Laurelia-Ledum (Sturtevant, 1919)

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Sturtevant, Notes on edible plants, 1919 Laurelia-Ledum (Sturtevant, 1919)

Lens-Leptospermum →

Laurelia aromatic Juss.

Monimiaceae. CHILE LAUREL. PERUVIAN NUTMEG.

A Chilean species whose aromatic seeds are used as a spice in Peru.

Laurencia obtusa Berk.

Algae. CORSICAN MOSS.

This forms the greater part of what is now sold in the shops of Britain as Corsican moss.

Laurencia pinnatifida Lam.

PEPPER DULSE.

This seaweed is called pepper dulse in Scotland, on account of its hot and biting taste, and is used as a condiment when other seaweeds are eaten.

Laurus nobilis Linn.

Lauraceae. BAY. LAUREL. SWEET BAY.

Mediterranean region. The leaves are used by confectioners for flavoring.

Lavandula spica Cav.

Labiatae. LAVENDER.

Mediterranean regions. This plant appears to be the nardus stricta of ancient writers and was by them held in high esteem. There are three varieties, says Burr, in cultivation; it is used as a potherb. It was mentioned for our gardens by McMahon, 1806. Lavender yields oil-ofspike, used by painters on porcelain and by artists in the preparation of varnishes. It is cultivated in Surrey, England, to the extent of 300 acres. It is also grown in Lincolnshire and in Hertfordshire, where, in 1871, about 50 acres were cropped. Mawe, 1778, named four types: the narrow-leaved with blue flowers, the narrow-leaved with white flowers, the broad-leaved and the dwarf.

Lavandula vera DC.

LAVENDER.

Mediterranean region. This species was used by the Romans to mix with salads and is occasionally cultivated in our gardens, as the seed appears in our seedsmen's catalogs. There is no satisfactory identification of lavender in the writings of the ancients, although it seems to have been well known to the botanists of the sixteenth century. Its use as a perfume was indicated as early as the fourteenth century and as a medicine even in the twelfth century. Its seed was in English seedsmen's lists of 1726 for garden culture.

Lecanora affinis Linn.

Lichenes. CRAB'S EYE.

This lichen is found in Armenia and Algeria, blown about and heaped up by the winds. It is ground with corn in times of scarcity to eke out the scanty supply.

Lecanora esculenta Linn.

CUP MOSS.

This lichen was found by Ledebour in the Kirghiz Steppe and in middle Asia, frequently on a barren soil or in clefts of rocks, whence it is often washed down after sudden and violent falls of rain, so as to be collected in considerable quantity and easily gathered for food. The same species was found by Paviot, who procured it in his journey to Ararat, where it is eaten by the natives. In some districts of Persia, in 1828, it covered the ground to a depth of five or six inches in so short a period of time that the people thought it had been rained down from heaven. This lichen is supposed by some to have been the manna of the children of Israel.

Lecythis grandiflora Aubl.

Myrtaceae.

Guiana. The seeds are palatable.

Lecythis minor Jacq.

New Granada. The fruit is two inches in diameter. The seeds are of an agreeable taste.

Lecythis ollaria Linn.

POT TREE.

Tropical America. The fruit is the size of a child's head and is prized for its chestnut-like fruit.

Lecythis zabucajo Aubl.

Guiana. The nuts of this species are rather more than two inches long and one wide, covered with a longitudinally-furrowed, corky shell and grow in large, hard, woody fruits, shaped like urns, measuring about six inches in diameter and having close-fitting lids at the top.

Ledum latifolium Jacq.

Ericaceae. LABRADOR TEA.

Northern climates. The leaves are said to have been used as a substitute for tea during the Revolutionary War. Lindley says the leaves are used to render beer heady.

Ledum palustre Linn.

MARSH ROSEMARY.

Northern and arctic regions. This plant furnished a tea to Richardson in his arctic journey.