Buchanania lancifolia Roxb. Anacardiaceae. CHEEROJEE-OIL
East Indies and Burma.
The tender, unripe fruit is eaten by the natives
in their curries.
B. latifolia Roxb.
Tropical India and Burma.
The fruit, says Brandis, has a pleasant,
sweetish, sub-acid flavor and is an important article of food of the hill
tribes of central India. The kernel of the seed tastes somewhat like the
pistachio nut and is used largely in native sweetmeats. Drury says
these kernels are a general substitute for almonds among the natives
and are much esteemed in confectionery or are roasted and eaten with
Bumelia lanuginosa Pers. Sapotaceae. FALSE BUCKTHORN.
This is a low bush of southern United States which,
according to Nuttall, bears an edible fruit as large as a small date.
B. reclinata Vent. WESTERN BUCKTHORN.
Southwestern United States.
In California, Torrey says the fruit is sweet
and edible and nearly three-quarters of an inch long.
Bunias erucago Linn. Cruciferae.
In Italy, Unger says this species serves as a
salad for the poor.
B. orientalis Linn. HILL MUSTARD. TURKISH ROCKET.
Eastern Europe and Asia Minor.
This plant is called dikaia retka on the
Lower Volga. Its stems are eaten raw. This rocket was cultivated in
1739 by Philip Miller in the Botanic Garden of Chelsea and was first
introduced into field culture in England as a forage plant, by Arthur
Young. The young leaves are recommended by Vilmorin either as a
salad or boiled.
Bupleurum falcatum Linn. Umbelliferae. HARE'S EAR.
Europe, Orient, Northern Asia and Himalayan region.
The leaves are
used for food in China and Japan.
B. octoradiatum Bunge.
In China, the tender shoots of this apparently foreign
plant are edible.
B. rotundifolium Linn. THOROUGH WAX.
Europe, Caucasus region and Persia.
"Hippocrates hath commended it
in meats for salads and potherbs."
Burasaia madagascariensis DC. Menispermaceae.
This plant has edible fruit.
Bursera gummifera Linn. Burseraceae. AMERICAN GUM TREE.
An infusion of the leaves is occasionally used as a
domestic substitute for tea.
B. icicariba Baill.
The tree is said to have edible, aromatic fruit. It yields the elemi
B. javanica Baill.
This plant is the tingulong of the Javanese, who eat the leaves and
Butomus umbellatus Linn. Alismaceae (Butomaceae).
FLOWERING RUSH. GRASSY RUSH. WATER GLADIOLUS.
Europe and adjoining Asia.
Unger says, in Norway, the rhizomes serve
as material for a bread. Johns says, in the north of Asia, the root is
roasted and eaten. Lindley says the rhizomes are acrid and bitter, as
well as the seeds but are eaten among the savages. In France, it is
grown in flower gardens as an aquatic.
Butyrospermum parkii Kotschy. Sapotaceae. BUTTER TREE.
Tropical west Africa.
Shea, or galam, butter is obtained from the kernel
of the fruit and serves the natives as a substitute for butter. This butter
is highly commended by Park. The tree is called meepampa in
Buxus sempervirens Linn. Euphorbiaceae (Buxaceae). BOX.
Europe, Orient and temperate Asia.
In France and some other parts of
the continent, the leaves of the box have been. used as a substitute for
hops in beer, but Johnson says they cannot be wholesome and would
probably prove very injurious.