Edible Plant Species

Telfairia occidentalis Hook. f. Cucurbitaceae.
Tropical Africa.
The plant is cultivated for its seeds, which the natives boil and eat.

T. pedata Hook.
Tropical Africa.
The plant is a climber, the stems of which often attain the length of a hundred feet. The fruit attains a weight of 60 pounds and contains at times as many as 500 seeds. These seeds, when boiled, are eatable and a large quantity of oil can be expressed from them.

Terminalia arjuna Wight & Arn. Combretaceae.
East Indies.
In India, a decoction of the bark with milk is given as a nourishment. It is considered tonic, astringent and cooling.

T. bellerica Roxb.
Tropical India and Burma.
The kernels of the fruit are eaten.

T. catappa Linn. INDIAN ALMOND.
Tropical eastern Asia.
This plant is cultivated in gardens in India and in south Florida. The kernel of the drupe has the taste and virtues of the almond, though, says Ainslie, perhaps the flavor is more that of the English filbert. The drupe is nearly three inches long, egg-shaped, grooved, and contains but one kernel, which is considered a nourishing food for weak people and from which a pleasant, edible oil is prepared. Firminger says, beyond comparison, this is the most delicious fruit of any kind the country affords.

T. citrina Roxb. CITRON MYROBALAN. HARANUT.
East Indies.
This plant is ranked amongst the fruits of India. It is about the size of a French plum and is often made into a pickle.

T. glabrata Forst. f.
Friendly and Society Islands.
The kernels of the fruit are eaten and have the flavor of almonds.

T. latifolia Sw.
Jamaica.
The kernels are eaten and have the flavor of almonds.

T. litoralis Seem.
Fiji Islands.
The seeds are sometimes eaten by children in Viti.

T. mauritiana Lam. FALSE BENZOIN.
Mauritius and Bourbon. The kernels of the fruit are eaten.

T. pamea DC.
Guiana.
The tree is cultivated on the Isle of France and elsewhere. The almond-like kernels are good to eat and are served on the better tables of the country.

T. platyphylla F. Muell.
Australia.
The fruit is oblong, pointed, blue when ripe, and is eaten raw.

Testudinaria (Dioscorea) elephantipes Salisb. Dioscoreaceae. ELEPHANT'S FOOT. HOTTENTOT BREAD.
South Africa.
This plant bears a bulb entirely above ground, which grows to an enormous size, frequently three feet in height and diameter. It is closely studded with angular, ligneous protuberances, which give it some resemblance to the shell of a tortoise. The inside is a fleshy substance, which may be compared to a turnip, both in substance and color. The taste is thought to resemble that of the yam of the East Indies.

Tetracera ainifolia Willd. Dilleniaceae. WATER TREE.
Tropical Africa.
The climbing stems of this tree yield a good supply of clear water when cut across.

Tetragonia expansa Murr. Ficoideae (Tetragoniaceae). NEW ZEALAND SPINACH.
New Zealand and Australia.
This plant was first found by Sir Joseph Banks, in 1770, at Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, and its merits were discovered by the sailors of Captain Cook's expedition around the world. It reached Kew Gardens in 1772. This spinach also occurs in Australia, both on the coast and in the desert interior, in New Caledonia, China, Japan and Chile. Don says three varieties are found in Chile: one with smooth leaves, one with leaves hoary beneath and a third small and glabrous. The plant was cultivated as a spinach plant in England in 1821 or earlier. It was in use in France in 1824 or earlier. In the United States, its seed was distributed among members of the New York Horticultural Society in 1827 and in 1828 it appeared in seed catalogs. St. Hilaire records its use as a spinach in south Brazil, and Bojer records it in the Mauritius. The plant is used as a spinach in Tongatabu but not in New Zealand.

T. implexicoma Hook. f. AUSTRALIAN SPINACH. ICE PLANT.
Extra-tropic Australia, New Zealand and Chatham Island.
As a spinach plant, this species is as valuable as T. expansa.

Tetramicra bicolor Rolfe. Orchideae.
Brazil.
The fragrant fruit of this orchid has the odor of the Tonquin bean. It is sweeter than vanilla and is less penetrating.

Teucrium scorodonia Linn. Labiatae. WOOD GERMANDER. WOOD SAGE.
Europe.
This is an extremely bitter plant with the smell and taste of hops and is said to be substituted for hops in ale in the Island of Jersey.