the rivers 

 of Veraguas. Its young leaf-stalks, when boiled, have a delicate flavor not unlike that 

 of French beans.* 



Marattia alata Sw. Marattiaceae. 



The fleshy caudex of this fern is used in the Sandwich Islands as food, when better 

 food is scarce. 



M. attenuata Lab. 



In the Fiji Islands, the fronds are used as a potherb; they are very tender and taste 

 not unlike spinach. In New Zealand, the soft part of the stem is eaten. 



Margyricarpus setosus Ruiz et Pav. Rosaceae. pearl berry. 



A native of Brazil, says Loudon,' on arid hills. It bears pearl-like fruit, resembling 

 that of the mistletoe but differing from it in having a grateful and acid taste. 



Gray, A. Amer. Journ. Sci. 249. 1883. 



'MueUer, P. Sel. Pis. 270. 1891. 



Simmonds, P. L. Trap. Agr. 345. 1889. 



* Fluckiger and Hanbury Pharm. 629. 1879. 

 Ibid. 



Ibid. 



' Wilkes, C. U. S. Explor. Exped. 3:337- i845- 



*Gard. Chron. 548. 1852. 



Loudon, J. C. Arb. Frui. Brit. 2:924. 844- 



