Forestry Notes

F. L. Harvey
1883 Botanical Gazette  
the Himalayas, is an evergreen species with edible fruit which, dried as raisins, is sent down to the plains for sale (Royle); B. nervosa, Putsh., is an Oregon species with edible fruit (Howell); B. pinnata, Benth. in New Mexico, has blue berries of pleasant taste, sweet with a slight acidity (Bigelow); B. repens, L-ind., is common in Utah, where its fruit is highly prized (Jones), and is made into confections and freely eaten (Lloyd); B. trifoliata, Gray, of Western Texas, has red acid
more » ... used for tarts (Torrey); B. vulgaris, L. was early introduced into the gardens of New England, and increased so rapidly that in 1754 the Province of Massachusetts passed an act to prevent damage to wheat arising from its presence in the vicinity of grain fields. The leaves were formerly used to season meats with in England (Gerarde); and its fruit is now used for preserves. A stoneless variety is sometimes found. There are four kinds known, tle common red, large red, purple and white ( Bucke) A black fruited variety is said by Tournefort to occur on the banks of the Euphrates and to be of a delicious flavor. Bongardia Rauwolfi, C. A. Meyer, occurs from Greece to the Caucasus. The Persians roast or boil the tubers, anid eat the leaves as sorrel (A. A. Black). Nardina dornestiica, Thiunb., is a handsome evergreen shrub of China and Japan, and extensively cultivated for its fruit, which are red berries of the size of a pea (Don). Podophyllitm callicarpum, Raf., is said by Robin and Rafinesque, in their Flora of Louisiana, to have fruit the size of a large filbert, sweet, good to eat, and of which preserves are made; P. entodi, Wall of India, has edible berries, btit tasteless (Hooker & Thomson); P. peltatum, L., is the May apple, the mawkish fruit eaten by pigs and boys (A. Gray), relished by many persons (Porcher), extrenmely delicious to most persons (Barton), a pleasant fruit (Newport), but to our taste mawkish and disagreeable. Forestry Notes. BY F. L. HARVEY. Catalpa speciosa, Warder. The distribuition of Catalpa .speciosa is of considerable interest, as it has been the belief of botanists that it is not found native west of the Mississippi river north of the Louisiana line. In a former nuimber of the GA-ZETTE we gave an account of finie specimens, four feet in diameter, growing in the hotel yard, and in the grounds of Judge A. B. Williams at Washington, Hempstead county. If one was not informed that the seeds were introduiced fiom Louisiana he This content downloaded from 128.135.
doi:10.1086/325744 fatcat:jichx5qhxbhndiy2vxwlhclioy