Edible Plant Species

Licania incana Aubl. Rosaceae (Chrysobalanaceae).
Guiana.
The fruit is the size of a large olive and is dotted with red; the pulp is white; melting, and of a sweetish taste; the shell, or nut, is bony.

Lichtensteinia pyrethrifolia Cham. & Schlecht. Umbelliferae.
South Africa.
An intoxicating liquor called gli is prepared from this plant by the Hottentots.

Ligusticum scoticum Linn. Umbelliferae. SCOTCH LOVAGE.
Subarctic seashores; from Rhode Island, northward, says Gray.
This plant is frequent in the outer Hebrides where it is called shunts and is sometimes eaten raw as a salad, or boiled as greens, or the root is chewed as a substitute for tobacco when tobacco is scarce. It is sometimes used as a potherb in Britain. In northwest America, the green stem is peeled and eaten by the Indians. The root is acrid but aromatic.

Lilium auratum Lindl. Liliaceae. GOLDEN-BANDED LILY.
Japan.
In Japan, the bulbs are a common article of diet with the natives and are sold everywhere as a vegetable in the market. When cooked, they are sweet, mucilaginous and without any decided taste to make them objectionable to a newcomer.

L. bulbiferum Linn. BULB-BEARING LILY.
This lily is enumerated by Thunberg among the edible plants of Japan. D. P. Penhallow, who lived several years in Yeso, says that lilies are frequently cultivated there for bulbs, which are sold as a vegetable food in the markets and are very fair eating, being sweet and mealy and resembling a potato. In China, this lily is called shan-tan; the bulbs are eaten; and the flowers are served as a relish with meat.

L. canadense Linn. YELLOW LILY.
North America.
The roots are eaten by the Indians of the Northwest.

L. concolor Salisb. STAR LILY.
China.
This lily is cultivated in Japan as a food plant.

L. japonicum Thunb. JAPANESE LILY.
Japan.
Miss Bird found the bulbs of the "white lily," perhaps this species, cultivated and eaten as a vegetable.

L. lancifolium Thunb.
Japan.
This species is cultivated in Japan as a food plant.

L. martagon Linn. TURBAN LILY. TURK'S CAP.
Southern Europe.
The bulbs are said by Pallas to be eaten by the Cossacks along the Volga.

L. pomponium Linn. TURBAN LILY.
Eastern Asia.
This lily is called by the Tartars askchep, and the roots are collected for food. These bulbs constitute an important article of food in Kamchatka and are eaten in China.

L. speciosum Thunb. SHOWY LILY.
Japan.
This species is cultivated as a food plant in Japan.

L. superbum Linn. TURK'S CAP.
North America.
Thoreau says the bulb is eaten by the Indians of Maine in soups and is dug in the autumn for this purpose.

L. tigrinum Ker.-Gawl. TIGER LILY.
China and Japan.
Royle says the bulbs are eaten in China. D. P. Penhallow says that this species is cultivated in Yeso for the bulbs, which are sold in the markets and are very good eating. Miss Birdl also speaks of its cultivation as a vegetable in northern Japan.

Limacia scandens Lour. Menispermaceae.
Forests of Cochin China.
The drupes are small, smooth, acid and esculent.

Limnanthemum (Nymphoides) crenatum F. Muell. Gentianeae (Menyanthaceae).
Australia.
The small, round tubers are roasted for food.

L. nymphoides Hoffmgg. & Link.
Europe and northern Asia.
This water plant, with its yellow flowers and round leaves, was formerly eaten in China in spite of its bitterness.

Linaria cymbalaria Mill. Scrophularineae. KENILWORTH IVY. PENNYWORT.
Europe.
This plant is eaten in southern Europe, says Johnson, as a salad and is a good antiscorbutic. Its taste is not unlike that of cress.

Lindera benzoin Meissn. Lauraceae. BENJAMIN BUSH. SPICE BUSH.
North America.
Barton says the berries partake of the same spicy flavor as the bark and that, during the War of the Revolution, the people of the United States used them dried and powdered as a substitute for allspice. Porcher says the leaves were much used by the Confederate soldiers for making a pleasant, aromatic tea. L. S. Mote says the young twigs and leaves were often used by the early pioneers of Ohio as a substitute for tea and spice.

Linum usitatissimum Linn. Linaceae. FLAX.
Europe and the Orient.
Flax has been in cultivation since the earliest times. It was known to the early Egyptians, as it is mentioned frequently in the Bible as a material for weaving cloth. The cloth used in wrapping mummies has been proved to be made of the fibers of this plant. Flax was also cultivated by the early Romans. Among the Greeks, Alcman, in the seventh century before Christ, the historian Thucydides, and among the Romans, Pliny, mention the seed as employed for human food, and the roasted seed is still eaten by the Abyssinians. In the environs of Bombay, the unripe capsules are used as a food by the natives. In Russia, Belgium, Holland, Prussia and the north of Ireland, flax is extensively grown for its fiber which constitutes the linen of commerce. The seeds, known as linseed, are largely used for expressing an oil, and the press-residue is used for feeding cattle. This plant is largely grown for seed in the United States. We find mention of the culture of flax in Russia about 969 A. D. Flax is said to have been introduced into Ireland by the Romans, or even more remotely, by the Phoenicians, but the earliest definite mention of linen in Ireland seems to be about 500 A. D. In England, the statement is made that it was introduced in 1175 A. D., and Anderson, in his History of Commerce, traces some fine linen made in England in 1253. In New England, the growing of flax commenced with its first settlement, and as early as 1640 it received legislative attention.

Lippia pseudo-thea Schau. Verbenaceae.
Brazil.
In Brazil, an infusion of the leaves is highly esteemed as a tea substitute, under the name of capitao do matto.1 Lindley2 says the leaves form an agreeable tea.

Liriodendron tulipifera Linn. Magnoliaceae. POPLAR. TULIP TREE. WHITEWOOD.
Eastern North America.
The root is used to prepare an agreeable liquor. The Canadians use the root to correct the bitterness of spruce beer and to give it a lemon flavor.

Lissanthe montana R. Br. Epacrideae.
Australia.
The large, white, transparent, fleshy fruits are eaten.

L. sapida R. Br. AUSTRALIAN CRANBERRY.
Australia.
The berries are red and acid and are made into tarts in New South Wales. A. Smith says the flesh is thin and more like that of the Siberian crab than of the cranberry.

L. strigosa R. Br.
Australia.
The fruit is eaten.

Litobrochia (Pteris) sinuata Brack. Filices (Pteridaceae). ROYAL FERN.
Seemann says the leaves of this fern are used as a potherb by the natives of Viti.

Livistona australis Mart. Palmae. CABBAGE PALM. GIPPSLAND PALM.
Australia.
The young and tender leaves of this palm are eaten like cabbages.