STURTEVANT S NOTES ON EDIBLE PLANTS 583 



Ullucus tuberosus Caldas. Chenopodiaceae. melloco. ulluco. 



Andes of Bolivia, Peru and New Granada. The iilluco, or rnelloco, is a juicy plant 

 with a creeping stem, the sprouts of which swell at the tips into tubers from the size of 

 a hazelnut to that of a pigeon's egg, like the sweet potato.^ In Peru, it is called oca quina 

 and Hemdon ^ says is more glutinous than the oca and not as pleasant to the taste. The 

 plant is extensively ctiltivated and, from the tubers by alternately freezing and steeping, 

 a starchy substance is obtained, which is called by the Indians chuna and is relished. When 

 the failure of the potato crop was dreaded in England, this plant was one of the substitutes 

 proposed, but the tubers were not considered sufficiently agreeable to the British palate. 

 Ulluco was introduced into France in 1848, but trial showed its unfitness for that climate.' 



Ulmus campestris Linn. Urticaceae. English elm. 



Etu-ope and the Orient. The English elm was early introduced into Boston and is 

 now grown here and there as a shade tree. In Norway, the inhabitants kiln-dry the 

 bark and in time of scarcity grind it into a meal to be mixed with flour for bread. The 

 fruit, in a green state, according to Browne, '' is sometimes eaten as a salad. Some years 

 ago, in England, says Johnson,^ an immense quantity of dried elm leaves were used for 

 adulterating tea and for manufactvuing a substance intended to be used as a suljstitute 

 for it. In Russia, the leaves of a variety are used as tea.* In times of great scarcity, 

 the ground bark, the leaves and the membranous fruit are all eaten as food in China.' 



U. fulva Michx. red elm. slippery elm. 



New England to Wisconsin and Kentucky. Flour prepared from the bark by drying 

 and grinding, mixed with milk, like arrowroot, is said by Emerson * to be a wholesome 

 and nutritious food for infants and invalids. 



Umbellularia califomica Nutt. Laurineae. balm of heaven, cajeput tree, cali- 



FORNIAN OLIVE. MOUNTAIN LAUREL. SASSAFRAS LAUREL. SPICE BUSH. 



Northwestern America. The foliage, when bruised, gives out a camphor-like scent. 

 Hunters often, according to Douglas,' make use of a decoction of the leaves, which stimu- 

 lates the system and produces a glow of warmth. The Spanish-Americans use the leaves 

 as a condiment.'" 



Uncaria gambler Roxb. Rubiaceae. gambir. 



Malacca, Sumatra, Cochin China and other parts of eastern Asia; largely cultivated 

 in the Islands of Bintang, Singapore and Prince of Wales. Gambir is prepared by boiling 



' Unger, F. U.S. Pat. Of. Rpt. 311. 1859. 



'Hemdon, W. L., and Gibbon, L. Explor. Vail. Amaz. 1:48. 1854. 

 Bon Sard. 649. 1882. 

 Browne, D. J. Trees Amer. 4g7. 1846. 

 Johnson, C. P. Useful Pis. Gt. Brit. 236. 1862. 

 'Browne, D. J. Trees Amer. 497. 1846. 

 ' Smith, F. P. Contrib. Mat. Med. China 92. 1871. 

 Emerson, G. B. Trees, Shrubs Mass. 2:335. 1875. 

 Hooker, W.J. Fl. Bar. Amer. 2:137. 1840. (Tetranthera californica) 

 '"Smith, A. Treas. Bot. 2:i2i. 1870. (Oreodaphne californica) 



