472 sturtevant's notes on edible plants 



There are many varieties, some with sour, others with subacid, others with sweet 

 fruit. These are generally described as about the size of the fist, with a tough, leathery 

 rind of a beautiful, deep golden color tinged with red and are crowned with the remaim of 

 the calyx lobes. The wild fruit is brought down to India from the Hill Regions for sale,' 

 but the best fruit, that having sweet juice and very small seeds, comes from Kabul.* 

 Burton* describes in Arabia three kinds: Shami, red outside, and very sweet than 

 which he never saw a finer fruit in the East, except at Mecca it was almost stoneless, 

 deliciously perfimied and as large as an infant's head; Turki, large, and of a white color; 

 Misri, with a greenish rind and a somewhat subacid and harsh flavor. 



Pyrularia edulis A. DC. Santalaceae. 



Himalayan region. This is a large tree whose drupaceous fruit is used for food." 

 The fruit is eaten by the natives.' 



P. pubera Michx. buffalo-nut. oil-nut. 



Pennsylvania to Georgia. The plant yields an edible fruit, according to Unger.^ 



Pyrus angustifolia Ait. Rosaceae. American crab. 



North America. This species differs little from the P. coronaria of which it may* 

 be a variety. Its range is not well known but it occurs in Virginia, Kansas and the western 

 states.' It is good for preserves and sauces.' 



P. arbutifolia Linn. f. chokeberry. 



Northeast America. Josselyn '" mentions its fruit as " of a delicate, aromatic taste 

 but somewhat stiptick." The fruit is well known for its puckery quality, but occasionally 

 a variety is found which is rather pleasant tasting and is eaten by children. 



P. aria Ehrh. chess apple, white beam tree. 



Europe and northern Asia. The berries of this species occur in the debris of the 

 lake settlements of Switzerland." Johnson '^ says the fruit is edible when mellowed by 

 frost and that, fermented and distilled, it yields a good spirit. Dried and formed into 

 a bread, it has been eaten in France and Sweden in time of scarcity." In India, the fruit 

 is eaten when half rotten.'* 



' Smith, A. Treas. Bot. 2:<)^i. 1870. 

 'Royle, J. F. Illustr. Bot. Himal. 1:206. 1839. 

 Dutt, U. C. Mat. Med. Hindus 166. 1877. 

 * Burton, R. F. PUgr. Medina, Meccak 249. 1856. 

 'Mueller, F. Sel. Ph. 396. 1891. 



' Dickie, G. D. Preas. Bot. 2:1080. 1870. (Sphaerocarya edulis) 

 'Unger, F. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 321. 1859. (Hamiltonia oleijera) 

 Vasey Amer. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 56. 1877. 

 Hunt U. S. D. A. Spec. Rpt. 3:62. 1883. 

 "> Josselyn, J. Foy. 59. 1865. Reprint. 

 " Pickering, C. Chron. Hist. Pis. 285. 1879. 

 " Johnson, C. P. Useful Pis. Gt. Brit. 103. 1862. 

 " Loudon, J. C. Arb. Frut. Brit. 2:gii. 1844. 

 "Brandis, D. Forest PL 206. 1870. 



