STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 567 



T. litoralis Seem. 



Fiji Islands. The seeds are sometimes eaten by children in Viti.' 



T. mauritiana Lam. false benzoin. 



Mauritius and Bourbon. The kernels of the fruit are eaten.' 



T. pamea DC. 



Guiana. The tree is cultivated on the Isle of France and elsewhere. The almond- 

 like kemelsare good to eat and are served on the better tables of the country.' 



T. platyphylla F. Muell. 



Australia. The fruit is oblong, pointed, blue when ripe, and is eaten raw.* 



Testudinaria elephantipes Salisb. Dioscoreaceae. elephant's foot, hottentot bread. 

 South Africa. This plant bears a bulb entirely above ground, which grows to an 

 enormous size, frequently three feet in height and diameter. It is closely studded with 

 angular, ligneous protuberances, which give it some resemblance to the shell of a tortoise. 

 The inside is a fleshy substance, which may be compared to a turnip, both in substance 

 and color. The taste is thought to resemble that of the yam of the East Indies. 



Tetracera alnifolia Willd. Dilleniaceae. water tree. 



Tropical Africa. The climbing stems of this tree jdeld a good supply of clear water 

 when cut across.' 



Tetragonia expansa Murr. Ficoideae. new Zealand spinach. 



New Zealand and Australia. This plant was first foimd by Sir Joseph Banks, in 

 1770, at Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, and its merits were discovered by the 

 sailors of Captain Cook's expedition around the world. It reached Kew Gardens in 1772.^ 

 This spinach also occurs in Australia, both on the coast and in the desert interior, in New 

 Caledonia, China, Japan and Chile.' Don ' says three varieties are found in Chile: one 

 with smooth leaves, one with leaves hoary beneath and a third small and glabrous. The 

 plant was cultivated as a spinach plant in England in 1821 or earlier.' It was in use in 

 France in 1824 or earlier.'" In the United States, its seed was distributed among mem- 

 bers of the New York Horticviltural Society in 1827 and in 1828 it appeared in seed cata- 

 logs." St. Hilaire '^ records its use as a spinach in south Brazil, and Bojer '' records it 



' Seemann, B. Fl. Vili. 94. 1865-1873. 



Unger, F. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 323. 1859. 

 Aublet /fiii. P/i. Gtttane 2:949. 1775. 



* Palmer, E. Journ. Roy. Soc. New So. Wales 17: 104. 1884. 

 'Smith, A. Treai. Bo/. 2:1134. 1870. (T. potatoria) 

 Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Ph. 3:152. 1834. 



'Mueller, F. Set. Pis. 237. 1876. 



Don, G. Hist. Dichl. Pis. 3:152. 1834. 



Ibid. 



' PiroUe L'Hort. Franc. 256. 1824-25. 



" Thorburn Cat. 88. 1828. 



" Saint Hilaire, A. Fl. Bras. Merid. 1824. 



" Bojer, W. Hort. Maurit. 155. 1837. 



