Edible Plant Species

Lobelia sp. Campanulaceae. LOBELIA.
The roots of one species are said by Thunberg to be eaten by the Hottentots. It is called karup.

Lodoicea callipyge Comm. Palmae. COCO DE MER. DOUBLE COCOANUT.
Seychelles Islands.
The heart of the leaves is eaten and is often preserved in vinegar. The fruit is the largest any tree produces, sometimes weighing 40 or 50 pounds, with a length of 18 inches and a circumference of 3 feet. The immature fruit affords a sweet and melting aliment. Brandis says the fruit takes several years to come to maturity.

Lonicera angustifolia Wall. Caprifoliaceae. NARROW-LEAVED HONEYSUCKLE.
Himalayan region.
The sweet berry, of the size of a pea, is eaten in India.

L. ciliata Muhl. PLY HONEYSUCKLE.
Western North America.
In Oregon and California, the fruit is much used by the Indians and is considered good by white hunters.

L. involucrata Banks.
Western North America.
The fruit is eaten by the Indians of Oregon and Alaska.

Lophophytum sp. Balanophoraceae.
Masters says one species is eaten in Bolivia.

Loranthus exocarpi Behr. Loranthaceae.
Australia.
The fruit is an oblong drupe about one-half inch in length. It is sweet and is eaten raw.

Loreya arborescens DC. Melastomaceae.
Guiana.
This species furnishes gooseberry-like fruits of little value, according to Unger.

Lotus edulis Linn. Leguminosae. BIRD'S-FOOT TREFOIL.
Mediterranean countries.
In Crete, the pods aie eaten when young as a string bean by the poorer inhabitants.

L. gebelia Vent.
Orient.
The pods are eaten as a string bean about Aleppo.

L. tetragonolobus Linn. WINGED PEA.
Mediterranean region.
In France, according to Robinson, this pea is cultivated as a vegetable. The pods were formerly employed, says Johns, as an esculent by the poor of Sicily and Spain. The green pods, says Mueller, serve as a substitute for asparagus. This plant is yet in French gardens for use as a string bean but apparently is not in much request. In 1726, Townsend an English seedsman, says, "I put them here, because some people eat em when they are very young; but in my mind they are not good." In 1785, Bryant reports this pea as in disuse except in some of the northern counties of England. Clusius first saw the plant in a druggist's garden, in 1579, called pisum rubrum. In 1588, Camerarius speaks of this pea in his Horticulture under the name pisum rubrum. The winged pea was first seen by J. Bauhin in 1594. Ray describes it in 1686 but gives no indication of cultivation or use. Parkinson, 1629, calls it pisum quadratum and it is mentioned in the second edition of Gerarde, 1638. It is recorded in American Gardens by Burr, 1863.