Re: Extinction (was Jurassic Intelligence)

[jdharris@csn.net (Jerry D. Harris)]

>Or maybe the person who posted that was thinking of manioc, which
>is poisonous raw but can be processed to be edible and is a staple
>for millions of people. Fugu is for people who want thrills; manioc
>is a day-to-day food.
>
>Vicki Rosenzweig

Vicki et al -

        A friend of mine who was on some (I've forgotten) Pacific island
relayed to me an anecdote about how the natives eat cycad seeds.  Cycad
seeds are, apparently, highly poisonous if just eaten right off the plant,
but are quite common in this region and are a staple food item.  To
eliminate the poisons, the seeds are soaked repeatedly in bowls of water,
for several weeks, to leech the poisons out.  Apparently, they're toxic
enough that they just leave the bowls out in the open:  even insects won't
come near them!  I don't know what kind of mortality rate such a practice
has, though.


Jerry D. Harris
Denver Museum of Natural History
2001 Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO  80205
(303) 370-6403
Internet:  jdharris@teal.csn.net
CompuServe:  73132,3372

--)::)>   '''''''''''''/O\'''''''''''`  Jpq--   =o}\   w---^/^\^o

Overheard in the Denver Museum's
old Fossil Mammal Hall, from a mother
to her daugher:

"See there?  That's the camel-dinosaur, and
the horse-dinosaur, and the elephant-dinosaur..."

--)::)>   '''''''''''''/O\'''''''''''`  Jpq--   =o}\   w---^/^\^o