444 Notice respecting several Vegetables used as Esculents 



plants, not yet cultivated in Europe, which my long resi- 

 dence in North America suggests to my recollection. You 

 may present it to the Society if you judge it anywise de- 

 serving that honour. 



1st. The young shoots of the Phytolacca decandra, (Bo- 

 tanical Magazine, plate 931) which the Americans call Poke, 

 are brought in quantities to the Philadelphia market, early in 

 the season. They are eaten as a substitute for Asparagus, 

 which they resemble in taste. The plant requires no culti- 

 vation, and if it were treated in the same manner as you 

 treat the Crambe Maritima (Sea Kale), the taste of the sprouts 

 would be scarcely distinguishable from the real Asparagus. 



2d. The Americans settled on the Washita river, and in 

 the Arkansaw territory, as well as the travellers who have 

 visited those countries, speak in terms of commendation of 

 a species of Wild Cabbage, which grows plentifully in those 

 countries, and produces red flowers. Muhlenberg, the 

 famous American botanist, in his Catalogue of North Ameri- 

 can Plants (page 61) has given to it the name of Brassica 

 Washitana. I wish the Society would attempt the introduc- 

 tion and civilization of this vegetable. From the effects pro- 

 duced by cultivation in other plants of this family, we may 

 expect, in a short period, a number of varieties, and some 

 of them probably very valuable. 



3d. The Capsella bursa pastoris* or common Shepherd's 

 purse (Thlaspi bursa pastoris, English Botany 1485) is an es- 

 culent plant in Philadelphia, brought to market in large quan- 

 tities in the early season. The taste, when boiled, approaches 

 that of the Cabbage, but is softer and milder. This plant 



* De Candolle Regni Vegetabilis Systema Naturale,Vol. ii. page 383. 



