Edible Plant Species

Ullucus tuberosus Caldas. Chenopodiaceae (Bassellaceae). MELLOCO. ULLUCO.
Andes of Bolivia, Peru and New Granada.
The ulluco, or melloco, is a juicy plant with a creeping stem, the sprouts of which swell at the tips into tubers from the size of a hazelnut to that of a pigeon's egg, like the sweet potato. In Peru, it is called oca quina and Hemdon says is more glutinous than the oca and not as pleasant to the taste. The plant is extensively cultivated and, from the tubers by alternately freezing and steeping, a starchy substance is obtained, which is called by the Indians chuna and is relished. When the failure of the potato crop was dreaded in England, this plant was one of the substitutes proposed, but the tubers were not considered sufficiently agreeable to the British palate. Ulluco was introduced into France in 1848, but trial showed its unfitness for that climate.

Ulmus campestris Linn. Urticaceae (Ulmaceae). ENGLISH ELM.
Europe and the Orient.
The English elm was early introduced into Boston and is now grown here and there as a shade tree. In Norway, the inhabitants kiln-dry the bark and in time of scarcity grind it into a meal to be mixed with flour for bread. The fruit, in a green state, according to Browne, is sometimes eaten as a salad. Some years ago, in England, says Johnson, an immense quantity of dried elm leaves were used for adulterating tea and for manufacturing a substance intended to be used as a substitute for it. In Russia, the leaves of a variety are used as tea. In times of great scarcity, the ground bark, the leaves and the membranous fruit are all eaten as food in China.

U. fulva (rubra) Michx. RED ELM. SLIPPERY ELM.
New England to Wisconsin and Kentucky.
Flour prepared from the bark by drying and grinding, mixed with milk, like arrowroot, is said by Emerson to be a wholesome and nutritious food for infants and invalids.