July, 1921] BALL — RELATION OF BOTANY TO HUMAN WELFARE 
primitive Andean tribes. Other plants which are cereal substitutes, in that 
they furnish starch in concentrated form, such as the potato and similar 
plants, are discussed under vegetables. 
Vegetables 
It is somewhat surprising to note how few plant families contain the 
great majority of the common vegetables of the temperate world. From 
the Solanaceae come the potato, tomato, and eggplant, not to mention 
cayenne pepper, the ground cherry, and tobacco, the petunia and the 
matrimony vine. The Leguminosae furnish beans, peas, lentils, cow peas, 
soy beans, and peanuts. Another family furnishing a large number of 
edible roots and plants is the Cruciferae, or mustard family, containing 
the radish, turnip, and rutabaga, the cabbage and its congeners and deriva- 
tives, and the horseradish, cress, and mustard, not to mention such flowers 
as candytuft, sweet alyssum, wall-flowers, rockets, and gillyflower. From 
the sunflower family, Compositae in the broad sense, we get lettuce, salsify, 
chicory, endive, sunflower, and artichoke. The melon family, Cucurbi- 
taceae, contains many large and striking products, as pumpkins, squashes, 
cucumbers, gourds, gherkins, cantaloupes, casabas, watermelons, and 
citrons. 
In addition to the five large families listed above, are several with 
fewer economic species. Carrot, celery, parsley, and parsnip represent the 
Umbelliferae ; rhubarb the Polygonaceae, and beets and spinach the Cheno- 
podiaceae. Asparagus and the various onions represent the Liliaceae, 
while the sweet potato is a morning glory, belonging to the Convolvulaceae, 
the taro and dasheen belong to the Araceae, and okra belongs to the Mal- 
vaceae, with cotton. 
Finally, the puffballs, mushrooms, and truffles are fungi, belonging 
to different families of that large group called Basidiomycetes. 
Fruits 
The family Rosaceae, used in the inclusive sense, probably furnishes 
more of the fruits grown in the temperate zone than all other families com- 
bined. Among its members are the apple, pear, quince, peach, apricot, 
plum, cherry, blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, juneberry, and almond, 
not to mention roses, spireas, and other flowers. Closely related is the 
family Grossulariaceae, containing the currants and gooseberries. 
The citrus family, Rutaceae, ranks next to the Rosaceae in the number 
and importance of its products, which include the orange, lemon, grape- 
fruit, citron, lime, tangerine, and others. The family Vitaceae probably 
stands third in rank, with its numerous and varied kinds of grapes, including 
the so-called currant of commerce. 
Other important fruits are the date and coconut, of the Palmaceae, the 
banana, of the Musaceae, the olive, of the Oleaceae, and the pineapple, be- 
