428 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



Pole Beans. 



(P. vulgaris Linn.) 



Pole beans are figured by Tragus,' 1552, who speaks of them as having lately come into 



Germany from Italy and calls them welsch, or foreign and enimierates the various colors 



as red, purplish-white, variegated, white, black and yellowish. Dodonaeus,'' 1566 and 



1616, figures the pole bean; as does Lobel,* 1576 and 1591; Clusius,^ 1601; and Castor 



Durante,' 1617. In 1597, Gerarde ' figures four varieties in England: the white, black, 



red and yellow. Barnaby Googe ' speaks of French beans, 1572, indicating by the name 



the sotirce from which they came. In 1683, Worlidge * names two sorts as grown in 



English gardens, and the same varieties are given by Mortimer,' 1708. In France, 1829, 



19 sorts are enumerated by Noisette;" and in 1883, Vilmorin " describes 38 varieties and 



names others. 



\ 

 Philljrrea latifolia Liim. Oleaceae. 



Mediterranean region. This species is cultivated in Sicily, Italy ^ and Spain '' for 



its olive-like frmt. 



Phalaris canariensis Linn. Gramineae. canary grass. 



Europe, north Africa and now naturalized in America. Canary grass is cultivated 

 for its seeds, which are fed to canary birds. In Italy, the seeds are grovmd into meal and 

 made into cakes and puddings, and, in the Canary Islands, they are used in the same 

 manner and also made into groats for porridge.'^ The common yield is from 30 to 34 

 bushels of seed per acre in England, but occasionally the yield is as much as 50 bushels. 

 The chaff is superior for horse food and the straw is very nutritious.'* Canary grass is 

 sparingly grown in some parts of the United States as a cultivated plant. 



Phlomis tuberosa Linn. Labiatae. 



Southern Europe, east and north Asia. Its roots are eaten cooked by the Kalmucks, 

 who call the plant bodmon sok.^^ 



' Tragus 5/j>p. 611. 1552. 

 ' Dodonaeus' f rmen<. 1566. 

 ' Lobel Obs. 511. 1576; Icon. 2:60. 1591. 

 Clusius Hist. 2:222. 1 60 1 . 

 ' Durante, C. Herb. 1617. 

 Gerarde, J. Herb. 10^8. 1597. 

 ''Card. Chron. 1181. 1864. 

 Worlidge, J. Syst. Hort. 197. 1683. 

 'Card. Chron. 1013. 1864. 

 ' Noisette Man. Jard. 361. 1829. 

 " Vilmorin Les Pis. Potag. 246. 1883. 



" Parsons, S. B. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 113. 1859. (Oka latijolia) 

 " Downing, A. J. Fr. Fr. Trs. Amer. 576. 1890. 

 " Johnson, C. P. Useful Pis. Ct. Brit. 280. 1862. 

 " Loudon, J. C. Enc. Agr. 832. 1866. 

 " Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 793. 1879. 



