Pedalium murex.
Botanical name:
Pedalium murex Linn. Pedaliaceae.
Tropical eastern Asia. The leafy stems, says Drury, are used in thickening buttermilk, to which they give a rich appearance. Roxburgh says vendors of buttermilk are in the habit of diluting their merchandise with water and then thickening the mixture with this plant, which makes the adulterated article seem rich and of the best sort. A. Smith says that water becomes mucilaginous by being simply stirred with the fresh branches of this plant.
Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.
