358 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



M. platycarpa Trautv. 



Siberia. The plant furnishes a food.* 



M. sativa Linn, alfalfa, lucerne. 



Europe and the Orient. The leaves are eaten by the Chinese as a vegetable.* 



M. scutellata Mill, snails. 



Mediterranean region. This plant is not edible but, like the caterpillar-plant, is 

 grown on account of the singular shape of its seed-vessels. It was in Belgian and German 

 gardens preceding 1616 * and in American gardens in 1863 or before.* 



Melia azadirachta Linn. Meliaceae. bean tree, china tree, false sycamore. 



PRIDE OF INDIA. 



East Indies. A kind of toddy is obtained by tapping the tree, and from the fruit 

 a medicinal oil, known as bitter oil or taipoo oil, is made. 



M. azedarach Linn, syrian bead tree. 



A tree of Syria, the north of India and subtropical Japan and China. It is cultivated 

 for ornament in different parts of the world. In southern France and Spain, it is planted 

 in avenues. In our southern states, it adorns the streets of cities and has even become 

 naturalized. The fruit is a round drupe, about as large as a cherry and yellowish when 

 ripe, is sweetish, and, though said by some to be poisonous, is eaten by children.' In 

 India, from incisions in the trunk near the base made in spring, a sap issues which is used 

 as a cooling drink.' From the fruit, a bitter oil is extracted, called kohombe oD, and is 

 used medicinally. The bitter leaves are used as a potherb in India, being made into soup, 

 or curry, with other vegetables.^ 



Mellanthus major Linn. Sapindaceae. honey-flower. 



Cape of Good Hope. The flowers are of a dark brown color, in long, erect racemes 

 a foot or more in length, containing a large quantity of honey, which is collected by the 

 natives.' It is grown in French flower gardens.' 



Melicocca bijuga Linn. Sapindaceae. genip honey-berry. 



Tropical America. The pulp of the fruit, says Mueller,'" tastes like grapes, and the 

 seeds can be used like sweet chestnuts. Lunan " says the tree was introduced into Jamaica 

 from Surinam. The seed rarely more than one is covered with a deliciously sweet- 



' Unger, F. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 357. 1859. {Trigonelia platycarpus) 



^Bretschneider, E. Bot. Sin. 53. 1882. 



' Dodonaeus Pempt. 575. 1616. 



< Burr, F. Field, Card. Veg. 398. 1863. 



^U. S. Disp. 153. 1865. 



Brandis, D. Forest Fl. 67. 1874. 



' Dutt, U. C. Mat. Med. Hindus 136. 1877. 



'Smith, J. Dom. Bot. 455. 1871. 



Vilmorin Fl. PL Ter. 690. 1870. 3rd Ed. 



'"Mueller, F. Sel. Pis. 276. 1891. 



"Lunan, J. Hort. Jam. 1:318. 1814. 



