398 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



and that the leaves are used in many places as a substitute for tea. Lightfoot * says in 

 ' some parts of Sweden the peasantry put the leaves into their ale to give it an intoxicating 

 quality and to prevent its turning sour. It is included among garden herbs by Burr.* 



Omithogalum pilosum Linn. f. Liliaceae. 



South Africa. The roots, according to Pallas, are eaten by the Greeks of the 

 Crimea. 



O. pyrenaicum Linn. Prussian asparagus, star-of-bethlehem. 



Evu-ope and adjoining Asia. In England, the young shoots of this plant * are used 

 as asparagus. 



O. umbellatum Linn, dove's dung, star-of-bethlehem. 



Northern Africa, Asia Minor and Europe. The bulbs, says Johnson,' are very nutri- 

 tious and form a palatable and wholesome food when boiled. In the East they are often 

 eaten and were probably the dove's dung mentioned in the Bible. 



Orontium aquaticum Linn. Aroideae. golden club. 



North America. The seeds of this species were gathered and dried by the Indians. 

 Repeated boilings were necessary to fit them for use, the product resembling peas.* The 

 root is acrid but is rendered edible by roasting.^ 



Orthanthera viminea Wight. Asclepiadeae. 



Northwest India. In India, the flower-buds, raw or cooked, according to Brandis,' 

 are eaten as a vegetable. 



Orthosiphon rubicundus Benth. Labiatae. 



East Indies and Biirma. The tubers are said to be eaten in Madagascar.* 



Oryza sativa Linn. Gramineae. rice. 



Tropical Asia. This important grain, which supplies food for a greater nimiber of 

 human beings than are fed on the produce of any other known plant, is supposed to be 

 of Asiatic origin, linger i" say it is indigenous to fiuther India and the Isle of Simda. 

 Barth " says it grows wild in central Africa, and recent travelers mention the plant as 

 growing wild in South America. Rice had been introduced into China 3000 years before 



Lightfoot, J. Fl. Scot. 317. 1789. 



Burr, F. Field, Card. Veg. 427. 1863. 



' Pallas, P. S. Trav. Russia 2:449. 1803. 



' Smith, A. Treas. Bot. 2:823. 1870. 



" Johnson, C. P. Useful Pis. Gt. Brit. 272. 1862. 



Kalm, P. Trav. No. Amer. I'.^Sg. 1772. 



' Porcher, F. P. Res. So. Fields, Forests 623. 1869. 



Brandis, D. Forest Fl. 335. 1874. 



Henfrey, A. Bot. ^27. 1870. (Ocimum sp.) 

 ' Unger, F. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 304. 1859. 

 " Barth, H. Trav. Disc. No., Cent. A jr. 2:345. 1857. 



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