(Continued from p. 677, Vol. XXIII., 1889.)
IT is rather as ornamental flower-garden plants that the nasturtiums are now so
universally grown. Yet they are also classed among kitchen-garden esculents,
the flower-buds and the seeds serving, when pickled, as a caper substitute, and the
flowers used for garnishing.
In 1683 Worlidge, in England, says, "from a Flower are now become an acceptable Sallad, as well as the blossom." In 1690 Quintyne grew them in the royal kitchen gardens of
France.
Both species were received in Europe in the 16th century, as will be seen from the appended synonymies.
Both are found wild in Peru.
This species seems to have been first known in Europe about
1574, described by Monardes ; it is figured by Lobel in 1576,
and is generally spoken of about this period as a new and rare
plant.
It was in the vegetable-garden in England, in 1726, probably before, and is mentioned in American gardens in 1806.
"The seeds of this rare and faire plant came first from the
Indies into Spaine and those hot regions, and from thence into
France and Flanders, from whence I have received seeds that
hath borne with me both flowers and seede," says Gerarde in
1597.
We cannot agree with those authors who consider this
the dwarf form, as the figure given comes nearer to the Tall, as it
was figured by J. Bauhin, in his works printed in 1651, with the
name scandens, thirty-three years before its asserted introduction
by Linnaeus.
Ray, in 1686, speaks of its use as a vegetable,
and this use is also spoken of by Townsend in 1726. In
American gardens it was noticed by McMahon in 1806, and by
all the early garden writers, as being the predominant kind in
culture.
The tubers are of good size, and
are marked with purple upon a yellowish ground.
It
reached Kew gardens in 1772. It also occurs in Australia, both
on the coast and in the desert interior, in New Caledonia, China,
Japan, and Chili.
Don says three varieties are found in Chili,
one with smooth leaves, one with leaves hoary beneath,
and a third small and glabrous.
It was cultivated as a spinage 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 our seed catalogues.
St. Hilaire records
its use as a spinage in South Brazil, and Bojer in the
Mauritius.
This plant, says Vilmorin, is not as yet used in France as a
vegetable, but in
warm countries the leaves are sometimes eaten
as spinage.
It is mentioned by Galen among aliments in the
second century, but was not cultivated in Germany in Fuchsius' time, 1542, although it retained its name, Solatium hortense, perhaps from its former cultivation.
It is a plant of a wide distribution, occurring in the northern hemisphere from Sweden, and the
north-east of America from Hudson Bay, even to the equatorial
regions, as for example at Timor, the Galapagos, the Antilles,
Abyssinia, the Mascarene Isles, Mauritius, Van Diemen's Land,
Chili, etc.
It is found as a pot herb in the markets of Mauritus, and is used as a spinage in Central Africa.
In China the
young shoots are eaten, as also its black berries, and in the Mississippi Valley the little black berries are made into pies and
other pastry.
The Spanish Moors appear to have been well acquainted with
this plant, which was known to them by the name of bamiyah. Abul-Abbas el-Nebati, a native of Seville, learned in plants, who
visited Egypt A. D. 1216, describes in unmistakable terms the
form of the plant, its seeds and fruit, which last, he remarks, is
eaten when young and tender with meal by the Egyptians.
Of these the last only, that of Comelyn, represents the type of
pod of the varieties usually to be found in our gardens, but
plants are occasionally to be found bearing pods which resemble
those figured in the above list.
I find little recorded, however,
concerning variety, as in the regions where its culture is particularly affected there is a paucity of writers. Miller's Dictionary,
1807, mentions that there are different forms of pods in different
varieties ; in some not thicker than a man's finger, and five or six
inches long; in others very thick, and not more than two or
three inches long; in some erect; in others rather inclined.
Lunan, in Jamaica, in 1814, speaks of the pods being of different
size and form in the varieties. In 1831 Don describes a species,
the H. bammia, Link., with very long pods.
In 1863 Burr describes four varieties in American gardens, two dwarfs, one
pendant-podded, and one tall and white-podded. In 1885, at the
New York Agricultural Experiment Station, varieties were grown
under eleven different names, and from these we were able to
satisfy ourselves of three distinct sorts only. Moninckx atlas, -1682-1709
Although Vilmorin says the culture of this plant has not given
good results in France, yet he includes it in his book on vegetables. It was brought into French culture in 1848 by the Minister of Agriculture. It is cultivated in the Andes of Peru,
Bolivia and New Granada, Chili and Mexico.
The tubers are
yellow, very smooth, starchy, and are developed on runners proceeding from the base of the stem. Lieut. Herndon, who ate
them in Peru, pronounced them more glutinous than the oca and
not so pleasant to the taste.
 |
| Curtis Magazine |
The olluco is called at Quito
ulluco or
melloco;
- in Peru,
ulluca ;
- in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia, oca quina ;
- in Chili,
melloes and ulloco ;
- in Mexico, papa lissa.
Acosta, in speaking of the food plants of Colao, Peru, where
the climate is cold and dry, says,
"The Indians use an other kinde of roote, which they call Papas ; these rootes are like to
grownd nuttes, they are small rootes, which cast out many
leaves. They gather this Papas, and dry it well in the Sunne,
then beating it they make that which they call Chuno, which
keepes many daies, and serves for bread. In this realme there is
great trafficke of Chuno, the which they carry to the mines of
Potozi ; they likewise eat of these Papas boyled or roasted.
There is one sweete of these kindes, which grows in hot places,
whereof they do make certaine sawces and minced meats, which
they call Locro."
As the olluco is said by Heuze to be only eaten raw, outside
of Mexico, we may believe that Acosta refers in this extract to
this plant, the potato and the sweet potato.
Onion. Allium cepa L.
 |
| 1886 - Vick's Floral Guide |
Onion. Allium cepa L.
The culture of the onion was known at a remote period, and
in the ancient Egyptian paintings a priest
is frequently seen holding
them in his hand, or covering an altar with a bundle of thin leaves
and roots. Hippocrates mentions that they are commonly
eaten 430 B.C. Theophrastus, 322 B.C., names a number of
varieties, the Sardian
(from western Turkey), the Cnidian
(from southern Turkey), Thamocracian, and the Setanicon, all named from the places of growth. Those of Issus and
Sardis are white. Dioscorides, 60 A.D., speaks of the onion as
long or round; yellow or white. Columella, 65 42 A.D., speaks of
the Marsicam, which the country people call unioiwm, and this
word seems to be the origin of our word onion, the French ognon.
Pliny, 66 A.D. 79, devotes considerable space to the cepa, and says
the round onion is the best, and that the red are more highly
flavored than the white. Palladius, 210 A.D., gives minute
directions for culture. Apicius, A.D. 230, gives a number of
recipes for the use of the onion in cookery, but its uses by this
epicurean writer are rather as a seasoner than as an edible. In the thirteenth century Albertus Magnus describes the onion, but
does not include it in his list of garden plants where he speaks of
the leek and garlic, by which we would infer, what indeed seems
to have been the case with the ancients, that it was in less
esteem than these now minor vegetables.
In the sixteenth century Amatus Lusitanus says the onion is one of the commonest
of vegetables, and occurs in red and white varieties, and of various qualities, some sweet, others strong, and yet others intermediate in savor.
In 1570, Matthiolus refers to varieties as large
and small, long, round and flat, red, bluish, green and white.
Laurembergius, in 1632, says onions differ in form, some being
round, others oblong ; in color, some white, others dark red ; in
size, some being large, others small ; from their origin, as German, Danish, Spanish, etc. He says the Roman colonies during
the reign of Agrippa grew in the gardens of the monasteries a
Russian sort, which attained sometimes the weight of eight
pounds. He calls the Spanish onion oblong, white and large,
excelling all other sorts in sweetness and size, and grown in large
abundance in Holland.
At Rome the sort which brings the
highest price in the markets is the Caieta ; at Amsterdam the St.
Omer.
At the present time Vilmorin describes sixty varieties, and
there are a number of varieties grown which are not noted by
him in France.
In form these may be described as fiat, flattened,
disc-form, spherical, spherical-flattened, pear-shaped, long. This
last form seems to attain an exaggerated length in Japan, where
I have been told that they often equal a foot in length. In 1886,
Kizo Tamari, a Japanese commissioner to this country, says,
"Our onions have not large globular bulbs. They are grown
just like celery in this country, and have long, white, slender
stalks."
In addition to the forms mentioned above we rank the
top onion and the potato onion among our varieties. The onion
is described in many colors, such as white, dull white, silvery
white, pearly white, yellowish green, coppery yellow, salmon yellow, greenish yellow, bright yellow, pale salmon, salmon pink,
coppery pink, chamois, red, bright red, blood red, dark red,
purplish.
But few of our modern forms are noticed in the early botanies.
The following synonymy includes all I have noted, but in
establishing it it must be noted that many of the figures upon
which it is founded are quite indistinct.
I. Bulb flat at bottom ; tapering towards stem.
- Cepa. Fuchsius, 1542, 430.
- Cepa rotunda. Bodseus, 1644, 787.
- Caepe sive Cepa rubra et alba. J. Bauhin, 165 1, II., 549.
- Geant de Rocca. Vilm., 1883, 387.
- Mammoth Pompeii. American Seedsmen.
- Golden Queen. American Seedsmen.
- Paris Silverskin. American Seedsmen.
- Silver White Etna. American Seedsmen.
The difference at first sight between the crude figure of Fuchsius and the modern varieties is great, but ordinary experience indicates that the changes are no greater than can be observed under selection.
II.
Bulb round at bottom ; tapering towards stem.
- Zwiblen. Roszlin, 1550, 121.
- Cepa. Tragus, 1552, 737.
- Caepa. Cam. Epit, 1586, 324.
- Blanc hatif de Valence. ViL, 1883', 378.
- Neapolitan Marzajola. American Seedsmen.
- Round White Silverskin. American Seedsmen.
- White Portugal. American Seedsmen.
III.
Bulb roundish, flattened above and below.
- Cepa. Matth., 1558, 276; Pin., 1 561, 215.
- Caepa capitata. Matth., 1570, 388.
- Cepe. Lob. Obs., 1576, 73; ic, 1591, I., 150.
- Cepa rubra. Ger., 1597, 134.
- Cepa rotunda. Dod., 1616, 687.
- Rouge gros-plat d'Italie. Vilm., 1883, 387.
- Bermuda. American Seedsmen.
- Large Flat Madeira. American Seedsmen.
- Wethersfield Large Red. American Seedsmen.
IV.
Bulb rounded below, flattened above.
- De cepis. Pictorius, 1581, 82.
- Philadelphia Yellow Dutch or Strasburg. American Seedsmen.
V.
Bulb spherical, or nearly so.
- Cepa. Tragus, 1552, 737. Lauremb., 1632, 26.
- Cepe. Lob. Obs., 1576, 73; ic, 1591, I., 150.
- Cepe alba. Ger., 1597, 134.
- Caepa capitata. Matth., 1598,419.
- Jaune de Danvers. Vilm., 1883, 380.
- Danvers. American Seedsmen.
VI.
Bulb dishing on the bottom.
- Cepa rotunda. Bodaeus, 1644, 786.
- Extra Early Red. American Seedsmen.
VII.
Bulb oblong.
- Caepa. Cam. Epit, 1586, 324.
- Cepea Hispanica oblonga. Lob. ic, 1591, I., 150.
- Cepa oblonga. Dod., 1616, 687; Bodaeus, 1644, 787.
- Piriform. Vilm., 1883, 388.
VIII.
The top onion.
In 1557 Dalechamp records with great surprise an onion
plant which bore in the place of seed, small bulbs.
The onion was named by Chaucer, in England, about 1340.
In Mexico
onyons are mentioned by Peter Martyr before 1557,
in Peru before 1604, in New England about 1629, in Virginia
in 1648, and were among the Indian foods destroyed by General
Sullivan in western New York in 1779.
In 1806 McMahon records eight varieties in American gardens.
The onion is called:
- in France, ognon, oignon ;
- in Germany,
Zwibel ;
- in Flanders, ajuin ;
- in Holland, uijen ;
- in Denmark,
rodlog;
- in Italy, cipolla ;
- in Spain, cebolla ;
- in Portugal, cebola ;
- in the Mauritius, oignon;
- in Norway, rodlog;
- in Greek,
krommuon ;
- in Latin, cepa.
- In Arabic, bussull , basal;
- in Bengali, pulantoo, peeaj ;
- in
Ceylon, loono ;
- in China, tsum xi ;
- in Cochin China, cay hanh ;
- in Hindustani, pee-aj;
- n India, peeaj;
- in Japan, soo, fitmosi;
- in Java, brangbang;
- in Malay, bawangmera ;
- in Persia,
peeaj ;
- in Sanscrit, palandu, latarka, sukandaka ;
- in Tamil,
venggayum ;
- in Telegu, wolliguidda.
Orach. Atriplex hortensis L.
This spinach plant is grown as a vegetable, and also to use as a
salad, mixed with sorrel in order to correct the acidity. It was
known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and it seems to have
been used more in the early times before the introduction of the
spinach than now.
Two varieties are known; the red and the
green, each with a sub-variety of a paler color.
 |
Spach, E., Histoire naturelle des végétaux,
(1834-1847) [J. Decaisne]
|
It was known
to Turner in England in 1538, who calls it
areche, or r
edoreche.
In 1686 Ray mentions the white and the red, even as mentioned
by Gerarde in 1597.
In 1623 Bauhin mentions the red, the
white, and the dark green.
In 1806, three kinds are named by
McMahon as in American gardens.
Orach, orache, French spinach, or Mountain spinach is called
- in
France, arroche, armol, arrode, arrouse, belle dame, bonne dame,
eripe, erode, follette, iribe, irible, prudefemme
- in Germany, gartenmelde ;
- in Flanders and Holland, melde,
hofmelde ;
- in Italy,
atreplice ;
- in Spain, armuelle ;
- in Portugal, armolas ;
- in Norwegian, havemelde ,
- in Greece, vlita, spanakia
- in Greek,
atraphaxis ;
- in Latin, atriplex ;
- in Egyptian, ohet ;
- in India,
buthooa.
Oxalis. Oxalis sp.
There are two species which have been introduced into European gardens, but as an aliment they are there of little importance ; they are yet included by Vilmorin among kitchen esculents. The roots are the parts principally used, yet the acid
leaves find use as a salad.
This species is cultivated in Peru in gardens about Lima, and
quite extensively in the mountains,from Chili even to Mexico. It was introduced into England in 1829, and was for a time cultivated as a culinary plant.
It seems now to have fallen into
disuse. Burr included it among American garden esculents in
1863.
A red and a yellow variety are mentioned.
The oxalis is called
- in France, oxalis crenelee, oxalide, surelle
tubereuse ;
- in Flanders, zverklaver;
- in Peru, oca.
 |
Transactions of the royal horticultural society of London, (1848)
|
Oxalis deppei Lodd.
This species is said to be a native of Brazil, whence it was introduced into the kitchen-gardens of
Europe, reaching England
in 1827.
In 1860 Loudon says about 1850 it began to replace
in esteem the 0. crenata.
The young leaves are served like sorrel, put into soup, or used as greens ; the flowers are excellent in
salad, alone or mixed with corn salad ; the roots are served
boiled.
It was likewise recorded by Burr for American gardens
in 1863.
 |
The botanical cabinet
[C. Loddiges],(1828) |
Para cress. Spilanthes sp.
Under the name of Para cress several species of Spilanthes are
occasionally cultivated, the piquant leaves being mixed with
other salads, and having the property of stimulating the salivary
glands ; they should hence be classed with medical salads.
Spilanthes oleracea L.
Recorded as cultivated in France in 1860 and in 1824, and in
the Mauritius in 1837, and is used also as a salad in the Mascarenhas, the East Indies and South America.
It is called:
- in France cresson de Para, spilanthe, spilanthe des
potageres, lu abecedaire;
- in Germany, hussarenknopf ;
- in Flanders,
ABC kruid ;
- in Japan, hoko so
Spilanthes fusca H. P.
This species also cultivated, and seems to be the
cresson du
Bresil of Vilmorin.
Below is a nice French seed business site...
Potager ornemental de Catherine
Parsley, Apium petroselinum L.
Wow!! I was looking for an illustration to start Parsley and this scan of the paste down inside a promising book appeared! In the past I have been pleased to find books owned by other botanists, like Liberty Hyde Bailey's books show up often, sometimes signed, often with a bookplate.
It would be an interesting online hunt to find botanist's bookplates and signatures in books. I wonder what the oldest one online is? I suppose finding out what university they were associated with might cut down on the time needed to track them down.
Had to show this...
"Although largely unknown today, Elizabeth Blackwell made a significant contribution to medical knowledge and to the art of botanical illustration. Her multi-volume work, 'A curious herbal', published in the 1730s, was an invaluable resource for doctors and apothecaries in the 18th century and beyond.
'A curious herbal' is one of the earliest botanical books to have been compiled by a woman."
from the National Library of Scotland
 |
Blackwell, E., Herbarium Blackwellianum, vol. 5: t. 443 (1765)
|
Parsley, Apium petroselinum L.
This biennial is found wild in southern Europe, from Spain to
Macedonia, also in Algiers and in the Lebanon. It seems to be
the
apium of the ancient Romans, the
selinon of Theophrastus, who, 322 B. C., describes two varieties, one with crowded, dense
leaves, the other with more open and broader leafage.
Columella 120
A.D. speaks of the broad-leaved and curled sorts, and gives
directions for the culture of each, and, A.D. 79 , Pliny mentions
the cultivated form as having varieties with a thick leaf, a crisp
leaf, etc., evidently copying from Theophrastus. He adds, however, from apparently his own observation, that the
apium is in
general esteem, for the sprays find use in large quantities in broths, and give a peculiar palatability to condimental foods. In Achaea
it is used, so he says, for the victor's crown in the Nemean
games.
A little later Galen, 122 A. D. , praises the parsley as among
the commonest of foods, sweet and grateful to the stomach, and
that some eat it and
Smyrnium mixed with the leaves of lettuce.
Palladius, about 210 A. D., mentions the method of procuring
the curled form from the common, and says that old seed germinate more freely than do fresh seed (a peculiarity of parsley seed
at present, and which is directly the opposite to that of celery
seed).
Apicius, A. D. 230, a writer on cookery, makes use of
the
apium viride, and of the seed. In the 13th century Albertus
Magnus speaks of
apium and
petroselinum as being kitchen-garden plants ; he speaks of each as being an herb the first year,
a vegetable the second year of growth ; he says the
apium has
broader and larger leaves than the
petroselinum, the
petroselinum
has leaves like the
cicuta; that the
petroselinum is more of a
medicine than a food.
At the present time we have for forms the common or plain-leaved, the celery-leaved or Neapolitan, the curled, the fern-leaved, and the Hamburg or turnip-rooted.
I.
The plain-leaved form is not now much grown, having
become superseded by the more ornamental curled forms. In
1552, Tragus says there is no kitchen-garden in Germany without it, and it is used by the rich as well as the poor, and Matthiolus, in 1558 and 1570, says it is one of the most common plants
of the garden.
In 1778 Mawe says it is the sort most commonly
grown in English gardens, but many prefer the curled kinds, and
in 1834 Don says it is seldom cultivated.
It was in American
gardens in 1806.
- Petroselinum. Trag., 1552, 459.
- Apium hortense. Matth., 1558, 362; 1570, 512; 1598, 562;
Pin., 1561, 333; Lugd., 1537,700; Lob. ic, 1591,706; Ger.,
1597, 861 ; Dod., 161 6, 694.
- Garden parsley. Lyte's Dod., 1586, 696.
- Common parsley. Ray, 1686, 448; McMahon, 1806, 127.
- Plane parsley. Mawe, 1778.
- Common plain leaved. Don, 1834, III., 279.
- Plain parsley. Burr, 1863,433.
- Persil commun. Vilm., 1883,403.
II.
The celery-leaved or Neapolitan is scarcely known outside
of Naples. It differs from the common parsley in the large size
of its leaves and leaf stalks, and it may be blanched as a celery. It was introduced into France by Vilmorin in 1823. Pliny
mentions parsleys with thick stalks, and says the stalks of some
are white. It may be the
Apium hortense maximum of Bauhin in 1596, as the description applies well. He says it is now
grown in gardens, and was first called English Apium. He does
not mention it in his Pinax, 1623, under the same name, but
under that of
latifolium. Linnaeus considers this to be the
Ligusticum austriacum Jacq.
It is figured by Bauhin in his Prodromus. I have never seen it.
- Persil celeri ou de Naples. L'Hort. Fran., 1824.
.
- Naples or Celery-leaved. Burr, 1863,434.
- Persil grand de Naples. Vilm., 1883,404.
 |
| All these snippets from - Plantarum historiae universalis Oxoniensis seu herbarum distributio nova, per tabulas cognationis et affinitatis ex libro Naturae observata et detecata, Volume 3 - Theatrum Sheldonianum, 1699 |
III.
The curled parsleys. Of these we have many varieties,
differing but in degree, such as the curled, extra curled, moss
curled, and triple curled. Pena & Lobel, in 1570, mention this
form, and say it is very elegant and rare, brought from the
mountains the past year and grown in gardens, the leaves curled
on the borders, very graceful and tremulous, with minute incisions.
In the synonymy many of the figures do not exhibit the
curled aspect which the name and description indicates ; we hence
make two divisions, the curled and the very curled. The curled
was in American gardens preceding 1806.
(a.) The curled.
- Apium crispum sive multifidum. Ger., 1597, 861, cum ic.
- Apium crispum. Matth. Op., 1598, 562, cum ic.
(b.) Very curled.
- Apium crispatum. Adv., 1570, 315: Lugd., 1587, 700.
- Apium. Cam. Epit, 1586, 526.
- Petroselinum vulgo, crispum. J. Bauh., 165 1, III.,Pt. 2, 97.
Curled. Townsend, 1726,; Mawe, 1778; McMahon, 1806,
127; Thorb. Kal., 1821.
- Apium crispum. Mill. Diet, 1731, ex Mill. Diet, 1807.
- Apium petroselinum. Bryant, 1783, 24.
- Curled or Double. Fessenden, 1828,222; Bridgeman, 1832.
- Persil frise. L'Hort. Fran., 1824; Vilm., 1883,404.
- Dwarf curled. Fessenden, 1828, 222; Burr, 1863, 432.
- Curled leaved. Don, 1834, III., 279.
IV.
The fern-leaved has leaves which are not curled, but are
divided into a very great number of small thread-like segments,
and is of a very dark green. I first note it in American seed
catalogues of 1878. It seems, however, to be described by
Bauhin in his edition of Matthiolus, 1598, as a kind with leaves
of the coriander, but very many extending from one branch,
laciniate, and the stem leaves unlike the coriander because long
and narrow.
V.
The Hamburg parsley is grown for its roots, which are
used as parsnips are. It seems to have been used in Germany in
1542 or earlier, but its use was indicated as of Holland origin
even then in the name used, Dutch parsley. It did not reach
England until long after.
In 1726 Townsend, a seedsman, had
heard that "the people in Holland boil the roots of it, and eat it
as a good dish," and Miller is said to have introduced it in 1727,
and to have grown it himself for some years before it became
appreciated.
In 1778 it is said to be called Hamburg parsley,
and to be in esteem. In 1783 Bryant mentions its frequent occurrence in the London markets.
It was in American gardens in
1806.
- Oreoselinum. Germanis Deutsch petersilg. Fuch. 1542,573.
- Petroselinum. Tragus, 1552, 459.
- Apium. Cam. Epit, 1586, 526.
- Apium hortense Fuchsii. J. Bauhin, 165 1, III., Pt. 2, 97.
- Apium latifolium. Mill. Diet, 1737.
- Dutch parsley . Gard. Kal., 1765, 127.
- Hamburg parsley. Mawe, 1778.
- Broad-leaved. Mawe, 1778.
- Hamburg or large rooted. McMahon, 1806; Burr, 1863,433.
- Large rooted. Thorb. Kal., 1821.
- Persil tubereux. L'Hort. Fran., 1824.
- Persil a grosse racine. Vilm., 1883,405.
VI.
A
Persil panache is mentioned by Pirolle, in L'Hort.
Francais, 1824, but I find no further account.
The Parsley is called:
- in France persil;
- in Germany petersilie ;
- in Flanders and Holland peterselie ;
- in Holland pieterselie ;
- in
Denmark petersilje;
- in Italy prezzemolo, petroncino, erbetta;
- in
Spain perejil;
- in Portugal selsa;
- in Norway persille ;
- in
Russia petruschka
- In Arabic maquedounis, bagedounis, kussah;
- in China, hu-sui;
- in Egypt, bagdunis ;
- in India, vjmood, vjooaen khorasanee ;
- in
Japan, kin, seri;
- in Persia, karefo.
Parsnip. Pastinaca sativa L.
It has been supposed that the
pastinaca of the Romans included
the carrot and the parsnip, and that the
elaphoboscon of Pliny was the parsnip. Pliny describes the medicinal virtues of the
elaphoboscon, and says it is much esteemed as a food. The references however do not prove this plant to be cultivated, nor do the
references to the
pastinaca satisfactorily indicate the parsnip. I
am unwilling to accept such evidence as we find that the cultivated parsnip was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Had to check this out - ĕlăphŏboscon, i, n., = ἐλαφοβόσκον (deer-food, stag's food), I. wild parsnips, Plin. 22, 22, 37, § 79.
Pliny says -
CHAP. 37.—THE ELAPHOBOSCON: NINE REMEDIES.
The elaphoboscon is a ferulaceous plant, articulated, and about a finger in thickness. The seed of it is like that of dill, hanging in umbels resembling those of hart-wort in appearance, but not bitter.
The leaves are very like those of olusatrum. This plant, too, is highly spoken of as an article of food; in addition to which, it is preserved and kept as a diuretic and for the purpose of assuaging pains in the sides, curing ruptures and convulsions, and dispelling flatulency and colic.
It is used, too, for the cure of wounds inflicted by serpents and all kinds of animals that sting; so much so, indeed, that, as the story goes, stags, by eating of it, fortify themselves against the attacks of serpents.
The root, too, applied topically, with the addition of nitre, is a cure for fistula, but, when wanted for this purpose, it must be dried first, so as to retain none of the juice; though, on the other hand, this juice does not at all impair its efficacy as an antidote to the poison of serpents.
The above is from this fascinating site with an interesting interface.
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Zorn, J., Oskamp, D.L., Afbeeldingen der artseny-gewassen met derzelver Nederduitsche en Latynsche beschryvingen -1800
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The following is a synonymy founded on pictures and descriptions combined, all representing our long parsnip form of root,
but some indicating the hollow crown, upon which some of the
modern varieties are founded, especially Camerarius in 1586.
Sisarum sativum magnum. Fuchs., 1542, 751.
Pestnachen. Roszlin, 1550, 106.
Pastinaca. Trag., 1552, 440.
Pastinaca sativa. Matth., 1558, 353; 1570,500; 1598,548;
Pin., 1 561, 318.
Pastinaca domestica vulgi. Lob. Obs., 1 576, 407; ic. 1 591, 1, 709.
De Pastinaca. Pastenay, gerlin oder moren. Pictorius, 1 5 8 1 , 94.
Pastinaca domestica. Cam. Epit, 1 5 36, 507; Cast. Dur., 1617,837.
Pastinaca sativa vulgi,
Matthioli. Lugd., 1587, 719.
Pastinaca latifolia sativa. Ger., 1597, 870; Dod., 1616, 680.
Pastinaca sativa latifolia, Germanica, luteo flore. J. Bauh.,
165 1, II., Pt. 2, 150, 151.
Long parsnip of the moderns.
In 1683 the long parsnips are figured in England as in great
use for a delicate sweet food, are spoken of by Ray in 1686,
Townsend 1726, Mawe, 1778, and Miller 1807, etc.
The following "delicate sweet food" recipe is from 1810. The lady was Esther Copley.
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The cook's complete guide, on the principles of frugality, comfort, and elegance
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| Vilmorin |
The round parsnip, or
Panais rond of the French, is called
Siam by Don in 1834.
Its roots are funnel-shaped, tapering
very abruptly, often curving inwards. I find little of its early history. It was noted in the
Bon Jardinier for 1824, as also by
Pirolle in Le Hort. Frangcais, by Mcintosh, Burr, and other more
recent writers.
The introduction of the Parsnip to America was probably by
the earliest colonists.
It is mentioned at Margarita Island by
Hawkins in 1564; in Peru by Acosta in 1604, as cultivated
in Virginia in 1609 and 1648, in Massachusetts in 1629, and
as common in 1630, and were among the Indian foods destroyed
by Gen. Sullivan in Western New York in 1779.
The parsnip is called:
- in France panais, grand chervia cultive,
pastenade blanche, patenais, racine blanche ;
- in Germany, pastinake;
- in Flanders and Holland, pastenaak
;
- in Holland, pinkster nakel ; (I like this name :-)
- in Denmark, pastinak;
- in Italy, pastinaca ;
- in Spain, chirivia ;
- in
Portugal, pastinaga ;
- in Norway, pastinak.
The watercolors of Helen Sharp are delightful!
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Sharp, Helen, Water-color sketches of American plants, especially New England, (1888-1910)
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(To be continued)
