Saturday, September 3, 2016

1896 - Angel of MIdnight Corn and John A. Bruce, Seedsman

I just like this catalog cover.  
While I have not found much about Mr. Bruce yet, I'm a sucker for seedsmen who feature their buildings on their catalogs.   My question now is, who are the statues in the building niches representing?!!




Floating around the internet was this one identified page from a catalog.  
I admire this engraving of the corn, and the name is irresistible!


Angel of Midninght corn seems well suited for the more northern latitudes as this Maine farmer attests to in The Rural New Yorker magazine from 1902. 
CORN FOR MAINE.—The two kinds of corn giving the best yields shelled per acre here are the Angel of Midnight and Early Canada, either of which will mature a crop in from 80 to 90 days from planting. 
My opinion is that the Angel of Midnight yields the most shelled corn. I was in a gristmill a short time ago, and while there a man brought in five bushels of ears of corn to be ground corn and cobs together, and I honestly think that in that five bushels there was one bushel of ears that were at least one foot in length, which is very long corn. That cob meal was finer and looked nicer than a great deal of the feed meal that I buy made from western corn. That was Angel of Midnight corn.
Here is the whole catalog page. (year unknown)


While I am thinking about Bruce and his corn, here is another delightful engraving from a 1902 Bruce catalog.   Just that little bit more of the artist's imagination makes this so much more appealing.





Sunday, August 28, 2016

1890 - Rocket to Sea Kale - Part 17 of Sturtevant's HISTORY OF GARDEN VEGETABLES


(Continued from p. 332.) 

Original at https://books.google.com/books?id=2WxNAAAAYAAJ&lpg=PA629
Remember, to see the footnotes to find the books he used, go to the link above.  
When I insert my two cents into Sturtevant's text I try to remember to do it in red type.

 Rocket Salad. Brassica eruca L. 


THIS strong, and to most persons offensive, plant has been long under culture, and is even now highly esteemed by the Greeks and Turks, who prefer it to any other salad. 

It was cultivated by the ancient Romans.  Albertus Magnus in the thirteenth century speaks of it in gardens; so also does Ruellius in 1536, who uses nearly the present French name, roqueta.   In 1586 Camerarius says it is planted most abundantly in gardens.     In 1726 Townsend  says it is not now very common in English gardens, and in 1807 Miller's Dictionary  says it has been long rejected. 

It was in American gardens in 1854 or earlier,  and is yet included by Vilmorin among European vegetables.  
Bulliard, P., Herbier de la France, 1776-1783 (Lovely book)

Rocket or Rocket Salad is called



  • in France, roquette, cresson de fontaine, salade de vingt-quatre heures (!)
  • in Germany, rauke, senfkohl ; 
  • in Flanders, krapkool ; 
  • in Holland, rakette kruid ; 
  • in Italy, ricola, ruca, ruccola, ruchetta, rucola ; 
  • in Spain, jaramago, oruga, raqueta ; 
  • in Portugal, pinchao
  • in Greece, aromatos, euzomaton, roka ; 
  • in Egypt, djaerdjir ;
  • in Arabic, gergyr. 



Rosemary. Rosmarinus officinalis L. 


Laguna y Villanueva,
M., Avilla y Zumarán, P. de, 

Flora forestal española
This aromatic herb, whose leaves are sometimes used for seasoning, had many virtues ascribed to it by Pliny, and it is also mentioned by Dioscorides and Galen.   

It was also familiar to the Arab physicians of Spain in the thirteenth century, and is mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon herbal of the eleventh century. 

 The first notice I find of its use as a condiment is by Lignamine in 1478, who describes Rosemary as the usual condiment with salted meats. 

In 1783 it is described by Bryant as so common in gardens as to be known to every one, and it also finds mention in nearly all the earlier botanies. 




In 1778 Mawe names four varieties, 

  • the common narrow-leaved, 
  • broad-leaved, 
  • the silver-striped, and 
  • gold-striped leaved. 
It was in American gardens in 1806 or earlier.  

Rosemary is called 
  • in France, romarin, encensoir, herbe aux couronnes ; 
  • in Germany, rosmarin ; 
  • in Flanders and Holland, rozemarijn ; 
  • in Denmark, rosmarin ; 
  • in Italy, rosmarino ; 
  • in Spain, romero ; 
  • in Portugal, alecrim; 
  • in Greece, dendrolibanon ; 
  • in Arabic, klyl, aselban, vkleehd-jilbal, hasalban-achsir ; 
  • in India, bubureeah
  • in Tagalo, romero


Merian, M., Der Fruchtbringenden Gesellschaft, t. 45 (1646)


Rue  Ruta graveolens L.
The leaves of Rue, although of a strong odor, disagreeable to some people, are occasionally used for seasoning, and the Italians and Greeks are said to eat them in salads. 
Moninckx, J., Moninckx atlas
It was formerly in request, and the Romans seem to have appreciated it highly; and Pliny devotes more than a just space in enumerating its virtues, and speaks of wine flavored with Rue as among the viands distributed to the populace by a Roman consul. 
In the book on cookery by Apicius in the third century we find Rue used among the condiments. In the thirteenth century Albertus Magnus describes Rue among garden esculents, and praises it. 

At a later period its garden culture is mentioned in the early botanies and in the earlier works on gardening.  In 1806 McMahon mentions it among the medicinal herbs for American gardens.  Two varieties, the broad-leaved and the narrow-leaved, were known to Burr in 1863, to Mawe in England in 1778, and apparently to Tragus in Germany in 1552.

 Rue or herb grace is called 
  • in France, rue ; 
  • in Germany, raute, weinraute ; 
  • in Holland, wijnruit ;
  • in Spain, ruda ; 
  • in Norway, viinrude ; 
  • in Italy, ruta ; 
  • in Greece, peganos ; 
  • in Arabia, schedab ; 
  • in India, satoora, aloodu;
  • in Japan, mats kase so. 



Ruta-baga. Brassica napo-brassica.  
(See previous post -Pursuing the Great Ruta-baga of Botley)




 The Ruta-bagas of our gardens include two forms, the one with white flesh, the other with yellow. 

The French call these two classes chou-navets and Ruta-bagas
The chou-navet or Brassica napo-brassica communis A. P. DC  has either purple or white roots; the Ruta-baga or B. napo-brassica Ruta-baga A. P. DC  has a more regular root, round or oval, yellow both without and within. 
(What is A. P. DC?)

In English nomenclature, while now the two forms are called by a common name, yet formerly the first constituted the turnip-rooted cabbage
In 1806 the distinction was retained in the United States, McMahon describing the turnip-rooted cabbage and the Swedish turnip or Roota-baga.  As a matter of convenience we shall describe these two classes separately. 

The first description of the white-rooted form that I note is by Bauhin in his Prodromus, 1620, and it is named again in his Pinax, 1623, who calls it napo-brassica. In 1686, Ray apparently did not know it in England, as he quotes Bauhin's name and description, which states that it is cultivated in Bohemia and is eaten, but Morison in 1669 catalogues it among the plants in the royal gardens. 

In France it is named by Tournefort, in 1700, Brassica radice napiformi or chou-navet. In 1778 these were called in England turnip cabbage with the turnip underground, and in the United States, in 1806, turnip-rooted cabbage, as noted above. 

There are three varieties described by Vilmorin, one of which is purple at the collar, and apparently these same varieties are named by Noisette  in 1829, and the white, and the red-collared by Pirolle  in 1824, under the names chou-navet, chou turnip, and chiou de Lapland. This class, as Don says in 1831, is little known in English gardens, though not uncommon in French horticulture. 

 The Ruta-baga is said by Sinclair, in the account of the system of husbandry in Scotland, to have been introduced into Scotland about 1781—2, and a quotation in the Gardeners' Chronicle says it was introduced into England in 1790. I find no earlier references. 

It is mentioned in 1806 by McMahon as in American gardens, and in 1817 there is a record of an acre of this crop in Illinois. The vernacular names all indicate an origin in Sweden or Northern Europe. It is called Swedish turnip or Roota-baga by McMahon (His name is actually M'Mahon. I keep forgetting to mention that.) in 1806, by Miller's Dictionary in 1807, by Cobbett in 1821, and by other authors to the present time. 


Decandolle in 1821 calls it navet jaune, navet de Swede, chou de Laponie, and chou de Suede. 
Pirolle in 1824 Ruta-baga or chou navet de Suede, as does Noisette in 1829. 
In 1821 Thorburn calls it Ruta-baga or Russian turnip
and a newspaper writer in 1835 calls it Ruta-baga, Swedish turnip, Lapland turnip. 

The foreign names given by Don in 1831 include many of the above-named and the Italian navone di Laponia. Vilmorin,  in his Les Plantes Potageres, 1883, describes three varieties, one with a green collar, one with a purple collar, and a third which is early. 

 The modern names for the species are : 
  • in English, Swedish turnip, Ruta-baga ; 
  • in England also, turnip-rooted cabbage and Swede ; 
  • in France, chou-navets, chou-rave en terre, chou turnep ; 
  • in Germany, kohlrube, erd-oder unter-kohlrabi, wruekenrube ; 
  • in Flanders, steekrapp ; 
  • in Holland, koolraapen onder den grond ; 
  • in Denmark, roe; 
  • in Italy, cavalo navone; 
  • in Spain, col nabo, nabicol ; 
  • in Portugal, couve nabo; 
  • in Sweden, rot-kal , 
  • in India, lal shulghum.




Saffron. Crocus sativus L. 



This plant is hardly deserving of mention, as its presence in the kitchen-garden is scarcely ever noted. Saffron, however, as a medicine, condiment, perfume, or dye, has been highly prized by mankind from a remote period. 

Under the Hebrew name, carcorn, the plant is alluded to by Solomon ; and as krohos by Homer, Hippocrates, Theophrastus, and Theocritus. Virgil and Columella mention it, and Cilicia and Sicily are both alluded to by Dioscorides and Pliny as localities celebrated for this drug. 

Throughout the middle ages frequent notices are found of its commerce and cultivation. A most interesting resume of the history of Saffron may be found in the Pharmacographia by Fluckiger and Hanbury. 

 




Saffron is called :
Passe, C. van de, Hortus floridus
  • in France, safran ; 
  • in Germany, saframpflance ;  
  • in Italy, zafferano ;
  • in Spain, azafran ; 
  • in Greece, krokos ; 
  • in Egyptian, methaio ; 
  • in Arabic, koorkum zafran ; 
  • in Burma, thauwen ; 
  • in Hindustani, zofran keysur ; 
  • in Malay, saffaron coonyer ;
  • in Persian, kerkum ; 
  • in Sanscrit, kasmirajamma, kunkuma ; 
  • in Tamil, khoongoomapoo ; 
  • in Telegu, khoonkoomapoo, kukuma



Sage. Salvia officinalis


 This is one of the most important occupants of the herb garden, being commonly used for seasoning, and also in domestic medicine. It has been under cultivation from a remote period, and is considered to be the elelisphakos of Theophrastus, the elelisphakon of Dioscorides, the salvia of Pliny, and its medicinal virtues are noted by Oribasius, and others of the early writers on medicine. 

In the middle ages it found frequent mention, as by Albertus Magnus in the thirteenth century, and the plant and its uses are noticed in nearly all of the early botanies. 

Although but one variety is now grown in our gardens,  formerly a number of sorts are noted, the red, green, small, and variegated being named by Worlidge in 1683. 
Sage was in American gardens in 1806 and doubtless long before, and six varieties are described by Burr in 1863, all of which can perhaps be included among the four mentioned in 1683, and all by Mawe in 1778. 

Sage is called 
  • in France, sauge officinale, grande sauge, herbe sacree ; 
  • in Germany, salbei ; 
  • in Flanders and Holland, salie ; 
  • in Italy, salvia ; 
  • in Spain, salvia ; 
  • in Portugal, molho , 
  • in Norway, salvie ; 
  • in Greece, sphakos, sphakelos ; 
  • in India, seesta, salbeea ; 
  • in Hindustani, salbia. 
Bonelli, Giorgio, Hortus Romanus juxta Systema Tournefortianum,  (1783-1816)
Salvia officinalis L. [as Salvia foliis auritis et non auritis, floribus violaceis] 


Salsify. Tragopogon porrifolium L. 
Vilmorin


In the thirteenth century Albertus Magnus describes a wild plant, Oculus porce or flos campi, which commentators identify with the salisfy, as having a delectable root, which is eaten, but he makes no mention of cultivation. 

It is described, but apparently not under kitchen garden culture by Matthiolus in 1570 and 1598, but not mentioned by him in 1558, when he refers to the yellow-flowered species; there is no mention of culture by Camerarius in 1586, but in 1587 Dalechamp  says it is planted in gardens. In 1597 Gerarde describes it, but apparently as an inmate of the flower garden. 

In 1612 Le Jardinier Solitaire speaks of it as under kitchen garden culture in France, and in 1616 Dodonaeus, J. Bauhin in 1651, and Ray in 1686, refer to it as apparently cultivated. After this period its culture seems to have been quite general, as it is referred to in the works on gardening, beginning with Quintyne, in 1693. 

It was in American gardens prior to 1806. There are no varieties, and the drawings of an early period indicate as improved a root as is now commonly grown. 

 The Salisfy or oyster plant is called 

  • in France, salsifis, cercifix, salsifix blanc, barberon ; 
  • in Germany, haferworzel ; 
  • in Flanders, haverwortel ; 
  • in Denmark, havrerod ; 
    Waldstein, F.
  • in Italy, barba di becco, salsifia ; 
  • in Spain, salsifi bianco; 
  • in Portugal, cercifi ; 
  • in Brazil, cercefin ; 
  • in Greece, trihoura;
  • in Norway, havrerod ;
  • in the Mauritius, salsifis


 The yellow-flowered species, Tragopogon pratense L.  seems formerly to have been cultivated. The use of the root is noted by Matthiolus in 1558. In 1597 Gerarde notes it as a wild plant of England. In 1640 Parkinson recommends it as excellent for the table, and cultivated for this purpose. Vilmorin, in 1883, also mentions a yellow-flowered form as under occasional culture, but he does not refer it decisively to this botanical species.



Samphire. Crithmum maritimum L. 

 The shoots of this seaside plant are pickled in vinegar, and it is even an object of garden culture for this purpose. 

The first mention of its culture that I find is by Quintyne, in France, in 1690; it is again mentioned by Stevenson, in England, in 1765 ; and its use as a pot-herb by the poor, as well as a pickle, is noticed by Bryant in 1783. 

It is noticed in American gardens in 1821. 



Samphire, Sampier, Sea Fennel, or Sea Samphier is called 
  • in France, perce-pierre, baeile, christe marine, crete marine , fenouil des marais, fenouil marin, herbe de St. Pierre, passe-pierre, saxifrage maritime ; 
  • in Germany, meer-fenchel, steinbrech ; 
  • in Flanders and Holland, zeevenkel ; 
  • in Italy, bacicci, erba san-pietro, sassifraga ; 
  • in Spain, hinojo marino, pasa piedra ; 
  • in Portugal, funcho marino ;
  • in Greece, almura or kretamon





Savory. Satureja sp. 

 But two species of Savory are now included among the cultivated sorts, but it is not long since that four species occurred in our books on garden esculents, and yet another by earlier writers. This class of aromatics were known to the ancient Romans, and were referred to under the name of satureia cunila and thymbra

The European names given to the Savory are : 
In France, sarriette
in Germany, die saturei ; (not recognized by Google translate)
in Holland, keid ; (not recognized by Google translate) 
in Italy, sautoreggia ; 
in Spain, ajedrea ; 
in Portugal, segurelha ; 
in Russia, tschaber ; 
in Denmark, saer ; (Hmm..in Danish saer means weird...think someone was pulling Sturtevant's or his source's leg?)
in Poland, ozabi. (not recognized by Google translate)

Satureja hortensis L. 
 This species seems to be the satureja of Palladius  in the third century, and of Albertus Magnus in the thirteenth, and is mentioned in England by Turner in 1538, which would indicate its presence there at this date. It was also well known to all the earlier botanists, and is mentioned as a common pot-herb by all the earlier writers on gardening. 

In 1783 Bryant says that besides being used as a pot-herb, it is frequently put into cakes, puddings, sausages, etc. It was in American gardens in 1806 or earlier, and as an escape from gardens is now sparingly found in Ohio, Illinois, Nevada, etc. 

The whole plant is highly odoriferous, and it is usually preferred to the other species.

Summer Savory is called: 
  • in France, sarriette annuelle, sarriete commune, herbe de St. Julien, sadree, savouree; 
  • in Germany, bohnenkraut, pfefferkraut, kollkraut ; 
  • in Flanders and Holland boonenkruid ; 
  • in Denmark, sar ; 
  • in Italy, santoreggia ; 
  • in Spain, ajedrea comun, sojulida ; 
  • in Portugal, segurelha
  • in Norway, sar ; 
  • in the Mauritius, sarriette. 
Satureja montana - Winter Savory
Satureja montana L. 
 A species known to the earlier botanists, and probably known to the ancient culture, although I do not find it identified with any certainty. It is mentioned in Turner's Herbal in 1562, and this is as far back as we have printed registers ; but there can be little doubt but that this, with the summer savory, was much cultivated in far earlier times in England. 
It was in American gardens in 1806.

The uses are the same with the preceding species. 

Winter Savory is called: 
  • in France, sarriette vivace, sarriette des montagnes ; 
  • in Germany, winter bohnen-oder pfefferkraut ; 
  • in Spain, hisopielo.
Satureja capitata











 Satureja capitata L. 

This species is omitted from our most modern books on gardening, although recorded in American gardens as late as 1863.  

It is mentioned as under culture in many of the early works on botany and gardening. 

Headed Savory is called 
in France, thim de Crete












Satureja viminea - Jamaican Mint Tree
 Satureja viminea L. 

 A native of Jamaica, and introduced in Britain in 1783, and has two varieties. It was recorded by Burr, in 1863, as in American gardens, but as little used. 

It is said to be much used for seasoning in its native country. It is not now recorded as in European cultivation.



Satureja juliana

 Satureja juliana L. 


 This Savory is mentioned by Gerade, in 1597, as sown in gardens. 

It is a native of the Mediterranean countries, 
called in Greece, ussopo, in Egyptian, pesalen.  

Its name has disappeared from our seed catalogues. 

This herbarium page is from the Linnean Herbarium!  >>>






And, just when I was almost done looking for images, up came this PDF from the Herb Society of America,  The Essential Guide to Savory.  Savory was the 2015 Herb of the Year! :-) It is a very nice brochure.



Savoy cabbage. Brassica oleracea bullatta DC. 

 This race of cabbage is distinguished by the blistered surface of their leaves, and by forming only a loose or little compact head. I am inclined to believe that the heading cabbages of the ancient Romans belonged to this class, as in their descriptions there are no indications of a firm head, and at a later period this form is named as if distinctly Roman. Thus Ruellius in 1536 describes under the name Romanos a loose heading sort of cabbage, but does not describe it particularly as a Savoy. 
Bauhin's Brassica italica tenerrima glomerosa flore albo 

This sort probably is the Brassica italica tenerrima glomerosa flore albo figured by J. Bauhin in 1651, its origin, judging from the name, being ascribed to Italy, and also figured by Chabraeus, 1677, under the same name, and with the additional names of Chou d'ltalie and Chou de Savoye.     In the Adversaria and elsewhere this kind is described as tender, and as not extending to the northern climates. 
I do not know of this form, so carefully pictured, as existing under culture, and it has doubtless been superseded by better varieties. 

 In the Savoy class three types are to be seen. The most common is the spherical-headed, next the long-headed or elliptical, and lastly the conical. There are a number of varieties. 

In 1883 Vilmorin describes fifteen in his Les Plantes Potageres, and names others. In the report of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station for 1886, thirteen varieties are described. 

The Spherical-Headed. 

This race is the most common, and occurs in various degrees of blistering, and in a large number of varieties. The following synonymy embraces this type : 

  • Brassica crispa. Matth., 1558,247; Pin., 1561, 162; Cam. epit, 1586, 249; Pancov., 1673, n. 614.  
  • B. alba crispa. Lugd., 1587, I, 520. 
  • B. patula crispa. Sabauda aestiva. Lob. ic, 1501, I., 244; Chabr., 1677, 269. 
  • B. sabauda. Gef., 1537, 247. 
  • B. sabauda crispa. Ger., 1. c. 
  • B. sabauda rugosa. J. Bauh., 165 1, II., 828. II., 828

The Elliptical-Headed. 

This race has also a synonomy, and has been long known. 

  •  Brassica sabauda hiberna. Lob. ic, 1591, I., 244. 
  •  B. alba capite oblongo non penitus clause C. Bauhin, Phytopin., 1596, 176; Pin., 1623, III. 
  • B. sabauda. Dod. Pempt, 161 6, 624.





The Conical-Headed. 

Of this type I know of but one form, the Conical Savoy, the French synonyms chou milan a tete longue, chou frise pointu, and chou milan pain de sucre. 

This variety finds mention in French works on gardening in 1824, 1826, and 1829. 






The modern names of the Savoy Cabbage are : 
  • In France, choux de milan, chou milan, chou cabus frise, chou cloque, chou de Hollande, chou pancalier, chou de savoie; 
  • in Germany, wirsing, savoyerkohl, borskohl ; 
  • in Flanders and Holland, savooikool ;
  • in Denmark, savoy kal ; 
  • in Italy, cavolo di milano, verza; 
  • in Spain, col de milan, col risada, col lombarda ; 
  • in Portugal, sabóia , 
  • in India, sikoree kobee.  
    In ancient times it was called:
  • In English, savoie cole, Ger. 1597, savoy cabbage, Ray, 1686; 
  • in France, chou de savoye, Lyte, 1586, choux vers, Pin., 1561
  • in Germany, koel, Pin., 1561, krauskol, Cam. Epit, 1586
  • in Dutch, savoy koolen, Lyte, 1586 
  • in Italy, cavoli, verza, Pin., 1561, cavolo crespo, verza crespa, Cam. Epit, 1586; 
  • in Spain, colles or covves, Pin., 1561. 

A more minute examination would serve to identify nearly all of our sub-varieties with kinds named preceding 1830. 





Scarlet runner bean. Phaseolus multiflorus Willd. 
Thomé, O.W.,
Flora von Deutschland Österreich
und der Schweiz, Tafeln, (1885)

 This bean, a native of South America, was described and figured by Cornutus in 1635, under the name Faseolus puniceo flore; but it appears in Johnson's edition of Gerarde, 1633.
It was first cultivated as an ornamental plant, and the first mention I find of its use as a vegetable is by Townsend in 1726, who says "the pods are eaten sometimes like other kidney beans," and Stevenson, in 1765, gives directions for kitchen-garden culture. 

 In America, in 1806, it was cultivated exclusively for ornament, and first appears in the vegetable garden about 1819. 
 At the present time five varieties are given by Vilmorin, but one of these, the black, I have neither seen nor found recorded for American gardens, and the hybrid is not clearly described. 

 The synonymy of the different varieties is as below : 

 I. 
Phaseolus flore coccineo. Ray, 1686, I., 884. 
P. multiflorus coccineus. Lam. ex Martens, n. 123.  
Large Scarlet Climber. Mawe, 1778. 
Haricot d'Espagne rouge. Vilm., 1883, 276. 
Scarlet Runner. N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept, 1883, n. 56 1874, n. 89. 


 II.
Faseolus puniceo flore. Cornutus, 1635, 184. 
Phaseolus indicus flore miniato, semine nigro. Titius, 1654, ex Mart. 
P. multiflorus niger. Martens, 1869, n. 121. 
Haricot d'Espagne a grain completement noir. Vilm., 1883, 277. 

 III. 
Phaseolus multiflorus bicolor. Anabida, 1827, ex Martens, 83. 
Haricot d' Espagne bicolor. Vilm., 1883, 227. 
Painted Lady. N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept., 1884, n. 90. 

 IV. 
Phaseolus indicus flore et semine albo. Titius, 1654, ex Martens. 
Phaseolus multiflorus albus. Martens, 1869, 82. 
Large White Climber. Mawe, 1778. 
White Dutch Runners. Gardiner and Hepburn, 18 18, 68. 
White or Dutch Runner. N. Y. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept, 1884, n. 91. 

This synonymy establishes the dates at which each variety appeared, and the varieties have kept true since then. 

The seed of each produces its own variety, unless the blooms have been cross fertilized. Under these circumstances I have noted the Scarlet Runner seed producing the White Runner; the White Runner seed producing the Scarlet Runner, the Painted Lady, and another form which I think is the Haricot d'Espagne hybrid of Vilmorin.

 There have appeared in these crossed plants no intermediate types whatsoever, and I believe that the mixed seed tends to revert ultimately to the original variety, having purged itself of its contamination. 





The names under which the species is known are : 
  • In France, haricot d'Espagne ; 
  • in Germany, arabische bohne ; 
  • in Holland, tursche boon ; 
  • in Italy, fagivolo di Spagna 
  • in India, lal loba or lal lobeea. 


Scolymus. Scolymus hispanicus L. 
Clusius, C. - 1601
 This plant is supposed by authors to be the skolumus and leimonia of Theophrastus, 322 B.C., and its root recorded as edible; the scolymus of Pliny A.D. 79, recorded as a food plant.

 The wild plant was seen in Portugal and Spain by Clusius in 1576. The plant was described by Gerarde in England in 1597, but he does not appear to have grown it.  

It was in the botanic gardens at Oxford in 1658, but receives no other than a quoted mention from Clusius by Ray in 1686. It appears not to have been in English culture in 1778, nor in 1807, and in 1869 is recorded as a new vegetable. 


Flora Graeca -1837
In 1597 Gerarde mentions its culture in Holland, and in 1616 Dodonaeus  says it was planted in Belgian gardens.  In France, in 1882, it is said not to be under culture, but that its long fleshy root is used as a kitchen vegetable in Provence and Languedoc.    In 1883 it is included among kitchen esculents by Vilmorin. 

It is accorded by Burr for American gardens in 1863, and its seed was offered in American seed catalogues of 1882, perhaps a few years earlier. 

Scolymus, Spanish scolymus, Spanish oyster plant or golden thistle is called

  • in France, scolyme d'Espagne cardouille, cardousse, epine jaune ; 
  • in Holland, varkens distel ; 
  • in Italy, barba gentile, cardo scolimo ; 
  • in Spain, escolimo, cardilla ; 
  • at Constantinople, by the Greeks, kephalaggalho 



 Scorzonera. Scorzonera hispanica L. 
1804 - Vietz, F.B., Icones plantarum medico-oeconomico-technologicarum
 This plant was not mentioned by Matthiolus in 1558, but in 1570 was described as a new plant, called by the Spaniards scurzonera or scorzonera. In 1576, Lobel  says the plant was in French, Belgian and English gardens from Spanish seed. 

Neither Camerarius  in 1586, nor Dalechampius in 1587, nor Bauhin 126 in 1596, nor Clusius in 1601 , indicate it as a cultivated plant, and Gerarde, in 1597, calls it a stranger in England, but growing in his garden. 

In 1612 Le Jardinier Solitaire calls it the best root which can be grown in gardens. The use of the root as a garden vegetable is recorded in England by Meager in i683, Worlidge in 1683, by Ray in 1686, etc.    Quintyne in France, in 1690, calls it "one of our chiefest roots." 

Its cultivation does not, therefore, extend back to the sixteenth century. No varieties are recorded under culture. It was in American gardens in 1806. 

The black oyster plant, black salsify, Spanish salsify, or scorzonera, is called 
  • in France, scorsonere, scorzonere d'Espagne, corcionnaire, ecorce noire , salsifis noir; 
  • in Germany, scorsoner, schwarz wurzel ; 
  • in Flanders and Holland, schorseneel ; 
  • in Denmark, schorsenerrod ;
  • in Italy, scorzonera ; 
  • in Spain, escorzonera, salsifi nero ; 
  • in Portugal, escorcioneira ; 
  • in Norway, skorsoneerrod. 







Scurvy grass. Cochlearia officinalis L. 

 The wild plant, as an antiscorbutic salad, has long been in request, and received especial commendation in Holland, where, on account of its abundance, it does not seem to have been cultivated.   In 1586 it is mentioned as common in gardens by Camerarius; in 1597 it was grown in England by Gerarde and a few others; in 1598 it was only found in gardens in Germany; in 1616 recorded in the gardens of Brabant by Dodonaeus.   In 1686 called the Garden Scurvy by Ray.
Vahl, M.H., Symbolae botanicae - 1791

In the United States it is recorded among garden vegetables by Burr in 1863. 

 Scurvy Grass is called 

  • in France, cochlearia officinal, herbe au scorbut, herbe aux cuillers ; 
  • in Germany, loffelkraut ; 
  • in Flanders, lepelkruyd ; 
  • in Holland, lepelblad ;
  • in Denmark, kokleare ; 
  • in Italy and Spain, coclearia; 
  • in Portugal, cochlearia ; 
  • in Norway, cochleare. 







Sea kale. Crambe maritima L. 

 Although this plant is recorded as wild on the coast of Britain, and as fit for food, by Pena and Lobel, Dalechampius, Gerarde, and Ray, yet it was brought into English culture from Italy a few years preceding 1765, and the seed sold at a high price as a rarity. 


In 1778 it is said to "be now cultivated in many gardens as a choice esculent," and in 1795 it was advertised in the London market. According to Heuze it was first cultivated in France by Quintyne, the gardener to Louis XIV., but I do not find it mentioned in my edition of Quintyne of 1693; it, however, is mentioned in the French works on gardening of 1824 and onward. 

The Sea Kale is named in American gardens in 1806, and by seedsmen in 1829 and onwards, and in 1809 is recorded as cultivated near Boston, and introduced to the public in 1813.   
At the Mauritius it was cultivated in 1837. It is even now but rarely grown in the United States. There are no varieties. 

 Sea Kale or beach-cole is called 

  • in France, crambe, chou marin ;
  • in Germany, meer-kohl, see-kohl ; 
  • in Flanders and Holland, zeekool, meerkool ; 
  • in Denmark, strandkaal ; 
  • in Spain, soldanela maritima, crambe, col marino , 
  • in Italy, crambe marina 





Shallot,  Allium ascalonicum L. 


 The askalonion krommoon of Theophrastus, and the cepa ascalonia of Pliny, are usually supposed to be our Shallot, but this identity can scarcely be claimed as assured. It is not established that it occurs in a wild state, and Decandolle is inclined to believe it a form of A. cepa or onion. 

It is mentioned and figured in nearly all the early botanies, and many repeat the statement of Pliny that it came from Ascalon, a town in Syria, whence the name. 
Indeed, Michaud, in his History of the Crusades, says that our gardens owe to the holy wars Shallots, which take their name from Ascalon. 

Amatus Lusitantis, in 1554, gives  Spanish, Italian, French, and German names, which goes to show its culture in these countries. In England, they are said to be cultivated in 1633, but McIntosh  says they were introduced in 1548, but they do not seem to have been known to Gerarde in 1597. 


In 1633, Worlidge says "eschalots are now from France become an English condiment." 
They are enumerated for American gardens in 1806. Vilmorin mentions one variety with seven sub-varieties little differing. 

 The Shallot or eschalot is called 

  • in France, eschalote, chalote, ail sterile ; 
  • in Germany, schalotte, eschlauch ; 
  • in Flanders and Holland, sjalot ; 
  • in Denmark, skalottelog ; 
  • in Italy, scalogno ; 
  • in Spain, chalote, escaluna ; 
  • in Portugal, eschalota ;
  • in Norway, skalotlog ;
  • in the Mauritius, echallotte; 
  • in China, hiai ;
  • in Cochinchina, cay nen; 
  • in India, gundhuna, gudheenk.
to be continued...