38o sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



M. communis Linn, myrtle. 



Southern Europe and the Orient. In Greece, myrtle was sacred to Venus and was 

 a coronary plant. Its fruit is eaten by the modem, as it was by the ancient, Athenians.* 

 The dried fruit and flower-buds, -says Lindley,* were formerly used as a spice and are said 

 still to be so used in Tuscany. 



M. molinae Bam. 



Chile, where it is called tetno. Its seeds, Molina ' says, may be used for coffee. 

 M. nununularia Poir. cranberry-myrtle. 



Chile to Fuego and the Falkland Islands. Hooker * describes the berries as fleshy, 

 sweet and of agreeable flavor. 



M. ugni Mohna. Chilean guava. 



Chile. Don ' says the fmit is red and musky. The natives express the juice and mix 

 it with water to form a refreshing drink. Mufeller * says it bears small but pleasantly aro- 

 matic berries. The fruit is said to be agreeably flavored and aromatic It fruits abund- 

 antly in the greenhouses of England, but its flavor does not recommend it as a table fmit.^ 



Nandina domestica Thunb. Berberideae. sacred bamboo. 



An evergreen shrub of China and Japan. This species is extensively cultivated for 

 its fruits, which are red berries of the size of a pea.' 



Nannorrhops ritchieana H. Wendl. Palmae. 



Baluchistan and Afghanistan. The leaf-bud, or cabbage, and the young inflorescence, 

 as well as the flesh of the fruit, is commonly eaten.' 



Napoleona imperialis Beauv. Myrtaceae. 



Western tropical Africa. Henfrey "says this plant bears a large fmit with an edible 

 pulp and a rind containing much tannin. 



Narcissus sp. ? Amaryllideae. narcissus. 



On the upper Nile, Grant " found a narcissus about eight inches high, with white 

 flowers having a waxy, yellow corona and with leaves tasting of onions. The leaves, 

 cooked with mashed ground-nuts, he says, make a deHcious spinach. 



Nasturtium amphibitun R. Br. Cruciferae. water cress. 



North temperate regions. Merat says the " young leaves are eatable in the spring." 



' Hooker, W. J. Journ. Bot. 1:1 iS. 1834. 



'Lindley.J. Veg. King. 737. 1853. 



'Molina Hisl. Chili 1:123. 1808. (Temus moschata) 



'Mueller, F. Sel. Pis. 291. 1891. 



'Don, G. Hisl. Dichl. Pis. 2:835. 1832. 



Mueller, F. Sel. Pis. 291. 1891. 



'Smith, J. Dom. Bot. 371. 1871. 



Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Pis. 1:118. 1 83 1 . 



Seemann, B. Pop. Hist. Palms 14.5. 1856. (Chamaerops rilchiana) 

 "Henfrey, A. Bot. 266. 1870. 

 " Speke, J. H. Journ. Disc. Source Nile 583. 1864. 



