Equisetum-Euclea (Sturtevant, 1919)

← Embelia-Epilobium

Sturtevant, Notes on edible plants, 1919 Equisetum-Euclea (Sturtevant, 1919)

Eugenia →

Equisetum fluviatile Linn.

Equisetaceae. HORSETAIL. JOINT GRASS. SCRUB GRASS.

Europe and adjoining Asia. The starch contained in the tubers of the rhizome is nutritious, according to Lindley. This is the plant which was eaten by the Romans under the name equisetum. Coles, in his Adam in Eden, speaking of horsetails, says, "the young heads are dressed by some like asparagus, or being boyled are often bestrewed with flower and fried to be eaten."

Equisetum hyemale Linn.

DUTCH RUSH. HORSETAIL. SCOURING RUSH. SHAVE GRASS.

Northern climates. Lindley says, it serves as food in time of famine.

Eremurus spectabilis Bieb.

Liliaceae.

Asia Minor and Persia. In May and June the young shoots are sold as a vegetable in the villages of the Caucasus, Kurdistan and Crimea. The flavor is intermediate between spinach and purslane and is by no means a disagreeable vegetable.

Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.

Rosaceae. JAPANESE PLUM. LOQUAT.

A fruit tree indigenous in Japan and China and much cultivated in India. The loquat was first made known by Kempfer in 1690. It was brought to Europe by the French in 1784 and in 1787 was imported from Canton to Kew. It has not fruited at Paris in the open air but is successfully cultivated in the south of France, and its fruit is common in the markets of Toulon. At Malta, it succeeds admirably. In Florida, it is spoken of as if well known under the name of Japanese plum in 1867, ripening its fruit in February and March. In the Gulf States, it is said to do well, the fruit is the size of a large plum, juicy, subacid, refreshing, and altogether delightful and unique in flavor and quality. In China the tree grows as far north as Fuhchau but does not produce as good fruit as in Canton. It is a more acid fruit than the apple and serves for cooking rather than as a table fruit. It resembles the medlar but is superior to it in flavor and size.

Eriodendron anfractuosum DC.

Malvaceae. CABBAGE-WOOD. CEIBA.

Asia and tropical Africa. The fruit is eaten in India sometimes cooked and sometimes raw. At Celebes, the seeds are eaten.

Erioglossum edule Blume.

Sapindaceae.

A shrub or small tree of Java and the islands of the Indian Archipelago. The fruit is edible. A cider is made in Java from the pericarp of the fruit.

Erisma japura Spruce.

Vochysiaceae. JAPURA.

Brazil. The kernel of the red fruit is pleasant eating both raw and boiled. By a process of boiling and leaving in running water for several weeks, and then pounding in a mortar, it is made into a sort of butter, which is eaten with fish and game, being mixed in the gravy. People who can get over its vile smell, which is never lost, find it exceedingly savory.

Erodium cicutarium L'Herit.

Geraniaceae. PIN GRASS. STORKSBILL. WILD MUSK.

Europe and introduced into America. This plant, when young, is gathered and cooked, or eaten raw by the Blackfeet, Shoshone and Digger Indians. Fremont saw it thus used, and R. Brown says it is the pin grass of the Californians of which the stem is edible.

Erodium jacquinianum Fisch.

In Egypt, the tubercles are eaten.

Eruca sativa Mill.

Cruciferae. ROCKET.

Mediterranean region and western Asia. Rocket is called "a good salatherbe " by Gerarde, and Don says the leaves and tender stalks form an agreeable salad. Syme says it is used in southern Europe as a salad. It is cultivated for its leaves and stalks which are used as a salad. Walsh says, it is a fetid, offensive plant but is highly esteemed by the Greeks and Turks, who prefer it to any other salad. It was cultivated by the ancient Romans. Albertus Magnus, in the thirteenth century, speaks of it in gardens; so also does Ruellius, 1536, who uses nearly the present French name, roqueta. In 1586, Camerarius says it is planted most abundantly in gardens. In 1726, Townsend says it is not now very common in English gardens, and in 1807 Miller's Dictionary says it has been long rejected. Rocket was in American gardens in 1854 or earlier and is yet included by Vilmorin among European vegetables.

Eryngium maritimum Linn.

Umbelliferae. SEA ERYNGO. SEA HOLLY. SEA-HOLM.

Asia Minor and the seashores along the Mediterranean and Atlantic as far as Denmark. The young, tender shoots, when blanched, may be eaten like asparagus. The roots are candied and sold as candied eryngo. When boiled or roasted, the roots resemble chestnuts and are palatable and nutritious.

Erythrina indica Lam.

Leguminosae. CORAL TREE.

Tropical Asia and Australia. This is a small tree commonly cultivated for supporting the weak stems of the pepper plant. In Ceylon the young, tender leaves are eaten in curries.

Erythronium dens-canis Linn.

Liliaceae. DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET.

Europe and northern Asia. The Tartars collect and dry the bulbs and boil them with milk or broth.

Erythronium grandiflorum Pursh.

DOG'S-TOOTH VIOLET.

Interior Oregon. The roots of this plant are eaten by some Indians.

Erythroxylum coca Lam.

Lineae. COCA. SPADIC.

A shrub of the Peruvian Andes cultivated from early times for its leaves which are used as a masticatory. This use of the leaves under the name, coca, is common throughout the greater part of Peru, Quito, New Granada, and also on the banks of the Rio Negro, where it is known as spadic. It forms an article of commerce among the Indians and is largely cultivated in Bolivia. These leaves contain an alkaloid analogous to thein and exert, when chewed, a stimulant action.

Eschscholzia sp.?

Papaveraceae.

China. This plant is grown in gardens and is used as a potherb or condiment.

Escobedia scabrifolia Ruiz & Pav.

Scrophularineae.

Tropical America. The roots are said to be used for coloring gravies.

Eucalyptus dumosa A. Cunn.

Myrtaceae. MALLEE.

Australia. A manna called lerp is produced upon the leaves, which the natives use for food. It is said to be a secretion from an insect.

Eucalyptus gunnii Hook. f.

CIDER TREE.

Australia. This plant yields a cool, refreshing liquid from wounds made in the bark during spring.

Eucalyptus oleosa F. Muell.

MALLEE.

Australia. The water drained from the roots is clear and good and is used by the natives of Queensland when no other water is obtainable.

Eucalyptus terminalis F. Muell.

Australia. Manna is procured from the leaves and small branches.

Eucheuna speciosum Berk.

Algae. JELLY PLANT.

This is the jelly plant of Australia and is one of the best species for making jelly, size and cement.

Euclea pseudebenus E. Mey.

Ebenaceae.

South Africa. The fleshy, glaucous, brownish fruits, the size of a pea, are sweet and slightly astringent and are eaten by the natives of South Africa under the name embolo.

Euclea undulata Thunb.

South Africa. The small, black berry is edible. This is the guarri bush of South Africa. The sweet berries are eaten by the Hottentots or, bruised and fermented, they yield a vinegar.