Edible Plant Species

Encephalartos caffer Miq. Cycadaceae (Zamiaceae). HOTTENTOT BREAD-FRUIT. KAFFIR BREAD.
South Africa.
The interior of the trunk and the center of the ripe female cones contain a spongy, farinaceous pith, made use of by the Kaffirs as food. On the female cone, seeds as large as unshelled Jordan almonds are contained between the scales, and are surrounded with a reddish pulp, which is good to eat. Barrow says it is used by the Kaffirs as food. The stem, when stripped of its leaves, resembles a large pineapple. The Kaffirs bury it for some months in the ground, then pound it, and Extract a quantity of farinaceous matter of the nature of sago. This sago is a favorite food with the natives and is not unacceptable to the Dutch settlers when better food cannot be had.

Enhalus koenigii Rich. Hydrocharitaceae. SEA FRUIT.
Sumatra.
The fruits are called berak laut, or sea fruit. The seeds are slightly farinaceous and taste like chestnuts soaked in salt water. This fruit is round, hairy and generally much covered with mud.

Entada scandens Benth. Leguminosae. SWORD BEAN.
Tropical shores from India to the Polynesian Islands.
The seeds are flat and brown and are eaten cooked like chestnuts in Sumatra and Java, and the pods furnish food in the West Indies. In Jamaica, Lunan says the beans, after being long soaked in water, are boiled and eaten by some negroes.

E. wahlbergia Harv.
South Africa.
In central Africa, the bitter roots are eaten.

Enteromorpha compressa (Linn.) Grev. Algae.
This is one of the Edible seaweeds of Japan.

Enydra paludosa DC. Compositae.
East Indies, Malay and Australia.
The leaves of this water plant are Eaten by the natives as a vegetable. It is the kingeka of Bengal.