STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 379 



duced into Benkoelen on the west coast of Sumatra, Malacca, Bengal, Singapore, Penang, 

 Brazil and the West Indies, but it is only in a very few localities that its cultivation has 

 been attended with success.' Nutmegs and mace are now brought into the market almost 

 entirely from the Banda Islands, the entire group occupying no more than 17.6 geographical 

 miles. The earliest accounts of the nutmeg are in the writings of the Arabian 

 physicians. They are known to have been at first imported overland into Europe 

 and are mentioned under the name of karua aromatika in the addition to Aetius, 

 also by Symeon Sethus.' The fruit is much like a peach, having a longitudinal groove on 

 one side, and bursts into two pieces when the enclosed seed, covered by the false aril or 

 arillode, which constitutes the substance known as mace, is exposed. The seed itself 

 has a thick, hard, outer shell, which may be removed when dry and which encloses the 

 nucleus of the seed, the nutmeg of commerce. 



Myrrhis odorata Scop. Umbelliferae. anise, myrrh, sweet chervil, sweet cicely. 

 South Europe and Asia Minor. This plant was formerly much cultivated in England 

 as a potherb but is now fallen into disuse. The leaves were eaten either boiled in soups 

 or stews, or used as a salad in a fresh state. The leaves and roots are still eaten in Germany 

 and the seed is used occasionally for flavoring. In Silesia, according to Bryant,' the roots 

 are eaten boiled and the green seeds are chopped up and mixed with salads to give them 

 an aromatic flavor.'* This aromatic herb can scarcely be considered as an inmate of 

 American gardens, although so recorded by Burr,^ 1863. In 1597, Gerarde,^ says the leaves 

 are " exceeding good, holsom, and pleasant among other sallade herbes, giving the taste 

 of Ainse unto the rest." In 1778, Mawe ' records that it is used rarely in England. Pliny * 

 seems to refer to its use in ancient Rome under the name anthriscus. It finds notice in 

 most of the early botanies. 



Myrsine capitellata Wall. Myrsineae. 



Tropical Asia. The small, round drupe is eaten, according to Brandis.' 



M. semiserrata Wall. 



Himalayan region. The pea-sized drupe, with a soft, fleshy exocarp, is eaten.*" 



Myrtus arayan H. B. & K. Myrtaceae. 



Peru. This species is cultivated for ornament and fruit. The fruit is of a rich, spicy, 

 subacid flavor." 



' Fluckiger and Hanbury Pharm. 451. 1879. 



' Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 603. 1879. {M. moschata) 



' Johnson, C. P. Usejul Ph. Gt. Brit. 121. 1862. 



* Ibid. 



' Burr, P. Field, Card. Feg. 399. 1863. 



Gerarde, J. Herb. 883, 1597. 



' Mawe and Abercrombie Univ. Card. Bot. 1778. 



' Pliny lib. 22, c. 38. 



Brandis, D. Forest Fl. 286. 1876. 

 "Brandis, D. Forest Fl. 285. 1876. 

 "Watson Proc. Amer. Acad. Sci. 412. 1887. 



