Edible Plant Species

Urceola elastica Roxb. Apocynaceae (or Rubiaceae?). RUBBER TREE.
Indian Archipelago.
This plant is a gigantic climber which yields Borneo rubber. Its fruit, the size of an orange, contains numerous, kidneyshaped seeds nestling in a copious, tawny-colored pulp, which is much relished both by natives and European residents and is said to taste like well-rotted medlars.

Urginea sp. Liliaceae.
Equatorial Africa.
A species which has nauseous and bitter roots and white flowers and furnishes a vegetable to the natives. Grant writes, "the men of the Moon roast its leaves and stalks and cook them as a spinach."

Urtica dioica Linn. Urticaceae. NETTLE.
North temperate regions; naturalized in America from Europe. The nettle, according to Sir Walter Scott, was at one time cultivated in Scotland as a potherb. Nettle tops, in the spring, says Lightfoot, are often boiled and eaten by the common people of Scotland as greens, and the young leaves are often boiled in soup in the outer Hebrides and form a very palatable article of food, it is said. The tender tops are much more commonly eaten in Germany, Belgium and other parts of Europe than in England and are also used in northern Persia.