sturtevant's notes on edible plants 383 



Nepenthes distillatoria Linn. Nepenthaceae. pitcher plant. 



Ceylon. This plant has been introduced into India and is now common in some of 

 the mission gardens and is grown in conservatories in Europe and America. The leaves 

 are broad, oblong, smooth, with a very strong nerve running through the middle, ending 

 in a long tendril, generally twisted, to which hangs a long receptacle or bag, which, on 

 being pressed, yields a sweet, limpid, pleasant, refreshing liquor in such quantity that 

 the contents of six or eight of them are sufficient to quench the thirst of a man.' 



Nepeta cataria Linn. Labiatae. catnip. 



Europe, Orient and the Himalayas. Catnip holds a place as a condiment.'' In 1726, 

 Townsend ' says it is used by some in England to give a high relish in sauces. It is 

 mentioned among the plants of Virginia by Gronovius,^ as collected by Clayton preceding 



1739- 



N. glechoma Benth. alehoof. ground ivy. nepeta. 



Europe and naturalized in northeastern North America. The leaves are in great 

 repute among the poor in England as a tea ' and in ancient times were used for flavoring ale. 



Nephelium lappaceum Linn. Sapindaceae. rambutan. rampostan. 



Malay Archipelago, where it is found in the greatest abundance but does not appear 

 to be cultivated. This tree yields the well-known and favorite rambutan fruit which in 

 appearance very much resembles a chestnut with the husk on and, like the chestnut, is 

 covered with small points which are soft and of a deep red color. Under this skin is the 

 fruit, and within the fruit a stone; the eatable part thereof is small in quantity, but it 

 perhaps is more agreeable than any other in the whole vegetable kingdom. 



N. litchi Cambess. lichi. 



China, Cambodia and the Philippines. This tree furnishes one of the most common 

 fruits of China. The Chinese recognize some 15 or 20 varieties, but Williams ' says there 

 are only two or three which are distinctly marked. It has been cultivated for ages in 

 that country and furnishes a large amount of food to the people, a single tree often pro- 

 ducing four bushels of fruit. It is now cultivated in Bengal and the West Indies. In 

 Trinidad, says Prestoe,' the fruit is of the consistence and flavor of a high class Muscat 

 grape and is invariably relished as delicious by all. The most common variety, says 

 A. Smith,' is nearly round, about an inch and a half in diameter, with a thin, brittle shell 

 of red color covered all over with rough, wartlike protuberances; others are larger and heart- 

 shaped. When fresh, they are filled with a white, almost transparent, sweet, jelly-like pulp, 



' Ainslie, W. Mat. Ind. 2:93. 1826. 

 ^VOmoTin Les Pis. Potag. 354. 1883. 

 Townsend Seedsman 36. 1 726. 



Gronovius F/. Virg. 8g. 1762. 



Lindley, J. Med. Econ. Bot. 221. 1849. 



Williams, S. W. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 1:450. 1850. (Dimocarpus litchi) 

 ' Prestoe Rpt. Bot. Card. Trinidad 28. 1880. Printed in 1 881. 



Smith, A. Treas. Bot. 2:784. 1870. 



