STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 53 1 



S. rupestre Linn, stone crop. 



Europe and adjoining Asia. The Dutch cultivated this species to mix with their 

 salads.' Gerarde ^ mentions its use as a salad under the name of small summer sengreene 

 and says it has a fine relish. 



S. telephium Linn, orpine. 



Europe and northern Asia. This plant is used in preparation of soups as a vegetable.' 



Semecarpus anacardium Linn. f. Anacardiaceae. marking-nut tree, varnish tree. 

 Asia and Australian tropics. The ripe fnait is collected. Fresh, it is acrid and 

 astringent; roasted, it is said to taste somewhat like roasted apples; and when dry some- 

 what like dates.* 



S. cassuvium Roxb. 



Bvirma and Malay. The fruit has a fleshy, edible peduncle.' 



S. forstenii Blume. 



Moluccas. The fruit has a fleshy, edible pedvmcle.^ 



Senebiera coronopus Poir. Crucijerae. swine cress, wart cress. 



Cosmopolitan. The whole herb is nauseously acrid and fetid and requires much 

 boiling to render it eatable.^ 



S. nilotica DC. 



Egypt. The cress is eaten as a salad in Egypt.* 



Senecio cacaliaster Lam. Compositae. 



In Thibet, this plant serves for the manufacture of chong, a spirituous and slightly 

 acid liquor.' 



S. ficoides Sch. 



South Africa. The leaves are wholesome.'" 



Sesamum indicum Linn. Pedalineae. sesame. 



Tropics; cultivated from time immemorial in various parts of Asia and Africa. The 

 seeds are largely consumed as food in India and tropical Africa, but their use in European 

 countries is mainly for the expression of oil. In Sicily, the seeds are eaten scattered on 

 bread, an ancient custom mentioned by Dioscorides." In central Africa, sesame is culti- 



' Phillips, H. Comp. KiUh. Card. 1:268. 1831. 

 Gerarde, J. Herb, and Ed. 515. 1633 or 1636. 

 'Baillon, H. Hist. Ph. y.T,i&. 1874. Note. 



* Brandis, D. Forest Fl. 125. 1874. 



' Baillon, H. Hist. Ph. 5:305. 1878. 



Ibid. 



' Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Ph. 1:216. 1831. 



Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Ph. 1:217. 1831. 



' Loudon, J. C. Enc. Agr. 163. 1866. {Cacalia sarracenica) 

 ' Dickie, G. D. Treai. 5o(. 1:187. 1870. {Cacalia ficoides) 

 " Hooker, W. J. Journ. Bot. 1:1^5. 1834. 



