sturtevant's notes on edible plants 395 



Onopordon acanthiiun Linn. - Compositae. cotton thistle. 



Europe, north Africa, the Orient and naturalized in eastern North America. The 

 receptacles of the flowers, says Lightfoot,' and the tender stalks, peeled and boiled, may 

 be eaten in the same manner as artichokes and cardoons. Johnson ^ says an oil expressed 

 from the seeds has been used for ctolinary purposes. 



Opuntia camanchica Engelm. & Bigel. Cacteae. bastard fig. 



Americfc Southwest. The fruit is much eaten by the Indians, and the leaves are 

 roasted.' It has vary sweet, juicy pulp.'' 



O. engelmanni Salm-Dyck. Indian fig. 



American Southwest. The fruit is palatable and the leaves are roasted by the 

 Indians.' The large, yellowish or purple fruit is of a pleasant taste and is much relished 

 by the inhabitants of California.^ 



O. rafinesquii Engelm. prickly pear. 



Mississippi Valley, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas and north to Wisconsin, east to Ken- 

 tucky and south to Louisiana and Texas. The fruit is one and one-half to two" inches 

 long, less than half that in diameter, naked by the disappearance of the bristles, and edible, 

 somewhat acid or sweetish.' The leaves are roasted and eaten by the Indians, as is also 

 the fruit. * 



O. tuna Mill, indian fig. tuna. 



Southern CaHfomia, Mexico, New Granada, Eciiador and the West Indies. The 

 tuna is cultivated in the Los Angeles Valley, California, for its fruit and forms hedges 

 15 or 20 feet high. The Indians and Mexicans are very fond of the fruit, which serves 

 them for food during its season.' The fruit of the tuna, which grew wild, says Prescott,'" 

 had to satisfy at times the cravings of appetite of the Spaniards under Cortez in their 

 march upon Mexico in 15 19. On the lava slopes of Mt. Etna, the fruit, according to 

 J. Smith," is collected and sold in the markets, forming an extensive article of food. 



O. vulgaris Mill, barberry fig. prickly pear. 



Central America, northward to Georgia, southward to Peru and introduced into 

 southern Evirope where it has been cultivated for a considerable period. About the close 

 of the last century, the fleet of Admiral Collingwood took a stock of the leaves of this 

 plant, salted, among their provisions from Malta. In Sicily, this cactus flourishes on the 



Lightfoot, J. f/. 5co(. 1:459. 1789. 



Johnson, C. P. Usejul Pis. Gl. Brit. 150. 1862. 



' U. S. D. A. Rpi. 417. 1870. 



Engelmann and Bigelow Pacific R. R. Rpt. 4:40. 1856. 

 *U. S. D. A. Rp'. 417. 1870. 



Engelmann and Bigelow Pacific R. R. Rpt. 4:38. 1856. 

 ' Engelmann and Bigelow Pacific R. R. Rpt. 4:41. 1856. 

 U. S. D. A. Rpt. 417. 1870. 



Bigelow, J. N. Pacific R. R. Rpt. 4: 16. 1856. 

 >" Prescott, W. H. Conq. Mex. 1:424. 1843. 

 "Smith, J. Diet. Econ. Ph. 219. 1882. 



