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The Plant World
AN ILLUSTRATED
MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
ESTABLISHED 1897.
EDITED BY
F. H. KNOWLTON, Ph. D.,
CHARLES LOUIS POLLARD, A. M.,
CORNELIUS L. SHEAR, B. S.
VOLUME IV.
1901.
THE PLANT WORLD COMPANY,
Washiitgton, D. C.
INDEX OF PLANT WORLD.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PUI^L-PAGE PLATES. FACING PACE
Pirate I. The Giant Sequoia of California 8
** II, A View on the Pinar Plateau, a few miles
east of Consoladon del Sur 21
A View in the Pinales or Pine Hills in the
Mountains of Western Cuba, near Bl
Guama 21
III. Claytonia Chamissoi Ledeb 42
IV. A Road in Bermuda 101
V. Palms in Bermuda 106
VI. A Singular Elm 112
** VII. Dragon-tree at I^guna, Teneriffe 121
VIII. Thomas Conrad Porter 130
*' IX. A Green Trillium . / 183
X. Bird Rock, Gulf of St. I^wrence .... 144
" XI. Avenue of Royal Palms, with Mango on the
left, Cuba 161
** XII. The Bate Valm(^PAomixdacfyU/era) ... 164
" XIII. Charles Mohr 168
*' XIV. The F£isqneVloweT(PuhatillaLudoviaana). 171
" XV. Mamoncillo {Afelicocca itjuga) 181
•* XVI. The Knubble 188
Mount Moriah 188
XVII. Sheldon on Rooting of Oxalis Leaves . . . 201
** XVIII. The Snow Flant (SarcoiUs sangyitnea) . . . 218
'* XIX. Silk Cotton Tree (C«*a^/flw/ra) . ... 221
TEXT FIGURES.
Inexpensive Outfit for Determitiing Grasses 6
Twig from Common Japanese Honeysuckle (Lanicera /aponica) 8
The Rosy Tricholoma {Tricholoma riMcunda Peck) 11
An Unusual Flower 13
The Masked Tricholoma (^Tricholoma personatum Pr.) . . . . 26
An Abnormal Seedling 54
The Curly-grass (JScHzciea pusiUd) 73
IV INDEX OP PLANT WORLD.
PAGB
The Asparagus Rust (figs. 1, 2, 3, 4,) 93, 94
Geaster fomicatus 127
The Fairy Ring Mushroom {Marasmius oreades)^ 206
A Double Trillium 214
INDEX OK AUTHORS.
PA6B.
Ashe, W. W 104
Baum, Henry E 146
Bumham, Stewart H 28
Burroughs, John 141
Cook, Alice Carter 1, 121
Curtiss, A. H 61, 81
Dobbin, Frank 47
Deane, Walter 188
Fitzpatrick, T. J. & M. F. L 69
Flett, J. B 67
GiflFord, John 149
Halsted, Byron D 88, 202
Havard, Valery 161, 181, 221
Heller, A. A '. 180
Holzinger, John M 41, 170, 185
Horton, Frances B. . . 29
Howe, Marshall A 101
Jenney, Charles Elmer 128
Kaufman, Pauline 25, 146, 225
Knowlton, F. H 51
Lang, W. H.,Jr 49
Morris, E. L 109
Nelson, Aven 208
Palmer, WilUam 21, 107
Pammel, L. H 151
Parish, S.B 227
Plitt, Charles C 210
Price, Sadie F 143
Saunders, C. F 5
Saunders, W. E 44
Shear, C. L 124
Sheldon, John L 201
Tracy. S. M 167
WUliams, E. M 9, 25, 206
INDEX OP TLKST WORLD. T.
INDEX OK SUBJECTS.
PAGE
Additional Notes on the Habitat of the Mesquite in Oklahoma. 193
Advice to Beginners in Botany, The Knubble 188
A February Outing in California, 28
A Fossil Flower 73
A Green Trillium 132
A March Day's Flowers 128
A Scanty Flora 146
A Singular Tree Ill
A Standard College Entrance Option in Botany 132
An Abnormal Mandrake, Dandelion and Banana 134
An Abnormal Seedling 64
Anaquassacook Hills, Spring in the 47
An Unusual Flower 12
Asparagus Rust, The 88
Aspect of the New Zealand Flora 113
August Days 141
Australian Forests 174
Banana, An Abnormal Mandrake, Dandelion and 134
Bee-bread, FungusSpores, as 49
Bee-bread, More about Fungus Spores, as 96
Beginners in the Determination of Grasses, Hints for ... . 6
Bermuda, Botanizing in 101
Big Trees of California, The Threatened Destruction of the . . 7
Blooming of Twining Honeysuckles, The 202
Botanizing in and Around a I^e 109
Botanizing in Bermuda . 101
Botany, The Knubble- Advice to Beginners in 188
Botany, A Standard College Entrance Option in 132
Botany, Some Filipino 1
Bumblebees, Fertilization of the Closed Gentian by 33
California, A February Outing in 28
California, The Flora of Snow Canon 227
California, The Threatened Destruction of the Big Trees of . . 7
Canadian Pleistocene Flora, The 12
Cases of Plant Distribution, Some Interesting 186
Central Park, Orchids in 23, 146
City Parks, The Care of Trees in 44
Claytonia Chamissoi, The Duration of 41
Cleaning Desmids 112
Tl INDEX OF FLAITF WORLD.
PAGE
Closed Gentian, Fertilization of the, by Bumblebees 33
Columbine, Derivation of 31
Cuba, Deforested 21
Cuba, Further Notes on Trees of 231
Cuba, Notes on Trees of 161,181
CubanUsesof the Royal Palm 107
Dandelion and Banana, Aji Abnormal Mandrake 134
Days, Aug^t 141
Deforested Cuba 221
Derivation of Columbine 31
Derivation of Mimosa 95
Desmids, Cleaning 112
Determination of Grasses, Hints for Beginners in the 5
Dragon-tree of Orotava, The 121
Double Trilliums 213
Dyed Flowers 194
Ebony Spleenwort, The Discovery of a Plumose Variety of the. 29
Exposition, Woods at the Louisiana 153
Exposition, Notes on the Pan-American 225
Fairy Rings 206
Fertilization of the Closed Gentian by Bumblebees 33
Fibre, Ramie 153
Field Notes of a Midsummer Tramp 210
Filipino Botany, Some 1
Flora about Nome City, Notes on the 67
Flora, A Scanty 145
Flora, Aspects of the New ^Zealand 113
Flora of Snow Canon, California, The 227
Flora, The Canadian Pleistocene 12
Flower, An Unusual 12
Flowers, A March Day's 128
Flowers, Dyed 194
Flower, The Pasque 170
Forests, Australian 174
Fossil Flower, A 73
Fossil Hickory Nuts 51
Fossil Sequoias in North America . Ill
Fungus Spores as Bee-bread 49
Fungus Spores as Bee-bread, More about 96
Further Notes on Trees of Cuba 221
INDEX OF FLAKT WORLD. VU
PAGS
Grasses, Hints for Beginners in the Determination of ... . 5
Green Trillium, A 132
Habitat of the Mesquite in Oklahoma, Additional Notes on the 193
Hawthorns, Suggestions for the Study of the 104
Herborizing, Hints on 61, 81
Hickory Nuts, Fossil 81
Hints for Beginners in the Determination of Grasses 5
Hints on Herborizing 61, 81
Honeysuckles, The Blooming of Twining 202
Iowa, The Native Oak Groves of 69
Iowa, Veratrum Woodii in 192
Kansas and Oklahoma, The Mesquite in 74
Knubble, The, Advice to Beginners in Botany 188
Lake, Botanizing in and Around a 109
Leaves, Rooting of Oxalis • . 201
Louisiana Woods at the Exposition • • 153
Mandrake, Dandelion and Banana, An Abnormal 134
Masked Tricholoma, The 26
Memorial 55
Mesquite in Kansas and Oklahoma, The 74
Midsummer Tramp, Field Notes of a 210
Mimosa, Derivation of 96
Mistletoe in Oklahoma, Range of the 32
Mistletoe, Razoumofskya pusilla. The Dwarf 149
Mohr, Dr. Charles 167
More About Fungus Spores as Bee-bread 96
Native Plants, The Preservation of 230
Native Plants, The Society for the Preservation of 192
Nebraska, Notes on Plant Distribution in 231
New Zealand Flora, Aspect of the 113
Nome City, Notes on the Flora about 67
North America, Fossil Sequoias in Ill
Notes from Western Kentucky 143
Notes on Plant Distribution in Nebraska 231
Notes on the Flora About Nome City 67
Notes on the Habitat of the Mesquite in Oklahoma, Additional. 193
Notes on the Pan-American Exposition 225
Notes on Trees of Cuba 161,181
▼m INDEX OF FLAKT WOBLD.
PACK
Oak Groves of Iowa, The Native 69
Oklahoma, Additional Notes on the Habitat of the Mesquite in. 193
Oklahoma, Range of the Mistletoe in 32
Oklahoma, Sabbatia campestris in 96
Orchids in Central Park 23, 146
Orotava, The Dragon-tree of 121
Our PufFballs 124
Oxalis Leaves, Rooting of 201
Palm, Cuban Uses of the Royal 107
Pan-American Exposition, Notes on the 225
Pasque Flower, The 170
Plant Distribution in Nebraska, Notes on 231
Plant Distribution, Some Interesting Cases of 185
Plants, The Society for the Preservation of Native 192
Plants, Rare, and their Disappearance 151
Plants, Struggle for Existence Among 233
Plants, The Preservation of Native 230
Plant, The Snow 213
Pleistocene Flora, The Canadian 12
Plumose Variety of the Ebony Spleenwort, The Discovery of a 29
Pogonia verticillata, Root Relations of 53
Porter, Thomas Conrad 130
Preservation of Native Plants, The Society for the 192
PufFballs, Our 124
Ramie Fiber 154
Range of the Mistletoe in Oklahoma 34
Rare Plants and their Disappearance 151
Razoumofskya pusilla. The Dwarf Mistletoe 149
Rings, Fairy 206
Rooting of Oxalis Leaves 201
Root Relations of Pogonia verticillata 53
Rosy Tricholoma, The 9
Royal Palms, Cuban Uses of the 107
Rust, The Asparagus 88
Sabbatia campestris in Oklahoma 96
Schizaea pusilla. The Curly Grass 72
Seedling, An Abnormal 54
Sequoias in North America, Fossil Ill
Singular Tree, A Ill
Snow Canon, California, the Flora of 227
Snow Plant, The 213
Spring in the Anaquassacock Hills 47
INDEX OF PLANT WORLD. . ix
PAGE
Society for the Preservation of Native Plants, The 192
Some Filipino Botany 1
Some Interesting Cases of Plant Distribution 185
Struggle for Existence Among Plants 233
Study of the Hawthorns, Suggestions for the 104
Suggestions for the Study of the Hawthorns 104
The Asparagus Rust 88
The Blooming of Twining Honeysuckles 202
The Canadian Pleistocene Flora 12
The Care of Trees in City Parks 44
The Curly Grass, Schizaea pusilla 72
The Discovery of a Plumose Variety of the Ebony Spleen wort. 29
The Dragon-tree of Orotava 121
The Duration of Claytonia Chamissoi 41
The Dwarf Mistletoe, Razoumofskya pusilla 149
The Flora of Snow Canon, California 227
The Knubble, Advice to Beginners in Botany 188
The Masked Tricholoma 25
The Mesquite in Kansas and Oklahoma 74
The Native Oak Groves of Iowa 69
The Pasque Flower 170
The Preservation of Native Plants 230
The Rosy Tricholoma 9
The Snow Plant 213
The Society for the Preservation of Native Plants 192
The Threatened Destruction of the Big Trees of California 7
Tree, A Singular Ill
Thomas A. Williams 14
Trees of Cuba, Further Notes on 221
Trees of Cuba, Notes on 161, 181
Trees, The Care of, in City Parks 44
Tricholoma, The Masked 25
Tricholoma, The Rosy 9
Trillium, A Green 132
Trilliums, Double 213
Twining Honeysuckles, The Blooming of 202
Unusual Flower, An 12
Veratrum Woodii in Iowa 192
X INDEX OF FLAITF WOBLD.
PAGE
Western Kentucky, Notes from 143
What ShaU We Do About It? 173
Williams, Thomas A 114
Woods at the Exposition, Louisiana 153
" You Will Have to Hurry,''
BOOK REVIEWS.
Catalogue of North American Plants. By A. A. Heller 20
Contributions from the U. S. National Museum, Vol. VII. , No. 1.
A Monograph of the North American Umbelliferae. By
John M. Coulter and J. N. Rose 38
A Monograph of the Krysiphaceae. By E. D. Salmon 39
The Mushroom Book. By Nina L. Marshall 59
Flora of Western Middle California. By Willis Linn Jepson. . 79
A List of the Ferns and Fern Allies of North America North of
Mexico, with Principal Synonyms and Distribution. By
William R. Maxon 100
Memoir of the New York State Museum, No. 4, Vol. III.,
November, 1900. By Charles H. Peck 118
Flowers and Ferns in their Haunts. By Mabel Osgood Wright. 118
Cours de Botanique. Par M. M. Gaston Bonnier and Leclere
du Sablon 119
The Sea Beach at Ebb Tide. By Augusta Foote Arnold 120
Methods in Plant Histology. By Chas. J. Chamberlain 139
Our Ferns in their Haunts. By Willard Nelson Clute 139
Year Book, U. S. Department of Agriculture, 1900 159
Practical Text-Book of Plant Physiology. By Daniel Trem-
bly MacDougal 160
Disease in Plants. By H. Marshall Ward 180
Plant Life of Alabama. By Charles Mohr 200
Statistical Methods with Reference to Biological Variation. By
C. B. Davenport 219
Manual of the Flora of the Northern States and Canada. By
Nathaniel Lord Britton 220
A Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. By Fred. D. Chester. 238
Southern Wild Flowers and Trees. By Alice Lounsberry 239
Old-Time Gardens. By Alice Morse Earle 240
index of plant world. xi
Bribpbr Articles.
Pages 13, 31-33, 53-.'>4, 72-74, 9,5-96, 111-113, 132-134, 153-164, 173-174.
192-194, 213-214. 230-233.
General Items.
Pages 19, 34, 55, 75, 97, 114, 135, 155, 176, 195, 215, 234.
Notes on Current Literature.
Pages 18, 36, 56, 77, 98, 115, 136, 156, 177, 196, 216, 235.
Editorial.
Pages 16, 37, 58, 78. 99, 117, 138, 158, 179, 198, 218, 237.
Book Reviews.
Pages 20, 38, 59, 79, 100, 118, 139, 159, 180, 200. 219, 238.
ThePlantWorld
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. JANUARY, 1901. No. 1.
SOME FILIPINO BOTANY.
By Alice Caeter Cook.
THE acquisition of our island territories has enlarged the field of
American science, and awakened the interest of American botan-
ists in tropical life, for even those who may never expect to see
or to specialize upon the new floras, must have some knowledge of them.
Hence has arisen a demand for the literature of the subject, and con-
spicuous among the few books brought to light upon the natural his-
tory of the Philippines, is Blanco's monumental " Flora," published in
four immense volumes at the expense of the Augustinians in 1880, and
now to be obtained with difficulty for the sum of $150. It is a typical
Spanish Church work, and whatever is true of the rest of it, the part of
the fourth volume entitled "The Declaration of the virtue of the trees
wid plants which are in this land," by the parish, priest, Ignasio de
Mercado, Filipino, with "scientific classification " by Fra Femandez-
Yillar will doubtless be found to contaLa many facts new to all readers,
and is worthy of some attention as indicative of the high state of scien-
tific attainment reached by the brotherhood.
The plant world of the islands has evidently followed a course
quite unknown in the Western Hemisphere, and one which seems cal-
culated to upset current theories. For example, if the seeds of .cala^
bashes "are sown without the shell, those which are formed within the
■fruit afterwards will be ready husked." The fruit of EurycUs Amboin^
ensia "is the root," and Tacca palmatay which is able to preserve from
the bites of serpents and beetles the one who carries the root in his
hand, "has no flower nor fruit" The fruit of a species of Anacardium
is the size of a large apple, spongy and "without seed, for this it bears
outside like a great nugget." .
Here is a good example of lucidity. " The Calingag and the canela
are the true cinnamon, and, meanwhile, the finer is the better. The
2 THE PLANT WORLD ^
tree of the Calingag is like that of the canela so that between the two
there is no more difference than that the canela is fine and the Calin-
gag of the mountain. But, in reality, of a truth, the canela, I speak of
the Calingag, is canela, although coarse, and has the effects of the gen-
uine and fine." Anyone should certainly be able to recognize these
two varieties on first sight.
Mercado was evidently a man of broad sympathies and philosophic
tendencies. Witness the following, and may it be remembered by our
own tree-carvers. " For an unfortunate tree we hold the Calumpang ;
after having received benefits from its branches and leaves, men despise
it. I say this because if the sun is hot they use the shade of the Cal-
umpang, if it rains they do the same, if they are hungry beneath it
they eat and the recomx)ense that it finds from the passers by is that
all hack its trunk, as if it were a crime to have comforted with its
branches the thankless ones who come to use them when exhausted by
hunger or weariness or because the skies are threatening or too
intense."
In the same musing strain he speaks of Pittosporum: "There are
some things which have a bad face and good works and others the con-
trary. And also there are others which are throughout good or bad.
This Mamalis is beautiful inasmuch as it puts out its branches each
one like a palm. Now we do not know whether it is beautiful in its
properties ; that depends on how one wishes to use it ; because the
bark of the root which looks towards the east makes a good plaster for
stomach-ache," but causes great injury to certain persons. Again Bar-
leria has fiowers provided with numerous tiny, hurtful spines. " Of
them we might say that they have good face and bad works, like some
women."
The peculiar power, mentioned above, of the parts of the plant
which face the rising sun is repeatedly referred to, and to the same
class of facts belongs this, that the root of Smilax China, "which God
created here," plucked when the moon is on the increase, is an even
better remedy for pains, tumors, etc., than the celebrated Palo de
China, which "rots the bones." Let them that do not believe this
"take from the sepulchre one who has been cured by the Palo de China
and they shall see all his bones rotted."
A marvelous example of magic attributes is contained in the story
of a French monk who in 1658 cured a native supposed to be suffering
from dropsy, by administering the powdered fruits of Quisqualis until
he was relieved of a worm " 26 yards long and of the thickness of a
toston (shilling), all tubular like a reed or more like a cane." Seeing
that he was still not well, the same remedy was continued until the
appearance of a second parasite 14 yards long. "From this case we
THE PLANT WORU) 3
conclude that Pinones are a very efficacious counteractant against poi-
son, for this Indian was undoubtedly bewitched." The powdered root
of Aristohchia may be also used in drink as an antidote to enchant-
ment if the body be afterwards rubbed with a mixture of the same pow-
der and other herbs.
Our respect for the abilities of plants cannot but be increased by
the study of this work. Saffron (Carthamua) has so great "power that,
placed in the hand, it penetrates immediately to the heart. A little
bag of it put on the stomach keeps one from breakfasting, and ''it is
certain that if given to drink in quantity it despatches from this life to
the other the patient who dies at once and laughing." The seeds of
Datura meM act like laughing gas, keeping one unconscious for a long
time, "laughing, weeping, sleeping, speaking and answering while in
reality ignorant of what he does." The antidote is the root itself gath-
ered on the side which faces the east.
The water in which Bomero {Rmmarinus) has been boiled prevents
wrinkles, and is a "most healthful bath, cleansing the body from all
weakness, pain, weariness, melancholy, sorrow and anxiety, preserving
the strength and enlivening all the members and feelings and who uses
it twice a month and sweats need fear no infirmity."
He who takes the "holy plant," Artemisia grata, with him when
walking, will suffer no ill from the sun nor from tiie moon.
The sacred quality of certain plants and divine interposition in
their use as medicines, are commonly spoken of. Diospyroa is
recommended for a certain skin disease if it be newly developed, but
if it be of long standing, "only Gk)d our Lord will be able to take it
away." The leaves of Fleurya applied to the pulses of one who has
chills, will effect a cure in five days "by the help of God." Of Aspara-
gus offi^mwlis we are told, "blessed be God who created this plant for
the aid of the poor." "It suffices for the praise" of Brassica that
Christ our Lord compared "the holy Faith, living and pure, to the
grain of mustard. But, nevertheless, we will mention here, for our
advantage, some properties and virtues of this seed according to Pliny,
Dioscorides and Avicena."
We clearly have much to learn of the properties of common arti-
cles of food. For example, "He who eats the least of melons is the
best off for they are all congealed water and without sustaining power."
Very ripe guavas are a healthful food, and two of them should be eaten
after a meal, for they aid digestion, " tightening the mouth of the stom-
ach so that its natural heat connot escape and making the food sink to
the bottom of it." We have been accustomed to think of Spanish gar-
Uc 88 vigorous, but hardly to the extent here asserted : "He who eats a
4 THE PLANT WOELD
raw ajo {AUium sativum) will break a bottle by blowing upon it imme-
diately afterwards."
The medicinal value of many plants is truly marvelous, and their
explanation equally so. Cane sugar given in cold water is more re-
freshing to one who has fever than water alone. The "reason for the
water's appearing more refreshing with it is that since it is so tempered
it converts itself immediately into the nature of him to whom it is
given ; and as it receives into itself the coldness of the water because of
its spongy substance, the coldness of the latter is more felt with it than
when taken alone, by the consistency of the body of the sugar itself."
With the powdered leaves of Artocarpus integrifolius penitents are
cured, also pimples and spasms.
A native carpenter cut a toe with a hatchet so that it merely hung
by the skin. The bark of the root of Ficus aJtimaloo having been
applied, he returned to work on the following day, the toe healed with-
out swelling or pain. The tree is, by the way, disliked by planters,
since it often breaks down walls in its growth. The only way to kill it
is said to be to cut off the branches and insert the spines of certain fish
in the wounds.
Kalanchoe is another invaluable healer. If the head of a chicken
be cut its whole length with a sharp knife which has been rubbed with
the juice of this herb, and afterwards both parts of the wound be again
anointed with the same juice, "within a Credo" the fowl will revive as
if nothing had happened.
A general rule for the application of medicines speaks volumes for
the trust of the physician in the common sense of the average Filipino
patient. It ia preceded by reference to a saying of Laguna's that every
kind of sour herb may be used as a substitute for sorrel. "I say this
because there are some so manacled that not having the very tting of
which the book teaches them, they do not know how to avail themselves
nor how to put out the hand to another fit and equivalent thing in its
place." " On this account every time that there is to be found a thing
equivalent in the essential particular, according to the good counsel of
the reason it should be used. For example, if for a swelling, a. plaster
of habas be ordered when there are none, then use the flour of frijoles,
or gulay Patnai, for all these seeds are, in the most essential, of the
quality of habas. * * * The same is to be considered in. all. things
which should be applied in the place of something else." ...
A part of the dissertation on Agarics maybe quoted for the en-
couragement of the modem student who is perplexed by the apparent
multiplicity of species of the genus : " The Agaric is some mushrooms
which arise on the trunks of old trees and are so hard that they appear
to be wood. There are white and black. The transparent is the bet-
THE PLAITT WORLD 5
ter and the most spongy and light.'* Then follows an enumeration of
its virtues, the powder being "one of the greatest medicines there is,"
and to the conclusion we should: like to call the attention of homeo-
pathists : " This miay be given as a general rule for the application of
all remedies, 'in sicknesses and indispositions of a hot nature, things
naturally cold should 'be used; and in cold, things -hot; because every
infirmity is cured by ife cofifeary; "
HINTS FOR BEGINNERS IN THE DETERMINATION
OF GRASSES.
By. C. p. Saundebs.
THE average botanical amateur is apt to fight shy of the griEUises, as
a family either too poor in interest or too full of technical difficul-
ties to warrant- his spending time upon them. Nevertheless,
grasses are well worth th^ student's attention, if for no other reasons
than the immense value they are to mankind, and their wide distribu-
tion in the earth ; and when once he comes under the spell of their
fascination, he will find in their study a variety of structure and a
beauty of form and texture that will be as a new world to him.
The technical difficulties, so far as the thousand species of United
States grasses are concerned, are far less than most beginners suppose,
and if one have good eyesight, he need experience no serious trouble
in* the determination of his collections, except in the case of a very few
genera, like Panicunif for instance, about which even experts find cjause
for disagreements. It is true, the smallness of. the flower-parts in
many species makes discrimination and care particularly needful, but
this very fact increases the disciplinary value of their study, and adds
zest to the hunt.
■■'■•• The following suggestions to beginners in the, deteirmi^^KUion of
gi'asses are oflEered by the writer with a lively recollection of his own
first futile attempts, which were finally directed into easier channels Jby
a Hnd friend whose method was about as follows :
• ' Buy for about fifty cents at any store where botanical supplies are
'kept; a small double lens of * 8 or 10 diameter power, with adjustable
focus, set ux)on a tripod. « At the same place get two dissecting needles
witk^ long handles'; otriuE^tead of these latter, you can, by sinking an
ordinary needle in the? end of a. wooden penholder, provide yourself
with a good enough substitute. One needle should be sharp and the
other blunt for holding the object in place. Then, with a child's com-
mon slate (which, being black, is restful to the eye, besides throwing
THE PLANT WOELD
zsssas^
Inexpensive outfit for determining grasses.
the object examined into strong relief) for an operating table, yon are
ready for the fray.
Grasses, unlike carices, are in best condition for working up when
they are in flower, and if collected then, you may use your pleasure
about studying them at once or laying them aside until a more conve-
nient time, as, for instance, winter time. When ready to examine the
specimen, break off a spikelet or two, and lay them on the slate under
the field of the tripod lens ; then applying your eye to the lens, and
with a dissecting needle in each hand to manoeuvre the spikelet, you
will have little difficulty in dividing part from part and noting thor-
oughly all the characteristics. A pocket lens will, of course, be the
readiest means of examining other characters than those of the flowers.
Admirably arranged keys to genera and species are given in Brit-
ton and Brown's Illustrated Flora, which reduce to a minimum the
difficulties of hunting down the name. Students will also find much
that is helpful in F. Lamson-Scribner's illustrated publications on
American Grasses, issued as Bulletins No. 7 and 17 of the United Statef^
Department of Agriculture, Division of Agrostology.
Philadelphia, Pa.
The botanical department of the Iowa State Agricultural College
and Experiment Station suffered severely from the effects of a disaster-
ous fire a few weeks ago. More than two-thirds of the general collec-
tion, including many valuable duplicates, was burned, and most of the
microscopies and other laboratory apparatus were destroyed. Fortu-
nately the herbarium of the late C. C. Parry, which is of great import-
ance to botanists on account of the types which it contains, was saved.
Dr. Pammel will have the sympathy of all scientists in the loss of so
much material, accumulated after years of hard work.
T5E PLANT WOKLD 7
THE THREATENED DESTRUCTION OF THE BIG TREES
OF CALIFORNIA.
BEPOKE the glacial period the genus of big trees called Sequoia
flourished widely in the temperate zones of three continents.
There were many species, and Europe, Asia and America had
each its share. But when the ice fields moved down out of the north,
the luxuriant vegetation declined, and with it these multitudes of trees.
One after another the different kinds gave way, their remains became
buried, and when the ice receded, just two species, the Big Tree and
Redwood, survived. Both grew in California, each separate from the
other, and each occupying, in comparison with its former area, a mere
island of space. As we know them now, the Bedwood {Sequoia semper-
virens) lives only in a narrow strip of the Coast Bange, 10 to 30 miles
wide, extending from just within the southern border of Oregon to the
bay of Monterey, while the Big Tree {Sequoia Washingtoniana) is found
only in smaU groves scattered along the west slope of the Sierra Ne-
vada mountains, from the middle fork of the American river to the
head of Deer creek, a distance of 260 miles. The utmost search reveals
but ten main groups, and the total number of sizable ttees in these
groups must be limited to figures in the thousands. It is, moreover,
the plain truth, that all the specimens which are remarkable for their
size, do not excec^d 500.
The Big Trees are unique in the world — the grandest, the largest^
the oldest, the most majestic, graceful of all trees — and if it were not
enough to be all this, they are among the scarcest of known species,
and have the extreme scientific value of being the oldest living repre-
sentatives of a former geologic age. It is a tree which has come down
to us through the vicissitudes of many centuries, solely because of its
superb qualifications. Its bark is often two feet thick, and almost non-
combustible. The oldest specimens felled are still sound at the heart,
and fungus is an enemy unknown to it. Yet with all these means of
maintenance, the Big Trees have apparently not increased their range
since the glacial epoch. They have only just managed to hold their
own on the little strip of country where the climate is locally favorable.
At the present time the only grove thoroughly safe from destruc-
tion is the Mariposa, and this is far from being the most interesting.
Most of the other groves aire either in process of, or in danger of, being
logged. The very finest of all, the Calaveras Grove, with the biggest
and tallest trees, the most uncontaminated surroundings, and practically
all the literary and scientific associations of the species connected with
it, has been purchased recently by a lumberman, who came into full
possession on the 1st of April, 1900. The Sequoia and General Grant
8 THE PLANT WORLD
National Parks, which are supposed to embrace and give security to a
large part of the remaining Big Trees, are eaten into by a sawmill each,
and by private lumber claims amounting to 1,172 acres. The rest of
the scanty patches of Big Trees are in a fair way to disappear — ^in Cal-
averas, Tuloumne, Fresno and Tulare counties they are now disappear-
ing — ^by the ax. In brief, the majority of the Big Trees of California^
certainly the best of them, are owned by i)eople who have every right,
and in many cases every intention, to cut them into lumber.
The lumbering of the Big Tree is destructive to a most unusual
degree. In the first place, the enormous size and weight of the trees
necessarily entails very considerable breakage when one of them falls.
Such a tree strikes the ground with a force of many hundreds or even
thousands of tons, so that even slight inequalities are sufficient to
smash the brittle trunk at its upi)er extremity into almost useless frag-
ments. The loss from this cause is very great, but it is only one of the
sources of waste. The great diameter of the logs, and, in spite of the
lightness of the wood, their enormous weight, makes it impossible to
handle many of them without breaking them up. For this purpose
gunx)owder is the most available means. The fragments of logs blown
apart in this way ^e not only often of wasteful shapes, but unless very
nice judgment is exercised in preparing the blast, a great deal of the
wood itself is scattered in useless splinters. This waste, added as it is
to the other sources of loss already mentioned, makes a total probably
often considerably in excess of half the total volume of the standing
tree ; and this is only one side of the matter.
From Bulletin 28, of the Division of Forestry, U. S. Etepartment of Agriculture.
It is a well known fact that there is often
great variation in the leaves that may be se-
lected from the same tree, or even from the
same branch, but we do not recall having seen
quite so striking differences as are exhibited in
the specimen here figured. This specimen is a
twig from the common Japanese honeysuckle
(Lonicera Japonica) and was sent in by Dr.
Charles A White, of Washington, D. C. He
also sent a number of separate leaves, all taken from the same plant,
showing a range from perfectly circular to ovate and narrowly linear,
and from entire to deeply lobed. Three distinct types are shown in
the little branch figured.— F. H. K.
thp: plant world.
VOL. IV. Platk I.
The giant Sequoia of California.
After iHiichot, Bulletin No. 28, Division of Forestr>', U. S. Department of Agriculture.
THE PLANT WORLD 9
THE ROSY TRICHOLOMA.
( Trichohma rubicunda Peck.)*
By E. M. Williams.
WH 1 1 iE the boundary lines of the genus Tricholoma are hard to de-
fine, the typical species are well marked, have much in common,
and are not difficult to separate from those of other genera. In
general they may be said to be quite fleshy, more so than in any other
genus of the gill-bearing fungi, though among the many species some may
be found that axe slender, and some of diminutive size. Most of the
species have firm, and a few have tough flesh. The stems are generally
stout, the gills numerous, often crowded and sinuate behind. Theoret-
ically the gills must always have more or less of a sinus to belong to
this genus, but a few species in which the sinus is almost if not quite
wanting, are admitted because of very evident relationships in other
respects. The stem is usually stout, and though in some instances
quite tough, it is but little firmer in texture than the rest of the plant,
and is in all species without a tough, bark-like outer skin. Neither
volva nor annulus is to be found upon the stems of the Tricholomas.
Variations from this rule, so far as the veil is concerned, are to be
rarely met with, the species illustrated in the acompanying plate being
one of these exceptions. This species, which for the present we shall
designate as Tricholoma nthicunda Peck, has generally been considered
identical with the European plant ( Tricholoma russula Shaeffer). Tricho-
loma ru88ula was originally described as follows : "Est fungus bicolor,
solitarius, farcatus, camosus, varius ; pileo ab initio globoso, post con-
vexo, denique infundibuliformi, subtiliter punctato ; petiolo crasso, ad
basin saepe tuberoso ; velo, annulo, * * * nuUo.' 't
Li 1873 Professor Peck described a fungus under the name of
Trichohma nibicunda which differs from this in several respects, par-
ticularly in being tomentose on the margin, and in having lamellae
close, sometimes forked, etc. Li a later report % he refers the plant to
the European species, quoting Fries' description, omitting any refer-
* Tricholoma rubicunda Peck. Pileus convex, then expanded or centrally de-
pressed, viscid, slightly tomentose on the margin when young, smooth or sometimes
with a few scales either on the disk or on the margin, red; lamellae close, white, be-
coming spotted with red, some of them forked ; stem firm, equal, solid, slightly prui-
nose, white, often stained with red; spores . 00028 x. 00016 in. Plant 3-5 in. high,
pileus 3-5 in. broad, stem 6-8 lines thick. Ground in woods. New Scotland, Albany
county, Oct The plant is rarely cespitose. The thin cuticle is separable. The color
is suggestive of species of Russula. — 26th Rep. N. Y. State Museum^ p. 5/, 1873-
tFung. Bav. et Pal. No. 51,//. 38.
t44th Rep. N. Y. State Mus. 42.
10 THE PLANT WORLD
ence to the tomentose maxgin and forked gills, and being apparently
satisfied that the plants are identical.
Three years ago the writer found a number of plants of what
seemed to be a puzzling species of Tricholoma and made notes and a
drawing which is reproduced in the accompanying figure. The
notes are as follows: "Pileus 2-3 in. broad, slightly viscid, white or
pinkish, streaked and spotted with red, rounded at first, becoming
plane or centrally depressed, inflexed at first, finally expanded and
often irregularly cracked and broken. Flesh white, pink under the
cuticle, firm, brittle, with a pleasant taste and odor. Gills adnate when
young, slightly decurrent when old, narrowed at both ends, rather
crowded, occasionally forked, brittle, white, often spotted or blotched
with red. Stipe 1-3 in. long, white, clothed with white or reddish
fibrils and streaked or spotted with red, generally even, sometimes bul-
bous and sometimes attenuate, often clothed at the base with a white
mycelium. Li young specimens a veil is present which is somewhat
fibrous OS in Cortinarius but of a little firmer texture than is common
in that genus. This veil is white or reddish and soon disappears.
Spores elliptical. Found in mixed woods on high ground in Bock
Creek Park, D. C, Nov. 21, 1897." It has been found several times
since in similar locations about Washington, and seems to be fairly
common. It is sometimes solitary, when the individuals attain consid-
erable size, but more often occurs in clusters sometimes containing
nearly a dozen individuals. It is quite a late species, seldom occurring
before the latter part of September, and continuing from that time till
frost. Dried plants sent to Professor Peck were said by him to be identical
with his New York plant, first described as T. rubicunda, and later
referred to Shaeffer's species.
It seems hardly likely that a plant so well known in Europe would
have such an important character as the presence of a veil, even though
an ' evanescent one, overlooked by so many botanists. Our plant has
not been so thoroughly studied, but nearly all the descriptions which
have come under my observation, mention the tomentose margin of the
pileus, which indicates that the veil may be present. Capt. McHvaine*
lists the plant, and quotes Professor Peck's later description, adding that
the margin is often downy, that the margin is frequently cracked in
both young and old plants, that the apex of the stem is often not
squamulose, and that the interior of the stem is fibrous and has fibrous
connections with the cap of a very marked character. His plate would
also indicate that the gills were somewhat forked. In Bulletin No. 5
(1897) of the Boston Mycological Club, Tricholoma rmsula is listed
* One Thousand American Fungi, 65.
THE PLA^T WORLD
11
The Rosy Tricholoma ( Tricholonia rubicunda Peck).
among the edible species of the genus, but the description is very brief,
and sheds no light on the characters in question. In view of these ap-
parent discrepancies, it seems well, for the present at least, to retain
for our American plant the name originally given it by Professor Peck.
However our plant may differ from the European one, it can scar-
cely be inferior in flavor, since it is one of the best we have. Being a
dean, large-sized fungus, it is easily prepared for cooking. It is excel-
lent fried with a little butter in a very hot skiUet. *
Washington, D. C.
12 THE PLANT WORLD
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
The Canadian Pleistocene Flora.
Professor D. P. Penhallow, of McGill University, has recently pub-
lished (British Association for the Advancement of Science, 1900) a
short but exceedingly interesting report on the Canadian Pleistocene
flora. It presents the final results of investigations that have been
carried on for many years regarding the plants that grew in Canada
before or after the various ice invasions, or in Pleistocene time. Plants
from eighteen special localities have been studied, ranging from Mani-
toba to Cape Breton, and particular attention has been directed to
those from at least twelve locations, chiefly from the vicinity of Toronto.
Eighty-three species in all have been detected, only one — a species of
maple — ^being now extinct. The remains are mainly in the form of
seeds, but leaves, twigs, and wood have also been found. They belong
to plants common in some portion of Atlantic America at the present
time, such as balsam fir {Abies balsamea), sugar and mountain maples
(Acer sacchanim and apicatum), papaw {Asimina triloba), water-shield
(Brasenia), sundew {Drosera rotundifolia), Equisetums {limosum, scir-
poides and sylvaticum) white, blue and black oaks, huckleberry {Gaylus-
sacia resinosa), cedar {Juniperus Virginiana), tamarack, osage orange,
black and white spruces, white pine, sycamore, oaks, of seven species,
locust {Bobinia Pseudacacia), willow, yew {Taxus Canadensis) arbor-
vitse, basswood, elms ( ULmus Americana and ra^cemosa), cat-tail, blue-
berry ( Vaccinium uliginosum), etc.
From a study of these plant-remains. Professor Penhallow con-
cludes that in the region of Toronto during Pleistocene times there
were at least two distinct periods, characterized, on the one hand, by a
climate equivalent to that of the middle United States at the present
day, and, on the other hand, a climate equivalent to that of northern
Quebec and Labrador.
We know almost nothing of the Pleistocene flora of the United
States, and a rich field is open to any one who has the time and oppor-
tunity to undertake its study. — F. H. K.
An Unusual Flower.
The accompanying picture represents the fiower of a tropical plant
not uncommonly cultivated in greenhouses. As it is somewhat pecu-
THE PLANT WORLD
13
^M^TcU..
liar in structure, we have indicated the various parts by letters, and
would be glad to receive guesses from our readers as to the names of
these parts, and the botanical name of the family to which the plant
belongs. The bodies designated by a are bright crimson in color;
those at b and d are dull purplish-brown ; while the fringe-like struc-
ture at c is pale flesh-color. The left hand figure represents the same
flower in longitudinal section.
We will publish in our next issue the names of all those who send
correct answers to the questions specified above.
The red squirrel is not at all particular in his taste for nuts. A
hoard examined under a tree near Alexandria, Va., was found to consist
of the nuts of three species, JuglanJi nigra, Juglans cinerea, and Hicoria
glabra, the butternut, black walnut, and bittemut, mixed in about equal
proportions.
14 THE PLANT WORLD
THOMAS A. WILLIAMS.
WE have already made brief announcement in these pages of the
death of our late associate, Thomas A. Williams, and we had
expected to present a biographical sketch, with portrait, in
this issue. But it has been determined, by the former stockholders of
the Asa Gray Bulletin^ now united with this journal, that the conclud-
ing issue of Volume YIII, delayed in publication by the editor's death,
should fittingly take the form of a memorial to Mr. Williams, and we
therefore merely publish at this time the various resolutions adopted
by the scientific and other organizations with which he was connected.
[Ed.]
By the WAsmNOTON Botanical Club.
The members of the Botanical Club tender their heartfelt sympathy
to the family of our late friend and fellow-member, Mr. Thomas A.
Williams, in whose untimely death botanical science has suflfered an
irreparable loss.
We have each felt his death to be a personal loss. As a friend we
found him steadfast, with a kindly indulgence to the faidts of others,
and a constant endeavor to do the best he could under all circum-
stances.
His work as a botanist has been fruitful in residts, and promised
to be still more so in the future. As a worker in' Economic Agriculture
in the Department, he opened up new lines, and laid a foundation upon
which others will build.
As a Club we shall feel the loss of his suggestions and his criti-
cisms, always given in a kindly way, and always helpful, because of his
broad knowledge of botany.
Mr. Williams was one of the charter members of the Botanical
Club, and to his counsel the Club owes much of its success.
G. L. SHEAB,
J. G. SMITH,
A. J. PIETEB8,
Committee,
Bt the Washinoton Biologists' Field Club.
Whereas, We have learned with sorrow and a sense of deep per-
sonal loss of the sudden death of our fellow-member, Thomas A. Wil-
liams,
Resolved^ That the Standing Committee of the Washington Biolo-
gists' Field Club voices the feeling of every member in paying tribute
to the memory of Mr. Williams, whose gentle and kindly disposition,
charming good-fellowship and sterling qualities, endeared him to every
THE PLAJ^ WOBLD 15
one of us. We recall with pleasant remembrances his interest in the
work of the Club and its social relationshii)s, as well as the many de-
lightful hours spent with him in the field. We extend our heartfelt
sympathy to Mrs. Williams in this the hour of her great bereavement,
which we hope may be lightened by the thought that he passed away
in the same peaceful and tranquil spirit in which he had lived.
Resolved, That a copy of this tribute be sent to the family of the
deceased, and that it be published in "The Plant World," of which he
was an editor, and in " Science."
By direction Standing Committee, Washington Biologists' Field
Club.
CHARLES LOUIS POLLABD,
Chairman.
By the EicPLOYES or the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
It is with feelings of profound sorrow and regret that we, the em-
ployes of the Department of Agriculture, learn that death has removed
from among us our beloved companion and co-worker, Thomas A. Wil-
liams, a classmate and intimate associate of many of our number. His
broad knowledge of scientific matters, his keen appreciation of nature,
his kind and forbearing disposition, has endeared him to all. He was
known to his associates as an indefatigable worker and investigator.
Resolved, That in the death of Professor Thomas A. Williams,
science and agriculture have suffered a great loss, and we, his associ-
ates, a dear friend, whose self-forgetfulness in his kindly consideration
for the feelings of others, and uniform cheerfulness, often under condi-
tions of severe physical suffering, revealed a lovable character of the
highest Christian type. The loss to the Division of Agrostology is
irreparable. In the performance of his official duties he has proved
himself an excellent executive, and an organizer of unusual merit, and
his relations with his associates in office were always such as to com-
mand the highest esteem and respect. He never shirked a duty, and
however difficidt the undertaking, the work performed by him was done
most creditably. His loss will be felt most keenly by his associates
in the Division, and his memory will remain with them as one whose
exemplary life and steadfastness of purpose they should strive to
emidate.
Resolved, further, that we tender to his bereaved family our heart-
felt sympathy in their great loss, and invoke for them the blessing of
the Heavenly Father, who alone can heal the broken heart, and give
lasting comfort.
Oommittee on Resolutions for the Department of Agriculture,
16
EDITORIAL.
At the beginning of a new year and a new century, it is perhaps
appropriate that we should discuss the outlook for that particular
branch of natural science to which The Plant World is devoted. At
no time in the world's history has botanical activity been so great as
now, and a very large proportion of this activity has been developed
during the last quarter of ^ century. Within this period we have seen
botany take its place in our educational institutions, side by side with
sister sciences, and we have noted the increase in facilities from a few
hours perfunctorily spent on " analyzing " plants, to elaborate courses
maintained with the aid of perfectly equipped laboratories. But we
are also witnessing, it would seem, the passing of the old-time natural-
ist, and are becoming simply a race of pronounced specialists. Many
students of the present generation are apparently content to spend
their lives in the orientation of the " spindles " in a single cell, and
have, or profess to have, a profound contempt for the plant as a whole.
While not for a moment underestimating the value of a knowledge of
all vital phenomena, and the importance of even minute investigation,
we question whether it is wise to pursue this narrow line of research
to the exclusion of more general study. Equally unwise is the course
6t the, systematist who carves out new species to order from any col-
lection submitted to him, and who ignores all the problems of plant
growth and plant physiology. Yet it should not be forgotten that the
study of taxonomy is, or theoretically should be, the highest type of
botanical research, for it is the systematist who seizes upon the iso-
lated facts of cytology, morphology, ecology, ontology and a dozen
other " ologies," building them into a more and more complete and
compact presentation of scientific knowledge. Each of these branches
is, of course, of great importance, but let us not confuse the individual
wheels of a machine with the connected whole. It has come to pass
that in the majority of cases, botanists having a speaking acquaintance
with the plants of their respective regions are almost entirely amateurs,
so-called. This should not be. The latter-day scientist of the twen-
THE PLANT WOBLD 17
tieth century should not lay pleasing unction to his soul that he has
satisfied the requirements of the age, unless, in the words of the old
maxim, he knows "everything of something, and something of every-
thing."
The Plant World dons new robes in honor of its entry into the
twentieth century and the fourth year of its existence. Our recent
acquisition of the property and good-will of the Asa Gray Bulletin
together with a substantial increase in our subscription list during the
past year, has made it possible for us to enlarge the journal by four
pages, and to print it upon a superior quality of book paper manufac-
tured especially for us. The attractive new cover, designed by Mr.
John H. Pellen, an artist of the U. S. Geological Survey, will be ap-
preciated by* all our readers. Mr. Cornelius L. Shear, who has joine<l
our editorial board, will take active charge of the cryptogamic depart-
ment, which he hopes to develop materially during the present volume.
The Plant World has never been a money-making enterprise, and
it is intended by the management that profits shall be at once invested
in a betterment of the magazine until it reaches our ideal of usefulness
and effectiveness. At the same time, business judgment and sound
common sense both require that any commercial undertaking should
at least be self-paying, and we must secure additional subscribers
before that condition can be accomplished. The continued success of
The Plant World therefore depends u|)on two things: first, an
increase in the subscription list, and second, a copious supply of liter-
ary contributions, so that the editors may not be hampered in making
judicious selections. On another page we make some very tempting
offers to new subscribers, and we ask those who receive this issue of
Tee Plant World to circulate it freely among their friends, calling
attention to our advertisement, and to the fact that a sample copy will
be sent to anyone upon receipt of a one-cent stamp.
18 THE PLANT WORLD
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
Mr. Geo. B. Sudworth, of the Division of Forestry, U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture, has just issued under the title of The Forest Nur-
sertfy a very valuable pamphlet containing full directions for collecting
and growing tree seeds of all kinds. Just at present, when forestry is
assuming such imxx>rtance, this little book comes as a welcome addi-
tion.
The December number of the Bulletin of the Tarrey Botanical Club
contains, among other things, a list of the species in a small collection
of Alaskan pteridophytes by Mr. Wm. B. Maxon. The collection
comes mainly from the vicinity of Cape Nome, and embraces 24 species,
one of which, Dryopteris aquilonaris, is new to science. This new
species is nearest to D. fragrans, but is less rigid, the lower pinnae not
reduced gradually, and there are fewer, much more dissected pinnides.
The Tenth Annual Eeport of the Wyoming Experiment Station
contains a Ust of the cryptogams of Wyoming. This is the first list of
any importance from this State. The list is necessarily far from com-
plete, as it will require many years of careful and thorough collecting
to exhaust the resources of the State in this direction. The mosses,
lichens, and rusts are best represented. Much of our great West is
terra incognita so far as its cryptogamic flora is concerned, and any
eflFort to increase our knowledge of it is to be commended. — C. L. S.
In the December number of the Bulletin of fJie Torrey Botanical
Club, Professor Chas. H. Peck describes a number of new species of
fleshy fungi, among which are two Amanitas. One, Amanita radicata
Peck, is evidently a plant which is not rare about Washington, but has
heretofore been referred to A. sfrobilifoivnis and A. solitaria. The other
species. A, submaculata, we fear is not sufficiently described to be de-
termined with certainty, though whitish strij)es or spots on the dark
brown pileus are said to make it easily recognizable. — C. L. S.
THE PLANT WOEU) 19
GENERAL ITEMS.
One of the botanical features of the Pan-American Exx>osition at
Buffalo next year will be the exhibit of vegetable food-products in all
stages, from the plant itself to the prepared article of commerce. In
the conservatories there will be an interesting exhibit of growing spice-
yielding plants from North and South America.
A new technical journal of botany, to be issued at irregular inter-
vals like Professor Greene's Pittonia, has been started by Mr. A. A.
Heller, of Lancaster, Pa. It is called MuMeiibergia, in commemoration
of the Pennsylvania botanist of that name, who was a contemporary of
Pursh, Nuttall and Torrey. The first issue, which appeared some
weeks ago, is devoted entirely to a list of new combinations which Mr.
Heller had found it necessary to make for his Catalogue of North
American plants.
There is usually less systematic activity in dealing with the ferns
and femworts than with any other group of plants, the generic and spe-
cific lines in this group being in general rather closely drawn, and the
limitations and variations well understood. Within the past few months,
however, there has been more activity among our friends the pteridolo-
gists, and we note that within a very short period new North American
species or subspecies have been proposed in the genera Dryopteris, Poly-
podium and Asplenium, not to mention the elaborate studies of Isoetea
carried on by Mr. A. A. Eaton, the preliminary results of which appear
in one of the "Fern wort Papers," recently published.
An interesting series of experiments on the effect produced upon
germinating plants by various alkaline solutions, is being prosecuted
by the Department of Agriculture. It is foimd that up to a certain
point, the salts act as a tonic ; with solutions of greater strength they
have a toxic effect, and ultimately cause the death of the seedling.
This line of study becomes interesting when considered in connection
with the vegetation of the alkali plains in the West, where there is
often a very high percentage of salt in the soil.
THE PLANT WORLD
BOOK REVIEWS.
Catalogue of North American Plants. By A. A. Heller. Second
Edition, Eevised and Enlarged. Lancaster, Pa., 1900 ; published
by the author.
Two years or more ago Mr. Heller undertook the somewhat thank-
less task of preparing a check list of the North Ajnerican flora north of
Mexico, embodying the nomenclature of the Rochester code, which had
practically supplanted the old individual system. Though hastily pre-
pared and rather carelessly revised, the first catalogue served a useful
purpose as an exchange list and convenient reference book, and now
with riper experience, more extended general studies, and the assist-
ance of specialists in certain groups, Mr. Heller has published a cata-
logue that is creditable to him in many ways.
The new book contains 252 pages, and the typography is most
attractive in its clearness and proper contrast of fonts. The printing is
on one side of the page only, thus affording abundant opportunity for
the marginal notes and corrections that everyone finds essential in
using a list of this kind. "We have observed a few errors, but they are
not sufficiently numerous to be a source of discomfort to the reader.
The author explains in his preface an unfortunate mistake which he
made in numbering the genera according to the sequence of families in
Engler and Prantl. We scarcely believe, however, that this generic
enumeration is of much value. It would have been wiser to omit all
generic numbers and insert author-citations instead.
Eealizing the great deficiency in the first edition of his catalogue,
Mr. Heller has added synonyms with much greater freedom, and no
one accustomed to the nomenclature of Gray's Manual need have diffi-
culty in ascertaining the equivalent of any unfamiliar name. A large
number of new combinations are published in the preface, and the list
is extended into the pages of Muhlenbergia a periodical elsewhere dis-
cussed. Mr. Heller's systematic treatment is drawn on liberal Unes,
and he has wisely followed, in large and difficult genera, the course of
the latest monographers of each particular group. We believe that the
work will find a ready sale, and that it will prove an indispensable ref-
erence check-list for amateur and professional botanists alike. — C. L. P.
THK F^LANT WORLD
VOL. FV. Plate IL
A view on the Piiiar Plateau, a few miles east of Consolacion del Sur. This is a common scene on
the south side of the mountains of western Cuba. The area was originally covered with a dense pine
forest having tall densely matted grass beneath, and a luxuriant tropical vegetation along the water-
courses. A few small scattered pines remain. The swelling of the palmetto trunk shown in the
view is a common condition among the palms and palmettoes of this regfion, and is evidently the
result of starving.
A Wew in the Finales or pine hills in the mountains of western Cuba, near El Guama. Formerly
these trees were of dense growth and large size, but constant burning has destroyed many of them
and stunted others. In the ravines occur quite different plant types, of which the tree fern is per-
haps the most striking.
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. FEBRUARY, 1901. No. 2,
DEFORESTED CUBA.
By William Palmer.
THE visitor to western Cuba who has an opportunity to visit the
country in the neighborhood of Havana and other large cities,
must be greatly impressed with the absence of large trees, and
especially of well wooded districts. The general openness of the region
is rather disappointing, and this feeling is intensified by long rides
upon the railways leading out of Havana.
Cuba was originally a somewhat densely wooded island, with prob-
ably little if any barren, desert-like areas. In this land of no frost, the
cooking is performed entirely with the aid of charcoal. Thus the tracts
adjacent to the earliest settlements were the first to be drawn upon for
this most useful fuel. The growing importance of the island in the
production of tobacco and sugar also hastened the deforesting. Yet
another factor is the custom of the Cubans, during the winter months
or the dry season, to bum off the grass in order to compel a tender
young growth for the cattle and horses. Vast areas are thus irregu-
larly burned yearly and always wantonly. The summer growth on the
uplands is usually dense and composed largely of grasses which are
worthless for grazing purposes. Cubans are always well supplied with
matches for the indispensable cigar or cigarette, and it is an easy mat-
ter while they are passing from one point to another, to start several
fires. As no care whatever is given to forest growth, and the fires have
been repeated annually for generations, the result has been that seed-
lings and young trees have no chance to develop to a large size.
Another result, appreciated by the few thinking Cubans, is that
these repeated fires have burned out the soil, so that in the pine moun-
22 THE PLANT WORLD
tains especially, and where the underlying rock is near the surface, as
in the Isle of Pines and the Pinar Plateau, it has been entirely removed,
either by fire or by the heavy rains. The demand for charcoal is now
so great that the trade is highly important, esi)ecially through the port
of Batabano, where it is brought in schooners from the Isle of Pines,
and from the swamp lands and mountains of the south coast. The
wooded areas are constantly dwindling on account of this demand, and
in a long dry season are unable to re-establish themselves. Practically
all the northern portion of the pine lands in the Isle of Pines is annu-
ally burned over to furnish a little grass for a few cattle, while the
immense lumber interests, so valuable now in regenerating Cuba, are
thoughtlessly ignored, and the capital stock of the island, the original
forest, is being wantonly destroyed. In western Cuba, on the Pinar
Plateau, the view shown in the first figure is a common one. On these
almost level stretches of low uplands, the coral rock is very close to
the surface, and stores up the heat of the winter sun, thus preventing
the retention of moisture in the thin soil. Similar conditions prevail
in the pine mountains, shown in the second illustration ; here the sandy
shale that almost entirely makes up the hills, retains little moisture.
One may walk for miles and never be out of sight of the steep slopes
covered with small angular pieces of quartz, and with an almost total
absence of soil. Such conditions are, of course, deplorable anywhere,
but particularly so in a country like Cuba, where fuel and lumber are
both necessary and valuable, and where a large proportion of the arable
land is given over to such crops as sugar and tobacco.
Aside from these utilitarian features of the Cuban flora, there is
another of considerable importance. The change in the topography
has been so great, that the original type of vegetation exists now only
in isolated places, and usually in comparatively small patches, along
water courses and among rocks of the hard limestone mountains ; and
it is not often a conspicuous feature of the landscape. For large areas
the primitive flora has been mainly replaced by dry-ground, or xero-
phytic plants, which have greatly extended their original ranges.
Thus views like those shown in the illustrations are common, but by no
means represent the former wealth of plant life occurring throughout
the same areas.
If Cuba is to become prosperous, some remedy is necessary, but it
is doubtful whether the people, with their habits of rarely thinking of
or making preparations for the future, can be expected to apply one.
Thousands of acres now utterly worthless, might, if saved from the
annual burning over, be allowed to grow as they will, and would event-
ually produce fuel in abundance for the whole population.
Washington, D. C.
THE PLANT WOELD 23
ORCHIDS IN CENTRAL PARK.
By Pauline Kaufman.
ON entering the greenhouse in Central Park where the orchids
luxuriate, those wonderful tropical enigmas al)pearing not merely
like flowers, but like creatures endowed with a higher life, a
wonderful sight meets the eye. The illusion that the flowers are
birds, bees or butterflies, is here fostered with care. Over the green
arches, between the leaves, they peep out at us, and almost compel the
belief that they will emerge fronr their hiding-places and flutter away.
A gleam of gold and purple reveals the well-known Cattleya TrU
aiKxe, but even lovelier is the Cattleya citrina, in which a soft, pale yel-
low coloring predominates. More modest in plumage, and less aerial
in habit are the Cypripedieae, particularly C. insigne, with its brownish-
green mottled flowers, G. Harrisiana, with dull maroon flowers, and the
less familiar native of Malacca, C. barbatam, whose oblong leaves are
light green with irregular markings of a darker shade, varying greatly
in different plants. The dorsal sepal of the solitary flower is large and
broad, the upper part pure white, the lower flecked with purple. The
petals, similar in color, are ornamented with several tufts of black
hairs, while the lip is large and purplish-black. In C. Spicerianum, a
near neighbor, the pure white upper sepal is divided by a purple line,
the greenish lateral sepals being similarly marked. The shining, green-
ish lip is much inflated, the top of the white column spotted with violet.
The species of Oncidium (from the Greek word for a tumor, refer-
ring to the warty cre^t on the base of the labellum) show remarkable
variation as regards size, form and color of the flowers, in which yellow
usually predominates. From an altitude of from 12,000 to 14,000 feet
in tropical latitudes, where at all times the atmosphere is cool and
moist, and frost is frequent, many of our Oncidiums are obtained. The
most beautiful representative of the genus is 0. Papilio, the butterfly
plant from Trinidad. The lip, with its yellow centre and red-brown
border, resembles the body of the insect, the horizontal and similarly
colored petals are the wings, and the long, narrow, erect reddish sepals
form the antennae and palpi. The likeness is truly startling. In re-
moving this orchid from a vase, I was surprised to find that the sepals
cling to and encircle every object with which they come in contact. 0.
omithorhynchuniy in spite of the overpowering name (which means hav-
ing the wings of a bird), is the very embodiment of grace. Its branch-
ing scapes are produced in great abundance, and are laden with droop-
ing panicles of smaU but lovely rose-pink blossoms having the perfume
of heliotrope. 0. varicosum, with its flat, lobed, bright yellow Up, and
its sepals and petals of pale dull green bearded with brown, seems to
24 THE PLANT WOBLD
raise a question in the mind of the uninitiated, for the preconceived
idea of an orchid is a flower invariably with an inflated pouch or a full
tubular lip. In its Brazilian home, this Oncidium has a flower scax>e
three feet long, bearing from eighty to ninety blooms, while in Central
Park the scape is at)out eighteen inches in length, with from thirty to
forty quite large flowers.
Less interesting is a Lycaate of a uniform greenish-white colora-
tion, quite unlike its useful and beautiful relative, L. SJdnneH. The
five-inch flower scape bears a single waxy flower, from five to six inches
in diameter; its oblong-ovate sepals are white, tinged with rose, the
petals three inches long, broadly ovate, directed forward with acutely
reflexed tips, streaked and tinged with dark rose. The lateral lobes of
the leaf are truncate, the middle one oblong, recurved, with a fleshy,
tongue-shaped rose-purple api)endage on the disc.
Close by we find a native of Nepaul, Coelogyne cnatata. It boasts
sepals and petals of virgin purity ; a large patch of yellow ornaments
the lip, the veins of which are fringed with gold. The numerous fra-
grant flowers are borne in drooping racemes. The pseudo-bulbs are
oblong, shining and apple-green in color; the leaves are thin, dark
green, and about nine inches long. It is strange that this inhabitant
of tropical cUmes should have a close relative in the beautiful little
Calypso of our own northern country.
Only one blooming plant of Zygopetalum Mackayi has been exhib-
ited. It bears among the numerous leaves five erect flower scapes, each
over a foot long, with five or six large flowers, strikingly colored. The
sepals and petals are yellowish-green, blotched with chocolate, the
white lip streaked and mottled with purplish-blue.
Many other beautiful orchids might be described, if space were
only unlimited.
New York City.
Not only in Florida, but in California, orange orchards or groves are
liable to injury from frost, and experiments of various kinds are being
made to protect them. At the famous Biverside, in California, the
thermometer falls at times to freezing point. For protection, a grower
at that place constructed a hot-water boiler, at a cost of $200, to run
hot-water along open furrows. The water passed from the boiler at 86
degrees when the outside temperature was 32 degrees ; the earth at 666
feet from the boiler was found to be 36 degrees, and the vapor arising
from the warm earth protected the plants. — Medians' Monthly.
THE PLANT WOBLD 25
THE MASKED TRICHOLOMA.
{Tricholoma personata Fr.)*
By E. M. Williams.
ONE of the most peculiar species of the genus Tricholoma is the
Masked Tricholoma. It is so characteristic, that once its haunts
are invaded, it is hardly likely to escape the eye of the collector.
TJhe chances are that he will class it as a Gortinariua, if he is at all
familiar with Jihat genus, and he may consider it very well placed as
Cortinariua violaceus. He would not so place it, however, if, as we are
told all good botanists should do, he first ascertained the dolor of the
spores. All good botanists, however, do not like to wait for sometimes
three or four hours to try to identify such an interesting plant as tiie
one in question, and if our good botanist had named his plant provis-
ionally and laid it away to collect the spores, he would be surprised to
find that instead of their being a rusty brown, as the color of the gills
had lead him to expect, they were of a very light salmon tint. Cou-
siderable doubt might now be felt as to whether the class Leucosporii
or Hyphorodii should claim this wayward child The gills are rounded
behind and sometimes free, but the structure is in most respects very
unlike Lepiota and FliUeus, and the plant is fleshy and compact, and
bears many family traits common to Entohm^ and Tricholoma, A
microscopic examination of the spores shows them to be regular and
smooth, and the color inclines to white rather than to a decided red,
hence he concludes that it must belong to the former genus. Once
located in the genus, the species is not hard to place, since it has only
one relative {Trichohma nudum) which closely resembles it, and these
two species are easily separated by the characters of the margin of the
pileus.
Of course our hypothetical botanist may have been more fortunate
than to have made all the blunders indicated, but others have done
worse, and these lines are written for the edification of those who do
sometimes make mistakes in their determinations.
The plant under discussion will not fail to delight as well as at-
tract the collector, for it is a dainty plant. It has a delicate pearl-gray-
* Tricholoma personatum Fr. — Pileus compact, becoming soft, thick, convex
or plane, obtuse, regular, moist, glabrous, variable in color, generally pallid or cin-
ereous tinged with violet or lilac, the margin at first involute and villose-pruinose^ flesh
whitish ; lamellae broad, crowded, rounded behind, free, violaceous becoming sordid-
whitish or fuscous; stem generally thick, subbulbous, solid, fibrillose or villose-prui-
nose, whitish or colored like the pileus ; spores sordid-white, subelliptical, .0003 to
.00035 in. long, .00016 to .0002 broad. Pileus 2 to 5 in. broad ; stem i to 2 in. long,
6 to 12 lines thick.
26
THE PLANT WORLD
lavender color, with a curious, half-transparent appearance, which sug-
gests that the plant might have been manufactured of dew and cool
shadows, with a glint of sunshine stirred into the mixture. The con-
trast between this chaste, gracefully-outlined plant, and the sombre
grays and rich browns of the decaying leaves which usually surround
it, makes a never to be forgotten picture.
The Masked Tricholoma i^Tricholmna personatum Fr.)
The reason this plant bears so peculiar a name, is not always at
once apparent. Several explanations have been offered by different
writers on fungi. One maintains that it is so called because of its vari-
able color ; another says that because the plant appears so like Corii-
narius violaceus, it may be said to be masquerading as a species of that
genus. While each of these might be good reasons for the plant hav-
ing such a name, Stevenson,* who is probably right, says that Fries
gave the plant this name in contrast to that of its nearest relative,
Tricholoma nudum, which it very closely resembles, in order to empha-
size the most marked difference between the two species, viz. that per-
sonatum has a tomentose or masked margin, while in nudum the mar-
gin is naked.
In addition to the interesting relationships and fair exterior of this
plant, it i)ossesses also the added charm of being one of the most tooth-
some morsels to be found in the whole fungus tribe. It has long been
known and eaten in the Old World. Early writers on British fungi
* Stevenson, i: 61-2.
THE PLANT WORLD 27
mention it as being on sale in the markets of that country under the
name of Blewitz or Blewits. The name, it is supposed, being a corrup-
tion of "blue hats," having reference to the blue color of the caps, and
indicating as well the long use of the plant for food.
The fungus is a late fall species, generally occurring from the mid-
dle of September till freezing weather. It grows in woods among de-
cayed leaves, or in earth in which there is considerable old manure or
well rotted straw. In rich soil the caps often attain a large size, some-
times reaching fully five inches in breadth of pileus. Under such con-
ditions the plant also shows a tendency to grow in clusters, while in
the woods it is most apt to be solitary. This variation would lead one
to think that the fungus might be successfully cultivated artificially.
In his recent work on fungi, Capt. McHvaine * recommends covering
patches of thiid fungus with straw or old manure to prolong their use-
fulness. Should one ever be fortunate enough to grow this fungus, it
would have many advantages over the common field mushroom, for
beside the fact that it is far superior in flavor, it may be kept more
than twice as long after picking. It also dries easily, and though no
record is to be found of any one eating the dried plants, the pleasant
odor of the herbarium specimens indicates that they are not likely to
prove inferior in flavor to other dried mushrooms.
The specific characters of this plant are so strongly marked, that
it could hardly be mistaken for any harmful species. As before stated,
it is much like both Co^^tinarius violaceus and Trichohma nudumy but as
these species are also edible, no danger would result if the species are
confused. There exists no reason for carelessness, however, since
among the many undescribed species of fungi there may be harmful
ones closely resembling it. Unceasing vigilence is alone the price of
safety for a mushroom eater.
Cooked in any of the common ways this mushroom is good, but
perhaps the fiinest flavor is given by cooking them in a little butter in a
very hot skillet. They should be covered till tender to retain the flavor,
then allowed to brown for a few minutes and served either alone on a
hot dish, or on slices of hot buttered toast.
Washington, D. C.
^ Mcllvaine, One Thousand American Mushrooms, 79-80.
28 THE PLANT WORLD
A FEBRUARY OUTING IN CALIFORNIA.
By Stewart H. Burnham.
MANY Saturdays came and went, and still the dreary rain contin-
ued. At last the long looked-for bright morning came, and with
many thoughts of obtaining the much coveted Garrya in flower,
my friend and I left the campus of Stanford University early on the
morning of February 9, 1895. We crossed the wheat fields and struck
the Page Mill Boad, which for a few miles winds in and out around the
bases of the green foot-hills. Sometimes the ascent was gradual; again
we were obliged to climb a steep hill, for our faces were turned toward
the mountains, Black Mountain in particular.
Along Madeira Creek in the valley, Salix lasiolepis was in full
bloom. Meadia Hendersoni, the shooting-star, Gardamhie Galifomica
and Sanicula Menzieaii were blossoming along the roadside, mostly in
the shade of shrubs. The genus Bibes was well represented. B. sub-
vestitum is a thorny shrub with rather inconspicuous flowers. The her-
ald of the awakening winter flora is B. glutinosum. I have seen it
beginning to flower on Thanksgiving day, immediately after the first
little showers. To-day we found its glory on the wane, as the beauti-
ful pink and rose-colored petals had been falling for some time ; still,
most of the tall shrubs retained enough beauty to i)erceptibly enliven
the landscape. B. malvaceum grows with glutinosum here, and is very
much like it in many ways, but has thicker leaves, which are tomentose
beneath.
Lathyrus Bolanderi climbs over the bushes by the aid of its ten-
drils ; such a bower is a congenial home for the delicate maiden-hair
fern, Adiantum Gapillus- Veneris, GastillejafoUolosa is a shrubby Painted
Cup having scarlet or yellow flowers, but it is not so abundant as its
near relative, Pedicularis densiflora. The latter has pinnatifid leaves
similar to those of our common eastern lousewort, but the flower-spike
is far showier, being bright scarlet This herb occurs everywhere on
the mountains and in the chaparral, and in flower is so conspicuous
that it can be seen for a great distance.
A few months previous I had seen the clustered bushes of Garrya
eUiptica along the road, part way up the mountain. As I neared the
spot I hastened my steps, and at last succeeded in obtaining all that
my heart could desire. The flowers are inconspicuous, but they are in
graceful axillary aments, solitary or in threes, and dioecious. The
leaves are opi)osite, coriaceous, entire and tomentose beneath. For-
merly this low, branching shrub was classed as one of the Comaceae,
with which it has little in common, but it is now placed in the small
family Garryaceae.
. THE PLANT WORLD 29
The upper portion of the road was shaded by trees of Quercua Wis-
lizeni and Q. chrysolepis, which had evidently borne a fine crop of acorns
the previous season. Just before we reached a deserted, typical, old
California house, we left the wagon-road, and in a few moments stood
en the summit of Black Mountain, 2787 feet above the Pacific, which is
visible on a clear day. During the ascent a heavy fog had rolled in
from the ocean, and hid from view the picturesque Santa Clara valley.
Indeed, Santa Clara was in the cloud-land, a new sight to both of us.
At times the fog would raise a bit, revealing a little of the busy world
below, but such views were of short duration. Our lunch eaten, we
rolled large stones down the mountain side into the dense chaparral or
studied the centipedes which we found under them. The descent was
hiade more quickly, and we reached our rooms at dusk, tired but well
repaid for the trip.
Vaughns, New York.
THE DISCOVERY OF A PLUMOSE VARIETY OF THE
EBONY SPLEENWORT.
By Frances B, Horton.
WHILE gathering ferns one day in September, 1900, we strolled
from the cool shade and the gray twilight of the deeper woods
to the rocky eastern slope beyond, the hillside home of several
of our New England ferns. Nestled close to the limestone cliffs were
luxuriant growths of Asplenium ebeneum and A. Trichomanes in close
proximity to dense patches of Dicksonia and verdant knolls of maiden-
hair, while nearer still were the strong hardy fronds of Aapidium mar-
ginale clinging to the sides of rocks, or imbedded among them, and
some were even in the open fields. Being in search of Asplenium ebe-
neum and A, Trichomanes for my fern garden and jars, my purpose was
soon satisfied, and very soon I found my small basket completely filled
with the desired plants, but just as I was about to leave the place,
another beautiful specimen of ebeneum invited me to take it home. I
stooped to dig up the plant, when my attention was attracted by a
dainty little stranger clothed with bright green fringe from head to
foot, and showing handsome erect fronds with shining dark rachises.
Looking about, I discovered several more plants. Their general ap-
pearance was much like that of ebeneum, except for the deeply incised
pinnae. The length of the longer fronds was from eight to ten inches,
and of the shorter ones from three to four inches. The taller fronds
30 THE PLANT WORLD
were noticeably brittle, and many of the plants had the stipes of sev-
eral broken fronds standing up an inch or two above the roots.
For a while I stood and looked at the plants, and marveled at
their strange appearance, realizing that they were wholly new to me ;
but I did not think then that they would prove to be strangers to those
more wise in fern lore than myself. However, after reaching my home
with the two plants, and consulting my fern books and Gray's botany
without finding a name fpr them, I mailed a specimen to Dr. B. L Bob-
inson, curator of the Harvard herbarium, who forwarded it to Mr.
Gteorge E. Daveni)ort, the well known fern specialist, for further inves-
tigation. Later, by request, I sent to Mr, Davenport a fresh plant with
the soil attached. As the result of the study the little fern has re-
ceived, it is now regarded as a plumose variety of Asplenium ebeneum,
and Mr. Davenport has very courteously named it in honor of its dis-
coverer, so that it is now called Asplenium ebeneum var. Hortanae Dav-
enport.*
Several times I have visited the station, on each occasion search-
ing in vain for fertile fronds, and leaving with the thought that perhaps
the broken ends of the stipes were the remnants of fruiting fronds,
broken so close to the rootstock that they told no story. Very late in
the season I made a final trip, accompanied by Mr. Horton, and to-
gether we carefully covered the dainty plants with fallen leaves, both
as a protection from cold and a security against danger, lest they
should be observed by others and ruthlessly exterminated. We have
carefully guarded the secret of the station, believing that a knowledge
of it would mean the complete extermination of the variety.
Brattleboro, Vermont.
♦Asplenium ebeneum Ait,, var. Hortonae Davenp. — Habit and rootstock as in
the specific form. Fronds in two series as in normal forms ; lower series smallest,
rosette-like in arrangement, reclining in p>osition, normally sterile, with closely set,
more or less imbricated, alternate pinnae ; larger series taller, erect, abnormally ster-
ile, with more distinct, alternate, sessile, sub-sessile or short-stalked, obliquely in-
cised or deeply pinnatifid obtuse pinnae, the oblique lobes cuneate and coarsely ser-
rated, the basal lobes often distinct, the upper one the largest and somewhat auricu-
late ; laminae }4 to 2 inches broad, pinnate nearly to the pinnatifid acute apex, lower
portion abruptly diminished, the reduced pinnae lobed, or divided, cmd wholly differ-
ent from the reduced simpler lobes of the normal forms. Stipe short, and as well as
the rachis, vivid chestnut, or reddish brown, glossy, terete, or obscurely furrowed
along the face in the living plant, shrivelling in drying and then appearing as if stri-
ated ; clothed at the base with a few delicate, linear-acuminate, ciliated, transparent
scales with a central framework of brown, and containing two small vascular bundles
that shortly coalesce into one ; veins flabellately forked in the basal lobes, the whole
system forming what Luerssen terms " Nervatio Sphenopteridis," in which some of
the pinnae resemble sections of Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum. — Rhodora^ ^\\. 1901.
THE PLANT WORLD 31
BRIEF ER ARTI CLES.
Derivation of Coiumbine.
At page 107 of the preceding volume of this journal are presented
some curious attempts on the part of lexicographers to get at the origin
of the name Columbine. In the opinion of the author, Mr. Saunders,
no acceptable explanation of its derivation has ever been given ; and to
my mind, his own suggestion about a dovecote, as being hinted at by
the columbine flower " when regarded full in the face," fails to com-
mend itself as meritorious above those which the lexicographers had
offered.
A little simple and easy grammatical analysis of such a term may
be worth making. Columbine is, first of all, simply the English form
of a Latin adjective columhinus. There was, originally, a substantive
of which this adjective was the modifier, and if this long-suppressed
noun could be discovered, we may say we should have an absolutely
certain clew to the derivation of columbine.
In default of time for a thorough investigation of the early history
of the Aquilegias, I am unable to say whether or not that suppressed
substantive was ever printed. But I am sure it must have existed, if
only colloquially, and at some time, perhaps very remote. I also infer
that the said substantive was, in Latin, peSy in English foot; and that
thus the real full name once used for the columbine was "dovefoot."
This I say is an inference, not a mere guess. The inference is drawn
from the fact that in another instance where the adjective columbinus
formed the part of a plant name, just this noun pes formed the other
part of that name. The species I have in mind is that for which Lin-
naeus perpetuated the old binary name of Geranium columbinum. Not
only this particular species, but a whole group of them, found mention
and description under the name, as much generic as specific, of Pes
columbinus, or Dovefoot. It is manifest to me that the elastically
curving mature carpels of the true geraniums reminded ancient observ-
ers of these plants of the claws of a bird ; and as the dove was the most
familiar of birds, the common wild geraniums obtained the name of
dovefoot. Doubtless also the curved and claw-hke hollow petals of
AqtMlegia caused this plant also to be designated dovefoot ; and I should
almost expect to find in some old books of pre-Linnaean botany, had I
time to look, the name Pes columbinus assigned to this plant also.
What seems to render it quite certain that the bird's foot idea gave
the origin to columbine as here applied, is the circumstance, evidently
32 THE PLANT WORLD
not known to botanists of the present, that an older generic name than
Aquilegia for this genns is Aquilinay evidently at first Planta aquUina;
and this Aqnilina name was, for a certain length of time, long past, the
prevalent generic name. The bird's foot suggestion is here again in
evidence.
Is there, in view of these few historic facts, any further room for
doubt that Columbine is an alteration of Pes columbinus, dovefoot? —
Edw. L. Greene, Washington, D. C.
Range of the Mistletoe in Olclahoma.
It is a curious fact that the Mistletoe, Phoradendron Jlavescens
(Pursh) Nutt., which is the State flower of Oklahoma, is confined in its
habitat to a comparatively small area of the territory. In this regard
it is in marked contrast to the sunflower, the State flower of Kansas,
which is not only rampant in all parts of that State, but also overflows
into all neighboring regions.
The Mistletoe is classed among the half-parasitic plants, or those
which take a portion of their food from the host and manufacture the
rest themselves. It roots on the branches of deciduous trees, notably
the tupelo, maple, elm, oak, and cottonwood. Its habitat, according to
Britton & Brown, is " central New Jersey to Ohio, Indiana and Mis-
souri, and south to Florida and Texas."
In Oklahoma the Mistletoe is most abundant in the southeastern
part of the territory. It grows chiefly on the elm, Ulmus Americanus,
where it sometimes forms clusters as large as a bushel basket, but is
also occasionally found on the cottonwood. Being a semi-tropical
plant, it can not thrive in the northern and western parts of the Terri-
tory, which are subject to occasional blizzards during the winter
months. In the Indian Territory it is abundant as far north as the
Cherokee Nation, but in Oklahoma comparatively little Mistletoe is
found north of the North Canadian river. It is most abundant in the
valley of the South Canadian, which forms the southern boundary of
the Territory. In this region it is not unusual to find dozens of the
large dark green clusters encircling the branches of a single elm tree.
It is reported along the lower course of the Cimarron as far north as
Guthrie and Stillwater, but in these localities is not at all abundant.
The severe winter of 1898-99 killed much of the Mistletoe in Okla-
homa, and last year there were very few berries to be found. Even
during the present season they are not nearly so abundant as formerly.
Farmers and others in southern Oklahoma derive considerable income
from shipping Mistletoe to the northern States to supply the Christmas
trade. — Charles Newton Gould, University of Oklahoma.
THE PLANT WORLD 33
Fertilization of the Closed Gentian by Bumblebees.
One of the most interesting and convenient subjects for botanical
investigation is that of pollination. The innumerable shai)es, colors,
arrangements and devices of flowers in their relation to insects, and the
agency of wind and water in pollen distribution, furnish an inexhaust-
ible field for study.
An instance occurred last fall while a friend and myself were col-
lecting closed gentians in low woods near Toledo, Ohio. It had been
a question in my mind for several years whether or not this flower with
closely plaited and folded corolla would be entered by insects as pol-
len carriers to insure the production of the abundant seed. Our good
fortune on this occasion proved beyond a doubt that the flowers of G.
Andrewsiiy at least, are visited by insects.
A bumblebee alighted on the corolla of a fresh flower, and pried
and twisted the folds apart until he succeeded in forcing his body
through the aperture, when the tube closed over him without any ap-
parent injury. A few seconds later came a disturbance in the flower,
the corolla was again forced open and our insect backed out, no doubt
covered with pollen to be transferred to another flower.
Several clusters of old flowers were examined by the same insect,
but he passed them by without even alighting. Experience had no
doubt taught him to distinguish between the old flowers and the new
ones containing the cherished honey.
Besides this observation, two similar instances have come to notice,
and thus still further emphasize the fact that closed gentians are ento-
mophilous. — ^F. H. Burglehaus, Toledo, Ohio.
The Kudzu Vine, which has become so valuable in rapidly cover-
ing trellises, pillars, and buildings, has been esteemed mainly on this
account. Its growth of over a hundred feet in a single season is truly
amazing. It was distributed as DoUchos Japonica, though it is now
said its proper baptismal name is Pdchyrhizus Thunbergianus^ derived
from the enormous roots. It appears that where the plant has become
strongly established, all the branches of the past year do not die back
to the ground. From these enduring stems, spikes of bright purple,
bean-like flowers issue. They are so hidden by the foliage as to be
unobserved, but soon make themselves known by a delightful odor that
is wafted to long distances around. — Meehaiis'' Monthly.
34 THE PLANT WORLD
GENERAL ITEMS.
The illustrations of " An Unusual Flower " which appeared in our
last issue, have aroused much interest among our readers, s^d we shall
continue to publish preblems of this character from time to time. The
flower is that of a tropical species of Pavorday a genus belonging to the
Malvaceae ; the involucral bracts are shown at a, the calyx at d, corolla
at b, and monadelphous or united stamens at c.
Correct answers to all the questions were received from Mr. Fred.
B. Maxwell and Professor John M. Holzinger. The family Malvaceae,
to which the plant belongs, was identified by. Mr. Wm. R. Maxon, Mr.
G. N. Collins, and Professor Byron D. Halsted.
President McKinley recently transmitted to Congress, with a rec-
commendation to favorable consideration, a report of the Secretary of
Agriculture on the establishment of a forest reserve or National Park
in the southern Appalachian mountain region. Secretary Wilson has
thoroughly investigated the hydrography and forest covering of this
region, and states that land can be purchased at an average cost of only
about $3.00 per acre. The region " contains the highest and largest
mountain masses and perhaps the wildest and most picturesque scenery
east of the Mississippi river."
A few days later Senator Pritchard introduced in the Senate a bill
known as the Appalachian Park Bill, appropriating the sum of five
million dollars to be expended on or before the close of the fiscal year
1910-1911, authorizing the purchase of an area not exceeding two mil-
lion acres. This, if accomplished, will be the only forest reserve in the
eastern States, and we earnestly hope it may be brought aboui
The following resolutions, adopted by the Washington Mycological
Club after the death of Thomas A. Williams, were received too late for
insertion in our last issue.
Whereas, Death has taken from the Club our beloved fellow mem-
ber and Ex-President, who from its first organization took such an
active interest in the work of the Glttb, and spent so much of his time
and energy in promoting its growth and welfare, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Club express its deep sense of loss, and that it
convey to the bereaved family its profound sympathy.
THE PLANT WORLD 35
Some years ago a friend returning from Cuba brought me a souve-
nir in the shape of a paper-weight. It was a large, dried fruit of Hura
crepitanSy the well-known sand-box tree, which had had the interior
completely filled with molten lead. It was a valued object on my desk
for several months, but one morning I was surprised to find pieces of
the shell scattered over the desk and about the room. The explosive
property of this fruit is, of course, well known, but it was presumed
that the lead would hold it together. It did not, however, and nothing
now remains but this cast of the interior. — F. H. K.
The late winter is the most appropriate season for studying buds
and their development. A bud, being a rudimentary branch, has all
the appendages of a branch — ^leaves, scales, stipules, and often flowers —
packed into the smallest possible compass. The mild days of Febru-
ary frequently cause the buds to swell, and it is then easy to dissect
them and study their structure. The shoots of many plants, particu-
larly of willows and fruit trees like the apple and peach, will develop
their flower-buds in the house if cut in early spring and placed in vases
of water. So also many herbaceous perennials like the hepatica, in
which the buds are fully formed the preceding fall, will produce their
flowers in the house ahead of the season for outdoor bloom.
The sixth annual meeting of the Vermont Botanical Club was held
at the University of Vermont on January 25th and 26th. Among the
more impartant papers presented, was that of Mrs. Frances B. Horton,
which described the finding of a plumose variety of Asplenium ebeneum
Ait. This new variety was described in the January Rhodora, In a
paper entitled "Notes on Tremella mycetophila Pk." Dr. E. A. Burt
gave his reasons for transferring this species of parasitic mushrooms
to the genus Exobasidium, T. E. Hazen described some common Con-
fervae which might be found in Vermont streams. Miss E. M. Brown-
ell gave some interesting results of cultivating wild violets in the gar-
den. " Are Equisetums or Ferns Poisonous ? " was the subject discussed
by Professor L. B. Jones. Numerous cases of horses being poisoned
by Equisetums were cited. No evidence was found against the ferns.
The annual address was delivered by President Ezra Brainerd. He
reviewed the flora as represented in the new catalogue of Vermont
plants, and suggested paths for future activities of the Vermont botan-
ists. — C. D. Howe, University of Vermont.
36 THE PLAIJT WORLD
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
Under the title "Femwort Papers," the Linnaean Fern Chapter
has recently issued an interesting booklet of forty -eight pages, contain-
ing five papers "presented at a meeting of fern students held in New
York City, June 27, 1900, under the auspices of the Linnaean Fern
Chapter." The titles and authors are as follows : " The Genus Isoetes
in New England," by A. A. Eaton ; " The System of Ferns proposed in
Die Natuerlichen Pflanzenfamilien," by Professor L. M. Underwood ;
"Experiments in Hybridizing Ferns," by Miss Margaret Slosson;
"Athyrium as a Gtenus," by B. D. Gilbert; and "On the Occurrence of
the Hart's-tongue in America," by William K. Maxon. In the first-
mentioned are contained descriptions of all the New England forms, of
which four species and one variety are regarded as new.
The first number of the second series of the Bulletin de UHerbier
Boiasier has recently appeared. It contains two articles of interest to
cryptogamic botanists ; one by H. Christ on a collection of ferns from
the upper Amazon, collected by Dr. J. Huber, and containing a list of
32 sx>ecies with notes and descriptions of one new species of Polyhotrya
and four of Selaginella^ and the other by H. and P. Sydow on new Bra-
zilian fungi collected by Ule, in which two new genera and thirty new
species are proposed. The new genera are Lycopolia Sacc. & Syd., be-
longing to the Pyrenomycetes, and Pazachkeella Syd., among .the Fungi
Imperfecti. — C. L. S.
In the January Botanical Oazette Professor C. S. Sargent presents
the second of his valuable papers on new or little known North Ameri-
can trees, in which he describes a new Gleditsia (G. Texana)^ and some
seven new arborescent species of Crataegus. The Gleditsia is a tree
100 to 120 feet in height, with a trunk rarely more than 2J feet in di-
ameter. It grows in the high, rather dry bottom-lands of the Brazos
river, Texas, and may be readily distinguished from the common honey-
locust {G. tri^icanthos) by having spineless branches and smoother pale
bark.
Dr. John W. Harshberger has just published in the Proceedings of
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, a valuable " Ecological
Study of the New Jersey Strand Flora."
THE PLANT WORLD 37
EDITORIAL.
The widespread development of popular interest in the study of
plants and plant life during the past few years, is evidenced by the
mushroom-like growth of numerous periodicals devoted more or less to
the subject of botany. Many of the universities, academies and sci-
entific societies now have their own organs, while the Torrey Botanical
Club, one of the oldest and strongest organizations of its kind in the
country, has recently started the pubUoation of Torreya^ a twelve-
page monthly devoted to notes and short articles of a less technical
nature than the papers appearing in the Bulletin or the Memoirs. The
prosi)erous journal of the New England Botanical Club, Bhodora, has
just completed its second year; and the past summer has witnessed the
revival of that entertaining product of the Pacific coast known as Zoe,
A Pennslyvania botanist has commemorated the name of Muhlenberg
in Muhlenbergiay which is to appear at irregular intervals, whenever
suitable matter shall be at hand. We believe, however, that New Jer-
sey has carried off the palm for journalistic nomenclature in the shape
of a monthly published at Plainfield, devoted exclusively to popular
botany, and rejoicing in the title " The GamophylloiLa" This singular
appellation led to a curious error in the final issue of the Asa Gray
BuUetiTiy where the name is printed "The Gamophyllons."
We consider competition an excellent thing, and doubtless many
of these publications, particularly those of the amateur type, x)erform a
distinct service in keeping alive the flame of interest in nature study.
Yet it must be admitted that through consolidation of several small
journals into one large one, it becomes x>ossible to serve the reading
public with better articles, more reading matter, and superior illustra-
tions for the same price, and greatly simplifies the work of the student
who is coqipelled to examine the bulk of current scientific literature.
There should always be a well-grounded reason and a manifest need
for the establishment of a new x)eriodical before it is launched on the
stormy seas of journalistic enterprise.
38 THE PLANT WORLD
We have received many words of commendation from our sub-
scribers on the fine appearance of our January issue, and we have been
particularly gratified with the cordial support extended to the journal
by former readers of the Asa Gray BuUetm. In this connection we
would call the attention of our readers to the demand for back volumes
of the Bulletin, which will shortly result in exhausting the stock. We
can still supply a limited number of complete sets at a price which is
quite low in view of the fact that the Bulletin is now extinct, and will
increase in value and interest for that very reason.
The two beautiful half-tones accompanying this issue of the Sup-
plement were made from photographs taken by Mr. Carl Krebs, of
Cleveland, Ohio. They are the first of a large series of similar photo-
graphs of plant subjects recently purchased by The Plant World from
Mr. Krebs, which will appear from time to time in our pages. We
have acquired the exclusive rights of publication for these photographs,
although prints may be secured from Mr. Krebs.
BOOK REVIEWS.
Contributions prom the U. S. National Herbarium, Vol. VII. No. 1.
A Monograph of the North American Umbelliferae, by John M.
Coulter and J. N. Bose. Issued December 31, 1900. Government
Printing Office.
A copy of this valuable contribution reached us on the last day of
the year, in time to signalize by its production the closing quarter of a
memorable century of botanical activity along taxonomic lines. Not
the least remarkable feature of this period has been the development of
the modem theory of a monograph. In the earlier years of the cen-
tury, notably in the works of LeConte and Torrey, we are accustomed
to find a bare conspectus of the known species of a genus, with brief
descriptions, and possibly a short key. This rather unsatisfactory
style of treatment has been succeeded by more and more elaborate
works, until at the present time a monograph frequently contains, in
addition to a full exposition of synonomy, an enumeration of all the
herbarium specimens consulted, and a discussion of the systematic
THE PLANT WORLD 39
relationships of the genus in question, to say nothing of figures of the
species, extended keys and diagnoses, and the most detailed measure-
ments of the individual parts of a plant. Such a work is the logical
outcome of the modem doctrine of " expansion " as applied to botanical
taxonomy, and without this very complete literature of the subject, it
would be impossible for all but actual specialists to identify the species
of diflSicult genera.
The new monograph of Professor Coulter and Dr. Rose is typical
of this progressive spirit. The work begins with a complete bibliog-
raphy of the subject, arranged in three distinct periods ; then follows a
list of the new species described since the publication of the " Revision
of North American Umbelliferae " by the same authors in 1888 ; a con-
spectus of the native and introduced genera ; and a list of post-Linnaean
genera based on a single species. Passing to the text of the book, the
reader will be quick to notice and appreciate the illustrations of en-
larged fruits and fruit-sections, placed in each case in juxtaposition
with the generic descriptions to which they pertain. The specific diag-
noses, in addition to a full statement of synonomy and geographic
range, include a citation of the type locality and a large share of the
specimens examined by the authors.
We fear that our more conservative friends will experience a slight
shock when they observe the lavish liberality with which generic lines
are drawn by Messrs. Coulter and Rose. The most notable illustration
of this may be seen in the expansive tendency of the original Cymop-
tenis^ which has now develoi)ed into Gymopterus, Olehnia, Phellopterus,
Pteryxia, Aulospennumy Rhyaopttrus and Pseiidocymopterus. Yet even
a casual examination of fruit characters in these different genera, as
displayed in the text figures, must convince the reader that they rest
on a substantial natural foundation.
With the exception of the few inevitable typographical errors, the
reviewer will find this work almost without defects, and in the writer's
opinion it is the most complete and satisfactory presentment of a fam-
ily that has come to the attention of latter-day botanists. — C. L. P.
A Monograph of the Erysiphaceae. By E. D. Salmon, F. R. S. Me-
moirs of the Torrey Botanical Club, Vol. IX.
This is one of the most important of recent contributions to syste-
matic mycology. The author, who did most of his work at Kew, has
had unusual facilities in the way of exsiccata and literature, and has
treated his subject in a thorough and comprehensive manner. Follow-
ing the introduction is a chapter on " Morphology and Life-History,"
in which is brought together the latest results of investigations along
these lines. Next a short history of previous systematic studies of
40 THE PLANT WOBLD
these plant is given, beginning with Linnaeus, who included them in
his genus Mucor, The connection and relation between host and para-
site are discussed, and some interesting data regarding distribution
given. Some curious instances are given of species described as occur-
ring on plants ux>on which the fungus did not originate, its presence
being apparently accidental. The author thinks these instances may be
accounted for in some cases by the rubbing together of dried speci-
mens, or the repeated use of the same driers to which the perithecia
might adhere. It seems to us hardly probable that either of these sug-
gestions would account for the presence of the perithecia which have
been reported as occurring on Fomea fomentarixis. It appears more
probable that the perithecia become accidentally detached from plants
growing in close proximity to the one on which they are reported.
However, the fact of such accidental occurrence should impress upon
collectors and authors the necessity of carefully guarding against such
errors.
In his treatment of species, the author is very conservative. Sac-
cardo in his " Sylloge Fungorum " recognizes 111 species and 1 variety,
with 20 other " dubiae vel inquirendae." In the present monograph, but
49 species and 11 varieties are recognized. Of these, 3 species and 2
varieties are described as new. This is in rather striking contrast to
the present tendency to multiply species. This broad conception of
species we are inclined to attribute in large part to the close compara-
tive study of a great abundance of material from various parts of the
world. One can scarcely examine in an unprejudiced manner a large
series of specimens of any group of plants without recognizing their
great variability, and the indefiniteness of the dividing lines which ne-
cessitates a more or less arbitrary separation if any is to be made. A
careful study of types or authentic specimens of many of the species of
the older authors has cleared up numerous cases of doubtful identity
and synonomy, and quotations of original descriptions from publica-
tions which are inaccessible to many students, give opportunity for
judging the correctness of the author's interpretations. Citations of
literature, exsiccatae and synonyms are unusually complete. The work
is illustrated with nine plates, which add greatly to the value of the
book. More careful and exact citations of the types of species in the
cases in which such exist, would have increased the value of the work.
This omission is particularly noticeable in the case of the new species
described. The question of generic types is one which must also be
mfet in the near future, if any great degree of stability or uniformity in
nomenclature is to be secured. The work as a whole is most com-
mendable, and must remain for a long time the authority on this group
of fungi. — C. L. S.
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV, MARCH, 1901, No. 3,
THE DURATION OF CLAYTON I A CHAMISSOI Ledeb.
By John M, HoLzmoER
IN June, 1889 (June 18 and 19), the writer, in company with Messrs*
Grant Van Sant and Glen Morgan, two young student friends, made
a botanical trip by rowboat from Winona down the Mississippi as
far as La Crosse. The main purpose was to re-discover a small colony
of Kentucky coffee trees seen near Dresbach in 1882. These were not
found again. Instead, an herbaceous plant was included in the collec-
tion which proved to be a curious intruder into the flora of the Mississ-
ippi valley — Claytonia CJiamissoi. In a letter to Dr. J. M. Coulter dur-
ing that season, it was pointed out that this plant seemed to be a peren*
mal, but agreed in every other respect with the description of Cham-
misso's Claytonia. That distinguished botanist kindly verified the
determination. More recently, when Britton & Brown's Flora appeared,
the plant was still characterized as an annual. Under these circum-
stances, it seems proper to put on record a correction, insignificant
though it be, and to establish beyond doubt the perennial character of
this plant.
The accompanying figure, representing a luxuriant plant a little
past bloom, drawn by my friend, Mr. Frank Kowell, shows from the
lowest nodes of the annual stem, the stolons mentioned in Britton &
Brown's Flora. It also shows, at the ends of these stolons, as well as
on some of their lateral branches, little tubers, f, t, to the number of
over a dozen on this one plant. These are firm little organs, of the size
of small peas and smaller, yellowish-green or yellowish-red in color,
according to the degree of exposure to the sun. After the year's growth
has withered, including the stolons, these tubers sink into the sub-
42
THE PLANT WOELD
THE PLANT WORLD
Vol. IV. Plate IIL
^.(f'fiin.^JUJi
Claytonia Chaniissoi Ledeb. Sli.a^htly reduced.
THE PLANT WOELD 43
stratum, here principally leaf mould kept in the condition of slush by
the water from a seepage spring. In this carbonaceous mud I have
several times since 1893 found them late in October, on the occasions
of visits to this station for blooming witch hazeL
In the fall of 1894 I gathered a handful of these tubers, and made
an attempt at transplanting this plant to several favorable situations
nearer Winona than Queen's BlufiE, which is eighteen miles below Win-
ona, and is, so far as I have ascertained after more than eleven years of
waiting, its only station east of the Bocky Mountains. The failure of
this attempt is to be regretted the more, since the freshets produced in
the upper Mississippi basin by the torrential rains of June 12th and
13th, 1899, have left deposits of sand and earth more than a foot deep
over this little isolated patch of Claytonia, as I learned on my last visit
in the late fall of 1899. Whether any fraction of this colony has suc-
cessfully escaped destruction by that flood, remains to be determined
by future search.
It seems superfluous to point out the close similarity of the vege-
tative system of this plant and that of the common potato, Solanum tu-
berosum. That it has so long been considered an annual herb, seems
largely due to the fact that the stolons, the presence of which is noted
in some of the descriptions, are quite slender and delicate, and after
drying become so brittle that most herbarium specimens show neither
them nor the tubers. From my extended observations, it is very prob-
able that the principal means of propagation of this plant is by just
these tubers. Indeed, so far as this little colony is concerned, they
seem to have been the only means, certainly since I have found the
patch. For, of the hundreds of plants collected on the several trips,
not a single ripe or even partly developed seed could be found, despite
the fact that ttie plants at the times of collecting were always largely
past bloom, and every plant was expressly searched and examined with
care. In not a single case was there evidence that fertilization had
taken place. Whether this sterility was due to the unfavorable climate
or to absence of the right insect visitors, remains an unanswered ques-
tion.
Winona, Minnesota, February, 1901.
44 THE PLANT WORLD
THE CARE OF TREES IN CITY PARKS.*
IN nature, trees grow in one of two ways — either in a crowded forest,
or in places more or less open, where they get plenty of light. Al-
though light is free to all, yet among the trees it is the only neces-
sary for which they enter a great competitive struggle, upon which
their very lives depend. When once started, a tree cannot help getting
a certain quantity of food and moisture, but unless it receives light
also, it dies.
Li the forest, trees grow as closely together as they can live, and
there is a constant struggle to reach the top; those that succeed in
doing so will spread out, and by shading the lower ones, kill them just
as surely as though one cut them off with an ax. This method of
growth shades the ground closely, keeping it damp and cool, and each
year's crop of leaves buries beneath it as it falls, the dead limbs and
bark and chips which fell during the summer and preceding winter, and
these, kept always damp by this mulch of leaves, soon decay, and with
the leaves themselves, form what we know as leaf-mould, the whole
process being nature's method of making fertile soil. This is the nor-
mal forest condition, and the product of its development is timber,
straight-grained, strong, and nearly knot-free wood, the joy of the car-
penter's heart, and one of the best gifts of the Creator to man.
But once in a while, in natural conditions, and more often when
the agency of man is involved, a tree gets a chance to grow in a place
where there is an abundance of light on all sides, and what result do we
find? This tree, instead of growing tall as rapidly as possible, for fear
that some competitor will cut off its supply of light, grows broad nearly
as fast as it grows tall and sometimes faster ; all sides are covered with
leaves, and all the branches beneath are draped with leaves in nature's
own unequaled manner. Between these two styles of tree there is lit-
tle resemblance ; the shape is different, the leaves are all over, instead
of merely at the toj), while the wood, though equally good for burning,
is so full of knots from the well-developed limbs, that it is nearly use-
less for lumber, but for beauty there is no comparison. The one shows
nature in a creative mood, making soil and timber for the use of gene-
rations yet unborn, and the other shows her in an artistic mood, and
the product is something whose beauty is rarely, if ever, equalled by
the artifice of man.
In our parks and city streets, trees are grown mainly for puri)oses
of shade and beauty, and as the coolest and most dense shade is given
by the most beautiful trees, namely, those that are covered with leaves
* Condensed from a paper by Mr. W. E. Saunders, read before the Horticultural
Society of London, Ontario, and published in "The London News."
THE PLANT WOKLD 45
above, below, and on all sides, it naturally follows that most of our city
trees should be grown in this form. And there is but one way to grow
them after this manner, and that is by giving them plenty of light, and
keeping the trimming-fiend at a distance.
The love of trees is implanted deep in the nature of nearly every
person. Many people do not realize this until they come into possession
of a plot of ground where a few trees are growing, when their natural
affection comes quickly to the surface. But few, however, have this
feeling so chastened with wisdom, as to enable them to treat their trees
well; nearly all want to grow two, three, or even a dozen trees in the
space that should be given to one, not realizing how much better it
would be to have one fine, large, well-shaped, handsome tree, than to
have half-a-dozen stunted, misshapen, lopsided ones, whose only real
utility is for consumption as fuel. No better proof of this deeply im-
planted love can be offered than the fact that it is almost impossible to
persuade the average man to part with a single one of his trees, even
when the destruction of one means the betterment of the others.
When trees are too many, cut some of them down. A tree which
is too large for its environment can never be made handsome by any
system of pruning, and not only that, but it will si)oil others which
might be ornamental if its space were vacant.
Now, a word as to the planting of shade trees. In London we suf-
fer from a superfluity of silver maple {Acer saccliarinuvi). This is a
quick-growing tree of handsome form, but there are others that are as
quick-growing, and many that, though slow growers, are more desirable
and very handsome. Our streets should not all be planted with one
kind of tree. Monotony should be avoided. Besides, when a blighting
disease or a devastating insect, affecting possibly only one species of
tree, reaches a city planted with that tree only, that place is liable to
have very few good trees left. Some t^'^enty-five years ago the streets
of London had a great many locust trees, whose foliage and flowers are
each beautiful, but the locust borer came among them, and now they
are gone. The maple is a grand tree, hardy and nobly beautiful, but
the Creator has given us many other fine trees also, and doubtless it
was never his intention that we should confine ourselves to the use pf
one species only. The birches, three or four species of beautiful trees
immortalized in poetry and characteristic of the north, the lofty elm,
whose fame as a street tree in New England has spread over the entire
continent, the fragrant basswood, the evergreen spruces and cedar, the
hemlock, which I sometimes think is the handsomest of all our trees,
and the nut trees, chestnut, butternut, walnut, beech, and the hickories,
all these and many more have beauties of their own, and should be
largely used.
46 THE PLANT WORLD
At irregular intervals a man called by courtesy a " tree-pruner,"
more or less authorized by those who rule over us to butcher every
inanimate object, travels through our streets and makes a bad matter
still worse. A gentleman living near my house had last summer a very
handsome cut-leaved birch and a good many maples growing on his
front lawn. Noticing that the birch was beginning to suffer from being
crowded, I one day complimented him on the beauty of his tree, and
suggested that it needed more room in order to retain its beauty. He
replied that it was a very nice tree, but it needed pruning, and he was
getting a man who understood such things, to come and see to it. The
beauty of this species of birch lies in the long, slender, drooping
branchlets, and in the handsome pyramidal shape of the tree; but this
" pruner " sawed off the trunk of this tree at about eight feet from the
top, sawed one-third off all the larger limbs, and left the tree shorn of
all its beauty and with the work of years destroyed. All the tree
needed was to receive plenty of light, and to be left alone. Such ex-
amples are abundant.
It was only a few weeks ago that an eminent horticulturalist wrote
in the pages of Gardening, a leading American magazine, of the folly of
planting trees in rows along the drives in parks, a method which is the
worst xHJSsible, for besides spoiling the artistic appearance of the place,
it prevents the people on the drives from the realization and enjoyment
of the beauties of either the nearby or the distant view, and yet, despite
the fact that this principle is freely stated and admitted by the best
authorities, it is the very method which is being adopted in our river
park, now in process of formation; and not only that, but the chief part
of the trees planted have been soft maples and Norway spruces, the
very ones of which Londoners have already far too many. It is to be
hoped that ere long different methods may prevail, and that while there
is yet time, the best may be made of the material now planted, and
that the future may be properly provided for by the planting of such
trees as will lend variety and beauty to the landscape. How this is to
be accomplished, is not difficult to tell, for it can only be done by plac-
ing the control of such matters in the hands of men who have given
thought and study to the subject.
I have not touched upon the matter of shrubs and flowering plants,
but it would be easy to make a great improvement over present condi-
tions were the plan above mentioned to come into action, and no plan
would be complete that did not aim at the best results in these points,
as well as others. A shrub may be at its best in five or ten years,
whereas a tree is the growth of decades, and neglect for ten years may
ruin the result of twenty-five years' careful work and thought.
THE PLANT WOELD 47
SPRING IN THE ANAQUASSACOOK HILLS.
By Frank Dobbin.
THE foothills of the Green Mountains lying on the border between
New York and Vermont are locally known by several names, but
here in the southern part of Washington county the old Indian
name of Anaquassacook is still applied to them. I have had opportu-
nity for several years to study the flora of this region during the spring
months, and a few remarks upon it may be of interest.
Why the well known skunk cabbage should be absent from this
locality I do not know, but as yet the bogs and low grounds have been
searched for it in vain. However, my March rambles have been re-
warded by the discovery of one or two varieties of willow and also of
the smooth alder in bloom. It is still a question with me whether the
willow is fertilized by insects or by the wind, or is it possible that both
play a part in the process ? The profusion of pollen, and the bareness
of the branches at the flowering season, would seem to indicate the
agency of the wind, but on the other hand, the multitude of insects that
on a warm day surround the catkins, would lead one to the conclusion
that the plant is after all entomophilous.
Before the last March snow-bank has disappeared under the rays
of the April sun, the hepatica can be found i n rocky woods having a
southern exposure, and near by the arbutus shows a few early flowers
among its evergreen leaves. It is hard to realize that this plant, with
its creeping habit, is actually a shrub. What a beautiful sight it would
be when in bloom, if, like others of the Ericaceae, it stood upright ! So
much has this plant been sought by its admirers, that it is becoming
more and more rare with each successive year, and in many woodlands
where it was once abundant it is now almost unknown.
In fence comers and beside old walls the bloodroot is abundant,
and in shady situations the two si)ecies of the dicentra {Dicentra Gucul-
laria and D, Canadensis) may be found. In the same places the wild
ginger {Asarum^Cayiadense) is usually common, its peculiar flowers
lying almost on the ground; and not far off the dog's tooth violet is
sure to be seen. One of the most widely distributed plants in this
region is the little wind-flower {Ajiemone nemorosa). How well the
Greek name Anemone fits this plant, with its delicate nodding flower !
Usually side by side with the wind-flower is the rue-anemone {Anemo-
nella thalictroides) with its curious yam-like roots. The star flower
(Trientalis Americana) is more rare than the anemone, but may some-
times be found in the same situations.
One of the most beautiful of our spring flowers is the fringed
IX)lygala {Pohjgala paitcifolia). But we remember that its showy.
48 THE PLANT WOELD
orchid-like blossoms are more ornamental than useful, most of the seed
being produced by the more humble cleistogamous flowers. Six of the
violets are to be found; at least four of them occur in almost any situa-
tion ( V. cucuMata, V. blanda, V. pube^cens, and V. canina). Two, F.
ovata and V. rostrata are more rare; V. ovata is considered by some
botanists to be only a variety of V. cucullata. The common arrow-
leaved violet and also the Canada violet are conspicuous by their ab-
sence. It is in May that the violet season is at its height, and a rich
profusion of the first four species mentioned make up for any lack of
the others.
In dry places the wood rush {Luzida vemalis) can usually be found,
as also the better known early saxifrage, the latter clinging to some
crevice in the rock where there would appear to be little soil for any
flowering plant, but the poverty of its surroundings does not seem to
affect this sturdy little plant. In more moist places the gold-thread
{Coptis fri/olia) is present, and sometimes, though not always, that
prince of the trilliums, the painted trillium (Ty^illium erythrocarpum).
Its more common relative the purple species {T. erectum) is, however,
sure to be found, and sometimes also the white trillium ( T, graiidijlorxim)
is also present. Tne nodding trillium {T. ceniuum), having a modest
white flower tucked away under its whorl of leaves, is occasionally
found.
Out in the open fields the omnipresent dandelion has made its ap-
pearance, and along brook sides a flower much resembling it has
opened; it is the coltsfoot {Tussilago Farfara). The coarse leaves of
this plant are not such early risers as the flowers, and it will be some
time before they appear in the world. In the meadows the bluets
{Houatonia coerulea) grow in great patches that rival the sky in color.
A little later in the same spots may be found another flower, the
robin's plantain {Erigei'on bellidi/olius) somewhat resembling the au-
tumnal asters in form and color.
In some favored localities the spring beauty (CJayfonia Vii^ginica)
can be noticed. Somehow the dull linear leaves of this fine little plant
do not seem in keeping with the cluster of delicately beautiful flowei*s
that it puts forth. The ground-nut {Aralia tri/olia) is plentiful, espe-
cially in open woodlands, its white flowers marking the spot where
snug and warm, under six inches or more of mould, the nut itself
lies.
The sturdy everlasting {Antennaria plan (uginif olid), the earliest of
our Composites, is to be seen almost anywhere, varying from an inch
or so in height on barren rocky spots to a foot or more in richer soil.
Somewhat later than the antennaria comes the golden ragwort {Senecio
aureus), and the uvularias. In the open woods and on dry banks the
THE PLANT WOELD 49
little vernal sedge {Carex Pennsylvanica) is abundant, and along rail-
roads embankments and in old meadows the fertile and sterile plants
of the horse-tail (Equisetum arvense) are common.
Among the early flowering shrubs and trees, the shad-bush {Ame-^
lanchier Canadensis) is conspicuous, and more rarely may be seen the
pale sulphury twin flowers of the fly honeysuckle (Lonicera ciliata).
I have located only one bush of the moosewood {Dirca palustris), and
therefore conclude that like the Indians who made use of its tough
bark, it has nearly disappeared from its native haunts. In the depths
of the swamps the hobble-bush ( Viburnum lantanoides) is to be found,
and occasionally in the same locality grows the fetid currant (Bibes
prostratum),
I have found altogether 172 species of plants in bloom in this
region before the first of June, of which those mentioned are the most
conspicuous.
Shushan, N. Y.
FUNGUS SPORES AS BEE-BREAD.
By W. H. Lang, Jr.
WHILE collecting fungi in the vicinity of Austin, Texas, on Feb-
ruary 26th, the writer had occasion to observe a very peculiar
and to him hitherto unknown habit of the honey bee {Apis mel-
lijica). The bees were hybrids between the blacks and Italian, and
were working in considerable numbers on the leaves of the wild dew-
berry {Rubus trivialis). A closer examination showed that they were
busy collecting the spores of the orange rust of blackberry {Caeoma
nitens) for bee-bread. They were observed in the act time and again of
collecting the spores and packing them on their legs, exactly as they
collect pollen from the flowers. This was again seen on March 2d, in
another locality. To avoid any possible mistake, one of the busy little
workers was captured and its load brought to the laboratory for micro-
scopic examination. The balls were of a very dark red, and proved to
be composed exclusively of the spores of this rust. Some flowers were
in bloom at this time, such as Anemone Virginiana, Rhus Canadensis
var. trilobata, Berberis trifoliolata and Draha cunei/olia, but none of
these flowers seemed to attract the bees, and no pollen grains of any
kind were found mixed with the spores. Extended examination of the
poUen masses of the bees in various localities may show that fungi
other than this particular species may be used by them for a similar
purpose, especially during seasons of the year when pollen from flow-
50 THE PLANT WORLD
ers is scarce or wauting. It oi)en8 to the mycologist a new and unique
method of collecting when he has any bees in his vicinity. By exam*
ining the first pollen masses they bring in, he may find several kinds of
spores and might even be able to recognize the species to which they
belong, or failing to determine the rust, he can at least watch for the
bees on his collecting trips, and thereby discover on what fungus they
are feeding. At any rate, they would serve as an index for future work
and closer observation.
To the horticulturist it is interesting as a probable means of dis-
tributing the fungus over wide areas in a short time ; this is a serious
factor, and may help to explain the wide-spread prevalence of the dis-
ease. In this Stat« the rust is becoming quite a serious menace to
blackberry and dewberry culture.* It is also widely distributed
throughout the southern States, and indeed wherever the host is found
the rust is common. To what extent the bee is a factor in disseminat-
ing the spores is purely problematic at this juncture. Close and con-
tinued observation in the field will be necessary to decide this imx)ort-
ant point. But the fact that the infected leaves usually appear before
many plants bloom, and the further fact that the bees from a single
hive will range over a territory of three miles radius, makes it ex-
tremely probable that they are a means of spore distribution.
The apiarist is especially affected by this spore gathering habit of
the bees, for the life and future honey-storing capacity of the hives de-
pends upon the available food for rearing the young bees. As is well
known to all bee men, the pollen necessary to make "bee-bread " is a
vital factor, so much so that often artificial means have to be resorted
to in order to furnish the needed pollen supply. The earlier in spring
as a rule that the bees can find a good and sufficient supply of pollen
or a substitute for it, the stronger will the colony be, and consequently
the more honey will they store up later in the season. This rust, ap-
pearing early and at a time in the year when pollen is scarce, furnishes
an easy and abundant source of supply. The apiarist is therefore im-
measurably benefited by this peculiar habit of the bees.
The chemical composition of these spores which makes it possible
for the bees to use them in the place of pollen, is as yet an undeter-
mined quantity. That the spores do iK>ssess some property suiting
them to be used as a substitute for the pollen of flowers is indisputable,
for the honey bees know their business, and would certainly not gather
the spores if they could not use them.
There is still another side to this question, but one of only minor
importance ; that is, whether the use of these rust spores would make
♦See H. S. Jennings on '* Some Parasitic Fungi of Texas," in Bull No. 9, Texa»
Agricultural Experiment Station, page 23, 1890.
THE PLANT WOELD 51
the honey poisonous. The only case in which this could occur, would
be when the "bee-bread" is mixed with the honey that is eaten. As
very little honey is used or offered for sale that contains any "bee-
bread," this point is insignificant even if the spores are poisonous.
The habit is a unique one, the nearest approach to it that is re-
corded is the gathering of the " honey-dew " from the young heads of
rye, etc., that are affected with the ergot disease {Claviceps purpurea),
thereby disseminating the spores over wide areas.
School of Botany, University of Texas.
FOSSIL HICKORY NUTS.
By F. H. Knowlton.
RECENTLY Mr. J. B. Hatcher of the Carnegie Museum, Pittsburg,
sent me for examination over forty sx>ecimens of the most per-
fectly preserved fossil nuts that I have ever seen. They were
obtained by him during the past summer from beds in the so-called
Bad Lands of Sioux county, Nebraska, where they were found associ-
ated with the bones of some of the strange monsters that have been
brought to light from that part of the country. It needs but a glance
to determine that they represent the replacement, in silica and lime, of
the cotyledons or " meats " of a species of hickory. In a few cases the
two cotyledons are still joined together, as in a philopena, but a major-
ity of the specimens are single cotyledons. Every ridge and irregular-
ity has been faithfully reproduced in stone, and even the color is so
similar to that in fresh specimens of our living species, that it I'equires
a second glance to separate them when placed together. In size, shape
and general appearance, they seem to resemble most closely the "meats"
of the common shell-bark hickory {Hicoria ovata (Mill.) Britton, or
Carya alba Nutt.). They have the same broad, thick form, but appear to
differ slightly in having a smoother surface — that is, with a less num-
ber of ridges or convolutions. The smaller examples are 11 mm. broad,
and 4 mm. thick, and the larger about 20 mm. broad, and 7 mm. thick, but
there is every step between these extremes, and as -there are no appar-
ent differences in the markings, it appears more than probable that
they all belong to a single species.
These cotyledons are apparently so closely similar to the cotyle-
dons of living hickories that I should not hesitate to place them in the
genus Hicoria, but for the fact that a different name has already been
given ^them. In 1898 Prof. E. H. Barbour, of the University of Ne-
52 THE PLANT WORLD
braska, described^ specimens which he had obtained from the same
locality, under the name of Archihicoria sioicxensisy thus creating a new
genus for them. They are undoubtedly "ancient hickories," but I
doubt if the differences are great enough to exclude them from Hicoria.
However, they may as well remain for the present under the name
given them by Professor Barbour*
The probable manner in which these perfect replacements were
formed is of interest. When the nuts were dropped into the water of
the ancient lake, the kernel rotted away, but the shell being tough and
hard, would probably last for years under favorable circumstances.
" Throughout the clays and marls of the Bad Lands there is a large
amount of potash. This is dissolved by water, and then acts upon
quartz, carrying it away in solution. This would find its way by infil-
tration into the interior of the nut. At the same time with this pro-
cess, carrying lime carbonate in solution, was going on, so that doubt-
less the stone kernels consisting of pretty nearly equal parts of lime
and silica, were deposited within the nuts. These kernels, of course^
become hard and fiinty in time and capable of resisting almost any
amount of weathering. Not so the organic shell ; this eventually would
decay away, and so leave the filling or kernel of dialcedony and lime."
The forestry' exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition will be very
extensive and comprehensive. It will include a large display from
Louisiana. In that State there are fully fifty different varieties of hard
wood, and each will be represented in the exhibit, besides specimens of
shrubbery, plants and mosses. Some of the specimens measure eight
feet in diameter, and others from six feet down. Some palmetto stalks
measure sixteen feet. There are several bundles of large reed cane
forty feet long and two inches around. The small cane is about ten
feet long. There are also specimens of green Spanish moss and Span-
ish black moss. The unique feature of this exhibit are about 6,000 lit-
tle blocks of wood which will be distributed at the Exposition as sou-
venirs. B^d cypress, white cypress, red oak, white oak, cow oak, water
oak, striped oak, live oak, red gum, black gum, white ash^ blue ash, yel-
low ash, lynnewood, cottonwood, sycamore, elm, slippery elm, mul-
berry, locust, thorn locust, burdock, persimmon, ironwood, beech, mag-
nolia, long-leaved pine, red pine, red sassafras, water elm, walnut, bitter
pecan, pecan, cedar, prickly ash, wild haw, red haw, may haw, wild
plum, willow, maple, elder, white hickory, red hickory, wild hickory
and cherry represent the principal varieties that will be seen at the Ex-
position from Louisiana.
* Nebraska Historical Society, II. a: 272,//. V. 1898.
THE PLANT WOBLD 63
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
Root Relations of Pogonia verticillata.
The fact of Pogonia verticillata growing in extensive colonies in
Various localities around this city, Philadelphia, made me think that
the connected root system described by Mr. Saunders for P. ophiogloa-
Hoides could be also applied to this species as a means of accounting for
its gregariousness. One will scarcely recall ever having seen a solitary
individual of this whorled-leaf Pogonia, but rather the reverse, the
plants always growing in company or colonies of considerable extent.
They are not found in such groups as violets or may-apples and some
other plants delight to form, but are more or less distant from each
other, not to say reserved, the effect indicating a relation which, while
not existing above ground, seems necessary beneaih it. To test this
latter idea> 1 made a late fall trip to my favorite grounds at Tullytown,
in Bucks county, Pa», near the Delaware river, and found a number of
plants not yet destroyed by frosi Selecting a mature form, I soon
found its roots to be large but not fleshy fibers, several inches beneath
the surface and at various depths, extending in horizontal directions
everywhere^ apparently without end.
Following up the course of one " runner " for from twelve to four-
teen inches, I had the satisfaction of finding another mature plant at-
tached; in fact, this was the parent of the "runner," as beneath the
connection were several other roots horizontally disposed, but unfortu-
nately broken off during removal from the soil with one exception that
I traced to another mature plant. That these plants were all mature,
is shown from the fact that some of them still bore fruit, and all had
from five to seven stem scars alternately at caudex or base, and the
next season's bud well developed.
The thread of relationship was broken by reason of carelessness in
operating among roots of surrounding trees, but I believe that all the
plants are joined in this manner, and that this is the means of mainte-
nance of the species rather than that of propagation by seed distribu-
tion. I can scarcely recall a small or immature form, nearly all the
sterile plants being mature in size.
The fibers were all similar in dimensions, there being no thicken*
ing anywhere, even at the point of contact with the stem^ and there the
54
THE PLANT WORLD
attachment was apparently weak, exactly as if a pin had been passed
vertically down, holding one below the other almost on a pivot, but
firm enough to last for years, as none showed any decay.
It would seem strange indeed if nature had resorted to this method
of preserving the species, since the location affords abundant opportu-
nity for seed distribution and plant growth. I hope to be able to con-
tinue investigations on the subject during the coming season. — Joseph
Crawford, Philadelphia^ Pa.
An Abnormal Seedling.
Becently while making some germination tests with gingko (Oingko
hUoha L.) seeds, a peculiar plant appeared. This bears four leaves
which are fully developed. The first one is normal. The edges of the
second have coalesced along their entire length, giving the leaf a cornu-
copia-like form. In the third and fourth leaves the edges have coalesced
for about half their length. It is some time since the last leaf came
out, and there is no terminal bud apparent. If the bud develops and
the plant lives, it will be interesting to see if the tree preserves this
pecidiar form of leaves. — ^E. Brown, Department of Agriculture, Wash-
ington, D. C.
THE PLANT WORLD 55
MEMORIAL
Botanical Section, Academy of Natural Scienoeb of Philadelphia.
This Section having been informed of the decease of Professor
Thomas A. Williams, late of the United States Department of Agricul-
ture, at Washington, D. C, it seems eminently fitting that we should
show our appreciation of his botanical attainments and the loss that
X)ractical science has sustained by his early death. Although young in
years, his indefatigable energy and untiring zeal in behalf of his favo-
rite studies, made him a conspicuous example for the youth of our land
to emulate.
Besolvedy That in the death of Professor Thomas A. Williams, bot-
any, and especially agrostology, has received an unusual loss, and his
many correspondents a friend who was ever desirous of rendering all
the assistance in his power.
Francis Windle,
John W. Harshbergeb,
Stewardson Brown,
Committee.
Adopted by the Section, March 11, 1901.
John W. Harshberger,
Recorder.
GENERAL ITEMS.
The Tale Summer School of Forestry will hold its sessions at Gray
Towers, the estate of Mr. James W. Pinchot, near the village of Mill-
ford, Pike county, Pa., under the instruction of Professors Graves and
Toumey. The purpose of this Summer School is to provide instruction
in forestry for those who do not wish to take, or who are not ready for,
the more advanced technical courses at regular forestry schools, being
especially designed for owners of woodland, forest rangers, teachers,
and persons who desire to acquire a general knowledge of forestry or
any of its branches. Full information may be obtained on application
to H. S. Graves, Tale University, New Haven, Conn.
A part of the botanical library of the late Professor T. A. Williams
is to be offered for sale. A catalogue has been prepared, which may be
obtained upon application to Miss Ethel Snell, Takoma Park, D. C.
56 THE PLANT WORLD
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
In the January number of Rhodora Prof. W. J. Beal gives the fol-
lowing list of plants that become tumble-weeds in central Michigan :
Old-witch grass ( Panicum capillare); hair-grass {Agrostis scabra); pej)-
per grass {Lepidiiim apetalum); Bussian thistle {Salsola Tragu8)\ low
hop clover {Trifolium procumbens); winged pig-weed {Cycloloma plaiy-
phyllum); evening primrose {Oenothera biennis); gypsophyll (Gypsophila
ehgans); tumble-weed {Amaranthns albus).
Another addition to our mushroom literature is Dr. Trelease's
paper an " Edible and poisonous Mushrooms and Toadstools," reprinted
from the forty-third annual report of the Missouri State Horticultural
Society. The article contains some very plain and sensible remarks
which are worthy of careful perusal by the prospective mycophagist.
At the close of the paper is a bibliography which will be found very
helpful to those who wish to consult the latest and best literature on
the subject. — C. L. S.
Professor F. Lamson-Scribner and Mr. Elmer D. Merrill, of the
U. S. Department of Agriculture, have rendered a service to American
botanists by making a careful study of the grasses in Stephen Elliott's
herbarium at Charleston, S. C, the results of their investigations being
published as a special Circular from the Division of Agrostology. It
would be an excellent thing for systematic botany if more of this work
could be done on the herbaria of earlier authors, and it would tend to
prevent much confusion and multiplicity of plant names.
We have just received the attractive catalogue of Thomas Meehan
<fe Sons. It is a carefully selected list of choice hardy stock especially
adapted for making improvements in the home surroundings. It tells
what stock to use, how and when to plant and prune, and is full of use-
ful suggestions.
Messrs. Ellis &, Everhart have lately published a pamphlet entitled
"The North American Phyllostictas," containing descriptions of the
species published up to August, 1900. This will be helpful to Ameri-
can students who do not have access to Saccardo's Sylloge Pungorum.
THE PLANT WOELD 57
The current issue of the Bulletin de VAcademie Internationale (Le
Monde des Plantes) contains an annotated supplementary list of the
mosses of Sarthe, France, by M. I. Theriot. It is illustrated with a
number of detailed figures. This issue also contains a catalogue of the
lichens of the same region, by M. E. Monguillon.
In the February Forestet^ there is a very valuable article by the
late F. F. ELQder, on Phillipine forest products, in which some fifty of
the more valuable trees or shrubs are described. This includes the
common or native name, the botanical name, the uses and last the prov-
inces in which each is found. When properly explored, it will be found
that the Philiippnes are a most valuable addition to our country.
"Notes on Crataegus in the Champlain Valley," is the subject of a
valuable article by C. S. Sargent in the March number of Rhodora:
According to Professor Sargent, the Champlain Valley is one of the
richest regions in the world for forms of this genus. In this paper he
enumerates 22 species, 13 of which are described as new to science,
which makes more growing in this limited area than botanists recog-
nized a few years ago on the entire continent of North America.
"The Transactions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society"
for 1900 has recently appeared. A lecture which it contains on " The
Rusts of Horticultural Plants," by Dr. B. D. Halsted, will be of inter-
est to mycologists. Considerable space is given to the asparagus rust
{Puccinia Asparagi DC.) which has recently been causing considerable
damage in different parts of the country. The paper is illustrated by
two plates, showing the fungus and its two natural enemies, Darhwa
filwm and Tuberculina sp. — C. L. S.
Bulletin No. 46 of the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Sta-
tion consists of a preliminary list of the spermaphyta, or seed-bearing
plants of the State, compiled by Professors Henry L. BoUey and Law-
rence R. Waldron. It is a carefully prepared work, and being the first
contribution toward an enumeration of the Dakota flora, will be wel-
comed by the various local schools and by botanists throughoilt the
country. The list comprises 775 species and varieties. As to nomen-
clature, the authors have adhered strictly to that of Gray's Manual,
disregarding even such corrections as have been made by Dr. Gray's
successors at Harvard. The names used in Britton and Brown's Flora
are, however, inserted as synonyms.
58 THE PLANT WOBLD
EDITORIAL.
The methods of obtaining large general collections of plants from
new or little known parts of the world appear to have changed greatly
within the past few years. Formerly such collections were largely
obtained by sending a collector with elaborately organized expeditions,
such as the Wilkes Exploring Expedition, the Pacific Bailroad Sur-
veys, the voyage of the Challenger^ etc., and even under these conditions
botany was usually subordinated to other interests, and the collections,
while abundantly interesting and valuable, were often far from com-
plete. But within the last decades has come a marked improvement in
botanical exploration. Governments, institutions of learning, botanical
gardens and other centers of botanical activity, have sent out regularly
equipped exploring expeditions charged with the sole purpose of ob-
taining a full representation of the plants of the region visited. Thus
the U. S. Department of Agriculture has sent botanical expeditions to
almost all parts of this country. The U. S. National Museum has sent
two expeditions to Mexico, with the result of greatly increasing our
knowledge of the flora of that country. The Field Columbian Museum
has had several expeditions in the West Indies ; the New York Botan-
ical Garden has had two expeditions in Porto Bico, two in the Bocky
Mountains, and another has just started for an exploration of Java. In
addition to these, various trained private collectors have visited and
collected in interesting and comparatively unknown regions, depending
upon the sale of sets of their plants for compensation. Among such
may be mentioned Pringle and Palmer in Mexico, Heller in the Bocky
Mountains, Hawaii, and Porto Bico, Clute in Jamaica, Curtiss in Flor-
ida, etc. These are hopeful signs, and go to show that botanical activ-
ity along systematic lines was never more active than at present.
Complaint of the non-receipt of our January issue has been made
by a number of subscribers. From inquiries which we have since made
at the Washington postoffice, it seems probable that an entire package
THE PLAOT? WOKLD 59
of the edition went astray. Of course it is understood that we will
replace all such missing numbers without charge.
In this connection it is perhaps due to our readers that some ex-
planation should be given of the excessive delay in the publication of
our February and March numbers. The principal causes have been
the change of printer, the selection and preparation of a new cover
design, the manufacture of a quantity of paper to our special order, and
the large amount of extra business that has come to us with the acqui-
sition of the Asa Gray Bidletin property. After a delay has once oc-
curred, it is almost impossible to prevent a still further lapse from
month to month; but special arrangements have been made whereby
the preparations for this and the succeeding issue might progress nearly
simultaneously, and we hope to publish The Plant World for May
promptly on May 15th.
BOOK REVIEWS.
The Mushroom Book. A popular guide to the identification and study
of our commoner fungi, with sjxecial emphasis on the edible vari-
eties, by Nina L. Marshall, with many illustrations in color and
black and white, photographed from nature by J. A. and H. C.
Anderson. Small 4to, 167 pp. Doubleday, Page and Co., Pub-
lishers, New York, 1901. . $3,00.
If the number of books on mushrooms which have recently ap-
peared may be taken as an indication of public interest in the subject,
such interest must be rapidly increasing. The latest effort at a popu-
lar work on these plants is "The Mushroom Book." The book is very
prepossessing in appearance, and a perusal of its contents increases
one's first favorable impression. The purpose of the author is stated
as follows : "It has been the aim of the author to write a book simple
enough to serve as a source of knowledge for the many who, though
busy with other pursuits, yet take an interest in science and wish to
60 THE PLANT WORLD
obtain information about the fungi, either for the sake of using them as
food; or for the pleasure which an acquaintance with their habits and
home life may give." The first three chaptei's are of a general nature,
treating of "The Homes and Habits of Fungi," "The Relation of Fungi
to other Plants," and "From Spore to Mushroom." An illustrated key
follows, containing cuts representing the genera which include most of
the higher and more conspicuous forms of Ascomycetes and Basidio-
mycetes. The beginner will probably find these cuts very helpful.
Most of them are sufficiently accurate for generic determination. Those
intended to represent a "rust" and a "puffball" are very crude, how-
ever.
The systematic portion of the book beginning with Amanita and
ending with HelvelUiy has descriptions of many of the most common
eastern species. Where space permits the selection of so few of the
numerous species occurring, it could scarcely be expected that any two
persons would choose exactly the same list. While there is occasion-
ally a species which does not seem to us sufficiently common to deserve
a place, and a few which we had expected' to find are not present, yet
the majority are well selected, and represent fairly well our more com-
mon eastern si)ecies. The descriptions are rather brief in some cases
but perhaps on the whole as complete as most readers will re-
quire or can use advantageously. The illustrations are the most useful
and commendable feature of the book. Ten species representing seven
genera of Ascomycetes, and seventy-three species representing thirty-
five genera of Basidiomycetes, are illustrated by photographs in color
and half-tone. Most of the color plates, while lacking considerable of
perfection, are nevertheless superior to many others that have appeared.
The most important matter connected with the book, however, is
that of edible and poisonous species. The publishers say that "this is
a practical and popular book * * enabling the unscientific reader
to identify the edible and poisonous varieties." That this is a rather
rash and even dangerous statement, we think all who have made a
special study of edible and poisonous fungi will admit. Some of our
edible and i)oisonous si)ecies, especially (rf the genus Amanita, show so .
many perplexing forms, that they frequently puzzle the most skilled
mycologist. The only safe course for the untrained mycophagist is to
avoid entirely the two genera Amanita and Amamtopsis.
It is but fair to the author, however, to quote a statement in
contrast to the one cited above. On page 151 in the chapter on
"Fungi for the Table," the following advice is given : "Unless you are
experienced in making careful observations and comparisons, eat only
those fungi which have been shown to you by some one who has tried
them and knows them to be wholesome. — C. L. S,
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. APRIL, 1901. No. 4.
HINTS ON HERBORIZING.
By a. H. Cxjbtiss.
WHEN I was a beginner in botany, there was no limit to my am-
bition nor to the confidence I had in my capacity for work. I
took in the whole vegetable kingdom, and devoted no little
time to the animal and mineral kingdoms. But my self-confidence
gradually abated; various branches of study were dropi)ed from year to
year, till finally I came to be known as a mere collector of southern
United States phaenogams and ferns. I use the adjective "mere" in
deference to what I consider popular opinion. If, instead, I had
joined in the great and patriotic undertaking which is now being
pressed so bravely forward, to swell the flora of the United States to
50,000 si)ecies, I might not have found cause to si)eak of my botanical
labors deprecatingly. Perhaps it is unfortunate that I acquired some
fixed and ineradicable ideas of division of labor in botany, by twenty
years of rather close association by correspondence with Gray, Watson,
and Engelmann. In those days it was considered utterly presump-
tions for any besides those three, Chapman and a very few specialists,
to describe new species, revise nomenclature, or rearrange genera and
orders.
It is true that my patience was often sorely tried by the refusal of
those good authorities to recognize what I considered new species or
varieties, but I could not confidently gainsay their opinions without
seeing the herbarium material on which their opinions presumably
were founded, and to have defied their opinions would have been folly
under the circumstances. Thus schooled in botany, I became fully
imbued with Muhlenberg's precept that "it is for but few to name."
When I contemplate the new order of things in American botany, I feel
impressed with the idea that I am almost the only one left of those who
62 THE PLANT WOELD
once respected the sentiment quoted, and that therefore I should re-
gard myself as a relic of antiquity.
Before taking up the rather prosaic subject announced in my cap-
tion, i)ermit me to present a few facts favorable to the " mere collector."
In those days of youthful enthusiasm to which I have alluded, I spared
no effort to obtain by exchange specimens of plants from all parts of
the Union, and of the world from which specimens were obtainable.
Enjoying exceptional advantages, I succeeded in securing good repre-
sentations of the floras of such remote regions as Greenland, Nova
Zembla and Siberia in the north, and Australia, Tasmania, South Africa
and Hawaii in the south. And mark this fact, that from each of the
countries mentioned, I had from ten to one hundred times as many
plants as from all of the recent slave States excepting Virginia, where I
then resided. To nearly all herbalists in those days, the South was a
botanical terra incognita, and they were made to realize this the more
fully through the fact that the only exchange list then in use included
the names of all the plants of Chapman's Flora.
Now suppose I had devoted my botanical efforts to the writing of
monographs instead of supplying, as I have done, from thirty to two
hundred herbaria with between two and three thousand species of the
Southern flora. Could I thereby have done science better service, even
were I possessed of the acumen of an Engelmann and the accuracy of
a Watson ? I think not. If a few trained workers in the great herbaria
were left to do all the naming and describing of plants, it would con-
tinue to be possible to learn botany from books; but the hair-splitting
that is now being done by scores of zealous botanists, threatens to ren-
der descriptive works of the future incomprehensible, and botany more
unpopular than now. However, I suppose that most of this work will
go to swell the long lists of synonyms found in such works as Watson's
Index.
At least thirty years ago I contributed to the American Naturalist
an article with the same caption as the above, and it was afterwards
sold as a reprint. When the copy was returned to me with proof, I
observed that Professor Gray had written beneath it "Very good."
One cannot understand the exact meaning of that phrase without hear-
ing it spoken. In later years I construed it to mean — not bad. I
found that my methods varied so much with changing environments
and increasing experience, that I never again felt like offering advice on
the subject, and I felt the more disinclined to do so through appreciii-
tion of the uselesness of prescribing methods to be followed under all
conditions of life, and by persons of infinitely varied temperaments
and idiosyncrasies.
At the time when I wrote my fii-st "Hints," it was my delight to
THE PLANT WOELD 63
cany a hand-press, with a full outfit of driers, boards and straps, over
hills and mountains, ten, twenty, and thirty miles a day, wearing heavy
cavalry boots as a defense against snakes. Mere physical exertion I
counted as nothing, nor the time and care needful for making good
specimens. It was all what Professor Gray termed "conscientious
work." The method of preparing specimens which I advised in the
American Naturalist is doubtless productive of best results, but after
leaving Virginia I never again carried a press, except in special cases.
That method is not adapted to the malarious Gulf States, where there
is no shade except in the shadows of pine trunks and in thickets that
teem with red-bugs.
Before pursuing the subject further, I will observe that the ideas
which I have to ojffer were suggested by Professor W. W. Bailey's book
on "Botanizing." I bought this book on the supposition that it em-
bodied all the knowledge of all the ages on the subject of herborizing,
and read it with eager interest, hoping to learn something that might
prove of service to me, yet fearing to discover that I had lost much in
the past through ignorance of the best methods. Both my hopes and
fears were dispelled, and I was left to deplore the author's decision,
on reaching page 87, to dispense with further advice in regard to field
work, for the reason that it "would cumber our pages." Being thus
apprised that the author knows a good deal besides what he has told,
I should disclaim any pretention to superior knowledge of his subject,
and should further acknowledge that our differences of opinion may be
due to mistaken ideas on my part. At any rate, I will not pose as an
adviser, saying do so and so, or it should be done so and so, but will
merely say that I do so and so, generally giving my reasons, and some-
times referring to Professor Bailey's omissions and diBferent ideas.
My outfit for collecting is wholly different from that described in
"Botanizing." I do not even carry a vasculum nor care for " capacious
pockets," my two hip-i)Ockets being the only ones commonly used.
" Stout leather gloves " would make me smile, but they are well enough
for men who wish to keep their hands delicate. It tires me to think of
carrying a knapsack, canteen, trowel, pruning shears, cane, and the
like. I need no cane, because something better can be found almost
anywhere in a sapling or fallen branch; no tags for marking, because I
prefer the woodsman's methods of marking localities; no note-book and
pencil, because I can remember everything until ready to put my speci-
mens in press; no drinking water, because I have formed the habit, for
pi3idential reasons, of not getting thirsty when in the wilds.
It is evident, therefore, that the articles I do can'y can be quickly
enumerated; but it is not easy to describe my substitute for a vasculum
and explain its merits. It is simply that well-known and everywhere
64 THE PLANT WOELD
obtainable receptacle for baggage called a "telescope," with two tin
trays or coverless boxes fitted to the inside. One of these boxes slips
inside of the other, and has half-inch flanges turned inward from the
ends. When filled, this is set below the outer box, to which the flanges
afford a firm support. To make these boxes so that they will slip in
and out easily, and so as not to waste any space, is a nice job for a tin-
smith. When both are in use, the upper part of the " telescope " laps
a half-inch over the lower. If the material be canvas, a piece of rub-,
ber cloth should be pasted inside the top of the upper part, but " fiber
leather " is far better, being strong, waterproof, and not easily soiled.
It is well to bear in mind that it shrinks a little. My " telescope " is of
this material, and measures 16 inches in length, 9 in width, and either
7 or 12 in depth. I arrange the straps by reversing one so that they
buckle together on opposite sides, having the holes marked which
should receive the buckles whether one or both of the inner boxes be
in use, both straps meeting together snugly in the hand in either case.
When through collecting, the straps may be adjusted in the usual way.
The only inconvenience is the catching up of the two straps at every
fresh start, but this is slight.
The advantages of this device are numerous and important. First
of aU, either canvas or ''fiber leather" is a non-conductor of heat, while
a tin receptacle exposed to hot sunshine becomes so heated as some-
times to injure the specimens inside, especially such as incline to dis-
articulate. In the two open-topped boxes, si)ecimens can be arranged
and sorted better than in a vasculum, and taken out more handily.
The advantages of the quadrangular form are obvious. Moreover, the
" telescope " is such a familiar object, that it does not excite curiosity
and inquisitiveness as does the vasculum, which I have heard described
as " something like a piece of stovepipe with a door on one side." The
adaptability of bulk to material collected is a manifest advantage.
Then again, space may be spared in the bottom for stowing a vest or
light coat.
As to the other articles of my ordinary collecting outfit, they are,
as I have stated, few and simple. I always carry one or two folded
sheets of oiled maniUa paper in the bottom of iny " telescope," some
pieces of newspaper tucked in at the sides, or laid inside the tin boxes,
in the inner of which is placed on starting a stout pruning or hawk's-
bill knife, a four ounce bottle of water, and sometimes a lunch done up
in oiled pai)er. Later the knife is transferred to the right hii)-pocket,
and the bottle sometimes to the left. The knife is used mainly for dig-
ging, and the amount of work that can be done with it is surprising.
The lower part of the blade is kept barely sharp enough for cutting.
Oiled paper I find extremely serviceable, and was surprised to see
THE PLANT WOKLD 65
no mention of it in Professor Bailey's book. Sometimes I carry noth-
ing else, since specimens wrapped in it after being sprinkled keep as
fresh as in tin. If both of the boxes become full and more space is
needed, I take out a sheet of the oiled paper, empty the contents of
one box on it, wrap and tie with twine, and proceed with my collecting.
Sometimes the paper is used for wrapping a set of oak, pine, or any-
thing else with firm leaves, or for rolling up full length a set of some
coarse grass or sedge. In fact, the uses to which oiled paper may be
put are almost too numerous to mention.
The bottle of water is for sprinkling, which I consider of prime
importance. I start with one or two thicknesses of wet paper at the
bottom of each box, and sometimes put more at top* When specimens
are put in, I sprinkle them more or less, according to their nature and
condition. This prevents any wilting in the box, and freshens up most
plants which may droop in a time of drouth or under a midday sun;
but it does not revive plants with milky juice, and specimens with roots
are much slower in reviving than cuttings. Sprinkling also softens
dead and dry basal leaves which would otherwise be crushed in the
press. With woody specimens sprinkling should be avoided, as it
tends to the disarticulation of their leaves. I detest wilted specimens,
and would not add a single one to the thousands that are sent out
yearly,
A portfolio I never nse, but for plants with fugacious flowers or
sensitive leaves, sometimes use a hand-press with binders boards for
covers, bindiug the whole tightly with stout cord. There are objections
to the habitual use of a portfolio or hand-press besides those before
mentioned, except quite near home, and there it will not do in a coun-
try where there are ticks, and flies and red-bugs. On a long jaunt the
pressing of specimens takes up too much time, and they are not likely
to be put in as carefully as at home. The objections in windy or
showery weather are obvious. After making a collection of plants, one
may find much better specimens, and wish to substitute them for the
first lot, but one wiU hardly throw out specimens from the portfolio.
I would here observe that my collecting is almost entirely in large sets,
dozens or scores of sheets of a kind, and that therefore my methods
are somewhat different from what they would be if only single speci-
mens were collected.
When traveling in a wagon or buggy, some additional articles are
carried, in particular, a nest of two or three rectangular tiu boxes, the
largest measuring 19 by 12i by 9 inches. They are painted outside
and inside with maroon carriage paint. A rubber blanket is used
mainly, cloth side up, for protecting the boxes from the sun. When
traveling by rail, my principal mode of conveyance nowadays, two
66 THE PLANT WORLD
presses and a large " telescope " are carried, besides the small one for
collecting. La the large one is carried my largest tin box, inside of
which are placed articles liable to damage by pressure, especially dried
specimens, until there is enough to send off by express. After strap-
ping the presses so tightly as to defy the efforts of the baggage smash-
ers, covers of brown denim are slipped over them, stout cords are
passed around them crosswise and straps lengthwise, and they are
ready to be checked. A trunk £ub stout and heavy as I would need is
objectionable on various accounts. I get along far better without one.
As to that very important article, the press, Professor Bailey de-
scribes only one with weights, which I always regarded as the lady's
press. I attribute this preference to his morbid fear of "crushing"
specimens, a delusion which is a prolific source of bad specimens, like
imperfect drying and the pressing of wilted plants. One objection to
such specimens is their si)ecial liability to breakage unless packed with
exceptional care — and they do not show all the breaks till they come
to be poisoned and mounted. My presses consist of driers, sheets of
specimens, pads, boards and straps, and they are so compact that they
may be tumbled about like blocks of wood. The driers are cut from
rolls of felt paper to the size of 12 by 17 inches, the cost not exceeding
one cent each. The specimen sheets measure 11 by 16 inches; if larger
than this, many specimens would be too large to look well on the
mounting sheets. Some collectors use sheets measuring 12 by 18
inches, and send out specimens which need to be broken or cut- The
pads consist of folded driers, and are used for keeping the press level
and compact, a need often felt in pressing many specimens of a kind.
The boards are of the same length and width as the driers, and are
made of half-inch poplar with yellow pine cleats, which bear the whole
strain. The cleats run lengthwise of the boards, and are smoothed and
rounded at the ends, which allows the straps to be pushed off without
the exertion of unbuckling. The straps are made of the best harness
leather, one inch wide, with rounded edges and with holes for the
buckle rather close together, so long, and with the holes so disposed
that the press may vary from a few inches to two feet in height — in
traveling it never exceeds twenty inches. The straps are passed around
the press about three inches from either end, and are tightened alter-
nately. A combination of pressure with the left foot and leverage with
both hands is what does the work. To avoid strains, I have learned to
use the hands in a certain way, different for each strap, but knacks of
this sort cannot well be described. A few hours after putting a fresh
lot of specimens in press, the straps need to be tightened again.
( To be cofiHnued. )
THE PLANT WOELD 67
NOTES ON THE FLORA ABOUT NOME CITY.
By J. B. Flett.
BOTANIZING at Nome City, Alaska, is quite different from what it
is generally in the States. The first requisite is a pair of hip-
rubber boots with which one may " mush " the swales and slug-
gish streams which are so abundant on the tundra. The latter, which
has a width at Nome City of about five miles, is exceedingly rich in
mosses and lichens. There were many sedges and several species of
willow, some of which were only a few inches high; mixed with these
were a small birch, and a spiraea. Near the numerous ponds are beau-
tiful patches of cotton-grass {Eriopkorum). This grows very luxuri-
antly, and presents a beautiful sight as it waves to and fro in the wind.
The heath family has quite a number of representatives, most of the
species being different from ours. The genus Pedictdaris is represented
by several si)ecies, some of which are distinctly Arctic. The shooting-
star {Dodecafheon) was seen along the streams in company with two
violets, a Pariiasaiay a Polemoniivm and a Delphinium. There were two
little brambles (Rubus), one of which bore a large edible berry, much
like our thimble-berry.
The banks of the sluggish streams bore a very rich flora, including
a Calthxiy a Claytonia, three members of the genus Saxi/raga, a small
gentian, and many others growing in the midst of the usually tall grass.
Among the moss and lichens grew a short rigid form of Lycopodium
Selago and Equisetum vainegatujn, the latter in very dense tufts.
At the base of the foothills occurred a mixture of the plants be-
longing to the tundra and those seen chiefly on the hills and along the
rapid streams flowing from them. A few plants naturally belonged
here and were, found nowhere else. This was true of the fern Filix
montuna, a species of gentian, and the large forms of alder and willow.
Equisetum sylvaticum flourished in the shade of these in the grassy
places. Both alders and billows were much bent, forming thickets
through which it was very difficult to i>enetrate. The severe storms
and snows of winter had caused them to assume such a position. In
these thickets grew a large Delphimum^ several Polygonums, violets,
buttercups and forget-me-nots, the latter very numerous. A beautiful
Iris found a congenial home in the shade. The monocotyledonous
X>lants, with the exception of the sedges and grasses, had few represen-
tatives. The only ones which I can recall are the Iris above referred
to, a ZygadenuSy an Allium, and a minute Tojieldia. PotentUla fruticosa
and several other si)ecies of related genera grew in abundance, cover-
ing the ground with yellow, thus presenting a beautiful contrast to
other flowera white, purple and pink in color.
68 THE PLANT WOKLD
Passing on upwards from this narrow belt at the base of the hills,
we came upon higher and drier ground, hence new forms sprang up
different from those of the tundra and shady places. Among these
may be mentioned two beautiful poppies, a phlox, two campanulas, a
solidago, two senecios, two or three antennarias, an arnica, the com-
mon dandelion and yarrow, and other members of the Compositae.
The Heath Family was well represented, as was also the Pink Family.
In addition to these, there were many leguminous plants. Some of
these were very minute and beautiful. Little Woodsia glabella presented
a dainty appearance among these small plants which decorated the
steep slopes of the mountain terraces. On the ledges of solid rock
grew Filix fra^ilis. This was also collected under the large rock
shaped like an anvil, on the highest point. Anvil Mountain takes its
name from this rock.
On the summit of these storm swept hills, or mountains, as they
are called in that country, lichens and mosses are the chief forms of
vegetation. There is a dark colored lichen, perhaps an Usnea, which
gives the summits a doleful appearance. Occasionally a few heaths,
arenarias, arnicas and blue-bells crop out here and there to break the
monotony.
For botanical purposes, the country may be divided into three dis-
tinct areas, namely, the tundra, including the ponds and the sluggish
streams spreading out over it forming swales; second, the narrow belt
connecting the tundra with the mountains; and third, the mountains
themselves, having a very rich flora on their lower slopes, while their
summits bear only those plants that can endure the severe storms and
the scanty soil. Li fact, the summits might be considered a fourth
area, though no new plants were observed. A few of the hardy plants
which grew profusely on the slopes, were stunted and matted here.
Owing to the moist climate and the abundance of moss and lichens,
and the power of these plants to retaiu moisture, they have very little
respect for habitat. The twin-flower {Linnaea borealia), was observed
on the tundra and on the dry moss-covered rocks. This can also be
said of many other plants. Very often the rocky peaks are enveloped
by the clouds or swept by storms, while the weather is fairly pleasant
a fev hundred feet below.
Within a short distance of Nome City — about five miles north and
eighteen west — ^the writer collected about 170 spermatophytes and 20
pteridophytes, besides many bryophytes and a few lichens.
Tacoma, Washington.
THE PLANT WOKLD 69
THE NATIVE OAK GROVES OF IOWA.
By T. J. AND M. F. L. Fitzpatrick.
IOWA, whose prairie land rolls from river to river, can neither boast
of great forests nor of many species, yet such as she has are by no
means worthy of contempt. It is our purpose in this article to give
the salient features of Iowa's native oak groves, which are made up of
fifteen species, a number we beKeve quite incomparable considering our
location.
The oak has been looked upon as the peer of forest trees, and even
taken as the symbol of strength. Its close strong fibers enable the tree
to resist a thousand storms, and some of the species Uve several hun-
dred years before storms, fungi, accidents, and natural old age succeed
in consuming the tree's vitality, and causing death.
Let us pass through a native oak grove of eastern Iowa. At first
we shall be impressed by the remarkable paucity of large trees, though
here and there fine specimens are seen. Further observation, however,
reveals many decaying stumps, clearly indicating the cause of the scarc-
ity. In place of the primeval, there are numerous young trees which
collectively constitute the so-called second growth. On noticing si)e-
cies, we fiind they bear a rather general numerical relation to each
other. Sometimes one species predominates, and sometimes another,
so that the areas receive the distinctive names of white oak, bur oak,
or so-called black oak groves. One particular grove on the uplands is
composed largely of scarlet oak {Quercus cocciiiea Wang.); the trees
are thick-set, well-limbed or not as may be convenient for them, stately,
thriving or passive as the seasons of average moisture or drought ap-
pears. Here and there may be seen a solitary red oak {Q. rivbra L.), or
at best but few individuals, for they seem not to thrive in numbers
where the scarlet oak abounds. The bur oak (Q. macrocarpa Michx.)
fares better, though not many individuals can be counted in close prox-
imity with the scarlet oak, yet passing in certain directions we find the
number increasing until we are in a typical bur oak grove. We said
we were on the uplands, but we find on passing to the lowlands that
the bur oak is there. The trees are large, but the quality of the timber
is poor. The white oak (Q. aWa L.) has much the same habit as the
bur oak. Solitary individuals occur among the scarlet oaks, and in cer-
tain places predominate, though as we pass from point to point, we may
find white oaks mixed with bur oaks along with scarlet oaks, until dif-
ferentiated by natural causes into predominant or subordinate numeri-
cal x)ositions. Let us pass over to the bluff side next the river, and
here we may expect to find a few chestnut oaks {Q, acuminata (Michx.)
Sargent). As the chestnut oaks we usually find are few and small, we
70 THE PLANT WORLD
look upon them as curiosities in the oak line. Barely do we find a
quercitron or black oak {Q. vdutina Lam.) mixed in our typical oak
groves.
Turning to southeastern or southern Iowa, we find the relations of
the bur, white, scarlet, and red oak remaining much the same as in the
eastern part of the State, except that the shingle oak {Q. imbricaria
Michx.), or laurel oak, as it is called in Iowa, makes itself numerous in
the uplands, replacing in many localities the scarlet oak. On the
second bottoms we find the swamp white oak (Q. platanoides (Lam.)
Sudw.) flourishing, and in the swampy portions of the lower bottom the
pin oak {Q. paluatris Du Roi) occurs abundantly. The swamp white
oak and the pin oak sometimes intermingle on neutral ground, but not
to mutual benefit. Coming to the uplands, we find groves of black-
jack or barren oak {Q. Marylaiidica Muench.) growing frequently on
rather sterile soil. The trees are small, rough-formed, apparently
stunted, much-branched, so much so that getting wood from these
groves is slow and laborious. Infrequently we find a water oak (Q.
nigra L.) in these black-jack groves. This sx)ecies occurs along streams
and swamps in the eastern portion of the United States, but in Iowa
we have seen it only on the upland. Passing out on the prairie we find
many colonies of the ground or scrub chestnut oak {Q. prinoides Willd.).
The species is smaU, only two or three feet high, of heavy root, and of
no economic value save the acorns, which are stored by the prairie
squirrels. The roots are a rather formidable obstacle to the breaking
of the sod, taxing the patience of the breaker and the draught team.
On the prairie, too, we find the bur oak. Instead of the fine large trees,
we have scrubs, only a few feet high, but seemingly thriving in small
colonies, and each apparently striving to be the prototype of a future
forest.
In central and western Iowa we find the red oak frequently dis-
placing the scarlet oak. The white oak is frequent along with the bur
oak, which is stately or scrubby, according to location. Occasionally a
few chestnut oaks occur along the bluffs in central Iowa. In the same
region also occurs the Texan red oak {Q. Texana Buckley), an unusual
find.
It will be seen that central and western Iowa have few species, as
compared with the eastern and southern portions. Forests are more
extensive in the eastern area. The larger rivers of the State are all
eastern, and the Father of Waters is our eastern border. The forest
primeval established itself in a narrow strip along our eastern border,
sending out branches of tenuous width up the tributaries. The forests
of central and western Iowa are meagre because they had to be estab-
lished in a fire-swept zone, and had not reached their fulness before the
THE PLANT WORLD 71
advent of man. The problem of forest conditions, especially near the
rivers, having been solved in the eastern portion, there was opportunity
for the increase of species. But the hardy ones were established first
and others followed. The forests of central and western Iowa had
made their beginning; the sturdy species had stood the test on favor-
able ground, and others were following, but the advent of man changed
conditions. He made the prairie a farm, and converted the young for-
ests into heat and building material.
Passing backward in time for a space of fifty years, we find the
State but thinly settled and nearly all its inhabitants on the eastern
side. There were many limited oak forests with fine large trees. The
settler chose the best of convenient size to build his home. The saw
mill on being brought and conveniently located, was energetically used
in producing building materials needed in the rising villages or on the
farms. Thousands of trees were made into rails to be used in the old-
fashioned worm fences. The advent of the railways caused an increase
in the demand for oak timber for many years. The timber was rap-
idly disappearing, and many citizens felt apprehensive. But as time
goes on conditions change; the universal application of metals materi-
ally checked the strain on the timber resources, so that to-day our oak
groves as a rule are suffering only from the demands for fuel and fence-
posts, along with the greed for more pasture land. The opening of
large coal fields in southern Iowa has materially reduced the fuel de-
mand.
The remaining two species of Iowa oaks are Q. eUipsoidalis Hill,
found rarely in Scott county, and Q. minor (Marsh.) Sargent, the post
or iron oak, which occurs sparingly in groves in the southern part of
the State.
Iowa City, Iowa.
Probably the largest specimen of the empress tree {Paidoimiia im-
perialia) in America, is in Independence Square, Philadelphia. It is
one of the first lot introduced into America about fifty years ago, and
was a gift to the city by the late Bobert Buist, one of America's famous
nurserymen. It is now eleven feet in circumference, equalling in girth
some of the old American elms that were in the plot before the Revolu-
tion. The wood is in great demand in Japan. It is light and strong.
When American forests disappear, and the planting for timber becomes
a flourishing branch of agriculture, the empress tree will give a very
good account of herself. — Meeluma' Monthly.
72 THE PLANT WORLD
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
The Curly Grass, Schizaea pusilla.
As is well-known, this fern is abundant at several stations in the
pine barrens of New Jersey, where it reaches its maximum develop-
ment in size and in number of stations. At Forked River it grows on
the edge of a patch of woods of the southern white cedar, in an open
boggy meadow, which at the time we were there was a brilliant orange-
color with the tall spikes of the bog asphodel. Around the base of
hummocks of peat-moss, mixed with sedges, sundews, and lycopods, it
grew, and in little sandy hollows, shaded by bushes we found the young
plants. They could be recognized by the rolled tips of the leaves, and
when pulled or dug up, it could be seen with an ordinary x)ocket-lens
that between the root and the leaf there were numerous branching
green filaments, looking like a fresh-water alga or the protonema of a
moss. These filaments proved to be the prothallium, but quite unlike
that of ordinary ferns, in fact nothing quite so simple or so like those
of the mosses has been heretofore described. It comes nearest to ful-
filling Goebel's idea of what the ancestral parent might have been, as it
bears the antheridia and archegonia directly on the filaments. The
antheridia are quite abundant near the extremities of the branches; the
archegonia are fewer, 2-12 having been found on a single plant. They
are large and quite conspicuous with a magnification of fifty diameters,
and remain attached near the point from which the filaments radiate,
on slightly thickened, fleshy white filaments. On the extremities of the
filaments were found a number of globose cells in pairs, usually inhab-
ited by a mycorhiza, that is, by a fungus growing in symbiotic relation
to the filaments, and serving as its agent in nutrition. They break up
the contents of the cells into granular fungoid masses, and send long
hyphae through the cells. The radicles were found to occur only on
these cells, and they are apparently formed only on those filaments
which turn down toward the ground, the ones which are erect being
always green, without radicles or fungoid cells. They must serve a
useful purpose, as the filaments remain attached long after the fertili-
zation of the archegonium, even when the young sporophyte has rooted
and produced several leaves, often nearly ^an inch high. Ultimately
they all succumb to the attacks of fungi, which discolor the cells, pene-
trate the walls, surround the extremities of the filaments and stop their
growth. The root has a cap of four spreading cells like a four-leaf
THE PLANT WORLD
73
The curly-grass {Schizaea pusilla). After Berry in Asa Gray Bulletin, V. 5.
clover. Occasionally as many as five of these caps remain one below
the other, pushed oflF in succession from the growing point of the root.
The leaves have two rows of stomata and several rows of club-shaped
hairs, which are most abundant on the circinnate tips of the young
leaves. The spores are bean-shaped, pitted like a thimble, with a ridge
on the convex side, through which the first cell of the filament emerges.
The antheridia are formed early, one having been found when the fila-
ment consisted of only four cells, and was still attached to the spore.
A search through the literature of ferns has shown no record quite
as simple as that of Schizaea, the nearest being that described by
Bower in the Aniials of Botany in Trichomanes pyxidiferum. But even
this is more complex, as the archegonia are borne on a specially mod-
ified base known as an " archegoniophore."
A full description and illustrations will be found in the Bulletin oj
the Toirey Botanical Chib for January, 1901. — Elizabeth G. Britton, New
York Botanical Garden.
A Fossil Flower.
It is a well-known fact that outside of the Baltic amber, flowers in
a fossil state are extremely rare. Their delicate texture is wholly un-
suited to the rough handling incident to fossilization, and consequently
few traces of them have been found.
74 THE PLANT WOELD
In working up a collection of beautifully preserved material from
the valley of the John Day Eiver, Oregon, I have found what seems to
be the large sterile flower of a Hydrangea. It is composed of four
large, broadly obovate or nearly circular calyx-lobes which have a
spread of about 4 cm. The nervation of the lobes is perfectly preserved,
and is of exactly the type found in Hydrangea Japonica, In size and
shape it agrees very well with H quercifolia of the eastern United
States, but not in nervation.
This fossil was originally described as a species of Marsilia, the
leaf of which it much resembles, but was later placed under Parana, a
Convolvulaceous genus having a curious, leathery calyx. It seems,
however, to be much more nearly related to Hydrangea.
Associated with this flower is a flora of over fifty species, all of
which have a very modem aspect. There are elms, maples, alders,
hornbeams, sumac, willows, oaks, a sycamore with leaves over a foot
broad, and among the conifers OlyptostrohuSy Sequoia, a Taxodiitm
hardly to be distinguished from T. disticham, and a Thuja. Perhaps
not the least interesting is what appears to be a species of bread-finiit
tree {Artocarpus). — F. H. Knowlton.
The Mesquite in Kansas and Oklahoma.
In the summer of 1897, while doing geological work in southwest-
em Kansas, my attention was called to a thorny shrub unlike anything
I had seen in the State. It grew on the hillside just north of the Black
Hills, some eight miles southeast of Belvidere. The next summer I
pointed out the shrub to Dr. Lester F. Ward, who identified it as the
mesquite {Prosopis glandulosa Torr.), and published a notice of its
occurrence in The Plant World I: 48. The species has since been in-
cluded in Britton & Brown's Illustrated Flora, 3: 516.
During the past summer while working with the Oklahoma Geo-
logical Survey, I had opportunity to observe the habitat of this plant
in northwestern Oklahoma In this region Prosopis was not observed
except in patches along the valley of the Cimarron river, where it some-
times becomes quite abundant. It prefers the i)oorest and driest soils,
and apparently those impregnated with salt. Almost without excep-
tion it was found in the red soil on or near salt flats. The shrub some-
times grows as much as ten feet high, but is always wide spreading and
apparently stunted. It bears a great profusion of pods. The mesquite
has also been noticed on the high hills of Clark county, Kansas, fifty
miles west of Belvidere, but here it is extremely dwarfed, rarely grow-
ing more than three feet high. I have never seen it north of the south-
em tier of counties in Kansas. — Charles Newton Gould, University of
Oklahoma.
THE PLANT WORLD 75
GENERAL ITEMS.
Miss Bird in her " Unbeaten Tracks in Japan," has the following
interesting note on strawberries : " A day or two ago we had some fully
rii)e strawberries of a pale pea-green color, with a strong odor and fla-
vor, not of strawberries, but of the Catawba grape."
The announcement for the fourteenth season of the Marine Bio-
logical Laboratory at Woods HoU, Mass., is just received. The course
of instruction in botany extends from July 3d to August 14th, and fa-
cilities are offered for study in cryptogams, phanerogams, plant physi-
ology, plant cytology, etc. Additional information may be obtained of
Professor Bradley M. Davis, of the University of Chicago.
" The water-nut {Hydrodictyon), is a very common alga throughout
Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. It is to be found in shallow water, along
the banks of rivers and small streams, and in pools having a constant
supply of water kept warm by the sun, noticeably those in stone quar-
ries. It is quickly recognized by the large, angular meshes reaching
half a centimeter or more in diameter, seen best by raising the plant
from the water. The old vesicular mother-cells, a centimeter or two
long, still containing the young nets, look much like dead and bleached
worms, as they lie undisturbed in the water." — Botanical Gazette.
During the past year the Department of Agriculture established a
date garden in Arizona in conjunction with the Experiment Station of
that Territory. Mr. W. T. Swingle made a special trip to Algeria for
the purpose of securing suckers of the best varieties of dates known in
the Mediterranean region, with the result that they now have about 500
plants groT\'ing successfully. It seems not at all improbable that we
shall soon be raising dates commercially in this country. In this con-
nection it may be of interest to call attention to the fact that Mr. Swin-
gle also secured, in Asia Minor, numbers of the fig-fertilizing insects,
which were successfully introduced into California. This seems likely
to revolutionize the fig industry in this country.
76 THE PLANT WORLD
The Botanic Garden as an Aid to Agricnltore, was the subject of a
lecture by Prof. WiUiam Trelease before the Society for Promotion of
Agricultural Science. He shows very clearly that quite aside from the
aesthetic study of plants, the botanical garden has or should have a
XX)sitive bearing in furthering the science of agriculture.
For many years the Govemmont has been engaged in reclaitning
land in the Potomac river opposite Washington. Twenty-five acres of
this reclaimed land has been granted to the Department of Agriculture
for use as a trial ground for seeds and plants obtained in all parts of the
world which are likely to prove of value in this country. Tests have
also been made of the seed annually distributed by Congress.
Some very beautiful specimens of pressed California wild flowers
and sea mosses, together with some striking floral paintings, have been
submitted to Secretary Filcher of the California State Board of Trade
by Miss Elinor McCord, of Monterey, who desires to send a large and
imxx)rtant exhibit along these lines to the Pan-AmericAn Exposition at
Buffalo. The Secretary has cordially accepted Miss McCord's offer,
and this dainty display will be a novel feature of the California exhibit,
which will be an important one.
It is of common knowledge that mahogany is very valuable, but the
full extent of this value is perhaps realized by but few. According to
the American Lumbermariy two logs of the African mahogany (Khaya
Senegdl^erma), sold in Liverpool last summer at the rate of $1,771.58 and
$2,501.56 respectively a thousand feet B. M* ShorUy previous to this
three logs were sold for $5,500. These logs averaged 22 feet long and
32 inches in diameter at the base. This African mahogany, also known
as Senegal mahogany, is really inferior to our West Indian mahogany.
According to Dr. B. E. Pemow {Rea^eation, April, 1901), the Singa-
pore cedar {Gedrela toona) can undoubtedly be introduced successfully
into the West Indies and Florida. It is a native of Asia and Australia,
and has light, fragrant, soft, shiny wood, brick red in color, which does
not warp or crack in seasoning. It ii easily propagated and grows rap-
idly, a tree in Australia reaching a diameter of 10 inches and a height
of 50 feet in 12 years. The wood is used in making tea boxes, boats,
carvings, shingles, furniture, etc. In Australia, where it is known as
red cedar, it is being extensively used in replanting reserves.
THE PLANT WOBLD 77
NOTES ON CURRENT
• LITERATURE
Eecent advance sheets from the Eeport of the Missouri Botanical
Garden, Vol. 12, contain descriptions of a new Agave from Arizona {A.
Treleasii), by Professor J. W. Tourney, and a new cristate variety of the
cliff-brake {PeUaea atropurpurea crisiata), by Dr. William Trelease.
Both papers are accompanied by excellent plates made from photo-
graphs.
A catalogue of the flowering plants and ferns growing without cul-
tivation in the vicinity of Grand Bapids, Michigan, by Emma J. Cole,
has recently been issued. It is carefully prepared, and reflects credit
on the compiler for the excellent general arrangement, the full citations
of habitat and locality, and the neat typography. The introduction
contains chapters on the geology and geography of the region, together
with its ecology, a discussion of which always adds interest to a local
flora. The Index Kewensis is adopted as the guide for nomenclature,
a somewhat remarkable innovation, since the Index departs quite
widely from the usage of Gray's Manual, and hence is not closely fol-
lowed by even conservative American botanists.
Farmers' Bulletin No. 121, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture,
on ''Beans, Peas, and Other Legumes as Food," is similar in scope to a
number of popular bulletins published by the Department, summariz-
ing the available information on different food materials which enter
largely into the diet of most families. It was prepared under the direc-
tion of the Director of the Office of Experiment Stations by Mrs. Mary
Hinman Abel who has made an extensive study of the literature of the
subject, and has also embodied the results gained by practical experi-
ence and many experiments, some of which were undertaken especially
in connection with this bulletin. The geographical distribution of the
legume family, representatives of which are found in all climates and
countries, is given, and their nutritive value, nitrogeneus constituents,
and digestibility are discussed. Vegetable protein is compared with
animal protein, the various species of beans and peas are described, the
many ways of preparing them for food are noted, and a table is given
showing the comparative value of legumes in relation to their cost.
78 THE PLANT WORLD
EDITORIAL
The marvellous advajice that practical botany has made in this
country within the past two decades is perhaps best attested by the
growth and expansion along these lines in the U. S. Department of
Agriculture. Some fifteen years ago practically all of the botanical
work of the Department was done by three individuals. At the pres-
ent time there are probably more than one hundred persons engaged
in one capacity or another in botanical work, among them being not
less than twenty-five trained investigators of the highest order. From
the original Division of Botany other divisions have been cut out from
time to time, until at the beginning of the present year they were six
or seven in number. The last session of Congress wisely combined all
botanical work in the Department in one group, to be known as the
Bureau of Plant Industry, thus putting it on a footing with the Wea-
ther Bureau and the Bureau of Animal Industry. In it is embraced
the old Division of Botany, charged with the economic study of the
higher plants; the Division of Seeds, charged particularly with the
testing of seeds sent out by Congress; the Division of Agrostology,
which devotes all its attention to the grasses; the Division of Plant In-
troduction, which covers the introduction of new and desirable plants
from foreign countries; the Division of Vegetable Physiology and Path-
ology, in which plant diseases are studied; the Division of Pomology,
or the study of fruits, and finally the Division of Gardens and Grounds,
which attends to the extensive collections of plants grown in the De-
partment grounds. The total appropriation for this work is $204,680,
which, compared with the few thousands formerly devoted to the sub-
ject, shows the liberality with which these interests are fostered by the
Government.
THE PLANT WORLD 79
BOOK REVIEWS.
Flora of Westebn Middle California. By Willis Linn Jepaon, Ph. D.,
Assistant Professor of Botany in the University of California.
12mo, paper, 625 pp. The Encina Publishing Co., Berkely, Cal.
Price $2.60 jwstpaid.
In this compact book Professor Jepson offers to the botanical pub-
lic an excellent working manual of the region indicated by its title.
This portion of the State has not been altogether neglected in the past,
for in addition to Dr. Behr's Flora of the vicinity of San Francisco, we
have Professor Greene's Manual of the Bay Kegion, and his Flora Fran-
ciscana, both of which are very exhaustive in their treatment. But the
volume at hand is somewhat more extensive in its scope, and on ac-
count of the extra-limital species frequently included, will be, according
to the author's statement, " almost if not quite as useful as far north as
Eed BluflF and as far south as Bakersfield."
The best feature of Dr. Jepson 's flora is to be found in the descrip-
tions, which are very accurately drawn, in most cases from living mate-
rial. Probably no State has yielded more noveltius since the publica-
tion of the botany of the State Survey many years ago; and it is grat-
ifying to note that Dr. Jepson is not altogether hampered by conserva-
tive tenets in his recognition of species and genera. The nomenclature
seems to be impartially divided between both the old school and the
new; we note, for instance, that Tumion has been taken np for Torreya,
while on a closely succeeding page Hierochhe is retained instead of
Savastana, which antedates it. The double author-citation is used
throughout. The typography and general arrangement of the book is
excellent, although printed on rather inferior paper. It may be com-
mended unreservedly, we think, to students desiring a good working
manual of the region covered. — C. L. P. -
Royal Gardens, Kew; Bulletin of Miscellaneous luformation; Additi-
onal Series IV; List of Published Names of Plants Introduced to
Cultivation, 1876 to 1896.
Some of the most useful books are often hidden from investigators
because of the elaborate and official character of their titles. Such
titles do not stick in the memory, and the books are hard to find in a
library catalogue. A recent work of this kind labors under the above
title. This is a book of 410 pages, containing the names of 7,600 plants
introduced into cultivation during the 21 years ending 1896. Brief de-
scriptions are given, including the nativity. It is especially valuable
for its reference to pictures and to the descriptions, which are usually
the original ones. In compiling this index, 63 publications have been
consulted, including the standard horticultural publications and a num-
80 THE PLANT WORLD
ber of important nursery catalogues, as those of Bull, Sander, Veith,
Williams, Lemoine, Yilmorin, Spaeth, and Dammann. Some of these
firms have for many years sent collectors to the uttermost parts of the
earth in search of new plants, and many species that are prominent in
cultivation to-day were first described in these catalogues.
Li the preparation of the Cyclopedia of American Horticulture,
this "List" has been of great value, since it gives a clue to perhaps
4,000 plants of horticultural interest that have come into cultivation
since the period covered by the Lidex Kewensis, i. e. since 1885. It ac-
counts for a great many names of American plants which baffle those
monographers of American genera who do not have access to just such
a work as this. Nor will the publication of the fifth volume of the Index
Kewensis destroy the value of the present work, as it gives much valu-
able information that will not be included in the Index Moreover,
many systematic botanists who are now engaged on important Amer-
ican works, cannot afford to wait for the next volume of the latter.
The " List of Published Names " will also be found useful to workei-s
engaged on the floras of other lands than America.
The work under review does not guarantee the names found within
its covers. It pretends to be nothing more than a compilation. It
does not even claim to be a complete list of all the new names found in
the 63 publications that have been abstracted. Nevertheless, it would
be hard to overpraise the Kew management for this work. Ten years
from now the " List " might be a more nearly perfect work, but in the
interim there would be an enormous waste in time and energy and a
useless multiplication of synonymous names. How such a book can be
published for a dollar, is a mystery.
In his modest preface to the "List," Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer
takes occasion to give some interesting facts and figures about the 7600
plants introduced to cultivation from 1876 to 1896. The families most
largely represented are orchids, lilies and aroids, the last-named includ-
ing many foliage plants which are particularly in favor on the conti-
nent. Of the 7600 species, 1600 are orchids belonging to seven genera.
The seven genera most largely represented are all orchids. These sta-
tistics throw an important light on the horticultural taste of the last
century, and indicate in a measure what plants the collectors risk their
lives for, and what novelties the great commercial houses mentioned
above are desirous of obtaining for their rich patrons.
The preface also cites one case of a tri-generic hybrid which has
originated during the period mentioned, as also 15 different groups of
bi-genic hybrids.
The new species for 1897 are found in the Kew Bulletin of Miscel-
laneous Information for 1898, Appendix II. — Wilhelm Miller.
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. MAY, 1901. No. 8.
HINTS ON HERBORIZING.
By a. H, Curtibs.
{Concluded from page 66.)
HAVING described my implements and materials for work, I will
now turn my attention to methods, describing as briefly as pos-
sible such as are not alluded to in '* Botanizing," or that are men-
tioned as of little or doubtful value.
In selecting specimens of any plant, I aim to avoid abnormal and
deformed growths — ^for which latter insects and browsing a.m'malfl are
chiefly resi)onsible — and to represent all normal forms or developments
obtainable. Of small herbs I collect various sizes, slender and much-
branched plants, etc. And when I come to makie up plants for distri-
bution, I aim that a like variety shall be represented in each specimen.
This requires a careful arrangement which may not be understood by
those who receive my specimens. It seems to be generally considered
that quantity is the only point to be regarded.
Of many plants, especially Compositae, I aim to collect an equal
number of perfect small plants, and branches of large ones with sections
of the main stems and the supporting leaves attached. I aim that the
under side of at least one leaf shall be turned upward, and I often add
separate leaves when they are large and of varied forms. Good addi-
tions to specimens of biennials and some perennials are the well devel-
oped seedlings which may be found in the fall.
Of tail and slender grasses and sedges I usually provide several
tops of flowers or fruit for each specimen. Grasses whose leaves in-
cline to roll, I dampen thoroughly before putting in press, and I give
82 THE PLAJNT WOELD
them so many driers that the leaves at least will be quite dry when
the pre«s is next opened. In bending tall and rigid stems to sharp
angles, I first mash them at the proiwr i)oint8 with the back of my
knife in order to prevent their breaking. Before pressing a bunchy
specimen, like Rhxis copallina, I thin the leaves and the x>anicle or thyr-
sus, leaving enough of the petioles to show the x>ositions of the leaves
removed. The specimens then dry better, look better, mount better,
and can be more eflFectually poisoned.
I cannot account for Professor Bailey's statement that presentable
specimens of most ferns can be obtained only by using the i)ortfolio. I
have always regarded ferns as requiring no more care than lycoi)ods,
provided the thin ones are kept damp. I know of no fern that may not
be gathered and pressed at leisure unless there are young and tender
fronds, which, as a rule, should not appear in specimens. Those ferns
which, like GheUmdhes, become dry and crisp in dry weather, unless
collected in damp weather, should be plunged in water or heavily sprin-
kled and left in a box over night to straighten out.
* The hand-press or portfolio is particularly adapted to Malvaceae,
Leguminosae, Onagraceae, and Acanthaceae. The latter, like the rhex-
ias and ludwigias, shed their flowers as soon as put in the vasculum,
and fliere are many families allied to Acanthaceae which do not hold
their flowers long, and need to be hurried into the press. The eccen-
tricities of some Leguminosae and Malvaceae are hard to understand.
It seems as though they try to baffle the collector. Once at Key West
I went out with a press for a Gossypium very early in the morning. I
had to wait till sunrise for the flowers to open, and before I secured all
I wanted, the flowers had fully closed again.
Oonvolvulaceae, which abound in Florida, I used to consider
troublesome, but do not now. Late in the afternoon I select specimens
with buds just ready to open, arrange them loosely in tin receptacles,
sprinkle freely and cover. The next morning I find them in full and
perfect flower, and deliberately put them in press. The nocturnal spe-
cies, however, I have to press before going to bed. I usually close the
flowers of the large flowered species of this family, because the inner
surface will adhere even to oiled paper.
A good way to secure perfect flower specimens of the splendid but
tissue-like Ganna Jlacciday of Iris and various other Monocotyledonae
with delicate flowers, as also of some troublesome Pplypetalae, is to col-
lect 8i)ecimens after the manner described for Oonvolvulaceae — ^not root
specimens — ^and let them bloom in water. Such flowers should be
pressed between folded pieces of waxed or paraffine paper. And I be-
lieve there is no other way of preserving the flowers of Oommelinaceae
and of such genera as SisyHncMum^ Nemastylis and Xyris, The same
THE PLANT WOBLD 83
method may be employed in dealing with Helianthemum^ with some
genera of Malvaceae and Oucnrbitaceae, and with several small families
allied to the latter. Waxed paper should be used with fruit specimens
of Desmodium.
Another troublesome class of plants comprises the Ficoideae, most
of the Crassulaeeae, many Portulacaoeae, Batis^ etc. An Allium will
bloom and seed in press, and its root be ready to grow the following
spring. All such plants may be killed and disarticulation prevented by
immersion in hot water, as is stated in " Botanizing," but there is dan-
ger of overdoing the thing by too long immersion, which causes the
leaves to drop off at once. "When I have a set of a plant of this nature,
I lay the specimens in a pan and pour boiling water over them. Just
as soon as all green has disappeared, I turn the pan over on the ground
and spread the dead and limp plants on grass or a wire screen. As
soon as the water has dried off I place the specimens in press, and, by
frequent changes, soon have them nicely dried. With Monocotyledonae
I have not used hot water with satisfaction except on leathery leaves
like those of Tiicca and Epidendrum. A bunch of the latter I have
placed in a tea kettle of boiling water, the flowers outside protected
from the steam, and they have not been affected in the least. Pressing
specimens with a hot flat iron is barbarous.
Thick leaved maritime plants like Scaevola and Iva imbricaria I al-
low to air-dry on a floor for two or three days before pressing. The flow-
ers of Gitrus fall to pieces if pressed fresh, but not if first wilted a little.
Disarticulation is checked by any wilting process, and most promoted
by confinement in a fresh state in a close box. This .trouble increases
in approaching the tropics, as also the discoloration of specimens.
Most specimens that I have had from the tropics, including ferns, are
almost black. Even my north Florida collections of spring and sum-
mer plants lose most of their green before winter. This might perhaps
be prevented by serving them as our merchants do kid gloves, by send-
ing them north for storage till the middle of fall. The color of dried
specimens, however, is a matter of no practical importance.
Other plants which are injured for specimens by keeping over night
in a box are many slender ones, especially of the Euphorbia genus,
which twist about as if in search of light. On returning from a collect-
ing trip I at once transfer my specimens to roomy boxes, placing plenty
of wet paper at bottom and top, but avoiding sprinkling. Then I de-
cide which kinds should be put in press without delay, and which may
be kept over night, if needful, and put them in press in that order.
When I need to wash roots, which I avoid as much as possible, I
usually air-dry them before pressing. If, for example, I have a set of
Eleocharis or Sdgittaria taken from miry ground, I wash the roots, trim
84 THi; PLANT WORLD
the fibers short, leaving rhizomes, pile the plants in a circular heap
with the roots outward, cover with wet paper or cloth all but the roots,
and wait till the latter have dried before pressing the specimens. Some
collectors save large masses of fibrous roots in making specimens. Such
roots make an herbarium dirty, and they have little or no instructive
value. Except as to annual herbs, which usually have mat roots, my
practice is to clip fibers short. For this and general trimmings, I pre-
fer shears to a knife. To secure the brittle tubers of orchids I cut out
a chunk of earth with a plant in the center, and then pull the earth
away from the root. Strings and slitted papers for confining grasses
and sedges, like cotton rings for sunflowers, I discarded long ago.
There is no need of bunching and crumpling grass specimens. They
can be as easily pressed in good shape as other plants.
Li preparing specimens of plants which have fleshy fruits with
large or curious seeds, such as Menispermaceae and some Sapotaceae,
Prunua and GhrysobcdantiSf Nyssa unijlora and N. capitata, it is desirable
to prepare some cleaned seeds. The quickest way to do this is by boil-
ing, but this will not do for Menispermaceae, as their thin shells would
warp out of shape. Of fleshy fruits like crab apples and persimmons,
Ationa and Zamia, I preserve a central slice with the stem attached and
partially air-dry before pressing. Some collectors think it a nice way
to send the fruit of Gary a and Quercus separate from the leaf specimens.
Excepting the pines with fruit larger than P. mitis, I do not believe in
any fruit specimens without attached leaves, which testify to the cor-
rectness or incorrectness of the name. Li preparing fruit si)ecimens of
oaks, I spread out the specimen sheets and fold them in from both ends
and sides, making them the same size as before, but so shaped as to
prevent the nuts from rolling out, and I send the specimens away in
the same shape. If the acorns are quite large, I wrap some thin paper
around them and the stem to which they are attached. I have received
lots of kindling wood in the shape of flower specimens of QuercuSy Bet-
ula, VTmus, and the like, without a vestige of leaves. Why such stuff is
frequently sent out, I never could understand.
Failure to thoroughly dry specimens is a bad fault. I used so often
to have to put sets back in press, that I now take none out unless the
driers are left dry enough for use with fresh specimens. Many fleshy
flowers, and especially heads of Compositae, contain eggs of insects.
From theso are bom very destructive larvae which often ruin specimens
if not promptly destroyed. Therefore I search closely for them on
first changing a set of any thick fiowered plant. Last year I had a set
of Sagittaria Mohrii almost ruined in this way throagh neglect to look
at the specimens till after the worms had reduced most of the fruit
heads to powder. As Professor Bailey does not allude to worming the
THE PLANT WORLD 85
press, it may indicate that this trouble is not experienced in the north,
but I know it to be worse in Virginia than in Florida. The mite, how-
ever, which seems to be harmless in northern herbaria, gives me a great
deal of trouble. Where mites find much fresh pollen they multiply
rapidly and soon destroy the flowers. They also eat fleshy fruit speci-
mens, especially of Rosaceae and Ericaceae. I never fully protected my
fresh collections from them till last year, when I kept my bundles of
fresh specimens in a tight closet with plenty of naphthaline. I strewed
" moth balls " over the floor, and scattered others, after being crushed,
among the specimens. Packing in chests or tight boxes with naphtha-
line is still better.
I will now describe my method of poisoning specimens, as it differs
materially from that described by Professor Bailey. He says that if
specimens be efiFectually poisoned, " discoloration always results ;" also
that a brush with metal fastenings '* discolors the specimens;" that there
is need of wearing gloves to protect the fingers; that after applying the
sublimate the specimens need to be dried between papers under a light
weight. Now I have poisoned tens of thousands of specimens, and
none of them was ever touched by insects afterward, though always ex-
posed to them. And they all looked just the same after poisoning as
before, except for occasional slight traces of the sublimate. I never
pressed any after poisoning, and never injured my fingers, for the good
reason that I do not touch the specimens. My outfit for poisoning is
even simpler than that for collecting, consisting simply of a flat, tin-
bound brush an inch wide, a long bone knitting needle and an alcoholic
solution of corrosive sublimate. An aqueous solution will not answer,
and even if waste of so expensive a liquid as alcohol be not considered,
such methods as dipping, flowing and spraying are objectionable.
With a pile of specimens before me, the long and limber needle for
holding down specimens in my left hand and a wet brush in the right,
I commence by poisoning the upper side of the thick parts — roots,
stems, flowers and fruit, mostly by light and quick touches, but taking
pains to soak heads of flowers, and when the brush is nearly empty I
draw it lightly over the leaves. Keeping on in this way all the sheets
are presently in a pile at my right, in reverse order. Then, with straw-^
boards at top and bottom of the pile, I turn the whole over and go to
work on the other side of the specimens. When all the sheets are in a
pile at my right again, I turn it over and all the specimens are right
side up and in their original order. Sometimes, especially with Com-
I)Ositae, I use a weak and strong solution, with a brush for each. I do
not poison grasses and sedges, though aware that in badly infested
plants a bug or worm may sometimes be found in a thick culm. The
only cryptogams I poison are fungi and Isoetes.
86 THE PLANT WOELD
It seems to me strange that but five lines in "Botanizing" are de-
voted to the bisulphide of carbon treatment, since it has attained such
importance in the estimation of herbalists that some now depend on it
entirely, to the exclusion of the laborious washing process, which with
many proves ineffectual. I have a zinc lined chest that holds about
3000 specimens, and pass my unpoisoned plants through it twice a
year, letting them remain for a few days or for months, according to
circumstances. A plastered closet in a vacant house will answer the
purpose, using plenty of the bisulphide and caulking the door. In the
chest I set a plate on top of the plants, and pour into it about two
ounces of the bisulphide, then weight down the Ud and run putty
around the edge, also puttying the top of the bottle or can. Fire should
be kept away from the gas.
Some time ago a writer in The Plant World announced his dis-
covery of a new method of drying press papers, by punching a hole in
one comer of each, and stringing them on a wire, I believe. Twenty
years ago I discovered the same method, and probably others have dis-
covered it. I employed it while botanizing in eastern Tennessee one
summer, but never again. My apparatus consisted of some slender
iron rods three or four feet long, sandpapered, and with the ends filed,
crotched stakes set in a row east and west, and a pole laid across these
with hooks screwed into the under side to cartch the rods. After pas-
sing a rod through a lot of the driers, I suspended it on three of the
hooks, and by drawing the driers apart in a certain way, spread them
very uniformly and quickly. I could take them down and into the
house in a tenth of the time required for spread papers, a great advan-
tage in showery weather. Driers might be hung in this way over a
stove or over a lamp with some simple arrangement for spreading the
heat. The rods and hooks might be carried with one's baggage. I aim
to spread driers before noon, for in the afternoon the absorbent power
of the air rapidly diminishes.
An important detail of botanical work is the packing of plants for
sending away. In making up packages for exchange, most botanists
throw the specimens on the sheets in any handy position, put a straw-
board or tar board at top and one at bottom, and draw them together
with cord tUl they nearly meet. This insures much breakage unless
the specimens were very nicely pressed. The method which I have
adopted, and which prevents damage in transportation, I will attempt
to briefly describe. I arrange the specimens with the thick parts at the
comers and edges as much as jwssible, and so that whenever I lay my
hands on the pile it feels of uniform thickness. With all in good shax)e
and between stout strawboards, I pass two lengths of manilla twine
under the package lengthwise and three crosswise, each length having
THE PLANT WOKLD 87
a loop at one end through which the other end is passed. I tighten
the five cords in succession, each several times, till they seem almost
ready to break. I cannot fully describe how I tighten up the bundle,
or how I strain and temporarily fasten the cords, but it is all done
easily and quickly, and the result is a perfectly compact package. I
often place strips of light strawboard at the ends or comers before
wrapping.
Some of my " hints " may be regarded as of too little importance
for publication. That consideration may have deterred the author of
''Botanizing " from touching on the same points. His book nearly cov-
ers the subject, but for which fact I should not have attempted a sub-
ject requiring so much space for comprehensive treatment. The com-
paratively simple treatment of the cellular cryptogams is well covered
by the specialists who contributed chapters on those orders. The book
should be in the hands of all collectors.
I am more painstaking than most collectors, yet I would be still
more so if I had the financial resources which the Biltmore botanists
enjoy. I do not try to equal their work in some respects, because it
would increase my expenses too much. I try to recover my cash out-
lay from the subscribers to my distributions, but have not done more
than that except in the years when I had commissions for forestry work,
when I had at least my expenses paid and valuable sets of woods to sell.
For the great amount of time consumed I get no return except the sat-
isfaction of feeling that I am doing useful and long-enduring work. It
is a healthful pursuit, full of incident and adventure, one more to my
liking than any other, and I expect to follow it as long as my physical
ability holds out.
Jacksonville, Florida.
The cork tree is an evergreen oak (Qaercm suber), about the size of
our apple tree, and grown largely in Spain for commercial uses. The
bark is stripped in order to obtain the cork, which is soaked and then
dried. The moment the cork is peeled off, the tree begins to grow
another cork skin, and each new one is better than the last, so the older
the tree the better the cork. The trees are stripped about every eight
years, and so strong does it make them that they often live to the age
of 200 years. After the bark is stripped off it is trimmed and dried
and flattened. Then it is packed and shipx)ed to all parts of the world.
88 THE PLANT WOELD
THE ASPARAGUS RUST.*
By Byron D. Halsted.
THE rust of the asparagus is caused by a fungus that was described
by DeCandolle as Pucdnia aaparagi in the year 1805. From this
it is seen that the rust upon the asparagus has been known to
science for nearly a hundred years. No search of the early writings
ux>on gardening has been made for a mention of the trouble, but it is
reasonable to suppose that more or less of this fungus has existed be-
yond the history of man.
The only mention of its being found in the United States previous
to 1896 is by Dr. Harkness, and correspondents in California inform us
that the rust is not found there at the present time. It is impossible to
account for the unusual outbreak of the rust in the eastern United
States in 1896, which, after a full correspondence with botanists, horti-
culturaUsts and asparagus growers, seemed to be limited in that year
to New England, Long Island, New Jersey and Delaware. In 1897 it
was gathered, by wide correspondence, that the rust had spread only
alang the Atlantic Coast, and as far south as South Carolina, where it
became a genuine source of alarm in the large asparagus fields around
Charleston; but as yet the vast interior and western United States were
free from the rust. In 1898 the disease had spread westward as far as
Michigan, and southward to Greorgia, with a full measure of it in Penn-
sylvania. During the year 1899, with careful observers in each State
and Territory, one is able to add Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, and
North Dakota to the infested area. For the year just closed, it is
reported as being in evidence, in Nebraska, South Dakota, and last of
all, the gap between Illinois and the west is filled by its being found in
Iowa.
It is not likely that the spread of this disease has been phenom-
inally rapid, but on account of its first coming into the country at this
late date when the Experiment Stations are established, and spies, so
to say, may be set upon its movements, it becomes possible to note its
progress both in direction of the invasion and the rate of its advance.
In order to offer some clue as to the method of the dispersion of this
rust, it may be interesting to mention in passing some personal obser-
vations in the field. For example, there were two asparagus beds
standing at right angles to each other; and separated by a small place
containing a house and bam. In jwsition it was like ilie letter T, but
with the horizontal top piece somewhat removed from the upright. One
♦This paper has been prepared at the request of the Editors. In substance it has
appeared before in another journal, but its exceptional interest makes its repetition
desirable.
THE PLANT WOKLD 89
bed had its cutting continued late for market, and a young vigorous
growth of brush stood about hip high. Looked at from one side, all the
main stems and branches were showing the rust just breaking through
the skin. On the opposite side the same stems had very little of the
rust in sight The rusted side was toward the old bed, and it was fur-
ther observed that the sides of greatest rustiness made an arc the radii
of which centered in the old bed. The observation told much, for it
demonstrated that the infection was aerial and not through the roots.
It showed that the old bed was the source of the contagion, and that
the wind was the vehicle of transfer. The asparagus plants of the later
bed that stood in the line of the house were protected by it and showed
much less rust, and the same was true of the bam. There was a nar-
row belt between the two buildings where the disease was abundant,
and here the spores had uninterrupted access to the young asparagus
plants.
This complete demonstration of the method of inoculation leaves it
easy to see how the disease may be carried for long distances by the
same agency. It has been frequently observed that beds of asparagus
standing alone, and surrounded by forests, are much less likely to be
badly rusted than those in the full open. If the barberry-covered rocky
hillsides of New England can furnish the spores to inoculate with rust
all wheat fields within the sweep of New England winds, it goes with-
out further argument that the rust of the asparagus may have its spores
carried as far as the breezes go that blow across an infected area.
"When an asparagus field is badly infested with the rust, the gen-
eral appearance is that of an unusually early maturing of the plants.
Instead of the healthy green color, there is a brown hue, as if insects
had sapped the plants, or frost destroyed their vitality. Busted plants,
when viewed closely, are found to have the skin of the stems lifted, as
if blistered, as shown in figure 1, a and b.
The brown color is due to multitudes of spores borne upon the tips
of fine threads of the fungus, which center at certain x>oints and cause
the spots. A view of a section through one of the spore-bearing sx>ots
is shown at figure 2,/. The threads from which the spores are pro-
duced are exceedingly small, and grow through the substance of the
asparagus stem, taking up nourishment and causing an enfeebled con-
dition of the victim, which results in loss of the green color and the
final rustiness of the plant, due to the multitudes of spores formed upon
the surface, shown by figures/, and g. These spores are carried by the
wind to other plants, where new diseased spots are produced; but as
the autumn advances, a final form of sjwre appears in the ruptures,
figure j, that is quite different in shape and color from the first ones
produced through the summer. At t, is shown a section of a rust rift,
90 THE PLANT WOBLD
with the spores of late autumn, which, from their dark color, give an
almost black appearance to the spots as seen in h.
There is another form which the rust fungus assumes, not usually
seen in the asparagus field,. but it may be found in early spring upon
plants that are not subjected to cutting. This is the cluster-cup stage,
so named because the fungus produces minute cups from the asparagus
stem and in small groups of a dozen to fifty, making usually an oval
spot easily seen with the naked eye. At c, figure 1, is shown a portion
of one of these cups, with the sx>ores that are formed in them enlarged,
at d. This stage of the fungus comes first in the order of time in the
series, and is met with upon volunteer plants that may grow along the
roadside or fence row or in a field where all the old asparagus plants
have not been destroyed. This form of the rust was quite common
upon plants in vineyards and orchards set ujwn old asparagus fields
and the plants near the trees or trellises, out of reach of the cultivator,
were left to grow. The importance of a knowledge of the relation of
these cluster cups to the asparagus rust proper, will be dwelt upon
under the head of remedies.
It is a pleasure to record that a parasite has been frequently seen
upon the uredo form of the asparagus rust. This is a fungus bearing
the name of Darluca Jilum Oast., that is well understood as preying
upon the rusts generally. To the naked eye, the fungus, as seen in the
field, gives the rusted plant a mouldy appearance. This light-gray
color is due to multitudes of fine, curved threads that ooze out of the
more deeply-seated portion of the fungus. When these minute spirals,
made up of sjwres that, with the accompanying jelly, are pushed out
of the spore cavities, are washed away by rains, the asparagus stems
appear covered with minute dark pimples, which are the spore cavities
of the fungus. The intimate association of the Darluca with the rust
fungus is shown at figure 3, where, at a, is given an enlarged view of a
spore rift of the Puccinia, within which there is a large number of the
dark spore cavities of the Darluca. The fine threads of the latter fun-
gus fasten themselves upon those of the rust and there finally results
the structures for sjwre production as shown at 6, in a sectional view of
a rift.
The two fungi, namely, the rust that feeds upon the sap of the
asparagus, and the Darluca that gets its nourishment from the filament
of the rust, are quite unlike in many things. The spores of the Dar-
luca, shown much enlarged at c, are colorless and boat-shaped, with a
cross-wall dividing each into two nearly equal parts, and therefore very
different from the large, oval, thick-walled, orange-brown spores of the
rust. Again, the method of their production is within a pear-shaped
cavity, while the rust spores are formed upon the free tips of the
THE PLANT WOELD 91
tlireads. Both are fungi; both are found in the same diseased spots of
the asparagus; but under the microscope the differences are as great as
between asparagus and onions, for both of the latter belong to the same
family of flowering plants (Liliaceae), while the Darhica and the rust
are members of widely-separated families of fungi.
In some localities this parasite upon the asparagus rust has been
so abundant as to make it difficult to find a fully-developed rust spot
free from the Darluca. Microscopic study of this fungus has not ex-
tended far enough to warrant any opinion as to the amount of influence
it has in checking the growth and spread of the rust, and as 1897 was
the first season that the Darliwa has been met with, it is impossible to
make any statement as to the favorable effect its presence may have
upon the following crop. But upon general principles, the Darliwa
may be looked upon as a friend by the asparagus-growers, and its pres-
ence in the rusted field is to be encouraged.
This view of the Darliwa opens up a further consideration of the
subject of spraying, for it is to be expected that the spores of the Dar-
hica, from their smaller size and thinner coat, would be more quickly
killed by the fungicide than the larger, thicker-walled spores of the
rust. It is possible, therefore, that it might be a disadvantage to spray
asparagus plants that are already covered like a mould with the spores
of the Darluca. In short, the grower is in a dilemma, and it is not
safe with the present limited knowledge at hand to decide satisfactorily
for him. It is true that the rust comes before the Darluca, and if the
rust fails to appear, there is no use for the Darliwa. If early spraying
has only a small retarding effect upon the rust, but kills off effectively
the Darluca that might otherwise make a vigorous attack upon the rust,
it is possible that spraying to check the rust might defeat its own end.
It is clear, therefore, that the whole question must be left open until
further experience is had, and experiments made with the case.
Another natural enemy of the asparagus was found in the early
part of the season upon the cluster-cup form of the asparagus rust.
This is the fungus Tiibercularia persicina Ditt. Figure 4, d, shows a
piece of asparagus stem with a cluster of the cups in the center, and
around this are five spore-bearing patches of the parasite, which are
large, irregular and black where the skin of the asparagus stem has
been broken.
A portion of one of the spore-patches is shown in sectional view at
e, where the spores in great numbers are to be seen produced upon the
ends of threads. The spores are oval and purplish, and are shown
highly magnified at/.
If the cluster-cup stage is essential to the development of the aspar-
agus rust and must precede it, this Tiibercularia, preying upon the
92 THE PLANT WOBLD
cup fungus, may be a particularly valuable auxiliary in checking the
later and more destructive forms.
Thus far this parasite has been met with only upon asparagus
plants that grow wild and produce the cluster-cups in early spring.
Spraying in the field may not therefore interfere with the good work of
this fungus. It remains to be determined how much this parasite and
the Darluca may be depended upon to hold the rust in check, and it is
encouraging to have these friends of the asparagus grower come to his
rescue so early in the history of the asparagus rust in this country.
This is not the place, perhaps, to consider the subject of remedies
at any length, although it is of vital importance to the growers of aspar-
agus. So soon as the " brush " has lost its green it is no longer of use,
and the cutting aud burning of it in autumn will secure the destruction
of vast multitudes of spores. The plants, consisting as they do of nu-
merous fine and very smooth rapidly growing branches, are not well
adapted for holding fungicides. Also, experiments show that the ten-
der, slender tip may be injured by the ordinary Bordeaux mixture.
Perhaps the most successful treatment of the disease is that recently
described by Mr. Sirrine,* who finds that the ravages of the rust can be
stayed to a considerable degree by using a resin-Bordeaux mixture,
which is applied by means of a horse-power sprayer.
Mr. J. A. Kelsey, field assistant of the New Jersey College Experi-
ment Station, has shown close attention to details in making the draw-
ings for the accompanying engravings.
Description of Figures.
Fig. I. ^ (a. ) An asparagus stem showing uredo form of the rust, natural size.
(b.) An asparagus stem showing teleutospore form of the rust, natural size, (c.) K
portion of a section of an aecidium cup showing the rows of spores and the mycelium
of the fungus and cells of the asparagus stem, magnified 175 times, (d.) Aecidial
spores, magnified 300 times.
Fig. 2. {e.) Portion of uredo sorus, magnified 25 times. (/) Portion of a sec-
tion of a uredo sorus, magnified 175 times, {g. ) Uredo spores, magnified 300 times.
(A.) Portion of teleutospore sorus, magnified 25 times. {«.) Portion of a section of
teleutospore sorus, magnified 175 times. (/. ) Two teleutospores, magnified 300 times.
-^^if- 3- (^0 A uredo sorus infested by ib^ Darluca, magnified 25 times, {b.) A
section of uredo sorus infested hy \h<^ Dar/uca, magnified 70 times, {c.) Spores of
the Darluca, three of them germinated, magnified 590 times.
Fig. 4. (d. ) A cluster of aecidium cups infested by the Tuberculina — the cups
are in the center and the Tuberculina marginal near the spermagonia — magnified 15
times, {e. ) Portion of a section of the TUberculina, magnified 175 times, (/. ) Spores
of the Tuberculina, magnified 590 times.
New Brunswick, N. J.
* Bull. N. Y. Agric. Exper. Station, No. 188, December, 1900.
THE PLANT WORLD
93
01
ft 1,1
m
Fig. I.
Fig. 2.
94
THE PLANT WORLD
f'g- 3-
Vig. 4.
THE PliAJ!^ WORLD 95
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
Derivation of Mimosa.
In Volume XXIII of the Prooeedings of the American Academy,
at page 307, there is record of an attempt made by Professors Eobinson
and Greenough, of Harvard University, to reach the derivation of the
genus-name Mimosa. As apparently exhaustive of the resources of
Latin and Greek roots as bearing on the origin of such a name, the
effort was learnedly made; but the result, as Professor Eobinson con-
ceded, was far enough from what could be called successful.
The failure of these two scholars, botanist and etymologist, to solve
the problem undertaken, was inevitable; and that because of their erro-
neous assumption that Mimosa is a substantive. x4imost all genus
names for plants are substantive, it is true. Linnaeus promulgated a
rule which requires that all adjective names for genera be rejected; and,
while most botanical authors have since kept the rule when forming
new names, the rule-maker himself repeatedly violated it; and no one
in editing his works has ever yet very thoroughly corrected his viola-
tions of his own rules; and so we have in use names as Gentiana^ Valeri-
ana^ Nicotiajia, Impatiens, Bidens, Fissideris, MirahUis, Primula^ Mimosa,
and many more, all adjective names.
Toumefort, the earliest authority appealed to by our authors, had
guessed that the name Mimosa was substantive, and that it had been
derived from the Latin mimus, a mimic actor; but that is seen to be
both naturally improbable, and etymologically impossible. But the
difficulties aU vanish, as many difficulties onomantic and phytologic are
apt to vanish in the light of history. The type of the genus Mimosa
appears to have been first mentioned in print by the old Spanish writer
upon drugs, C. Acosta, His work, a most important one in its day,
upon the subject of the vegetable materia medica, was soon translated
into Latin, as well as into several modern languages. In the Latin
edition the new plant remarkable for the apparent sensibility or touch-
iness of its foliage, was called the Herba viva, in Italian the Herha deli-
cata, in French the Semitiva, while in the original Spanish it was the
Yerba mimosa, mimosa, being, in that language, the adjective expression
of delicateness, sensitiveness, peevishness, etc.; and the word is so
Latin in its form and sounding, that it gradually slipped into the place
96 THE PLANT WOELD
of a generic name, and Linnaeus' Mimosa sensitiva is a binary name of
which the significancy of the two terms is exactly the same; it is equiv-
alent to saying Sensitiva sensitiva. That is about the sum of the ety-
mology of the generic name Mimosa. — ^Edward L. Greene, Washington,
D. C.
More about Fungus Spores as Bee-bread.
The article by W. H. Lang, Jr., on "Fungus Spores as Bee-bread"
in the March number of The Plant World (page 49), reminds me of a
similar case to which my attention was called many years ago. I was
at that time a student in the Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard
University (1875-76), and was working in the Botanical Department.
Dr. Gray came in one day, and called my attention to a letter from
some one in California who said that his bees were using a yellow dust
which they found on cottonwood leaves for bee-bread. The corres-
pondent sent samples of the leaves, and at Dr. Grya's suggestion I
made a careful examination, finding that the " yellow dust " was the
mass of uredospores of the well-known " cottonwood *rust," one of the
Uredineae {Melampsora popvlina (Jacq.) Lev.) Considerable interest
was aroused at the time over this matter, and I am under the impres-
sion that a notice of the fact was made in some of the journals, but am
not certain in regard to this point. If publication was made, it was
probably in either the American Journal of Science or the American
Naturalist. — Charles E. Bessey, University of Nebraska.
Sabbatia campestris in Oklahoma.
In riding over the prairies during the month of July, a very inter-
esting feature of the landscape is this species of Sabbatia. They form a
pleasing contrast with the green prairie grass, as their pink blossoms
are quite prominent. The range of the plant seems to be somewhat
restricted in Oklahoma. I have found it as far north as the southern
border of Kansas, as far west as western Garfield county, and east to
Payne county. The southern and southwestern limits I have been un-
able to determine. The preference of the species is for open prairies,
although it is occasionally found in low places. As to number of
plants, they seem to be inexhaustible. They thrive very well in the
thickest grass, and it is here that they reach their greatest height, about
ten inches. But as to number of individuals, the best growth is made
about the margins of buffalo wallows, where the grass is thinner.
Here the plants are also more hardy. They form a fringe about the
wallows which is very pleasing in appearance. The flowering season
in this latitude is from the last of June to the first of August, with a
maximum number of blossoms about July 20th. — ^Paul J. White, Uni-
versity of Oklahoma.
THE PLANT WOULD 97
GENERAL ITEMS.
The cultivation of tea, which has been for some years carried on
experimentally at SummerviUe, S. C, now bids fair to develop into a
commercial success. Thousands of acres of land are now being bought
near Charleston, and it is contemplated to produce something like
300,000 pounds of tea annually for the American market — American
Gardening,
A most beautiful, interesting, and decidedly unique exhibit has just
been set up in the Mines Building of the Pan-American Exposition. It
is that of the agatized wood specimens from Chalcedony Park, Apache
county, Arizona, in charge of Mr. E. F. Batten, who represents the
Drake Company, of St. Paul, Minn. These specimens consist of cross
sections of trees jwlished to a high degree of brilliancy, and showing
most beautiful colors. In some of the specimens the fossilized bark still
surrounds the section of the tree. This petrified forest, of which Mr.
Batten has numerous pictures, looks more like a stone quarry than a
forest, as the trees are mostiy strewn around in broken sections. One
picture, however, shows an almost perfect tree. Microscopical exam-
ination reveals a part of this wood to belong to the genus Araucari-
oocylon, a genus closely allied to Araucariay or the Norfolk Island
pine of the southern Pacific ocean. All the specimens examined
show that the wood was undergoing decay before being filled with
the various media which afterwards solidified. On some of the
sx>ecimens traces of fungi (mycelium) causing decay, may be plainly
seen. The process of petrification possibly restdted from the tree
being submerged by hot geysers bearing silicon in solution, the
rich oxides of Arizona intermixed with silicon and the cell tis-
sues of the wood were substituted by the silicious solution and then
solidified.
98 THE PLANT WORLD
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
In an advance separate from the Annual Beport of the Missouri
Botanical Garden, Dr. Trelease describes an interesting new palmetto
from the Mexican State of Sonora, under the name Sabal Vreaana. A
beautiful photograph shows the plant to be a handsome tree of more
graceful habit than our eastern pahnettoes. In foliage it somewhat
resembles the Washington palm, but the leaf-stal^ are not spiny.
We have just received a copy of "Notes on the Flora of Connecti-
out," by A. W. Driggs, which forms No. 16 of the Connecticut School
Documents. We are at a loss to understand the reasons for this pub-
lication. It does not appear to supplement any former list of Connec-
ticut plants, and moreover embraces only a few of what would seem to
be ordinarily common species. The families are arranged alphabetic-
ally, the ferns, for instance, coming between the evening prim#oses and
the figworts, the grasses between the goosef oot and heath families.
Frederick D. Chester, Bacteriologist of the Delaware Agricultural
Experiment Station, and Director of the State Bacteriological Labora-
tory, has just completed "A Manual of Determinative Bacteriology."
The work aims to arrange all sufficiently described bacteria in such a
way that they can be determined by the laboratory worker. The sys-
tem of classification of Migula has been adopted. The genera are then
divided into classes in accordance with their most prominent characters.
Under each class is a synoptical table, after the plan of a botanical key,
which enables the student to trace out the species. Then follow brief
and concise descriptions of the species. No known facts regarding the
latter have been omitted, but the system of terminology adopted by the
writer makes it possible to make these descriptions short and to the
point, thus avoiding verbosity. The work is prefaced by a number of
chapters on morphology, cultural characters and methods, which will
enable a student to take up any culture placed in his hands, and to
study it and determine it systematically. Teachers of bacteriology
have long felt the want of a work which will enable a student to accu-
rately describe the cultural character of an organism, and then to de-
termine the sx>ecies in question. Both of these demands have been met
in the present work.
THE PLANT WOELD 99
EDITORIAL.
The following note, received a few days ago from the veteran bot-
anist and collector, Mr. A. H. Ourtiss, whose interesting paper entitled
"Hints on Herborizing" is concluded in this issue, will be read with
sincere regret by all who are familiar with Mr. Curtiss' beautiful speci-
mens, and who realize their great scientific value:
Deab Sms: —
It will interest many of your readers if you mention in
your next issue that my herbarium was destroyed in the recent confla-
gration at Jacksonville. But my early collections for this year's dis-
tribution were in another safe place. All else — about 16,000 sheets —
are gone.
Tours respectfully,
A. H. CURTISS.
The majority of amateur students and plant-lovers fail to realize
the immense importance of a large collection of plants like the above.
Even though pressed and dried, the species retain what are technically
known as " characters " which make them far more valuable for refer-
ence and study than any amount of printed descriptions. Often rare
plants are collected from a locality afterward destroyed by building or
other causes, and these specimens can never be replaced.
While we sympathize most deeply with Mr. CJurtiss in his great loss,
we feel that such accidents render more imperative the deposition of
valuable specimens in public museums where they will receive proper
care and attention, or that they shall be at least secured from fire in a
fire-proof building. Private herbaria are frequently necessary adjuncts
to private libraries, but when they become large and valuable, contain-
ing a number of tyx>es, the botanical public has certain rights toward
them which should be respected. Mr. Ourtiss had already pursued a
wise course in presenting his fine collection of algae to the National
Herbarium; and it is doubly unfortunate that disaster overtook him
before he could disi)ose of the remainder.
100 THE PLANT WOBLD
BOOK REVIEWS.
A List op the Ferns and Fern At.t.tes op North America North op
Mexico, with principal Synonyms and Distribution. By William
E. Maxon. Proc. TT. S. Nat. Mus., Vol. XXTTT, pp. 619-651. Is-
sued May 4, 1901.
Among the extensive publications devoted to our ferns and their
allies, only two systematic treatises have hitherto appeared which in-
clude all of the species north of Mexico and Mr. Maxon is to be con-
gratulated upon having presented to botanists this very complete and
carefully compiled list. The total number of species and subspecies
enumerated is 211, of which number 187 are true ferns. The accepted
name of each form is printed in conspicuous black-faced tyt)e, which
makes the list easy of use. No attempt has been made to make the
synonomy absolutely complete, but enough has been included to clearly
present the present status. Great pains have evidently been taken to
verify all references, and in this respect alone the list will be found
invaluable. Becent changes in generic limitations will be found respon-
sible for the adoption of certain somewhat unfamiliar names for well-
known species, but this is clearly in line with advanced study. Thus
we have the genera Phlebodium, Gampyloneuron, and Phymatodes for
species formerly included in Polypodium; Pteridium for Pteris aquilina
and its allies; Cryptogramma for a part of Pellaea; Athyrium for three
species formerly placed in Aaplenium; Polystichum, Phanerophlebia
and Tectaria for portions of Dryopteris, etc. The geographical dis-
tribution of each sx)ecies is also given, and in the case of rare or lit-
tle known species, the name of the collector is added.
Without going into the merits of each individual case, we can but
think that Mr. Maxon has erred in quoting Robert Browu, Prodr. Fl.
Nov. Holl. I: 158. 1810, as the initial point for the genus " Woodaia''
A reference to this publication reveals the fact that the genus was there
called Woodia, and it was not changed to Woodsia until several years
later. This is not, however, a matter of vital moment, and this list
must remain for many years indispensible to all working fern fern stu-
dents.— F. H. K.
THE PLANT WORLD
Vol. IV. Plate IV.
A Road in Bermuda. After photograph by Marshall A. Howe.
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. JUNE, 1901. No. 6.
BOTANIZING IN BERMUDA.
By Maeshall A. Howe.
ALTHOUGH the ftora of Bermuda has very little in common with
that of Vermont, I have thought that a brief sketch of it by a
member of the Club might be of sufficient general interest to jus-
tify making this response to our secretary's request to contribute some-
thing to the program of this meeting.
The trip to Bermuda was undertaken chiefly for the collection and
study of the marine algae. It was suggested in part by Professor C. L.
Bristol, of New York University, who very generously placed at my
service the facilities of the New York University Biological Station, and
did much to make the undertaking a success. Nearly six weeks, includ-
ing the month of June and the first half of July, were spent on the
islands.
The Bermudas, as is generally known, are of the so-called coral
formation, though I am told that a microscopical examination of the
rock shows that other organisms have contributed much to its compo-
sition. The islands lie in just about the latitude of Charleston, S. C,
and the nearest land is said to be Cape Hatteras, which is nearly 600
miles away. They are but a speck on the map of the world, having an
area of less than twenty square miles. From their small size and iso-
lated position, one would perhaps expect to find the flora little diversi-
fied in character, and would expect to find a considerable proportion of
endemic species. As a matter of fact, the number of species which
have been looked ui)on by systematists as peculiar to the islands is
* Read at the winter meeting of the Vermont Botanical Club, held at Burlington,
January 25 and 26, 1901.
102 THE PLANT WORLD
remarkably small. The most complete account of the flora of Bermuda
is that contributed by W. Botting Hemsley to the Report of the Chal-
lenger expedition. Of the 326 species of flowering plants and ferns
recognized in this work, only 8 are considered to be endemic. Of these
326 species, 144 are regarded as indigenous. It is somewhat interest-
ing to note that the 144 indigenous species represent 109 genera and 50
families, an average of about IJ species to a genus, and a little less than
3 species to a family. Of the 144 indigenous species, 109 occur also in
the southeastern United States, including southern Florida, and 108
are foimd also in the West Indies. It will thus be apparent that the
Bermudian flora is essentially West Indian in character. Among the
very few probably indigenous species which grow also in Vermont may
be mentioned Osmuiida regalisy Osmunda cinnarrvomea, Woodwardia Vir-
ginica, Aaplenium Trichomaiies, Ihi/opteris ThelypteriSy Typha angusti-
folia, Juncits tenuis, Jmicus marginatua, Celtis occidentalism Parietaria
Pennsylvanica, Ceratophyllum demersum, Rhus radicans, and Pliryma
leptostachya, Pteridium aquilinum is represented by the closely related
Pteridium caudatum, which by some is considered but a variety of the
former.
The number of the higher plants growing upon the islands at the
time of discovery by the Europeans was, as we have seen, evidently
small as regards genera and species, but so many kinds from Europe,
the West Indies, Mexico, and the United States have become natural-
ized or are grown under cultivation, that the higher vegetation is no
longer oi)en to the charge of poverty. The only really native plants
that attain to the dignity of trees are the Bermudian cedar {Jtmiperm
Bemmdiana)y a palmetto which was long considered the same as the
common species of the southern United States but is now separated
from it, and, by courtesy, perhaps, the weird mangrove, which, stand-
ing on stilts in the salt water, makes extensive thickets along the
marshy borders of sheltered bays in various parts of the islands. The
cedar, it would seem, is not confined to the Bermudas, as possibly
might be inferred fiom its name, but is said to be found also in^ some of
the West Indian islands. Mr. Hemsley, who wrote the botanical part
of the Challenger Expedition Report, entertains the i)ossibility that the
palmetto also extends into the West Indies. The cedar attains consid-
erable size, and has been used to quite an extent in boat-building and
in the interior finishings of the houses, which are chiefly built of the
white limestone rock, or sandstone, as they call the softer forms of it.
The cedars of to-day are mostly from 20 to 40 feet high, and from 1 to
2 feet in diameter, but there are remains of trunks still standing which
are nearly five feet in diameter. Besides the cedar, the palmetto, and
the mangrove, there are three or four large native shrubs which might
THE PLANT WOELD 103
occasionally be designated as trees. In fact, the native-bom Bermu-
dian calls every plant a " tree " even down to a small membranous sea-
weed. The oleander, which was introduced into the islands about a
century ago, has become extensively naturalized and in some quarters
has taken possession of the landscape, attaining a height, sometimes, of
20 feet, I should say. It was in full bloom during our visit, and formed
a very showy and beautiful feature of the flora.
There are said to be only two or three recorded cases of a freezing
temx>erature in the Bermudas, and by reason of the practical absence of
frost, the India-rubber tree, the mahogany, the logwood, etc., have been
acclimated with surprising success. In the open caves or sink-holes of
the Walsingham tract, the coffee tree or shrub has run wild and seems
to be -peiiectlj naturalized. Oranges and lemons were once raised to
some extent for home consumption, but about fifty years ago the
trees were nearly all killed by the attacks of insects, and the culture of
citrus fruits has never been successfully resumed. Mr. Bishop, the
superintendent of the recently established Botanical Station, or Agri-
cultural Experiment Station, as we would call it, is now trying to con-
vince the farmers that with the modem methods of fighting plant dis-
eases, the raising of oranges and lemons may be made a source of profit.
The farmers now dei)end for their income almost entirely upon onions,
Easter lilies, potatoes, and American winter boarders. When we con-
sider that the 13,000 acres, or less, comprising the area of the islands,
is distributed among about 16,000 inhabitants, most of whom till the
soil, it becomes evident that but little remains, on the average, to each
individual. Four acres of tillable land makes an unusually large farm.
Much of the land is of a kind not readily cultivated.
Strawberries do not flourish very well, peaches get along after a
fashion, but apples, x>ear8, plums, and cherries, are almost a complete
failure. Bananas, however, of excellent quality are raised in consider-
able abundance, but none as yet for export.
There are in the islands about 25 si)ecies of ferns, nearly all of
which I collected. In the line of bryophytes, 8 mosses and 6 hepatics
had been reported from the Bermudas. The entire absence of any
brooks, streams, or springs, is a little disconcerting to one who would
hunt for bryophytes. Only one moss and one hepatic are at all com-
mon. In order to get the others, one must go to the Devonshire Marsh,
where the water is scarcely brackish, and to the caves and sink-holes of
the Walsingham tract. It required little 8i)ecial effort, however, to
gather nearly thrice the recorded number of Hepaticae and to make a
few additions also to the moss-list.
The marine flora — ^to study which was the main object of my visit —
104 THE PLANT WORLD
has very little in common with that of our more northern Atlantic sea-
board. It is largely that of southern Florida and the West Indies.
The entire absence of the genera Fucus and Ascophyllumy which consti-
tute the conspicuous rockweeds of our own coast, is a noteworthy fea-
ture. This is apt to give one the impression at first that seaweeds are
scarce, but such is far from being the case, for the marine flora is a
fairly rich one, considering the size of the islands. The Report of the
Challenger Exi)edition enumerates 132 species, including those re-
ported by previous collectors. My own collections have been so little
studied as yet that any estimate as to the number of species repre-
sented therein would be premature.
It would be unfair to bring these remarks to a close without en-
thusing a little over the delightful clearness of the Bermudian waters,
the exqtdsite coloring and beautiful forms of the living corals, sea-fans,
sponges, and other inhabitants of the subtropical seas. It was, to be
sure, my first exi)erience with the coral-reef formation, but it was an
exi)erience which any one with a trace of love for the beautiful in na-
ture would hope to be able some time to rei)eat.
New York City.
SUGGESTIONS FOR THE STUDY OF THE HAWTHORNS.
By W. W. Ashe.
FOE many years the hawthorns have been a trying puzzle to the
American botanist, especially that wonderfully variable species,
Orataegtta coccinea. Under the name of scarlet thorn were placed
forms with fruits of all sizes and shapes, from the brightest yellow to
the deepest crimson, ripening early or very late, with various flowers
and inflorescence, and all degrees of pubescence — ^in fact, every form
which could not be " squeezed " into the descriptions of the ten other
species of eastern America, so that Craiaegua coccinea was a most elas-
tic and convenient species. Not only the scaiiet thorn, but the other
species as well, were regarded as variable, and the descriptions in sys-
tematic works were generalized to include a variety of forms.
For many years several American species not recognized by Amer-
ican botanists, have been well known in Europe, among them Grataegiis
rotundifolia, C, intrix^ata, 0. lucida, G. stwculentci, and (7. pruinosa. Some
of these, like C. rotimdifolia and (7. macracantha, were gradually being
recognized on this side of the Atlantic as si)ecies of fixed character and
general distribution. The other species cultivated in Europe, were
THE PLANT WORLD
Vol. IV. Plate V.
V
Be
o
X
ec
X3
o
o
•i
2:
THE PLANT WOELD 105
there also regarded as having good specific characters. The additional
fact that many American forms seemed to reoccur in their wild state
without change or variation, led several years ago to a careful field
study of various forms by several persons in different States. The re-
sults have been surprising. In place of the ten species, it is now cer-
tain that we have at least 120 sx>ecies, merely on the Atlantic coast.
More than eighty species have already been described from this region,
while imperfect material at hand indicates that there are probably half
as many species yet undescribed.
While the number of species is undoubtedly so large, the number
in any local flora, of an area of about 100 square miles, will in few cases
exceed sixteen or seventeen. This is due to the great number of local
species, or species with limited distribution. In each of the eastern
States there will probably be found species which do not extend beyond
its borders.
Instead of the species being variable and intergrading, as has been
so long thought, there is probably no large genus in which the specific
characters are more firmly fixed, less variable, and so easily described
as in the thorns. What has retarded the study of the genus more than
all else, is the habit of collecting flowering and fruiting si)ecimens from
different plants, which would often be different species, and distribut-
ing under the same label, so that the sx>ecies in most large herbaria are
presented in an almost inextricable confusion. As most of the fruit is
collected green, all distinctive shape, color, and the characteristic dis-
position of the calyx lobes is lacking.
In studying the forms of a locality, the first essential is to mark
the plants from which specimens are collected, so that flowers, mature
foUage and ripe fruit will all be from the same plant. It is necessary
to have complete material, flowers, foUage and fruit, since some species
are with difficulty separated while in flower, the characters which distin-
guish them being most evident in the mature foliage or fruit. In many
species the foliage is very similar, and the distinctive characters lie in
the flowers or fruit. This adds to the difficulty of identifying si)eci-
mens in immature fruit.
In the inflorescence it should be noted whether it is cymose or
corymbose; simple or compound; the usual number of flowers; the
amount of pubescence; whether the flowers are erect or nodding arid
their size when expanded; the size and number of bractlets, and if they
are glandular; whether the calyx is obconic or cup-shaped, and its
pubescence.
The calyx-lobes furnish some excellent characters: their size and
shai)e, whether serrate or entire, and if stalked glands are present;
the i)ersistence of the lobes on the mature fruit, and when persistent, if
106 THE PLANT WOULD
reflexed, spreading, or ascending; whether sessile, stalked on the pro-
jecting calyx-tube, or somewhat imbedded in the flesh; remaining green
or coloring with the fruit.
The number of the stamens, 5, 5 to 8, 10 or 20; the size of the fila-
ments; the color of the anthers (cream, yellow, pink or purple), are of
the greatest importance, as well as the number of styles. The relative
time of flowering will often be of value in separating closely related
species in the field while in flower.
The immature fruit presents few distinctive characters. It should
be noted of the mature fruit the date when it ripens and when it falls;
its size; the shape (oblong, pear-shaped, globular, flattened, etc.);
whether either end is concave; if glabrous or pubescent; its color
(green, yellow, orange, scarlet, or mottled wifh several colors); wax-
like; dull or shining; glaucous; punctate.
Of the calyx-cavity, whether it is obconic or cylindrous, its size and
pubescence.
Of the seed, the number; whether their sides are smooth or hol-
lowed; the backs smooth or grooved; whether placed centrally or apic-
ally in the fruit.
The color and firmness of the flesh are good field characters, as
well as the disposition, length, and pubescence of the fruiting pedicels.
The pubescence, color, and texture of the foliage, as well as its
shape and size should be noted; the color of the twigs, and the abund-
ance of thorns and their size. In a few species the thorns are 2-ranked;
in most, however, they are found on all sides of the twig.
Many of these characters must be noted in the field, as they are
lost in the most carefully prepared herbarium sx>ecimens. When once
the floral and fruit characters of the thorns are carefully observed, the
separation of the forms becomes a simpler task than distinguishing the
willows, or even the oaks and hickories.
Besides the characters given above, the size, habitat, bark, and
habit (ascending, spreading), or drooping branches, upturned twigs,
drooping or erect leaves, and the coloring of the foliage in autumn, will
be of great help to the careful observer.
Raleigh, N. C.
THE PLAin; WORLD 107
CUBAN USES OF THE ROYAL PALM.
By WnjjAM Palmeb.
THE royal palm {Oreodoxa regia) is a widely distributed tree
throughout Cuba, and is truly the tropical feature of the land-
scape. In the former more highly cultivated areas they largely
occupy the hedgerows, thus being arranged in double rows along the
roadways, and in single rows along the dividing lines. This arrange-
ment is largely accidental, cultivation compelling the absence of the
young plants from the fields, and the hedge-rows offering a secluded
habitat until they are strong enough to need no shelter. In other
places the frequent fires have destroyed the trees on the higher areas,
so that one sees them oftenest along the banks of the watercourses.
The tree is a noble one, and occurs everywhere except among the pines
of the moimtains. To the simple Cubans living remote from modem
civilization, it furnishes many of his necessities, most of which perhaps
are contained in the following list.
Posts. — ^Trees are felled and allowed to lie for a considerable time
before they are cut into lengths and split.
Fences. — ^These are made of strips of the wood tied upright to cross-
pieces and close together, so that chickens cannot get through.
Columns. — ^They are used as the main supports of a house, the up-
per portion of the trunk being used.
Boards. — ^When the interior of a felled tree is rotted, it can readily
be split and the pieces trimmed to the required length and width, which
is necessarily narrow.
Gqfee mortars. — ^Most palms are somewhat swollen at about one-
third of their length from the ground; this is cut out for about the
height of a table, the wider end is hollowed out, and with a pestle of
similar or different wood, forms a mortar and pestle which is used to
crush the roasted coffee beans. When not in use, the hollow may hold
the family supply of beans, and it is always handy to support the fam-
ily wash-tub, a shallow broad article made often of the same wood.
House walls. — The basal part of the leaf stalk is a broad, long
woody portion which clasps the trunk for its whole length, and whose
lower end leaves a narrow horizontal scar where it was attached to the
trunk. These fall with the leaf, and are dampened and flattened by
weights. Bun lies of these leaf bases are an article of sale in places
where the palms are scarce, and they may be seen piled up in stores
for sale. They are trimmed and tied to the framework of the house.
They are placed in two rows, the side of one overlapping another, and
the lower ends of the upper row overlapping the lower row. They also
serve to cover anything, and not unfrequently are used as tables.
108 THE PLANT WOELD
Main Coats. — One rainy afternoon several Cubans came to our
camp dressed in coats made of the green (freshly fallen) stalk. A hole
had been cut out of the center through which the head was thrust, and
the two halves bent so as to cover the front and back. A string torn
off the edge of the same piece was used to tie it around the waist, the
whole making a peculiar but efficient coat of mail.
Boxes and Baskets. — ^With a sharp knife which all Cubans carry, a
few minutes suffices to make one of these leaf bases into a receptacle
capable of holding water, vegetables, or similar things. Cuban tobacco
is always bound up and shipped from the plantations in a large bundle
wrapped in the bases of the leaf stalks.
Thatch. — ^All Cuban houses outside of the towns have their roofe
covered thickly with thatch made from the long leaves of the palm. It
is usually cut into two or three parts, and tied to the pole rafters with
palm leaf string.
String and Rope. — ^Either the split parts of the leaf base or the
division of the leaf are used, either twisted or not. No nails are used
in the construction of the houses, the poles, thatch and siding being
tied on.
Canes. — A strip of the wood worked round and polished, makes a
presentable cane.
Brooms. — The flower stalk and its divisions is a large affair. With
the berries off, it is bound about its center, and the numerous small
twigs are ready for work. It is a common article of every Cuban house, -
and the dirt floors and surroundings are kept well swept.
Chicken and Pig Feed. — ^The bunches of berries are carefully cut
off and lowered by a palm leaf rope to the ground, and then laid across
the chicken or pig i)en to be eaten as desired.
Paper. — ^The inside layer of the base of the leaf stalk is very fine
and white, and is used for writing purposes.
'Wine. — This is made from the berries when in a green state. A
gun-shot fired into a bunch of fruit is sure to result in a shower of juice.
Woodpeckers are fond of this, and will tap the berries or the base of
the fresh leaf stalk and sip the juice.
Nest of Woodpeckers. — ^The large Cuban woodpecker always exca-
vates a large hole about two-thirds up tiie trunk of a live tree, and rears
its young in the cavity.
Food. — ^When a tree is felled, the mass of embryo leaves are cut
out, forming a lump about 18 inches long by 6-8 inches in diameter, of
beautiful creamy whiteness.
Without the royal palm the i)eople of Cuba would be poor indeed.
With the cocoanut, banana, sweet potato, and palm, they are able to
exist comfortably with a mild climate.
Washington, D. C.
THE PLANT WORLD 109
BOTANIZING IN AND AROUND A LAKE.
Bt E. L. Morris.
MOST people who collect plants either for pleasure or for study,
have had opportunities to gather numerous species about bodies
of water varying from mere puddles or pools to the Great Lakes.
If we may judge from the representation of aquatics in various herbaria
or their mention in lists of "plants collected," etc., it is very easy to
picture ninety or more per cent, of the people out collecting faithfully
skirting any body of water which comes in their path, but never exam-
ining or saving the different kinds which can not be reached without
getting ui)on or into the water. But they miss their opportunity, and
the acquaintance of some of the most beautiful and delicate plants that
grow. It is true that one must get partly or wholly wet to gather these
out-of-the-way citizens, but on a fine summer day that only increases
the enjoyment of the outing, for it is so easy to prepare properly
for such thorough search. In all probability there is no boat at hand,
as it is at the other end of the lake, or the pond is too small or remote
for a boat for other than our momentary need. As likely, also, the bot-
tom may be covered with several inches, sometimes feet, of the ooziest
possible mud. But these are the water and bottom homes of some
plants known in their variation only to the professional collectors.
Many times have I been asked how these plants have been gotten, when
people have been looking over a collection. Surely by no other way
than to go in and get them.
Most of the so-called ponds in the older parts of the country were
origLnally formed by the damming of some stream, or at least increased
in size and depth by raising the outlet. This appropriation of more
territory by the water has often modified the fiora of these ponds very
markedly, retaining certain infiuential soil and tox)ographical characters
for very many years, which have entirely disappeared, if ever present,
in the wholly natural lakes. But that is a question too far-reaching for
our subject, yet one of that very kind of pond was the collecting ground
for the following marsh and aquatic species secured during one fore-
noon at about the middle of the State line between Massachusetts and
Connecticut. Knowing nothing of the fiowerless plants below the fern-
worts, we made no attempt to collect or record them. Starting beyond
the upper end of the lake, along the p<5ols ond stream in a short valley
which rises in the very water-shed between the two States, we collected
carefully down the valley and lake to its outlet, then up an arm of the
lake to a larger stream from another part of the divide, and last in a
bog below the lake. In these pools and brook there was scarcely a
plant other than Nuttall's iKjndweed (Potamogeton NuttaUii), whose
110 THE PLANT WORLD
leaves are so beautifully banded along the center with very coarse re-
ticulatiouB. Along the margins of these x>ools, and nowhere else in this
locality, was an abundance of yellow-eyed grass. At the head of the
pond were large clumps of Scirpua Americanns and wool-grass (S. cy-
perinvs), occupying a half-acre or more. From these clumps and both
shores, the water of a bay was uniformly about three feet deep, and
entirely occupied in patches by water-milfoil {MyriophyUum humile) and
the perfoliate pondweed. The first has no emersed stems, and in the
clear water showed its feathery plumes to the utmost advantage as the
unusually long branches lazily floated this way or that according to the
current, or Remained motionless as if patiently hiding the mud below.
The contrast between its dull green bases and brown-purple tijw was
intensified by the sunlight through the slightly humus-dyed water. At
one side of this bay there was a patch ol water-i)epper {Polygonum
hydropiperoides) wholly in the water except the upper leaves and fiower
clusters. This more than usually aquatic home has produced a tre-
mendous root system, shining pure white in contrast to the meager
purple-stemmed part of the plant above the mud. These roots were
the finest example of primary and secondary root systems I have ever
seen. Out in the pond proper four si)ecies held full sway, the white
and the yellow water-lilies, water shield, and eel-grass. Most people
are content to pull the water-lilies with what they call long stems, know-
ing nothing of the true stem or rootstock buried in the mud below. At
this place we hauled up one nearly five inches in thickness, and we
could not get its full length. Would not a housekeeper delight to serve
a jelly so crystally clear as the gelatinous coating of the water-shield!
Little would one suspect such a coating from looking at the plant in the
water. So far as I can ascertain, the eel-grass never blossoms at this
place. Near the shores three pondweeds {Potamogeton nutam^ Oakesi-
anus and perfoliatus) occupy the shallower places. At one place where
the bottom is a coarse gravel, occurred a large patch of Nitella. At the
outlet of the lake there was a large bed of pickerel-weed, just buzzing
with the visiting humble and honey bees. In a swamp about the mouth
of the larger brook, water-cress, mermaid-weed, various-leaved water-
starwort, marsh purslane {Isnardiu pcdiistris), various sedges too young
to blossom, bur-reeds, and arrow-leaves, were abundant. Below the
outlet of the lake was a small sphagnum bog, just dotted with blossoms
so much LQ contrast with the more sombre plants of the water. There
were pitcher-plants, round-leaved sundew, Arethusaj Calopogon {lAm-
odorum), bitter buttercup, and peat-moss {Sphagnum eymhi/oUiim) in
fruit. We heartily wished for another day to retrace our steps and
find the other species which surely must have been there.
Department of Biology, Washington High Schools.
THE PLANT WOBLD 111
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
Fossil Sequoias in North America.
In a recent number of The Plant World we published an article
showing how perilously near absolute extermination is the big tree
{Sequoia Waskingtoniana) of California. It is hardly necessary to say
that this and the redwood (S. sempervirem), are the oi^ly living repre-
sentatives of what was once a powerful and world-wide race of trees.
The genus Seqiwia, represented by foliage, cones and wood, is very
widely distributed in a fossil state, many nominal species having been
described. Geologically it is found from the Jurassic to the Pleisto-
cene, and geographically from Japan, Asia, Europe, the Arctic regions,
including Greenland, and North and South America.
In North America some 44 fossil forms have been described, of
which number about 35 are based on foliage and cones, and the remain-
der on wood showing internal structure of the Sequoia type. These are
found from our Lower Cretaceous to the present time, having been very
abimdant in the Middle and Upper Cretaceous, and represented by a
considerable number throughout the Tertiary. It is probable, however,
that there has been more or less duplication in these species, for it is
often necessary to describe as different species foliage, cones and wood
that may have come from the same tree, because they have never been
found connected, and association in the same beds may or may not
argue identity. Occasionally a fossil is found with cones and foliage
attached, but usually they are separated.
Both of the living tyi)es of Sequoia are abundantly represented
among these fossil forms. One of the most abundant and widely dis-
tributed is known as Sequoia Langsdorjii, and is of the S. aempervirens
type, while S. Coultsiae represents the S. Washingtoniana type, and is
about equally well distributed, A fine species known as S. magnifica
is found in the Yellowstone National Park. It had trunks fully ten
feet in diameter, and beautifully preserved wood of the S. sempervireyis
tj-pe. — F. H. EjDOwlton.
A Singular Tree.
The photograph shows the lower part of a slippery elm ( Ulraus
fulva). When five and one-half inches in diameter it was stripped of
its bark. On two sides the bark grew and raised the surface seven-
112 THE PLANT WORLD
eights of an incli, but the third side was more seriously injured.
Here the strip of bark was entirely separated from the wood, break-
ing the cambium cells, and thus preventing the wound from healing.
The strip of bark, however, remained attached at top and bottom.
Some of the cells in the separated portion must have been un-
injured, as they began to form new wood. The bark curved in
around this new growth and formed an independent body nearly
round, with the exception of the ridge on the inner side.
This tree is growing near the north end of Cedar Mountain, Hart-
ford Conn. — ^H. S. Clark, Hartford, Conn.
Cleaning Desmids.
The method to be described is particularly applicable to material
obtained from mountain bogs containing submerged plants of Sphag-
num, among which specimens of the genera Micrasterias, Ereastrum,
Closterium, Penium, and others abound. To collect desmids from this
source a good plan is to squeeze the Sphagnum into a wide-mouthed
bottle. But the majority of desmid gatherings api)ear amenable to the
same method of cleaning.
The apparatus required consists of one or two shallow porcelain
saucers or photographic dishes, an old pomatum pot being useful among
the number, and a tai)ered glass tube with a rubber cap, for which pur-
pose the "filler" of a stylographic or fountain pen answers admirably.
A gauze strainer of a coffee pot is useful for straining out any large
pieces of dirt, the stuff left behind being examined for filamentous des-
mids.
The strained material is run into one of the porcelain dishes, and
after a short interval — not more than half a minute — ^the dish is in-
clined to one side, a gentle rocking motion being given at the same
time. If there are any desmids in the gathering, they will be seen to
collect in a bright green line or patch at the edge of the receding water
when they may be readily picked up with the pen-filler in a state of
almost purity. On working the water round the edge of the dish, the
desmids may be drawn into green patches in almost any desired part
of the vessel, and one lot after another picked up till there are none
left worth troubling about.
As the desmids are removed I transfer them to the pomatum pot,
when a drop of Zenker's fixative suffices to fix them. A rex)etition of
the rocking process enables the desmids to be once more collected and
taken up in the pen-filler, while, if any flocculent matter was picked up
with the desmids in the first separation, this may often be left behind
with a considerable portion of the fixative. The desmids are now trans-
THE PLANT WORLD
Vol. IV. Plate \'L
A singular elm.
THE PLAITT WOBLD 113
ferred to another dish containing clear water and deposited in a patch
in the water near the edge of the dish. By repeating the rocking pro-
cess the fixative is washed away, and by a little skill in the rocking,
any foreign matter not previously removed can be separated from the
desmids. The desmids are transferred to a fresh dish of clean water
by again using the pen-filler, and a repetition of the process removes
all residual traces of the fixative. — G. H. Bryan in Journal of Applied
Microscopy for October, 1900.
Aspect of the New Zealand Flora.
Mr. Frank G. Carpenter, in an interesting article descriptive of
New Zealand, published in the Washington Evening Star, has this to
say concerning the flora of that country:
" I have spoken of New Zealand as an evergreen land. It is so.
it has the same green you see in England and Ireland. The fences
about the houses are often hedges cut in curious shapes and of a var-
nished green. The leaves are on most of the trees all the year round.
There are many varieties of green plants, such as the holly. There are
scrub palms, and the New Zealand palm lily is to be seen everywhere.
This is a tree which reaches a height of twenty feet. It goes straight
up without a branch to the top, where it blossoms out in green tassels
like a palm. The x)eople call it the cabbage tree.
^' And then the ferns! New Zealand has enough to establish fern-
eries for all creation. Tou find places where there are acres of them,
miles of them. Some of the deep glens and gorges are walled with
them. They are of all kinds, some great trees and others as fine as
a maiden's hair. There is one fern which is used by the natives for
bedding, and another which is half fern, half vine. It climbs the loft-
iest tree, coiling its wire-like stems about the branches. The stems are
tough enough for ropes. They maintain their coil after being pulled
off, and it is said that some of the x>eople have used them for making
spring mattresses. Think of sleeping on fern beds, upon fern springs,
and you have one of the possibilities of New Zealandl "
114 THE PLANT WORLD
GENERAL ITEMS.
Dr. F. H. Knowlton, editor-in-chief of this journal, has gone west
on an extended collecting trip. He will study the fossil plants of vari-
ous geological formations in Colorado, California and Oregon.
In the Louisiana exhibit in the Agricultural Building at the Pan-
American Exposition, cotton naturally occupies a prominent position.
Forty varieties of seed and sixty of lint cotton are shown, the latter
displayed in miniature bales. Several full-sized bales as they are pre-
pared for shipment are also shown. Thirty-five varieties of sweet
potatoes form another interesting feature of this exhibit, one monster
weighing 122 pounds. The genus Ipomoea, to which the sweet potato
belongs, and which also includes our common morning-glory, is note-
worthy for the enormous development of tubers in some of its species.
Orris-root, the rhizomes of Iris Jlorentina, has been singularly over-
looked by wide-awake Americans who are ever on the lookout for some-
thing on which " a good snap " might be made. As it has long been
grown as an ornamental garden plant, there is no question about its
successful adaptation to culture here. It is one of the staple bases on
which many popular perfumes are constructed, and would always find
a ready market. European papers tell us that the demand there for
it is so lively that the prices have risen considerably, and, indeed, it is
believed that the stock in hand is behind the probable demand — Mee^
harts' Monthly for May.
The Philippine exhibit at the Pan-American Exposition contains
samples of the famous Manila hemp in huge skeins, like flaxen hair, or
made up into ropes and cables. There are sugar baskets and bales, and
native sugar of various grades, tobacco, coflPee, indigo, dye-stuffs, cocoa-
nut fibre and oil, and the beautiful and wonderfully delicate pina cloth,
made from pineapple fibre. Most abundant of all is the bamboo, which
the Filipino adapts to every conceivable use. There are bedsteads of
bamboo, chairs, tables, brushes, milk jars, rakes, rafts, and strangest of
all, musical instruments. Hardly less important is rattan, of which the
native constructs baskets, balls, mats and« numerous other household
articles. The palm leaf is everywhere in evidence, being used for roofs,
hats, cloaks, fans, baskets, etc.
THE PLANT WORLD 115
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
The May issue of The Forester contains an interesting article on
"The Study and Practice of Silviculture," by fienry S. Graves, illus-
trated with numerous photographs; also an account of the rubber
industry of Oosta Bica, by H Stuart Hotchkiss.
Tne Beport of the State Botanist of New York for 1899 has re-
cently been distributed. A number of new species of fleshy fungi are
described. Four quarto colored plates are included, illustrating some
of the new sx)ecies of agarics.
In the supplement of the 26th volume of the Boyal Academy of
Sciences of Sweden, L. Bomell reports on a collection of Hymenomy-
cetes from South America. A number of new species are described and
illustrated. The illustrations are excellent.
In the May number of the Botanicai Gazette^ E. W. D. Holway
publishes the third of a series of articles on Mexican fungi. As here-
tofore, the author has had the assistance of Dr. Dietel. Thirty-one
new si)ecie8 ^e described, most of which are rusts (Uredineae).
Mr. Willard N. Olute has recently published the first supplement
to his "Flora of the Upper Susquehanna and its Tributaries," noticed
in a former volume of this joumaL The list enumerates 96 additional
species and a number of new stations. The same author, we learn from
the announcement of the Frederick A. Stokes Oompany, is about to
publish a new work on ferns entitled " Our Ferns in their Haunts."
The Biltmore Herbarium, Biltmore, N. 0., has commenced the pub-
lication of "Biltmore Botanical Studies," which will be issued at irreg-
ular intervals, and will contain papers by the Curator and his assist-
ants. The first number, which is beautifully printed, contains descrip-
tions of a number of new species, and revisions of certain trilliums and
of the Composite genus Marshallia.
116 THE PLAITT WOELD
Mycological Note No. 6, by 0. G. Lloyd, contains descriptions of
eight new species of fungi by Bresadola and Patonillard. The material
was collected by Mr. Lloyd in Samoa. There are also some excellent
notes on a number of other fungi, mostly agarics.
The Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture for 1900, recently
issued, contains a number of articles of botanical interest, among the
more noteworthy being " Smyrna Fig Culture in the United States," by
L. O. Howard; " Commercial Plant Introduction," by Jared G. Smith;
" Fungous Diseases of Forest Trees," by Hermann von Schrenk; " Our
Native Pasture Plants," by F. Lamson-Scnbner; and "The Date and
its Culture," by Walter T. Swingle.
A recent addition to our exchange list is School Science, a journal
of science teaching in secondary schools, published in Chicago and
edited by C. E. Linebarger, with the assistance of a board of associates
from various cities in the country. The articles in the three issues
which have thus far been published are very suggestive, and should be
of value to teachers. In the May number A. M. Ferguson discusses
" The Modem Presentation of Botany," emphasizing the importance of
developing the faculties of observation, comparison and deduction in
teaching the subject.
The second volume of the Bulletin of the New York Botanical Gar-
den starts with an elaborate issue, containing the annual reports of the
Director and other officers of the Garden, and a number of scientific
papers, as follows: "Propagation of Lyaimachia terreatris,'' by D. T.
MacDougal; " Mimosaceae of the Southeastern United States," by John
K. Small; "The Oaks of the Continental Divide North of Mexico," by
P. A. Kydberg; and " Contributions to the Botany of the Yukon Ter-
ritory," with pai)ers by several authors.
We have just received a copy of Dr. Femow's third annual report
as Director of the New York State College of Forestry, it being devoted
to " Progress of Forest Management in the Adirondacks." It is a pam-
phlet of forty pages, and gives timely information regarding the courses
of instruction, the college forest, the first logging operations, experi-
mental cuttings, planting, etc. No matter how valuable forest products
may be, they must have a market, and as none existed in the vicinity of
the College forest, manufacturing interests have been induced to locate
plants contiguous to the supply, and there is every evidence that the
forest management will be self supporting from the first. We wish Dr.
Femow every success in this the initial undertaking of its kind in this
country.
THE PIANT WOBLD 117
EDITORIAL
In the death of Professor Thomas 0. Porter, of Lafayette CoUege,
Pennsylvania has lost one of her oldest and most noted botanists. For
many years Dr. Porter has been known as one of the pioneers in the
study of the Bocky Mountain flora, the first results of which are to be
found in the " Flora of Colorado," and in later years he has been a
close student of Pennsylvania plant life. We hope to publish in an
early issue of The Plant World a brief biography with portrait.
The article by Mr. W. W. Ashe, State forester of North Carolina,
published in this issue of The Plant World, will be read with interest
not only by professional botanists, but by amateur students as well, for
it explains in detail just how the scientist disdriminates between spe-
cies. Many persons have very vague ideas of the natural distinctions
to be found in various groups, and quite fail to realize how many im-
portant factors are considered before the botanist feels free to name
and describe a species new to science.
In the hawthorns, to which Mr. Ashe's paper is devoted, we find
an unusually large list of available characters for study. Frequently
the only means of distinguishing between excellent natural species lies
in the form or structure of a single organ — ^flower, fruit, or the like. It
has been claimed that science should recognize only as many species
as are popularly appreciated and understood; but this is too extreme a
view to take, for the untrained eye would often fail to observe distinc-
tions of the utmost taxonomic importance. It would, however, be an
excellent plan if all workers in botany would confine their descriptions
of new species to such as they may have been able to distinguish in the
livpag state. It is certain that the present tendency toward an inordi-
nate multiplication of species will result some day in a violent reaction.
118 THE PLANT WORLD
BOOK REVIEWS.
Memoir of the New York State Museum, No. 4, Vol. 3, November, 1900,
Report of the State Botanist on Edible Fungi of New York, 1895-
1899, By Oharies H. Peck, M. A., State Botanist. Albany. Uni-
versity of the State of New York.
Under this title Professor Peck has brought together descriptions
and figures of the 47 edible species of mushrooms known to occur in
New York State. Descriptions and illustrations of 53 of them appeared
in Eeports 49, 51 and 52; the balance (14) represents the number of
edible species added during 1899. Aside from these, one unwholesome
species, Clitocyhe Uludens, is figured. It is stated by the author in the
introduction, that " in consequence of recent discoveries of variations in
a few of the edible species described and illustrated in the three reports
mentioned, and of the great demand for these reports, it has seemed
desirable to revise the illustrations and descriptions where needful, and
to incorporate the whole in the present memoir with that part of the
state botanists report ^r 1899 relating to edible fungi. Accordingly
an attempt has been made to arrange both descriptions and illustrations
as far as possible in harmony with their natural and generic relations
to each other." The present work will undoubtedly prove a valuable
one, as presenting a convenient synopsis of the edible species of the
State, and, of course, of much of the adjoining territory. It is, how-
eVer, a source of regret that in view of recent advances in illustrative
photography, the revised descriptions should not have been accompa-
nied by more recognizable figures to replace the colored illustrations
adopted. Several recent works of popular botany might have served
as excellent models in this connection. — W. K. M.
Flowers and Ferns in their Haunts. By Mabel Osgood Wright. New
York. The Macmillan Co., 1901. pp. i-xix; 1-358. Price $2.50.
We have had, in recent years, many more or less popular works on
botany, but among them all not one that possesses the delicacy and
charm of treatment of this, Mrs. Wright's latest work. It is not a book
to which one may turn for cut-and-dried descriptions of our more con-
spicuovs flowers and ferns, for the author well says: "The wild flower
and fern is only to be truly known where it creeps, clings, or sways un-
THE PLANT WORLD 119
troubled in its home. Then the flower in its haunt is a part of the
landscape, a tint in nature's palette not to be heedlessly removed." It
presupposes a knowledge of the mere names of the plants, and sets
them forth on the unrolling calendar from spring to winter in a way
that makes them something more than individuals of this or that spe-
cies — ^it has imparted to them the charm and fragrance that can only
come from an intuitive and delicate appreciation of " nature unadorned."
And woven through it all is the pathetic life story of old Time oTear,
the hermit, who knew when blossomed the earliest arbutus, the mocca^
sin flower, and the dainty harebell, and whose wealth of woodland lore
is told in his own quaint language.
The illustrations in this book are absolutely unique. They are
photographs direct from nature, that have been intensified by the pro-
cess that makes the modern high grade magazine illustrations so eflPect-
ive. Each plate is surrounded by a dark mat which sets oflP the charm-
ing bits of nature in a manner we have never seen equaled. We pre-
dict for this book a wide sale and a delighted audience. — F. H. K.
CouKS DE BoTANiQUB. Par MM. Gaston Bonnier & Leclere du Sablon.
Tome I, fascicule 1, 8vo, pp, 1-384. Paris, 1901. Paul Dupont,
Editeur.
This work, which, as the title indicates, is to be a complete text-
book of botany, has been prepared for the use of universities, schools
of medicine and pharmacy, and agricultural schools, and if carried out
along the lines laid down in this first fascicle, can not fail to be of per-
manent value. The first pages are appropriately devoted to certain
preliminary questions, such as the characters of living things, defini-
tions of plant organs and of the various branches of botanical study.
The next portion deals with the general structure of plants, while the
final pages of this fascicle are devoted to the morphology of the angio-
sperms. Each topic is treated with as much fulness as could be ex-
pected, being set oflE by a line or more printed in full-faced type. The
illustrations are copious, there being 553 in this fascicle, and we are
told in the prospectus that the whole work will contain fully 3000 cuts.
A large proportion are new, but many have been taken from approved
sources.
We regret to note certain evidences of ultra-conservatism or cling-
ing to old methods, such as the beginning with the study of the higher
plants, the retention of the Apetalae as a sub-class of the dicotyledons,
etc. It is, of course, well to keep certain unsettled questions out of a
text-book designed for beginners, but in an advanced work it would
seem better to make a thoroughly modem presentation. When looked
upon in this way, the whole plan of the work seems antiquated.
120 THE PLANT WOBLD
The book is beaatifuUy printed on thin bat good paper, and we are
wholly at a loss to know how it can be sold for the sum of 25 francs for
the complete work, or 5 francs -per part. — ^F. H. K.
TlHE Si;^ Beach at Ebb Tide. By Augusta Foote Arnold. . 12mo, 500
pages, fully illustrated- The Century Co.
Many a traveler has strolled along one of our broad sea beaches
fascinated by the marvellous wealth of living organisms which even the
most careless observer cannot fail to note. Though the majority of
these organisms belong to the animal kingdom, there is a very large
group of plants — ^the algae or seaweeds — ^which in salt water attain
their largest dimensions and showiest of colors.
The author of this interesting book has succeeded admirably in
establishing a happy mean between a technical and a popular treat-
ment. The first part, with which we are chiefly concerned, is devoted
to a systematic account of the seaweeds inhabiting both the Atlantic
and Pacific coasts; the second part describes in detail the various forms
of animal life found on the beach, beginning with the sponges and end-
ing with the mollusks.
In a well-written introduction consisting of several chapters, care-
ful directions are given for collecting and preserving seaweeds; also
remarks uxx>n their structure and economic uses. The classification
which follows is based upon that of Engler & Prantl, and various ac>
knowledgements in the preface show that the author has been careful
to consult with specialists in order to secure botanical accuracy. Not
the least interesting and valuable feature of the book is the wealth of
half-tone engravings, picturing a large number of our familiar algae. —
C. L. P.
THE PLANT WORLD
Dragon-tree at Laguna, Tenerife, about 4000 years old.
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. JULY, 1901. No. 7.
THE DRAGON-TREE OF OROTAVA.
By Alice Cabter Cook.
ON the Fortanate Islands, in the garden of the Hesx>eride8, at the
end of the world, near the borders of eternal darkness, a strange
tree had been growing long before the time when, according to
accepted chronologies, the Garden of Eden was planted. Adam, Me-
thuselah, Noah and Abraham lived and died; Egyptians, Assyrians and
Persians built empires, temples and pyramids. The dazzling star of
Greece faded before the dawning light of Rome, which rose and set as
the world's great temporal power, to rise and set again as its spiritual
head; Europe awoke to intellectual life; England and America were
bom. And while the whole procession of history was passing, the
strange tree grew on, slowly, steadily, in the wonderful valley of Oro-
tava- The spirit of the Peak of Tenerife brooded over it. The genius
of the people of the Island breathed through it. With the leisurely
assurance of infinite time, expanding at the rate of one foot in drcum-
ferenoe each three hundred years, it attained a girth of fifty feet at the
base. Its furrowed, conical trunk rose sixty feet into the air before
dividing into a circle of twelve giant arms, themselves measuring from
nine to eighteen feet in circumference and each bearing terminal
branches tipped with dense clusters of sharp, sword-like leaves two to
four feet long, and one to three inches broad. The whole crown was
two hundred feet in circumference. Aerial roots arising from the bases
of the branches covered and penetrated the stems below, them, and at
length completely filled theif cavities, becoming the real substance of
the tree as the soft tissues of a fossil are supplanted by the silica of
122 THE PLANT WORLD
petrification — so that tlie old trunk was no more than a sepulchre of
ancestral dust — and the gnarled monster, witness of antedeluvian catas-
trophes, remnant of geologic ages, slowly died through the centuries,
eating out its own heart, becoming constantly more of an anachronism
like a veritable Tithonous of the plant world. Its parents were per-
haps companions of the Pterodactyl and Iguanodon, and one would not
have been astonished to see some grotesque, reptilian bird perched
among the forbidding foliage, nor do we wonder that the idea arose in
olden times that this was the fabulous dragon, guardian of the apples
of the Hesperides, for its fruit was golden yellow, and hardy indeed
must have been the hero who could gain access to it against the innum-
erable defending sword-like fingers of the many arms.
Drdcaena Draco, the dragon tree, for so this wonder is called, is
now found only in the Canaries, with a rare exception in Madeira.
Paradoxical as it may seem, it is one of the lily family, and not dis-
tantly related to the asparagus of our gardens. A French writer graph-
ically enlarges on the incongruity of this kinship: " O, ancient witness
of primitive ages; high herbs cover thy feet; creepers encircle thy trunk
and irreverently enlace thy branches; parasites grow upon thy very
bosom, living upon thy substance; one has seen under thy shade happy
generations, of monks useless or harmful, of warriors bloody; and dur-
ing a hundred centuries men have rested in the shade of thy foliage;
the conquering Alonzo de Lugo commanded mass to be said upon an
altar which thou wert compelled to bear — ^thou who hadst witnessed the
mysterious rites of Egypt, Phoenician idolatries, Greek mythologies
Moorish ablutions! Eh, well! old tree, if not the first born, the most
venerable of created beings, thou art dishonored without appeal, for it
is in the name of science. O, fabulous dragon! thou who hast been
deified, thou art now only an asparagus! an asparagus larger than
others — ^behold that is all ! Thou art no more a tree, the king of the
forests; no, thou art not even ligneous — ^fie! Thou art only a simple
vegetable in the family of the asparagus, and this downfall is irremedi-
able!"
The enthusiastic Frenchman allowed himself to be somewhat car-
ried away by his feelings, for the relationship is not so close that the
Dragon need be discredited by the plebeian appearance of its humble
relative. Dracaena and Asparagus are members of distinct sub-families
of the Liliaceae. The Dragon tree is more closely allied with the Yucca
of our gardens and the curious Da^ylirion of Texas and Mexico, which
is also often seen in cultivation.
The genus is old. Fossil remains indicate its existence in central
Europe and southern Africa during the Tertiary period. It now con-
tains about thirty-six species, all found in the warmer parts of the Old
THE PLANT WOELD 123
World, in India, Australia, Mauritius, Socotra, and various parts of
Africa. Some of these are arborescent (for example Dracaena dnnahari
of Socotra, which, like B. Ih'aco yields a red gum), but none equal in
development the Canary Island dragon, and preeminent among the
large and old examples of this species was the giant of Orotava. Six
thousand years is, indeed, a conservative estimate of its age. The
great Humboldt, who visited the valley of Orotava in 1799 to pronounce
it the finest piece of natural scenery in the world, made careful exami-
nation of the famous tree, and recorded the opinion that it had stood
at least ten thousand years, and several other scientists have endorsed
his view. Be it six or ten thousand, the existence of organisms of such
tremendous duration is not without bearing beyond the veneration
which this vast antiquity inspires. Expressed in terms of generations
of Dracaena, even geologic periods shrink to seemingly manageable
quantities. Although a hundred successive individuals might require a
million years, the dragon-tree may after all be no older as a species or
a genus than other " vegetables " which stand botanically as relatives.
About five hundred years ago when the Spaniards conquered Ten-
erife, the venerable tree, an object of deepest reverence and possibly a
temple to the aborigines, was standing in the midst of a forest of laurel,
palm and arbutus. Its beautiful comrades were ruthlessly destroyed,
but even the deadened senses of the exterminators were impressed by
the hoary giant. He was not only left in undisturbed possession of the
soil, but by order of the commander, de Lugo, the great central cavity
of the trunk was converted into a chapel, though it can scarcely be
hoped that any masses were there said in tardy recognition of the sin
of tree-murder.
The fascination of this particular individual is more evident when
we remember that its brethren were the object of the conquerors' cu-
pidity, inasmuch as they alBEord a resinous gum of a deep red color
highly valued in mediaeval times under the name of "dragon's blood."
This is at first of gummy consistency, but soon dries and then can be
easily reduced to i)owder. Because of its resinous properties, the
Guanches used it in the preservation of mummies and in the dressing
of skins, in which they excelled. It was an imi)ortant article of com-
merce with mediaeval Europe, being employed in the manufacture of
medicines and charms. Warriors furnished themselves in times of dan-
ger with a magic powder made of the gum. It was also the foundation
of a very fine red varnish. One chronicler relates how his compatriots
landed in Grand Canary and exchanged old knives, fish hooks and
pieces of iron worth altogether two francs, for dragon's blood of a value
of two hundred ducats. This greed for gain probably explains the
present scarcity of the trees. The old were destroyed, and the young
124 THE PLANT WORLD
are of exceedingly slow growth, reaching a height of four feet in three
hundred years. As the rate decreases with advancing age, a supply
accumulated during centuries would be readily exhausted.
But even the giant of Orotava was not immortal, and Le Dru, after
a careful examination made early in this century, prophesied that it
had only one hundred and fifty years more of life. Li 1819, a great
storm broke oflE one of the branches — nine feet in circumference — ^which
was sent to England to be exhibited at Kew. The trunk was buttres-
sed and otherwise artificially strengthened, but in 1867 a terrific tem-
pest tore away all the branches. The trunk alone remained, a Niobe
of trees. All efforts to preserve it were fruitless, and the only link of
life binding us to the antedeluvian world, or perhaps reaching back to
the third day of creation, was broken. The oldest of antiquities was
dead! Happily, in the exact spot on which the patriarch stood, one of
its seedlings grows thriftily to-day — and in this the spirit of the past
still lives. The imagination fails in the effort to forecast the wondrous
events and development which it will behold, should it inherit its pro-
genitor's long lease of vitality. " He who lives long sees much."
Washington, D. C.
OUR PUFFBALLS.*— IV.
By C. L. Shear.
TYLOSTOMA MEYENIANUM Klotzsch. Inner peridium depressed-
globose, sordid tan-color, even, glabrous, flattened at the apex,
2.5cm. broad, with a laciniate mouth; stipe solid, fusiform, glab-
rous, longitudinally sulcate-ribbed with transverse cracks toward the
apex, 10-13cm. long, 3.5mm. thick at the base, 12mm. thick at the apex,
same color as the peridium; capillitium whitish; spores globose, ses-
sile, uniguttulate, rusty brown. New Mexico.
Ttlostoma verruoosum Morgan. Inner peridium depressed-glo-
bose, rather thick, firm and rigid, about 12mm. in diameter, covered
with the minute brown warts and scales of the outer x>6ridium; mouth
small, circular, prominent, entire; stipe 5-lOcm. long, 6mm. thick, slen-
der, lacerate-scaly without, white within; spores irregularly globose,
minutely warted, pale brown, 5-6/*. Ohio.
Tylostoma wrighth Berkley. Inner peridium depressed-globose,
pale, ochraceous, glabrous, 2cm. broad, umbonate, the wall of the umbo
disappearing at maturity and forming a small circular mouth; stipe
* Continued from The Asa Gray BtUleiin, 8; June, 1900.
THE PLANT WORLD 125
hollow, equal, ocliraceoas, even, glabrous, 6cm. long, 4miu. thick; capil-
Utium threads hvaUne, thick-walled, branched, 5mm. in diameter; spores
globose, 'pale yellow-brown, minutely warted, 5-6f<. in diameter.
"On the ground. Bio Grande, north Mexico." Said to be distinguished
from T, Meyeniaum by its entire mouth and hollow even stem.
Tylostoma cabipestre Morgan. Inner peridium depressed-globose,
somewhat squamulose, submembranaceous, becoming smooth and white,
12-18mm. in diameter; mouth plane, irregular, lacerate but not fimbri-
ate; stipe 2-3cm. long, about 6mm. thick, subequal, brownish, squam-
ose; capiUitum threads long, slender, hyaline, branched; spores irreg-
ularly globose, pale brown, minutely warted, 4.4-5.5^. Sandy soil, Ne-
braska and California.
Tylostoma punctatum Peck. Peridium about 1.3cm. in diameter,
subglobose, flattened apd umbilicate at the base, papery but firm and
tough, minutely and irregularly punctate-pitted, whitish, remains of
the outer peridium persistent about the base; mouth slightly promi-
nent, small, lacerate; stem about 3mm. thick and 3cm. long, cylindrical,
obscurely scaly or rimose-scaly, sulcate-striate above, hollow, subferru-
ginous, white within; capillitium threads hyaline, sparsely branched,
broader than the spore, ends obtuse, subtruncate or sometimes thick-
ened; si)ores globose, 4-5/*, pale ferruginous, minutely warted or rough-
ened. Sandy ground, Kansas.
Tylostoma semisulcatum Peck. Peridium subglobose, longer than
broad, 1.3-1.5cm. broad, 1.7cm, long, glabrous above, ferruginous tomen-
tose on the lower half; mouth entire; stem about 5cm. long, even and
glabrous or slightly furfuraceous near the top, the lower part longitu-
dinally sulcate, whitish; spores globose, ferruginous, 4-5^; capillitium
threads non-septate, colorless. Sandy soil, Nevada.
GEASTER Mich.
Outer peridium rather thick, sometimes composed of two layers,
dividing in a stellate manner into several segments which break away
from the inner peridium and become spread out or reflexed; inner per-
idium thinner, dehiscing by a regular mouth at the apex.
Synopsis op the Species.
I. Inner peridium with a short pedicel.
A. Mouth sulcate-plicate.
a. Surface of the inner peridium minutely warted G. campestris.
b. Surface of the inner peridium smooth.
a. Outer peridium of two layers.
X. The two layers separating nearly to the dps
of the segments. G.fomicahis.
XX. The two layers separating only near the
center. G. turbincUus.
b. Outer oeridium of one layer. G, bryantii.
B. Mouth ciliate-fimbriate.
a. Inner peridium subglobose, brownish. G. limbcUus,
b. Inner peridium ovoid, white. G, mitntnus.
126
THE PLANT WOELD
Inner peridium sessile, spores 3-6/M.
A. Mouth stellately-lacerate.
B. Mouth dentate-lacerate.
C. Mouth sulcate-plicate.
a. Mouth in a depressed disk.
b. Mouth prominent, not in a depressed disk.
D. Mouth ciliate-fimbriate.
a. Inner peridium 2cm. or more in diameter.
a. Outer peridium of two layers, the inner one sep-
arating and becoming vaulted.
b. Outer peridium of two layers, the inner one be-
coming partially separated and forming a cup.
c. Outer peridium of one layer.
b. Inner peridium less than 2cm. in diameter.
a. Segments of outer peridium with lower surface
longitudinally cracked.
b. Segments of outer peridium with lower surface
not thus cracked.
c. Inner peridium ovoid.
d. Inner peridium globose.
£. Mouth dentate.
Inner peridium sessile, spores 8-10^.
A. Mouth ciliate-fimbriate.
B. Mouth lacerate
a. Inner peridium somewhat reticulate
b. Inner peridium smooth.
c. Inner peridium rather thick, mouth rigid
G. deliczdus.
G. argenteus,
G. umbilicaius.
G. striafus.
G. radicans.
G. triplex.
G. fimbriatus.
G, vitiatus.
G. saccatits.
G, lagenaefortnis,
G. velutinus.
G, rufescens.
G. fnamtnosus.
G. hygromeiricus.
G. Jibrillosus.
G. linkii.
Geaster fobnicatus (Huds.) Fr. Outer peridium consisting
of two layers, usually four parted but rarely five or more parted, whit-
ish, becoming brownish and much reflexed when dried, the outer coat
separating from the inner and remaining attached to the ground, l-3cm.
high and l-2cm. broad; inner peridium subglobose, grayish brown with
a short pedicel 1.5-2.5cm. in diameter; mouth prominent, elongate con-
ical, sulcate-ciliate; columella slender, subclavate; capillitium brown;
spores subspherical, reticulate, brown, S-S-Si*. On the ground, fre-
quently among pine leaves, eastern United States. Fig. 1.
Geasteb radicans B. & C. Outer peridium of two layers, the inner
separating from the outer and becoming vaulted, the segments refiexed;
the inner peridium reddish, very short pedicellate, about 1.5cm. in di-
ameter; mouth ciliate-fimbriate, silky. Carolina.
GEASTaR TRIPLEX Jungh. Outer peridium consisting of two layers,
the inner layer becoming detached near the middle and forming a cup
about the base of the inner peridium; segments 4-6, revolute; inner
I)eridium globose or depressed-globose, pale, 1.6-2.5cm. in diameter;
mouth conical, ciliate-fimbriate; spores subglobose or globose, 5-6.5^.
Eastern and central United States."^
*The Asa Gray BuUeHn, 6: 93, pL ILf, j. December, 1898.
THE PLANT WORLD
127
Fig. I. Geaster fomicaius.
Geabter turbinatus Cragin. Outer peridium consisting of two
layers not separating except near the center, the outer grayish-white,
the inner chocolate-brown, segments 8-10; inner peridium pedicellate,
slightly constricted below the middle; the upper part depressed-globose
with a yellowish-gray mealy api)earance, the lower part broadly ob-
conic with a thicker wall which is covered with a part of the inner coat
of the outer peridium; mouth conical, radiate-plicate; capillitium and
spores dark umber; spores globose, granular, 45-5;*. Kansas.
Geaster bryanth Berk. Outer i)eridium about ten lobed,
leathery, expanded and finally reflexed, lobes unequal, acute; irmer
peridium subglobose, pale bluish-gray becoming brown-spotted, i)edi-
cellate, 2-2.5cm. in diameter; mouth conical, sulcate-plicate; capiUitium
brown; spores globose, echinulate, brownish, 4-6^. New York.
128 THE PLANT WOELD
A MARCH DAY'S FLOWERS.
Bt Ohables Elmeb Jenney.
U A PRIL showers bring May flowers," is an old New England
J^ adage. Nothing is said about any earlier flowers in that lati-
tude. Therefore the list of blossoms that a single March day
in California revealed should be somewhat of a wonder to those bot-
anists who are enjoying March gales sans flowers.
On March 24, 1901, all of the plants hereafter enumerated were
in flower near Fresno, Califomia, on the San Joaquin river, and within
a space of probably less than two square miles. Such a variety in such
a limited space is quite remarkable.
Of course the list should be headed with the Califomia poppy,
Eschscholtzia Galifomica, whose red-gold blazoned wide stretches of
land once sowed to wheat, and even crept up the lines of new wheat
in thick masses. The less showy poppy, jK caespitosa, was also com-
mon. Mixed thickly among the poppies were the gaudy fiddle-heads,
Amsinckia spectabUis and the less brilliant A. lycopsoides. The delicate
bird's eyes, (GUlia tricolor) and a pure white si)ecies of Gilia, the tender
blue-eyes {Nemophih Menziesti), and its relative Phacelia Douglasii, and
the fragrant forget-me-not (Myosotis verna), whose little white flowers
looking like x)op-com scented all the air. The sunshines {Baeriu gmC"
His), shone like little suns among the low herbage.
Along the bluffs of the river the beautiful tidy-tips {Laya pluty-
glos8a)y grew in scarce clusters; mingled with them their less favored
comi)osite friend the false tidy-tips {Leptosyne DougJasii). There were
also numbers of a large comi)osite flower like a small sunflower, but dif-
ficult of determination. On the dry plains the plumes of the paint-
brush {Orthocarpus purpurascens), gaily waved, and smaller members
of the genus, 0. micranthus and the yellow 0. eriayithus were found.
Hugging close to the earth into which their long, slender roots extended
to a remarkable length, were the sun-cups {Oenothera ovata), while
0. bistorta, with its reddish, wriggled stem was present all over the
plains. The shrubby lupine {Lupinus DoitgloMi), and the minute one
(L. micranthus), were common, as also the white and a similar blue
species, all besieged by many bees. Among the high grass and bushes
of the river bank twined the wild cucumber {Echinocystis faba^cea). A
small clover and the stately larkspur {Delphinium Menziesii), grew in
the desolate hog-wallow wastes. On the hill-side the bright western
wall-flower {Erysimum asperum) grew. The wild blackberry {Rubus
ursinus), whitened the bramble patches by the river. The tree tobacco
{Nicotiana glauca), with its long yellow tubes hung over the river. The
two species of alfilaria {Erodium cicutarium and E. botrys), the cream-
THE PLANT WORLD 129
cnps, Platystemon C(difaimicvm^ (hUinaia tinctoria^ Phacdia tanacetir
folia, Brodiaea cvpitata and Chia appeared frequently. Yarrow, the
California dandelion with its scarce-opening blossom, chickweed {Stel-
laria longipea), Microcala quadrangidaris, Arenaria Califomica, Strep-
tanthus peramoenuSy TeUima Bolanderi, and two species of mustard were
other plants found.
Li damp localities the yellow Mimvlus luteus and the tri-colored
mimnlns; in dry ones Eritrichivm Scmderi, Gapsella BursorpastariSy
wild x>ortalaca {CalandHnia Menziesit), alfalfa, Mentzelia gracilentay Ho-
sackia mibpinnata, brass buttons {Cotula coronopifoUa), a small mint,
pepper-grass {Lepidium nitidum), the little yellow thistle {Onicus Colin
fornicus), Salvia coliimbariae, the yellow wild carrot {Daiwus pusUlits),
Gilia achiUaeifolia, miner's lettuce {Montia perfoliata, the perpetual
blooming HeUrothecxifloribunda, and the thistle-sage {Salvia carduacea.
About four-o'clock, true to its name, the fragile spice-scented four-o'
clock {Gilia dichotoma began to unfold its white ruffles, and the time
arrived for us to start homa
We had spent literally a day among the flowers, sixty-four distinct
species being noted. Probably an exx>erienced botanist would have
added greatly to this list, especially from the minute and almost micro-
scopic si)ecimens which were frequently noticed. I have enumerated
only the more familiar ones which even a novice would recognize as
distinct species, and it will suffice to give a good general impression of
the spring flora of the San Joaquin valley, or at least a small section
of it.
Fresno, California.
" On May 6th, while driving along a thicket in a rich ravine near
Sellersville, Pa., I discovered the Tulipa sylveatris L. growing in con-
siderable abundance. Later it was found in the meadows a mile up
the stream. Upon inquiry it was ascertained that it had been growing
there for at least five years.
''At the same time it was reported from Lansdale, Pa., a x>oint ten
miles from the first mentioned locality. There it was found in a mea-
dow, from which it had spread into an adjoining truck-patch, and
thence into a wooded ravine.
"It is thoroughly established in both localities, and should be in-
cluded in the fiora of the United States."— 0. D.Fretz, M. D., in Tor--
reya for July.
130 THE PLANT WORLD
THOMAS CONRAD PORTER.
By A, A, Heller.
ON April 27th, at his home at Easton, Pa., at the ripe age of 79
years, death claimed the last of the older botanists who added
so much to the taxonomic knowledge of the science daring the
latter half of the 19th century.
Thomas Conrad Porter, D. D., LL. D., was bom at Alexandria,
Huntingdon county, Pa., January 22, 1822. Li 1840 he graduated from
Lafayette College, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1844
His first charge was a mission at Monticello, Georgia, where he spent
one year, dating from April, 1846. This southern field was an enjoy-
able one, as it afforded an excellent opx>ortunity for botanical explora-
tion at such interesting localities as Stone Mountain and Toccoa Ealls.
A number of strange plants not easily determined were carefully de-
scribed and figured by him, and these were usually sent to Asa Gray.
On Stone Mountain he discovered Oymnolomia Porteri, expressing the
opinion that it was an undescribed plant. Dr. Gray did not agree with
him at first, but shortly afterwards described the plant as RudbecTda ?
Porteri. It was always a source of regret to Dr. Porter that he failed
to obtain specimens of Quercits Oeorgimia which he noticed on Stone
Mountain before the species was described.
Only last December while visiting him at Easton, the writer had
the pleasure of listening to the reading of ^in interesting and beautifully
written letter sent from Monticello in 1846 to one of his relatives.
After serving as pastor of the Second Reformed church at Eeading,
Pa., for one year, he went to Mercersburg, Pa., in 1849, as Professor of
Natural Sciences in Marshall College. When that institution was
merged with Franklin College at Lancaster in 1853, he removed to this
city, occupying the same chair in the newly organized Franklin and
Marshall College, which he filled until July, 1866.
He was one of the founders and the first president of the Linnaean
Society of Lancaster. While located here he collected assiduously in
many parts of the county, whose flora is one of peculiar interest on
account of the work done upon it a century ago by Muhlenberg, and in
1869 the results of these explorations api)eared in a list entitled "Enu-
meration of the Indigenous and Naturalized Plants of Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania," published in Mombert's " Authentic History " of Lan-
caster county.
In 1866 he was elected Professor of Botany, Zoology and General
Geology in Lafayette College at Easton, Pa., which position he held
until 1897, when he was retired as Emeritus Professor and Curator of
the herbarium.
THE PLANT WORLD
Vol. IV. Plate VIIL
THOMAS CONRAD PORTER
From a recent photograph
THE PLANT WORLD 131
The degree of D. D. was conferred ui)on him in 1865 by Rutgers
College, and that of LL. D. by Franklin and Marshall College in 1880.
Both of these degrees were richly deserved, as he was a thorough bib-
lical scholar and theologian, as well as a fine all-round scholar, a poet
and master of both ancient and modem languages.
Besides many purely literary productions, he was the author of
some fifty botanical papers, the first of which was a " List of Plants col-
lected by Mr, Thaddeus A. Culbertson on an Expedition to the Mau-
vaises Terres and Upper Missouri in 1850," published in 1850 in the
Fifth Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution, and the last in the
BvXUtin of the Torrey Botanical Clvb for September, 1900, entitled " A
new Variety of Azalea nudiflora L."
For many years his attention was directed toward obtaining ma-
terial for a flora of Pennsylvania, and arrangements had been made
only a short time before his death for the publication of this work.
Provision fortunately was made in his will for the carrying out of the
plan.
Particularly pleasing to him was the reinstatement about a year
ago of the genus PortereUa, dedicated to him in 1872 by Torrey, but
afterwards wrongly referred to the Old World genus Laurentia. Speci-
mens upon which PortereUa was founded were collected by him [in
Wyoming in 1871, and the writer has heard him narrate the particulars
about finding a patch several square feet in extent completely covered
by plants bearing a profusion of delicate blue flowers. His name is
also commemorated in Porteranthus, an eastern rosaceous genus of two
handsome species.
Although the author of comparatively few plant names, his work
was always well done, and will stand the test of time better than that
of some of his more voluminous contemporaries. If we were trying to
find fault with him, we would say that he was perhaps too cautious, as
well as too generous. By far the greater part of his work went in the
shape of specimens and notes to enrich the collections and writings of
others, for which he often received no public acknowledgment.
We can find no fitter conclusion than the words of Mr. Frank Dief-
fenderfer, of this city, $k life-long friend:
''Dr. Porter was a genial man and a favorite with those who knew
him. Among his friends he was most companionable. Hia large at-
tainments, his fine literary tastes and his broad scholarship gave him
command of a wide range of knowledge; which was certain to make
itself heard and appreciated when the mood was upon him. He will
always stand among the foremost of the sons of his native State, and
his death removes a most genial personality from a large circle of
attached friends.
Lancaster, Pa.
132 THE PLANT WOBLD
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
A Green Trillium.
Among a number of large-flowered trilliums {Trillium grandiflorum
Salisb.), gathered recently for decorative pmposes near Winona, one
plant was found in which all the flower organs had reverted to green
leaves. There snould be five of these, one each for calyx, corolla and
pistil, and two for the six stamens. But a study of the top view in the
accompanying drawing shows that there are here six whorls. How is
this extra whorl to be accounted for? Professor Bodwell of our high
school has preserved this plant in formalin solution, and the writer's
thanks are due him for the loan of the specimen, from which the accom-
panying drawing was made by a student. The figure in the lower right
comer is a top view of an ordinary trillium flower.— John M. Holzinger,
Winona Normal School, Winona, Minn.
A Standard College Entrance Option in Botany.
At the meeting of the Society for Plant Morphology and Physiol-
ogy, held at Baltimore, December. 28, 1900, a committee was appointed
to consider the formulation of a standard college entrance option in
botany. The committee consists of Professors Ganong, Lloyd and At-
kinson. A provisional report has been prepared, copies of which may
be obtained on application to the chairman, Professor Ganong, North-
ampton, Mass. The following is a brief outline of the report:
The full year option to count as one unit for entrance, consists of
two half year courses, either of which may be offered as an option for a
half unit.
I. General Principles of Anatomy, Morphology, Physiology and
Ecology.
n. The Natural History of the Plant Groups, with classification.
For the first half year the following topics are suggested: A. An-
atomy and Morphology: The seed, structure, germination and food
supply; the shoot, anatomy of stem, leaf and bud; the root, anatomy
and structure of tissues; the fiower, structure and function; the fruit,
structure and relation to flower; and the celL B. Physiology: Hole of
water in plant, photosynthesis, respiration, digestion, irritability,
growth and fertilization. 0. Ecology: Modifications of parts for spe-
cial functions, dissemination, cross-pollination, light relations of green
133
THE PLANT WORLD
Vol. IV. Plate IX.
A green Trillium.
134 THE PLANT WOULD
tissues, plant societies and plant associations, and zonal distribution.
While the subjects of physiology and ecology are treated sepa-
rately from morphology for the sake of convenience, they should be
studied in connection with the structures with which they are most
closely connected.
Li the second half year a thorough study of the following types is
recommended: A. Algae, Pleurococcus, HaematococcuSy Spirogyra,
Vaucheriay Fucus and Nemalion. B, Fungi: Bacteria, Mucor, yeast,
Puccinia and mushroom. 0. Lichens: Physcia. D. Bryophyta: In
Hepaticae, Badvla; in Musci, Polytrichiim. E. Pteridophytes: La Fili-
cineae, Aspidium; in Equisetineae, Equisetum; in Lycopodineae, Lyco-
podium and Sdaginella. F. Gymnosperms: Pinus, G. Angiosi)erms:
A monocotyledon and a dicotyledon. Classification should include a
study of the primary subdivisions of the same groups.
The use of manuals for the determination of the species of flower-
fng plants is not considered an essential part, nor the preparation of
an herbarium a desirable part of the regular course. K either of these
lines of work is to be introduced at all, it should be voluntary for such
as show a taste for it. — Gilbert H. Trafton, Normal School, Eandolph
Center, Vermont.
An Abnormal Mandrake, Dandelion and Banana.
The specimen of Podophyllum peltatum L. in question consists of a
stalk bearing first, a small leaf, five inches broad, with a bud upon a
long slender peduncle in its axil; secondly, the stem continues upward
for two and half inches, and beaxs an unusually large peltate leaf, like
that of a sterile plant and a large flower upon a. short stiff peduncle.
It is as if the stem had been elongated, separating the two leaves of a
normal plant, and two flowers formed instead of one. The lower flower
is axillary and the upper one terminal.
A double-headed dandelion is quite unusual in New Jersey. The
one before me is not a flattened scape with a head many times longer
than wide, but instead the flower stalk is cylindrical with a normal
head at its summit. A half inch below the terminal inflorescence there
is another nearly sessile in the axil of a leaf two inches long and an
inch broad. This second head is larger than the first, blooming at the
same time, and has enough in the way of flowers for any dandelion
scape to bear.
The third freak is a double banana that consists of two fruits of
the ordinary size that are joined upon one side throughout their whole
length. The edible portion of each is separate, but there is no rind
between them.
All the above abnormalities were found by Mr. Kelsey, my assist-
ant, within the past few days. — ^Byron D. Halsted, New Brunswick, N. J.
THE PLAOT? WORLD 136
GENERAL ITEMS.
Dr. David Griffiths, expert in charge of field management of grasses
and forage plants in the Bureau of Plant Industry, and Mr. E. L. Mor-
ris, special agent of the same office, have left for field work in Nevada,
Idaho and Oregon. They expect to take an overland trip from Win-
nemucca, Nevada, and investigate the condition of the ranges of eastern
Oregon and western Idaho.
As we go to press we learn with deep regret of the death of Dr.
Charles Mohr, the veteran botanist of Mobile, Alabama, at his late
home in Asheville, N. C. Dr. Mohr's new fiora of Alabama had just
been completed, ready for the press, and he had been living in the hope
of witnessing the fruition of his labors. We shall publish a more ex-
tended tribute at a later date.
One of the most attractive features of the California exhibit at the
Pan-American Exposition is the collection of fruits, nuts, etc., sent by
the business men of Los Angeles county. A prominent feature of this
collection and the one that first attracts attention is a full sized ele-
phant built of English walnuts, that is not only attractive in.itself, but is
typical of this young giant industry, as it indicates the present "jumbo"
importance of what was but a short time ago merely an experiment.
Fourteen years Has sufficed to develop the business of growing English
walnuts in California from nothing to its present international import-
ance.
We regret to record the death, in New York City on July 7th, of
Dr. Theodore Greely White, Assistant in Physics in Columbia Univer-
sity. Dr. White will be remembered by former readers of the Aaa
Gray Bulletin as most active in his work for the journal, and for the
Asa Gray Memorial Chapter of the Agassiz Association. While his
professional studies had been mainly in the field of geology and phys-
ics, he had devoted considerable attention to botany, and was the
author of a revision of the North American wild peas 'of the genus
Lathyrus, as well as of numerous popular articles published in the Asa
Oray Bulletin,
136 THE PLANT WOULD
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
In the May issue of Torreya Mr. P. H. Burglehaus gives an ac-
count of the discovery of a smooth fruited form, of Gircaea, the fruit
of which is usually provided with hooked bristles, and is well known as
a "stick-tighi" This discovery is of great interest as necessitating
henceforth a change in the generic description.
Bulletin No. 4 of Pacific University, Forest Grove, Oregon, is de-
voted to "Preliminary Notes on a few Oregon Toad Stools." The
more common genera of Hymenomycetes are described and figured by
the author. Professor A. R. Sweetser. Two half-tone plates are in-
cluded, illustrating eight sx)ecies. At the end is a partial list of Oregon
fungi, collected in the vicinity of Portland by Professor H. Lane.
In the July issue of Torreya Miss B. S. Miller gives an interesting
account of the finding of Amaonia in New Jersey. This is a southern
plant with delicate blue fiowers, belonging to the dogbane family, and
it was originally brought to Eidgewood, N. J. for horticultural purposes
some twenty-five years ago. Although the plant still thrives in the
reclaimed meadow where it was first placed, the remarkable fact in the
case is that it has spread, not from this point, but from another garden
to a high rocky field a quarter of a mile away.' Miss Miller found a
number of plants in this field, growing with lupines, brakes and black-
berries. It is an interesting question for the ecologist to settle why
the Amsonia should not have spread from the original colony, appar-
ently thriving in a congenial situation, but should instead have chosen
to establish itself in a dry field some distance from the point of its
introduction.
A new candidate for the favor of the nature student, in the guise of
a 16-page periodical entitled "The American Botanist" lies before us.
It is called " a monthly journal for the plant lover," aud is edited by
Willard N. Clute, the former business manager and publisher of The
Plant Wokld. The aims and objects of this new venture are set forth
in a series of brief editorials, and may be gathered from the following
extracts therefrom:
THE PliANT WOBLD 137
"To supply information about plants and to supply it in language
that the general reader can understand, is the province of The Ameri-
can Botanist. * * * It is not necessary to be a prominent scientist
to write an article that will interest the flower-lover. * * * Turn-
ing to the dictionary, * * * we find that a botanist is 'one versed
in the knowledge of plants.' That is exactly what this magazine aims
to be. * * * While we shall use original matter for the bulk of The
American Botanist, we shall also make a feature of re-publishing every-
thing of a x>opular nature apx)earing in other botanical journals. * *"
The last quotation evidently contains the keynote of the editor's
intentions, since in the July issue before us three of the six leading
articles are quoted from other journals. Without questioning the con-
venience of this pjactice from the editorial stjindpoint, we are inclined
to doubt whether, in these days of cheap first-class magazines, a pub-
lication without illustrations, consisting of only sixteen pages of read-
ing matter comi)osed largely of extracts, is likely to find favor with the
public at the subscription price of one dollar per year.
The popularization of science does not necessarily mean the writ-
ing of " articles that will interest the flower-lover." A journal claiming
to be in any sense scientific should endeavor to instruct as well as to
amuse, and we venture the assertion that an examination of the pages
of any current magazine of popular science will disclose the fact that
the most readable, as well as the most instructive articles, have been
written either by absolute professionals, or by amateurs with more or
less scientific training. It is certainly no compliment to the attain-
ments of our American botanists to suppose them incapable of writing
in language free from technicalities, and the lay public, having confi-
dence in the specialist's knowledge of the subject, will read what he
has to say with interest and profit. An editorial experience of several
years has proven conclusively that most articles written by so-called
amateurs are valueless for publication.
Our contemporary also indulges in an editorial denunciation of the
use of scientific names in popular writings. This objection strikes us
as rather trivial. Besides being absolutely necessary for proper iden-
tification of the plant which is being discussed, such names are almost
always inserted in parentheses, and can be readily passed over by those
to whom they are unfamiliar.
We do not wish to imply, by this somewhat extended criticism,
that there is not a wide field in this country for the exploiting of ama-
teur botanical journals conducted in the right spirit, that is, with ihe
advancement of botanical science as the paramount object. We trust
tiiat our new contemporary will belong to this category. Its attractive
cover and neat tyi)ography are certainly to be commended; while being
"versed in the faiowledge of plants," it may be expected to supply an
adiing void in the demands of popular botany.
138 THE PLANT WORLD
EDITORIAL.
Writers in VicKs Family Magazine and in Park aiid Cemetery have
recently discussed at some length the improvement and adornment of
school grounds. There can be no question that the brightening of a
child's surroundings during his working hours has a very direct and
vital bearing on his mental development. The love of nature and nat-
ural objects should be carefully fostered in the young mind, and it
should not only be taught to appreciate the beauties of plant life, but
should receive at least an introduction to those problems of growth,
relationship and environment that will later form parts of the botanical
course in the high school or college curriculum. Many a botanist has
derived his love of the science from childhood experiences with plant
life. The importance of botany in its relations to agriculture, medi-
cine, chemistry, and dietetics, is now everywhere recognized, so that all
possible encouragement should be given to the younger generation of
prospective professionals.
The concluding sentence above, suggests another aspect of the sub-
ject of botany as a profession. The death of Professor Thomas C. Por-
ter, whose biography and portrait are published in this issue of The
Plant Wokld, removes from us the last member of that brilliant galaxy
of botanists of the past generation, among which Asa Gray shone as
the central guiding star. In the still more recent decease of Dr. Charles
Mohr, the veteran botanist of Alabama, we have lost practically the
last of another group of men, scarcely less eminent in their studies, but
to whom botany was of necessity subordinated to the demands of active
business professions. This means the beginning of another era in bot-
any. Whether it will embrace so many illustrious names, or whether
it will be productive of so many important results, we cannot now pre-
dict. There is an opportunity for every young student of the science.
THE PLANT WOELD 139
BOOK REVIEWS.
Methods m Plant Histology. By Chas. J. Chamberlain, Ph. D. 160pp.
octavo, illustrated, cloth. University of Chicago Press, 1901. $1.50.
The work which has just appeared under the above title is based
ux)on a series of articles which have already been published in the Jour-
nal of Applied Microscopy. The articles, however, have been thoroughly
revised and enlarged, so that the present book contains about twice the
matter of the original articles. The subject is treated in two parts.
Part I. containing chapters on apparatus, re-agents, temporary mounts,
the general method, killing and fixing agents, staining, general remarks
on staining, practical hints on staining, the celloidin method and the
glycerine method. Part 11. describes the sx)ecial methods of technique
to be applied in studying the different groups of plants, beginning with
the algae. Fungi, hepatics, mosses, ferns, horsetails, lycopods, gymno-
sx)erms, and angiosperms are taken up in their regular order, and sim-
ple and comprehensive directions for the preparation and study of
members of the various groups are given. The final chapters are de-
voted to " a class list of preparations " adapted to meet the needs of a
regular course in plant histology, and formulae for reagents in which
are brought together the various fixing agents and stains in general use.
The work is evidently intended to meet the needs of general students
in plant histology, and is based upon the outhor's own work with his
classes at the University of Chicago. While it is not so complete in
some ways as Zimmerman's work, yet it seems much better adapted to
the use of general students. The matter is well arranged and illus-
trated. The second part of the book, though rather brief in its treat-
ment of some groups, will, we believe, prove very useful to all teachers
of plant histology. The book will no doubt find a place in every well
regulated laboratory, and will be found very useful by private students.
C. L. S.
Our Ferns in their Haunts: A Guide to all the Native Species. By
Willard Nelson Clute. Illustrated by William Walworth Stilson.
New York. The Frederick A, Stokes Company. Price $2.25.
Under the above title Mr. Clute has issued an excellent x>opular
treatise ux)on the ferns of eastern North America north of the Gulf
States. The book is intended primarily for the beginner in fern study;
140 THE PIANT WOBLD
but the author has included such interesting data of every sort relating
to the growth and habits of each species, that it must indeed prove of
great value to all professing an interest in this group of plants. Above
all should be mentioned the very complete and careful diagnoses of the
species, and the high character of the illustrations which accompany
them. The first excellence arises from the fact that the author has not
relied exclusively ui)on previous descriptions, but has had the benefit
of fresh material, good eyes, and a ready pen. The illustrations, bar-
ring one or two of the colored plates, are uncommonly good, many of
them far ahead of any we have hitherto seen. Little folk-lore attaches
to the exclusively American species, but of those common to both hem-
ispheres many quaint superstitions are recited by the author. A note-
worthy feature is found in the illustrated key to genera, in which the
generic diagnoses are accompanied by drawings of characteristic fruit-
ing parts of typical species. With all these helps the merest amateur
can hardly go astray in identifying a given specimen, and certainly fern
study in America, even now strongly on the gain, will be further stimu-
lated directly through this book.
The work is, however, not without its shortcomings. Certain por-
tions betray a most unscientific spirit, and the author is not to be com-
mended for proposing in an altogether haphazard way a number of sup-
posedly new combinations. Thus in discussing the lady-fern {Athyrium
FiUx'foemina), a comparison is drawn between the rhizomes of the
European and American specimens, and a supposed difference " seems
to indicate that the two are not identical. In tixis case our plant would
be known as Athyrium Michauxii, or i)erhaps more properly Athyrium
filix-foemina Michauxii^ Both combinations had previously been pub-
lished, but had they not, as the author evidently believed, a fuller dis-
cussion of the claims of the American plant to recognition would have
been quite in order. Another passage which is curiously out of place
relates to the scientific name of the American ostrich fern (p. 259). The
author takas up Struthiopteris Germanica^ and notes that the name
Matteuccia, which has been used by recent writers, will probably not
prevail. Nevertheless, in the contingency of its subsequent general
acceptance he provides the name Matteucia struthiopteris Pennsylvanica
Clute! Another rather odd practice we note, too, that of making Bo-
trychium dissectum a subspecies of B, ohliquum, published some six
years later. For certain reasons the author has retreated to the no-
menclature of Gray's Manual, and in many ways endeavors to discredit
the more modem effort toward " stability." llius, little discussions on
nomenclature appear under many species. They serve to mar the book
as a popular treatise, but on the other hand they indicate more plainly
than a simple statement of synonymy the total lack of justice and sta-
bility in what may be called the lazy (rather than conservative) nomen-
clature chosen by the author. Nomenclature as a debatable question
had best been eliminated from the work. In other points, with the
exception of the quality of pai)er used, the book merits hearty appro-
val, and this it will doubtless receive. Its publishers have advertised it
as "The American Fern Book;" as such it will undoubtedly command
a wide sale. — W. E. M.
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. AUGUST, 1901. No. 8.
AUGUST DAYS.
By John Bubboughb.
ONE of our well-known ix)et8, in i)er8onif ying August, represents
her as coming with daisies in her hair. But an August daisy is
a sorry affair; it is little more than an empty, or partly empty,
seed-vessel. The daisy is in her girlhood and maidenhood in June (in
the Northern States); she becomes very matronly early in July — ^fat,
faded, prosaic — ^and by or before August she is practically defunct. I
recall no flower whose career is more typical of the life, say, of the
average European peasant woman, or the women of barbarous tribes,
its grace and youthfulness pass so quickly into stoutness, obesity, and
withered old age. How positively girlish and taking is the daisy dur-
ing the first few days of its blooming, while its snow-white rays yet
stand straight up and shield its tender centre somewhat as a hood
shields a girl's face! Presently it becomes a perfect disc and bares its
face to the sun; this is the stage of its young womanhood. Then its
yellow centre — its body — ^begins to swell and become gross, the rays
slowly turn brown, and finally wither up and drop, and it is a flower
no longer, but a receptacle packed with ripening seeds.
A relative of the daisy, the orange-colored hawkweed {Hieramum
aurantiacum) which within the past twenty years has spread far and
wide over New York and New England, is often at the height of its
beauty in August, when its deep vivid orange is a delight to the eye.
It repeats in our meadows and upon our hill-tops the flame of the col-
umbine of May, intensified. The x)ersonified August with these flowers
ih her hair would challenge our admiration and not our criticism. Un-
like the daisy, it quickly sprouts again when cut down with the grass
in the meadows, and renews its bloom. Farts of New England, at least,
142 THE PLANT WOBLD
have a native August flower quite as brilliant as the hawkweed just
described, and far less a usurper; I refer to meadow-beauty, a Bhexiay
found near the coast, which suggests a scarlet evening-primrose.
Nature has, for the most part, lost her delicate tints in August.
She is tanned, hirsute, freckled, like one long exposed to the sun. Her
touch is strong and vivid. The coarser, commoner way-side flowers
now appear — vervain, Eupatorium, Mimulus, the various mints, white-
weed, asters, golden-rod, thistles, fireweed, mulleins, motherwort, cat-
nip, blueweed, turtle-head, sunflowers, clematis, evening-primrose,
lobelia, gerardia, and, in the marshes of the lower Hudson, marshmal-
lows, and vast masses of the purple loosestrife. Mass and intensity
take the place of deUcaoy and furtiveness. The spirit of Nature has
grown bold and aggressive; it is rank and coarse; she flaunts her weeds
in our faces. She wears a thistle on her bosom. But I must not for-
get the delicate rose-gerardia, which she also wears upon her bosom,
and which suggests that, before the season closes. Nature is getting her
hand ready for her delicate spring flora. With me this gerardia lines
open paths over dry knolls in the woods, and its little purple bells and
smooth slender leaves form one of the most exquisite tangles of flowers
and foliage of the whole summer. It is August matching the color and
delicacy of form of the fringed polygala of May.
One may still gather the matchless white pond-lily in this month,
though it is in the height of its glory earlier in the season, except in
the northern lakes.
A very delicate and beautiful marsh flower which may be found on
the borders of lakes in northern New York and New England is the
homed-bladderwort, yellow, fragrant, and striking in form, like a mini-
ature old-fashioned bonnet, when bonnets covered the head and pro-
jected beyond the face, instead of hovering doubtfully above the scalp.
The horn curves down and out like a long chin from a face hidden
within the bonnet. I have found this rare flower in the Adirondacks
and in Maine. It can doubtless be found in Canada, and in Michigan
and Wisconsin. It is the most fragrant August flower known to me.
This month has not many fragrant flowers to boast of. Besides the
above and the pond-Uly I recall two others — ^the small purple-fringed
orchis and a species of lady's-tresses {SpirantJiea cemita).
August days are for the most part tranquil days; the fret and hurry
of the season are over. We are on the threshold of autumn.
Nature dreams and meditates; her veins no longer thrill with the
eager, frenzied sap; she ripens and hardens her growths; she concen-
trates; she begins to make ready for winter. The buds for next year
are formed during this month, and her nuts and seeds and bulbs finish
THE PLANT WOELD 143
storing up food for the fatnre plant.
• From my outlook upon the Hudson the days are placid, the river
is placid, the boughs of the trees gently wag, the bees make vanishing
lines through the air. The passing boats create a great commotion in
the water, converting it from a cool, smooth, shadowy surface to one
pulsating and agitated. The pulsations go shoreward in long, dark,
rolling, glassy swells. The grapes are purpling in the vineyard. The
apples and x)ears are coloring in the orchard; the com is glazing in the
field; the oats are ripe for the cradle; grasshoppers x>oise and shuffle
above the dry road; thistle-down drifts by on the breesse; a sparrow
sings fitfully now and then; dusty wheelmen go by on their summer
vacation tours; boats appear upon the river loaded with gay excursion-
ists, and on every hand the stress and urge of life have abated. — From
Harper* 8 Magazine for August, 1901, by permission of the publishers.
NOTES FROM WESTERN KENTUCKY.
By Sadie P. Pbice.
ON a collecting trip through Muhlenberg county a few weeks ago,
I visited "Airdrie," on Green Biver. It is General Buell's old
homestead, a peaceful, beautiful place where the gentlemanly
old soldier passed his last days. Old-fashioned " hundred-leaf " and
other roses, white jasmine, English ivy, and many wild vines covered
the grounds and little bridges about the park; while the view of the
river is very fine.
Near the house — a, quaint old-fashioned, large log house with wide
porches — is a stone marking the spot where the General's favorite war
horse is buried. On the bluff about one-half mile from the house, is a
coal mine, not now in use; while still farther down stands a deserted
village where in 1855 sixty Scots, brought over by Lord Alexander,
lived for a few years before the place was purchased by General Buell.
The ruins of a tall stone tower, with iron boiler of an iron foundry is
near the house, and cose by a three-story sandstone house with barred
windows, while stone steps lead up to the top of the bluff where the vil-
lage stands. The stone building with the inscription "Airdrie, 1855,"
was used as a prison for the convicts from thi Eddyville penitentiary,
who worked in the mines.
The cliffs near were an ideal spot for certain ferns, but many of
these had, no doubt, been long since uprooted by the many tourists
and fishing parties who annually visit Airdrie. In a swamp still lower
down the river I found two shrubs that I had not found before in Ken-
144 THE PliANT WORLD
tucky, and doubt if they have been credited to this State. These are
Itea Virginica and Styrux Americana. Both are very pretty, and
would be especiaUy handsome in cultivation. They grow, however,
in a marsh in sandy soil in woods, so might not prosper in drier soil.
The prevailing trees near are sweet gum, black gum, Spanish oak,
called there " yellow-bottom oak," but in this county (Warren) called
" turkey oak; " basket oak, called white oak; and Texan red oak, called
spotted oak.
The woods were bright with Senecio lobatus and in places Silene
Virginica fully a month later (June 5th) than in Warren county.
Carex Asa^Grayi was common, and there were several shrubs of Ilex
decidua near the river bank; also a single tree of the new Gomua Priceae,
and Ptunua horhdana. Gatalpa apecioaa is rather common. The beeches
are being cleared and shipped to Evansville to be used in making
wood alcohol.
In Barren county I heard several local names of plants that were
new to me: Tangle-foot (white aster); seven-bark {Hydrangea) bark
used for bruises, felons, etc; devil's shoe-strings (PacAy«aywZra); nigger-
bush (AUanthua); devil-in-the-bush (wild carrot); saw-brier (green-
brier); Bobin Bunnel-head {Oalium), the four-leaved sx>ecies used for
the bite of a spider, the six-leaved ones used for hives; sang-sign
(Botrychium), it being believed by the country people that the apex of
the leaf points to a "sang" (ginsing) plant.
A new lock (No. 5) on Green Biver at Glenmore, Edmonson county,
has raised the water some sixteen or twenty feet higher, causing the
smaller streams near to be navigable. On Bear Greek the sandstone
cliffs are from thirty to ninety feet high, and here are many hemlocks,
laurel, and other more northern plants. Osmunda regalis, not a com-
mon fern in this part of the country, grows here in abundance, with
fronds four and five feet high. Nuphar advena, not before collected in
this region, grows in the slow stream. Trautvetteria palmata is com-
mon on the cliffs, while poison hemlock grows in abundance along the
lower banks. Viola hastata is rather common under beech trees and on
decayed stumps.
Bowling Green, Kentucky.
THE PLANT WORLD
Vol. IV. Plate X.
o
C/5
H
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3.
3
XT
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a
3
8
i
J?
THE PLANT WOBLD 145
A SCANTY FLORA.
Bt Henby E. Baum.
A PAUCITY of vegetation on ciroumscribed islands is no unusual
thing, and, indeed, the occurrence of numerous forms of plant
Ufe on such islets is to be treated as an exception rather than as
a rule. But when the sum total of vegetation is obtained after only
three forms have been enumerated, we have a condition, to say the
least, rather out of the ordinary. This large and verdant flora covers,
in places, the red sandstone of Bird Bock, one of the most famous of
the bird rookeries of our northern waters. Forming the extreme north-
ern tip of the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St Lawrence, this rock
rises cliff-like from the sea, attaining occasionally a height of nearly
two hundred feet, its top being practically inaccessible to all creatures
without wings until the erection of a lighthouse on its summit by the
Canadian government in 1869. Visitors now reach the top by means of
a bucket and windlass. Two smaller rocks lie about a half-mile from
Great Bird, the intervening shallow water testifying to their former
connection with the main rock.
This rock has long been famous as a sea-bird rookery, and numer-
ous records of the habits of its feathered citizens have been left by
various scientists whose attention has been claimed by the excess of
bird Ufe, to the entire exclusion of the sparse and small flora. In the
summer of 1900, however. Miss E. M. Leech, of Washington, spent
some little time on the island, and made a careful collection of all the
forms of plant Ufe found growing on the sunmiit. On examination
these proved to consist of Poa compressa L., Achillea borealis Bong,
(given in Lidex Ketvenais as a synonym for A. millefolium L.), and
Plantago m/iritima L., and as these specimens appear to be the first to
be collected in this comer of the world, it seems desirable to record
them.
To determine with any approximation of correctness the origin of
this flora seems to be largely a matter of individual opinion. The fact
of its presence, however, before the advent of man has been established
by Professor A. S. Packard, who in 1864 reported that " but for a cen-
tral patch of brown and green herbage," the island was turned white
by the great numbers of female nesting gannets. Just 330 years before,
Jacques Cartier, the St. Malo seaman, on discovering these rocks
entered in his journal this choice bit, here given in the quaint EngUsh
translation of flakluyt :
" The Hands were as full of birds, as any field or medow is of
grasse, which there do make their nestes; and in the greatest of them
there was a great and infinite number of those that wee call Margaulx,
146 THE PLANT WORLD
that are white, and bigger than any geese, which were secured in one
part. * * Wee named them the Hands of Margauht."
From this evidence it apx)ears that this rookery was a great gannet
colony, and since these birds are strictly maritime in their habits, they
cannot be accused of conducting a seed and plant introduction business.
So in this case it falls to the lot of wandering and storm-driven land
birds to uphold the traditional and orthodox theory of seed transx)or-
tation on bill and foot
As before noted, the Bird Bocks are situated at the extreme north-
em tip of a thin chain of sandstone islands running from northeast to
southwest in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Assuming that the Bock had,
at one time, a much larger area than at present, a probable explanation
of the scanty flora seems to be that as the sandstone weathered, the
retreating cliffs drove back the nesting birds and their accompanying
guano, effectively stamping out plant life, and that high tide was prob^
ably reached about the time of Professor Packard's visit in 1864 This
view seems to be strengthened by the fact that since the coming of man
and the subsequent departure of the birds, vegetation has spread over
all available parts of the Bock.
ORCHIDS IN CENTRAL PARK.
GorUinued.
By Paxtline Kaufman.
For some weeks past dozens of the stately evergreen plants of
Phaius grandiflora have beautified the orchid house. The leaves are
from two to three feet long, broadly lanceolate; the flower spike is two
to four feet in height, and bears twenty or more fragrant blooms.
These seen from the outer side resemble a vigorous stalk of tuberoses,
but viewed from the inner side the likeness ceases, the color changing
to brownish-red; the convolute lip is white with dark crimson throat.
This species is found from China to Australia, and is also known as
Bletia TarikerviUei and Limodorum TankervUlei.
Peristeria elata, called by the Spaniards Espiritu Santo, flower of
the Holy Spirit, dove or Holy Ghost flower, is represented by but one
plant. The waxy purity of the sweet-scented flower, which is one and
a half inches across, is disturbed only by a few lilac specks on the base
of the lip. Here too the spikes are erect, three feet or more in height,
and rising from the base of pseudo bulbs. The flowering season con-
tinues tor more than two months. It takes its name from the appear-
ance of the column, which is thought to resemble a brooding dove.
THE PliANT WOBLD 147
The lanceolate, strongly ribbed leaves are six inches wide and over
three feet long. Three to five of these leaves are borne by the pseudo
bulbs, which are as large as swan's eggs. There are but five species of
Peristeria known, all native to the Columbian Andes.
Often mistaken for Gattleya triana is its beautiful relative, Ladia
anceps. True, the flowers are identical in coloring, and in having a
column resembling a tiny white owl, but the former has terminal flow-
ers, a fluted lip, and four pollen masses, while the latter is smaller in
every way, bears blossoms on a raceme, and has eight pollen masses.
Oblong-lanceolate leaves five to ten inches long arise from the pseudo-
bulbs; keeled scales clothe the scape, which is a foot or two long; the
lanceolate, acuminate sepals and the ovate, acuminate petals are rose-
purple, with a greenish line on the back; the labeUum inside of the lat-
eral lobes is yellow with red marks, the under lobe oblong, acute, deep ,
purple, white on the disk, with a thickened yellow keel terminating in
the ridges. The outline of the lip has the form of the wliii)-poor-will.
In Mexico and Guatemala, the homes of the Laelia tribe, they are found
clinging to rocks and trees, exx)osed to the full rays of the tropical sun,
and in the wet season to daily drenching rains. Some grow at eleva-
tions of from 7500 to 8500 feet
Burmah sends as her representative Calanthe Veitchii, one of the
tribe Vandeae. The derivation {Kahs, beautiful), speaks for itself.
These are robust plants, producing large, broad, many ribbed palm-
like leaves, usually evergreen; the flower spike often three feet long,
with an immense quantity of bright rose-colored flowers with white
throats; the pseudo-bulbs are flask-shaped.
We now come to a large plant of Maodllaria ntgresceiis (from max-
illae, the jaws of an insect), referring to a resemblance in column and
lip. This epiphytal plant has a group of large pseudo-bulbs bearing
thick mottled leaves two inches broad and flve long. The rhizome has
bulb-like thicknesses the size of a hickory nut at one inch intervals,
each producing a solitary grass-like leaf, and three flowers at the apex.
These flowers are one inch across, dull maroon, with Up of pale yellow
spotted with maroon, and moveably articulated to the column. Al-
though I counted fifty-eight flower sprays of three flowers each, their
deep maroon coloring does not attract the attention it would were they
of a lighter and brighter hue.
From Trinidad we have Oongora atropurpurea^ another of the Van-
deae, and named after the Bishop of Cordova, Don Antonio Oon-
gora. Not common in cultivation, it is of but little value, except to col-
lectors. The cylindrical pseudo-bulbs have two lanceolate, subpUcate
leaves, one foot long; racemes two feet long, full of chocolate-colored
spotted flowers, two inches in diameter; margina of sepals revolute;
148 THE PLAIfT WORLD
petals small, twisted at the ai)ex; labellom four-homed at base, tlie
apex folded so as to form a vertical triangular plate. It flowers all
snmmer. This plant is able to grow upright, but in its home, where
T^;etation is crowded, the flower spike is often i>endulou8, allowing the
curious, grasshopper-like flowers to hang two feet and more below the
branclL
Pseudo-bulbs are, as a general thing, reservoirs containing and
retaining the moisture until required; but in the Gongora, as well as in
many other of the South American orchids, they furnish a garrison for
camiverous ants. There is a hollow x>seudo-bulb with either a door-
way ready made, or inducements offered to the ants to make one. The
result is a perfectly dry, hollow chamber, which, on splitting, shows
tiers of cells and galleries. The plants suffer greatly from the depre-
dation of cockroaches, their chief enemy, and other pests. In the treaty
between the plant and the ants, the latter, in return for a home, destroy
the roaches and other insects that attack the leaves of the former.
James Bodney in his ** Guiana Forest " gives us this experience: While
collecting orchids, he saw in a tree overhanging the water, a great clump
of Oncidium altissimum, its graceful flower stem loaded with yellow
blossoms hanging over in every direction. The plant was four feet
thick, with panicles rising to a height of twelve feet. He sent one of
his boatmen to bring it down. Taking a cutlass, the negro climbed up
and began to chop at it, but immediately came down with a run, rub-
bing his hands and face and picking a swarm of ants from his clothes.
Finally they secured the plant, after having been kept at bay for over
half an hour, and threw it into the stream, pushing it under water with
a long pole. As the roots became soaked, the creek was covered with
black patches. Presently larger forms were seen swimming. These
were cockroaches. Then came a centii)ede. It was supx)Osed that the
ants had not had time to demolish all of the insects.
Of Dendrobium there have been several varieties. At present D.
nobile is out in full force. Its sheathing leaves are on an upright stem,
about one inch apart and alternate, five inches long by one and a half
wide. The buds are exactly like those of a lily, if we except a small
spur projecting from the under side; flowers in pairs, two inches across;
sepals and petals one and a half inches long, from white to deep helio-
trope; lip formed like a small calla lily, the edge tipi)ed with rose-
purple, the deep heart of royal purple velvet; habit drooping; the stem
bearing sixty flowers and over. Suckers or rootlets hang from various
parts of the stem. D, Wardianum has dozens of white blossoms edged
with rose-purple, with two eyes of gold in the throat.
In D. fuscdtum the deep orange-yellow blooms are two inches
across; sepals and petals oblong, somewhat incurved; lip shorter.
THE PLANT WORLD 149
cncallate, with two orimson spots at the base, the margin fringed;
racemes produced from the nodes of the leafless stems, drooping, four
to seven inches long, many flowered; the rachis is zigzag; the ovate-
^ i] u ate leaves five inches long; the stems from two to three feet long.
These orchids are native in Ehasya and Sikkim.
New York City.
THE DWARF MISTLETOE, RAZ0UM0F8KYA PU8ILLA.
Bt John Gitfobd.
THE Loranthaceae or Mistletoe Family is represented in the north-
eastern United States by only two species of mistletoe. One,
Bazcumofskya pusilUiy is small, of local occurrence, and parasitic
on the black sprace. The other, Phoradendronjlaveacens, is larger in
size, and so abundant southward that it is collected and sold as an
evergreen at Christmas time. It occurs on the black gum, red maple,
and now and then on other trees. It is, however, not a serious pest,
because it infests trees of little commercial value, and because it is kept
in check, in fact in places has been almost exterminated by collectors of
Christmas greens.
Bazaumo/shya pusiUa, although it occurs only here and there, is a
serious pest where it does occur. The affected spruces are usually
yellow in appearance, and flnaUy die of the depletion caused by the
myriads of fleshy guests which cover the tender twigs.
C. P. Wheeler reports (in the First Report of the Upper Peninsula
Experiment Station of Michigan) that it is common and very destruc-
tive to black spruces in upper Michigan. He states that the parasite is
widely distributed in northern Michigan, and that in some swamps
every spruce has been killed. He found also that this mistletoe was
fnfested by a fungus parasite WaXhrothidla arceuthobii Peck. Bazaur
mofakya pusiUa causes what are commonly called witches*-brooms on
the limbs of the spruces. This term witches'-broom, or Hexenbesen in
German, is a generic word for malformations of a broom-like nature.
On the 25th of April, 1901, Mr. William Howard, a student
of the New York State College of Forestry, found this mistletoe
in considerable quantity on the spruces around Panther Pond in the
College tract in the Adirondacks. Although there was still some snow
on the ground, the parasite was in full bloom. In Britton & Brown's
Flora June is stated as the blooming time. It was in full bloom here
in the mountains on the 25th of April. There were evidences that quite
a number of spruces had been killed by it
150 THE PLANT WORLD
It appears from the descriptions that this plant is either very im-
perfectly known, or that the plants we have collected belong to another
species. We have compared several descriptions, and have concluded
that the former is the case. One says that his plant is " strictly dioe-
cious," another that it is "usually dioecious," and another "mostly
dioecious."
After long and diligent search, we found a few flowers which cor-
respond to what are described and pictured as pistillate flowers. These
were extremely few in comparison with the staminate flowers, which
were present in many instances in such large numbers that they com-
pletely covered the twigs of large trees. The shape of the tree and gen-
eral appearance of the foliage were often completely changed by its
presence.
We were led to believe that the flower is sometimes at least regu-
lar, although the fact that the ovules and placenta are not at all or
barely distinguishable in this order, rendered it difficult for us to deter-
mine (with the means at hand in camp), anything definite in this re-
spect.
Since our first find, we have noticed that it is extremely abundant
in the lowlands, and especially in the swamps around ponds and lakes
in this vicinity. At any rate, should this pest spread, it might in time
become as serious as in the upper peninsula of Michigan. Although
small in size (about two and one-half inches in height), almost every
twig of the infested trees was covered with it.
In Europe the true mistletoe, Viscum album, is injurious to a great
varfety of trees. It is very destructive to fruit trees, silver fir and pop-
lar. Other species of mistletoe are common in the West and in the
South. Most of these are semiparasites. Bazoumo/skya pusiUa ap-
pears to be much more of a parasite than any other mistletoe I have
ever seen. Most mistletoes assimilate part of their food material, but
in the case of Bazoumofskya pusiUa this is probably slight.
As the forest becomes better cared for, the significance of parasites
and weeds increases. Let us hope at least that our mistletoes may
never become as common and troublesome to both fruit and forest trees
as is the mistletoe of Europe.
THE PLANT WORLD 151
RARE PLANTS AND THEIR DISAPPEARANCE.
By L. H. Pammel.
A CORRESPONDENT at Corydon, Iowa, Mr. T. S. Wliittaker, has
sent me a si)ecimen of Veratrum Woodii, which is one of the
rarest plants in this State, with the following explanatory re-
marks:
"I send you by this mail nnder separate cover a specimen and
stalk of a plant found growing wild on the prairies. The specimen I
send is hardly a fair sample, as they usually grow to the height of from
thr^e to five feet, and the flowers are two or three times as large. It is a
new plant to me, and I have failed to find any one who has ever seen
one before. I found them first eight years ago this season growing in
a * sloo * on the prairie — extending up and down for about one-half mile
were probably several hundred of the plants in sight. I gathered prob-
ably fifty of them and took them home and used them to decorate a
church with — pulpit and organ. They created general interest, but no
one had ever seen one before.
"I went back early in the fall to get some roots or seeds, but the
^ sloo ' had been burned over, and not a sign of them could be found.
Every time I passed by there — summer or winter — I looked to see
them — none there. Five years after (three years ago this summer) I
found about two dozen of them in the same locality. They were in full
bloom. I went out next day; took a couple of boxes in a buggy, and a
spade, and dug up four of the plants, roots and all, dug up sod for
about eight inches each side of the plants, then cut the sod away until
they would fit in the boxes. I brought them home, set them out very
carefully, and they did not wilt at all. They have come up every sea-
son since, but this is the first time they have blossomed, and only two
have bloomed this season.
"The one I send you is about three feet high, and has only four
branches to the flower, whereas they generally have ten or twelve, mak-
ing the flower much larger than this. The two plants had six flower
stems and flowers, two on one and four on the other, but the wind blew
a tree on them and damaged part of them. I do not understand why
they are no larger, unless perhaps on account of the extremely hot, dry
weather. I have been out to where I got these, and found but one
plant growing, and that not going to blossom. I took it up and brought
it home.
"I presume this is a well-known plant to you, but I have lived
here forty-three years, and these are the only ones I have seen, and I
fail to find any one that has seen them before. I presume the birds
dropped the seeds at first"
152 THE PLANT WORLD
An old coal miner called my attention to a few of the plants that
were found in the vicinity of Ottumwa, which he had growing in his
yard. Of coarse it has been reported before in this State, but it cer-
tainly is not common.
This plant, together with a number of other rare plants, are disap-
pearing, because of the drying up of sloughs or because of the overpas-
turing of the woodloi Gypripedium spectabile, which a few years ago
was common in northern Iowa is now quite rare. I know of one local-
ity in the vicinity of Steamboat Bock where it still occurs in quantities,
but in some localities in central Iowa, near Ames, it is disapi)earing,
and along with it a few of the other rarer orchids. Gypripedium pubea-
cena is also becoming quite rare here at Ames.
Recently I spent a few days collecting in the vicinity of La Crosse,
and in one locality where I used to find plenty of Sarracenia purpurea
Drosera rotundi/olia, Vaccinium macrocarpon, Habeiiaria paycodeSy 001/0-
pogon pulchelluSy Pogonia ophioghssoideSy Sphagnum sp., all have disap-
peared. Menyanthes trifoliata was pushing its way up through two feet
of sand which had washed over the entire bog, and the bog is now
being rapidly covered with Salix longifoliay while on its edges a few
examples of Salix lucida still occur about the margin of the ponds. A
long list of other plants locally disappearing in this section might also
be given.
Ames, Iowa.
In the utilization of vegetable waste much of a surprising nature
could be said. The seeds or stones of many fruits which would appar-
ently seem useless have some economic value. In some parts of Egypt
the date stones are boiled to soften them, and the camels and cattle are
fed with them. They are calcined by the Chinese, and said to enter
into the composition of their India ink. In Spain they are burnt and
powdered for dentifrice, and vegetable ivory nuts are said to be applied
for the same purpose. Some species of attalea nuts -are burned in Bra-
zil to blacken the raw India rubber. In India the seed or stone of the
tamarind is sometimes prescribed in cases of dysentery as a tonic. In
times of scarcity of food the natives eat them after roasting and soaking
them for a few hours in water; the dark outer skin comes oflF, and they
can then be cooked in various ways. From this seed an oil has also
been obtained. The seed of the carob bean is ground up as food for
cattle, and is used in Algeria, when roasted, as coffee. The use of some
Mexican and other grasses for brushes is being rapidly developed.
This material is as strong and flexible as bristles, and even the refuse
from this is being used as stuffing for mattresses. The use of esparto
grass for paper making is well known, and straw is largely used for the
same purpose. — The Washington Post
THE PLANT WORLD 158
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
Everyone will appreciate the following graphic description of a
"New Kind of Plant" which recently appeared in the columns of one
of our leading metropolitan dailies:
An entirely new plant has been produced this summer by a man
living in the suburbs of Chicago by means of a cross between the Scotch
thistle and the ordinary greenhouse carnation. The flower is called the
Centura and is purple and white. The stalk is smooth like that of the
carnation, although stronger, and the leaf is similar to that of the this-
tle, but softer to the touch. The blossom, too, resembles the thistle,
but is larger and more delicate and ornate. The plant blooms pro-
fusely and can be grown out of doors in all but the most severe wea-
ther. The plants in this man's gardens have now attained a height of
two feet, and the only point in which they are inferior to either of the
parent plants is in lack of perfume. The fragrance is faint, and slightly
like that of the thistle.
Of course no reader of The Plant World needs to be told that a
carnation, belonging to the Pink Family, could not possibly be /srossed
with a plant belonging to the Compositae! It seems strange that news-
papers do not employ upon their staflFs specialists in the more import-
ant branches of science, who would see that this and similar absurdities
were avoided. — C. L. Pollard, Washington, D. C.
Louisiana Woods at the Exposition.
Louisiana is rich in woods. The most important include the long
and short leaved pine, water elm, pecan, the southern hickory, bitte^
pecan, hackberry, persimmon, red oak, water oak, sycamore, beech, wil-
low, magnolia, thorn-locust, locust, red maple, box elder, red gum, black
gum, tupelo gum, blue ash, white ash, bass wood, cedar ash, prickly
ash, red haw, wild plum, cotton wood, yellow poplar, cypress, and the
osage orange or bois d'arc. Bois d'arc is an exceedingly hard wood,
bright orange in color, and is used extensively for paving blocks and
fence posts. This wood is also used as a substitute for box wood in
making roller skate wheels and rollers for pulleys. The cypress is
used extensively for making posts and railroad ties, shingles, splints,
and is bought largely by brewers for cooperage purposes. Cypress is
more durable and lasting than cedar. Samples of all the woods men-
154 THE PLANT WORLD
tioned are exMbited in the Forestry Building, at the Pan-American Ex-
position, the cross and the quarter sections being shown.
In the Agriculture Building at the Lousiana exhibit are shown
twenty-four varieties of the pecan nut, ranging in size from the ordinary
pecan, which we can buy in our markets, to a variety much larger than
the ordinary pigeon's egg. Nearly all of these varieties are paper-
shelled and can be easily broken with the hand. Turpentine, tar, tar
oil, creosote, pyroligneous acid (wood vinegar), and wood alcohol are
produced in Louisiana from fat or refuse pine. The broken and fallen
wood of the pine which has fein waste in the forests is cut into foot bil-
lets, put into a copper still and heated, dry distillation being used. It
first produces a gaa, then the wood alcohol, creosote and turpentine
which afterward separate, next tar oil and pyroligneous acid or wood
vinegar, lastly tar. The charcoal derived from this dry heat process is
of a superior grade, very solid and heavy, and bums much longer than
the ordinary charcoal, giving a more intense heat. This is an entirely
new process of distillation, the old process of tapping the tree being
more expensive and taking more time.
Ramie Fibre.
Bamie fibre is displayed in the Louisiana State pavilion in the
Agricultural Building at the Pan-American Exposition. Ramie was
first introduced into the United States in 1855 from Japan. It will
grow in any soil where the winters are not too severe. A temperatui'e
of 32 degrees, however, will kill it. The yield is from fifteen to twenty
tons to the acre. The fibre is made from the inner bark, which is cut
in strips four feet in length. Samuel B. Allison, of Galveston, Texas,
invented and built the only machine for separating the inner from the
outer bark. This machine was taken to Galveston by Mr. Allison, and
was destroyed with its inventor during the disastrous storm of last fall,
with all data regarding the specifications of the invention. The outer
bark is of a resinous nature and in Japan is separated from the inner
bark by hand, each stalk being handled separately and the two layers
of bark separated with a knife. All the fibre now used in this country
is procured from Japan, Louisiana having no machinery to produce the
fibre, and labor being too expensive to compete with the cheap Japan-
ese labor. Ramie can be made into cloths of various textures, and will
take any dye. It has a silky appearance, and when interwoven wifli
silk it is next to impossible to discover the ramie fibre. The sails of
the Shamrock and Constitution and nearly all the racing yachts are
made from ramie fibre. Ramie is the strongest and longest vegetable
fibre known. A very superior grade of plush is made from it. The
reed grows profusely throughout Louisiana without any cultivation
whatever. It grows to the height of from four to eight feet, four foot
reeds being the most desirable for use. It is of rapid growth, some-
times producing as many as five crops a year. ^ The Louisiana commis-
sioners say that State produces enough ramie to supply the United
states, and are anxious to interest capital in the production of it.
THE PLAJST WORLD 155
GENERAL ITEMS.
The price of cow peas has risen from 85 cents to $2.00 per bushel
daring the past year. This is not due to a shortage in the crop, but is
merely significant of the increased value of the cow pea as a forage
plant and edible vegetable as well.
The herbarium of the late Dr. Charles Mohr, comprising about
18,000 mounted sheets, has been shipped to the National Museum,
where it will be kept in separate cases. It consists principally of Ala-
bama plants, and contains many types of species published by Dr.
Mohr and other botanists.
The annual meeting of the Society of American Florists and Orna-
mental Horticulturalists was held at Buffalo from August 5th to 10th.
Several hundred members were in attendance. The Society was organ-
ized in Cincinnati in 1886. Its object is the advancement of floricul-
ture. Two years ago its title was lengthened to " Ornamental Horti-
culturalists," so that it has taken in park superintendents, private gar-
deners, and others interested in horticulture.
Australian papers say that the ramie plant, Boehmeria nivea^
thrives so well in that part of the world that cultivators are about to
try it for fibre for lace making purjKJses. That it will grow and pro-
duce delightful fibre, from which articles as fine as cambric can be pro-
duced, is well known in America, but no njachinery for cleaning the
fibre cheaply has been invented. — Meehan's Monthly for June,
Among the best ornamentals grown are the flowers belonging to
the family Amarantaceae. Sometimes the individual flowers are not
showy, but they are so brilliantly colored that, in the aggregate, they
are very attractive. The prince's feather is an illustration. Another
kind, known as the bachelor's button or globe amaranth, has its small
flowers collected in round heads, and gives varieties of white, orange,
and purple colors. In many cases the leaves are colored, and make as
much show as would the gaudiest of flowers. But the greatest recom-
mendation of the flowers of this family is that they seem to thrive all
the better for hot and dry weather. Certainly they are among the best
of plants to submit to these extreme conditions. — Meehans' Monthly for
AugxAst.
156 THE PLANT WORLD
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
The second number of Muhlenbergia has appeared. It contains a
list of the fungi collected by Mr. Heller in Porto Bico during January
and February, 1900. Professor P. S. Earle who worked over the ma-
terial, describes several new species, mostly Pyrenomycetes. Follow-
ing this, lists of two previous collections, one made by Schwanecke and
the other by Sintenis are given, thus bringing together the published
records of Porto Bican fungi where they can be easily consulted. These
lists probably include but a small proportion of the species occurring
there, as no very thorough collection of these plants has yet been made.
Mr. B. D. Gilbert has published an attractive pamphlet entitled "A
Working list of North American Pteridophytes North of Mexico." It
is a check-list for the use of students and collectors, with ail appendix
consisting of an extended commentary on various rare species, together
with a number of new varieties, here printed for the first time. It is
unfortunate that original descriptions should be inserted in a work of
this kind, the title of which is cumbrous to cite; but even worse is the
lack of system in indicating new names and combinations. The author
is inclined to be very conservative in his treatment of species, reduping
many which have found general acceptance elsewhere to varieties or
even to mere forms.
The editor of Tlie American Botanist has called our attention to a
statement made in the course of our comments on the first issue of that
journal published in The Plant World of last month, and complains
that it is misleading. We observed that "our contemporary also in-
dulges in an editorial denunciation of the use of scientific names in
popular writings." The editorial in question distinctly states that such
names will be inserted in parentheses, and we did not intend our re-
mark above quoted to convey a different impression. But the spirit of
hostility toward the technical names is quite manifest, nevertheless, and
is emphasized in the succeeding issue of the journal, where the editor
THE PLANT WORLD 157
makes sarcastic alliisions to " dry-as-dnst " scientists. It is the fashion
at the present time to decry the labors of the student in herbarinm and
laboratory, and to indulge in high-sounding panegyrics upon nature.
There can be no popular knowledge of botany, or indeed of any science,
however, without the firm groundwork which has been built up by gen-
erations of professionals, and which is being strengthened and enlarged
by every individual research.
The current number of the Jownwl of the New York Botanical Gar-
den contains an account of the re-discovery at a station in Georgia, by
Mr. Boland M. Harper, of that exceedingly rare shrub of the heath
family, known to botanists as Elltottia. This has been found in only a
few localities, and was thought to have been completely exterminated.
Mr. Frederick V. Coville has recently published in the Proceedings
of the Washington Academy of Sciences a most exhaustive and inter-
esting account of the willows of Alaska, the species being illustrated by
beautifully executed drawings. The cold northern bogs are a veritable
paradise for the willows, and they vary in size from the diminutive and
exceedingly rare little Salix polaris, to the large bush of the Sitka wil-
low, S, Sitcherms.
158 THE PLANT WORLD
EDITORIAL.
The subject of botanical nomenclature is not one of much popular
interest, and we have always pursued a consistent course of barring
from our columns all discussion of this subject from a technical stand-
point, although our book reviewers, writing over their own initials or
signatures, have naturally expressed their own personal convictions.
We have, however, frequently explained the necessity for the use of
scientific names, and have pointed out numerous cases, such as gera-
nium, gladiolus, rhododendron, bouvardia and camelUa, in which the
scientific and x)opular appellations are one and the same. We believe
no one will deny the great advantage of this condition of things, or will
fail to admit that the practice should be extended as much as possible.
Why not speak of an Erythronium rather than a " dog's-tooth-violet ;"
and a Polygala rather than a "white snakeroot," when the latter terms
are absolutely meaningless, and convey no hints as to the characters
or appearances of the plants? On the other hand, such familiar words
as honeysuckle, buttercup and the like, are classics, and serve a dis-
tinct use in the language. They are part of the folk-lore of plants, and
frequently, if not always, are self-explanatory.
We have had under consideration for some time the feasibility of
publishing a list of genus names which should be adopted into x)opular
usage, together with their present equivalents. An expression of views
on this topic from our readers would be welcome.
THE PLANT WORLD 159
BOOK REVIEWS.
Teabbook, U. S. Depabtbcent op Agmoultube, 1900. Government
Printing Office.
This book, which has recently appeared, contains several articles
of interest to botanists, nearly all of them being written, however, from
a practical or economic standpoint. Besides the report of the Secre-
tary and the Appendix, the volume contains thirty-one articles, being
five more than were contained in the preceding volume. All but one
of these articles were prepared by employees of the Department, and
represent the result of original work, with the exception of those pre-
pared in the Division of publications. The book is profusely illus-
trated, containing eighty-seven plates, nine of which are colored, and
eighty-eight text figures. An excellent portrait of Mr. William Saun-
ders, late Superintendent of Gardens and Grounds of the Department
occupies the frontispiece. Of the various articles pertaining to botani-
cal subjects the following may be mentioned as of particluar interest :
Forest Extension in the Middle West, by William L. Hall, discussing
the subject of tree planting on the western plains, where so much val-
uable work of this sort is being undertaken by the Bureau of Forestry;
Fungus Diseases of Forest Trees, by Herman von Schrenk, describing
the more common forms of fungi destructive to trees and the manner in
which the trees become infected; Some Poisonous Plants of the North-
em Stock Banges, by Y. E. Chesnut, describing and illustrating some
of the most important plants which poison stock on the range, and the
methods of treating stock which have been affected by them; and Our
Native Pasture Plants, by F. Lamson-Scribner, containing an account
of some of the most important native pasture grasses of the United
States, with illustrations of most of them. A very important and use-
ful feature of the work is the Appendix, which contains a large amount
of useful information to agriculturalists. The value and usefulness of
this publication of the Department is being increased each year, and it
will be an important factor in promoting the development of scientific
agriculture in this country. As the Secretary points out in his report,
the Department of Agriculture differs from the other Departments of
the government in that the appropriations made for its use may prop-
erly be regarded as investments rather than as expenses, since they
yield direct returns by adding to the wealth of the country. — C. L. S.
160 THE PLANT WOELD
Practical Text-Book of Plant PnYSiOLOciT. By Daniel Trembly Mac-
Dougal, Ph. D. Octavo, 338 pages, 159 illustrations. Longmans,
Green & Co. New York, 1901.
Numerous text-books on general botany have lately appeared, but
works devoted to physiology alone have not been so plentiful. In re-
gard to the scope of this work, we may quote from the preface; " The
chief purpose of the author is to present practical directions for the
demonstration of the principal phenomena of the physiology of the
plant and also details of experimental methods suitable for exact analy-
sis and requisite in research work." The phases of physiological bot-
any which have been attracting the greatest attention recently, such as
the relation of plants to various stimuli, is given considerable space,
the first seven chapters being devoted largely to the diflferent phenom-
ena of irritability. The second part of the book is devoted to a more
general treatment of the various activities of the plant. In the prepa^
ration of chapters relating to special subjects, the author has had the
assistance of specialists in those particular subjects, for which due
credit is given in the preface.
As a text-book for use by instructors and teachers of physiologi-
cal botany as well as for the laboratory student and investigator, the
work will no doubt be found very helpful. The discussions of the vari-
ous subjects are necessarily brief, and much attention is given to sug-
gestions for experimental work. Citations of literature are frequent.
For a fuller treatment of the subjects, the student should have at hand
PfeflEer's excellent work, of which a translation recently appeared.
A very useful jwrtion of the work, and one which will be appreci-
ated by the instructor as well as the laboratory worker, is the appen-
dix, which includes tables for the conversion of British into metric
linear measures, also for the conversion of metric weights and measures
to United States weights and measures, comparison of Fahrenheit and
centigrade scales, besides the density of different substances at different
temperatures, etc.; also some formulae and a table of osmotic values,
the latter taken from PfeflEer's work. — C. L. S.
THE PLANT WORLD
VOL. IV. PLATE XL
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. SEPTEMBER, 1901. No. 9.
NOTES ON TREES OF CUBA.
By Dr. Valery Havard, Surgeon, U. S. A.
HAVANA, on the northern shore of Cuba, is on the 23rd degree of
latitude, and therefore just within the tropics. Santiago, on the
southern shore, is on the 20th degree. The temperature of the
island, in the shade, seldom rises above 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and
hardly ever falls below 65 degrees at 'Santiago, jor 55 degrees at Havana.
So far as temperature is concerned, then, Cuba is a tropical island, but
its rather limited and unevenly distributed rainfall prevents the vege-
tation, in spite of a generally fertile soil, from acquiring the luxuriance
and density which we expect in such latitudes. The mean rainfall for
Havana for the past 28 years, is 51.73 inches, which is less than that of
the southern Atlantic States, while the evaporation due to a constantly
high temperature is much more active. More than two-thirds of this
amount falls from May to October, the winter and spring being often •
rainless for weeks, when crops and plantations are liable to suffer se-
verely from continued drought.
Cuban vegetation may be said to occupy an intermediate position
between that of the Gulf States and that of Venezuela and Guiana.
Although varied and interesting, it does not equal the richness of the
Blue Mountain one of Jamaica, nor that of the Central American States,
and has but little to compare with the magnificence of equatorial forests.
Ornamental Trees.
Of all the trees of Cuba the first place belongs to the appropriately-
named royal palm, Oreodoxa regia* the most striking vegetable feature
* No attempt has been made to revise names and apply the laws of modem no-
menclature.
162 THE PLANT WORLD
of this and other Antilles. It is found in all parts of the island, a con-
stant reminder to the northern visitor that he is indeed in a strange
land. Generally 50 to 80 feet high, with .straight trunk gracefully swel-
ling at the middle, bearing at the top a huge tuft of feathery, spreading
leaves, from among which springs the slender and sharp central shoot.
It is probably the most useful native treee, but its value for ornamental
purposes, in judicious combination with exogenous plants, can hardly
be overestimated. It was formerly much used to line the avenues lead-
ing to planters' mansions, and the i)erspective eflfect of those long,
straight rows of slender white shafts, topped with tufts of dark green
plumes, is strikingly beautiful. The leaves are everywhere employed
as thatch in the country, while their broad sheathing base is a popular
substitute for boarding and sacking. The central shoot, like that of the
Palmetto of the Southern States, furnishes an excellent salad, and is
often cut off for that purpose, although the life of the tree is thereby
sacrificed. The outside wood of the trunk is much used in rural dis-
tricts, and the thick clusters of seeds are eaten with avidity by swine.*
Oreodoxa oUracea^ distinguished from the preceding by the greater
altitude of the even, unexpanded trunk, is also said to be in Cuba, but
I doubt if these two species are really distinct.
The cocoanut (Gocos nucifera), is, of course, a very -familiar object;
being planted in groves vi low rich ground, where, under favorable cir-
cumstances, it produces fruit all the year round.
The carojo {Cocos crispa), a native species with somewhat the aspect
of the royal palm, is more ornamental than useful, although the small
plum-Uke fruit is eatable and palatable.
Of the several species of the native palms, still much in need of
study and definition, i)erhaps the most interesting is the miraguano or
yarey {Thrinax argentea), which furnishes a very useful fibre. The
. trunk of the Palma Barrigona {Colpothrinax Wrightii), of Pinar del Rio,
is abruptly expanded at the middle, and made to answer the purpose of
barrel, box, hive, etc. In the Palma Barrigona de Sierra {Gamaia prin-
cep8), also common in Pinar del Rio, the large, hollow expansion is at
the base of the trunk.
Of imported cultivated species, Latania horbonica is seen in all
houses and patios, and occasionally in arborescent form in gardens.
The fishtail palm {Caryota wrens), found in many gardens, is strikingly
effective when it reaches arboreal size, with semi-erect, spreading
branches and long, drooping fruit clusters; but this climate is too dry
for its best development.
♦[Compare in this connection Mr. William Palmer's article on ••Cuban Uses of
the Royal Palm," published in our June issue.— Ed.]
THE PLANT WOELD 163
As the American traveler lands at Havana and takes his first walk
on the Prado or Parque Central, he is confronted by trees entirely dis-
tinct from anything he is familiar with. Doubtless he should expect a
surprise, but it is difficult not to wonder at such a radical change. The
two most common shade trees on the Prado are introduced figs, Ficus
religioaa, the sacred tree of Hindostan, here called laurel de la India,
its small, oval, shortly acuminate leaves having some resemblance to
those of the classic laurel, and Ficiis Indica or Alamo, with smooth,
shining, long-acuminate leaves, looking very much like those of the
Mexican alamo {Populus monilifera), the cottonwood of the southwest-
ern States. The laurel fig is a beautiful, quick growing, round, spread-
ing tree with dark green foliage, forming a dense shade all the year
round. Its many aerial branchlets seldom reach the ground so as to
.be a nuisance. Unfortunately, like all figs, it is short-lived, and begins
to lose its top foliage and become partly bald before it is thirty years
old. Its roots creep along the surface to enormous distances, and
enable it to grow and thrive on rocky ground with only a few inches of
soil. This wandering habit of the superficial roots, sometimes pene-
trating into buildings or into neighbors' yards, is very objectionable.
The innumerable small pea-like fruit littering the ground is another
objection. The reddish wood is tolerably hard and makes good fuel,
but is of little value in carpentry. The Alamo fig is also a fine tree, of
easy and rapid growth, but its lustrous foliage is not so dense and its
shade not so dark.
The rubber tree {Ficus elaatica), is often planted in gardens and
parks; it is quite pretty when young, but loses its beauty as it grows to
a medium sized tree with unsymmetrical Umbs and scant foliage.
Of native species of Ficus there are ten or more, all with neat, lus-
trous foliage, some, Uke F, suffocans, very common and conspicuous
parasites in forests, their long aerial roots growing into stems which,
uniting, form in time a huge, misshai)en hollow trunk enclosing the
host tree in a tight embrace and destroying it.
One of the handsomest trees in Cuba, plentiful everywhere in
streets, parks and gardens, is Poinciana regia, the flamboyant of the
French and Spaniards, and fire tree of the English, native of Madagas-
car, thence carried to Martinique and later to all the other Antilles.
Its dense, finely divided, fern-like foliage, as it gracefully undulates
under the breeze, displaying various, harmoniously blended shades of
green, or as seen sharply projected against the luminous blue of the
Cuban sky, baffles description. During the summer it becomes a burn-
ing mass of fiery red blossoms, truly a "flamboyant" object. It has
one serious objection; its leaves are deciduous, and in the winter the
bare straggling limbs are redeemed from vulgarity only by the long
164 THE PLANT WOELD
pods, machete-like, depending therefrom. Its near relative, Poiiidana
pulcherrima, is one of the commonest shrubs in cultivation.
Also a notable street tree, planted on account of its quick growth
and hardiness, more common in Santiago than Havana, is the sandbox,
{Hura crepitans)^ with thorny trunk, spreading limbs, heart-shai)ed leaf
and tomato-like fruit. The latter, when dry, bursts with a loud snap,
scattering its flat seed for thirty or forty yards (farther if the wind
blows) round about.
Driving on the beautiful macadamized roads, or calzadas, which
radiate from the capital into the country, we find various sx>ecies of
trees often forming for miles almost an uninterrupted arch of verdure.
Unfortunately they are planted so close together that few reach their
perfect development Besides the flamboyant and the figs already de-
scribed, these calzada trees are mostly the leguminous Egyptian Acacia,
Algaroba, shell-podded Acacia, and the malvaceous majagua, all com-
bining ornamental qualities with longevity and useful timber. The
Ghiines calzada is perhaps the one richest in species and most interest-
ing to the student of arboriculture.
Egyptian Acacia {Acacia Lebbek), a medium-sized spreading tree,
with dense dark green foliage, conspicuous clusters of yellow stamens,
and flat pods drying white.
Algaroba (Calliwidra Saman)^ a magnificent, wide-spreading tree
with thick, glossy foliage (pinnae and leaflets closing tight at night),
handsome clusters of crimson stamens in April and May, and long, lin-
ear, pulpy pods. Apparently introduced, and not yet as common as it
deserves to be.
Shell-i)odded Acacia {Enterolobium cyclocarpum) with much the
habit and foliage of the flamboyant, but white flowers in small, round
heads and flat pod incurved on the edge into a complete circle, the old
black fruit often abundant in May when the tree is in blossom.
Majagua (PaHtium tilia^eum), shrub or small tree, with showy yel-
low flowers, and P. elatium, a larger tree with light pink flowers changing
to orange and red, probably only forms of the same species, with the
aspect of an overgrown Hibiscus. It yields a hard, flexible, greenish-
blue wood highly prized by cabinet-makers, and a tough, fibrous inner
bark.
Also more or less ornamental, and seen on calzadas, in gardens
and squares, the following may be mentioned:
Termindlia catappa,tiie East Indian almond tree, with ample leaves
and palatable, almond-like fruit; its limbs often growing in two or
three spreading, parasol-like whorls, producing a fine effect.
Coccoloba uvifera, seaside grape, or uva caleta of the Cubans, a
pretty little tree, common on sandy shores and in cultivation, with
THE PLANT WORLD.
VOL. IV. PLATE XII
The Date Palm {Phoenix daciyii/era.)
THE PLANT WOELD 165
large, round, shining leaTes and narrow bunches of black grapes; ber-
ries rather sour to the human palate, but greedily devoured by birds;
wood reddish-brown, hard, compact and durable.
Bavugainvillea spectdbilis^ a large nyctagineous shrub or short-stem-
med tree, one of the commonest and brightest ornaments of gardens,
with spreading, long, reclining branches forming an arbor, covered nearly
all the year with a profusion of bell-shaped, purplish flowers, the ap-
parent corolla being in reality formed of three large bracts enclosing
three smaller inconspicuous flowers.
Lagerstroemia Indica, crape-myrtle, is not rare in gardens, but I
have never seen it with the profuse inflorescence which makes it so
attractive in the Southern States.
Pdchira aqvutica, Carolina, large native tree, of peculiar beauty
when putting forth its large conspicuous balls of purplish stamens in
the early summer on linlbs still bare of foliage. P. insignia, with brick-
red flowers appearing with the leaves, is occasionally cultivated.
Adan8onia digitata, baobab, an African giant sometimes seen in
Cuba; a specimen in Guanabacoa is seven or eight feet in diameter, and
very attractive when in blossom, with cui)-shaped flowers hanging from
long pedicels; the hairy fruit is filled with farinaceous pulp which
makes an agreeable, refreshing drink.
Melia Azederach, China tree, seldom more than a shrub or small
tree, and not as common as it ought to be.
Castilloa elastica, American rubber tree, introduced from Mexico,
thriving only near water.
Tecoma pentaphylla, good sized native tree with conspicuous pink
flowers and digitate leaves. T. serrati/olia, with bright yellow flowers
has been sparingly introduced. The shrubby T. atans is very common
all over the island, in dry, rocky places, much as in western Texas.
Thevetia neriifolia, cabalonga, handsome shrub or small tree, very
common in cultivation, with linear leaves and saffron colored corolla.
Its relatives, the oleander and jessamines are, of course, frequently
seen.
Parkinaonia aculeata, Jerusalem thorn, so common in the South-
western States is rare here, although of great merit for ornament.
Moringa pterygoaperma, horse-radish tree, an elegant little tree nat-
uralized from the Old World, with dissected foliage, white or lilac flow-
ers, and winged seeds in long, ridged pods. A good oil may be ob-
tained from the seeds, and the roots are said to be an excellent substi-
tute for horse-radish.
Cluaia roaea, a handsome native tree, the foliage and flowers suggest-
ing those of Magnolia.
Eugenia Jamboa, pomarosa or rose apple, introduced from the Old
166 THE PLANT WOELD
World, becoming naturalized; with conspicuous white flowers and -per-
fumed fruit. To the same family belongs the pomegranate, Punica
granatum, cultivated for its pretty flowers and fruit in all warm coun-
tries.
Grescentia ciijete, calabash of the English, and giiira of the Cubans,
small native tree common in cultivation, although neither handsome
nor very useful, with spatulate leaves on the spreading undivided
branches, and subglobose fruit the size of a large orange, its hard shell
used as dipper, vase, and for ornament. (7. cucurbitina, magiiira, is
another native but less common species, with oblong leaves and ovoid,
brittle fruit. The wood of both species is white, fine-grained, tough
and compact.
Eucalyptus, Only one species, E. ghbosus, the blue gum, has been
tried in Cuba, and proved a failure; specimens are seen here and there
but almost always undergrown, gnarled, and struggling for life. Other
species are being planted: E, resini/era, robusta, amygdalinay rostratay
cornutay etc., and the result will be watched with interest.
Pa7idanu8 utilis, screw pine, under several forms; small palm-like
tree with ensiform crowded leaves arranged spirally on the woody
stems.
Gasuarvna equisetifolia, Australian pine, tall pyramidal, upright
tree, with the aspect of a pine, but having nothing else in common with
conifers, the long, drooping, filiform, leafless branchlets givii>g it a
rather dishevelled, mournful appearance, and therefore an appropriate
ornament of cemeteries, where it takes the place of the cypress of other
climes, being particidarly conspicuous in Colon cemetery.
The North American visitor here sadly misses the coniferous ever-
greens. How many would thrive I cannot tell, but certainly some
would repay a trial. With the exception of Araucaria and an occa-
sional Thuya or Gunninghamia, none are to be seen.
( To be continued. \
THE PLANT WOELD 167
DR. CHARLES MOHR.
By S. M. Tracy.
DE. Charles Mohr was bom in Esslinger, Wurtembnrg, Germany,
on December 28, 1824, and died at Asheville, N. C, on July 17,
1901. In his death the country has lost one of its ablest botan-
ists as well as one of its best men.
He was educated in the polytechnic school of Stuttgart, where he
gave special attention to the study of the natural sciences, and on leav-
ing the school in 1845, he was api)ointed botanist of an exploring expe-
dition sent to investigate the natural resources of the country along the
Surinam river in Dutch Guiana, South America. The climate there
proved unfavorable to his health, and at the end of a year he was
obliged to return to Germany. He soon secured employment as a
chemist in a manufactory of chemicals at Brunn, in Moravia, where he
remained until the stormy times of 1848 compelled the closing of the
establishment with which he was connected. He then came to this
country, reaching New York in October, 1848, and Cincinnati a few
days later. He soon found employment in a chemical establishment
there, but early the next spring he, like thousands of others, deter-
mined to seek his fortune in the newly discovered gold fields of Cali-
fornia. He joined the "Cincinnati Gold Mining and Trading Co.,"
composed of about fifty of the best young men of the city, and in March
began their long journey. The party outfitted at Independence, Mis-
souri, and made rapid progress for a time, but lacking in experience,
their fast travel was done at the expense of their teams, which were
compelled to draw heavily loaded wagons across the open prairie day
after day. On reaching Fort Laramie their horses were so broken
down that a different mode of travel became a necessity. Mining tools,
scientific instruments, apparatus for assaying, and everything except-
ing articles of the barest necessity were abandoned, pack-saddles were
substituted for wagons, and the party divided itself into a number of
independent squads. Fort Hall was reached early in July, when a still
further reduction in baggage became necessary, and Dr. Mohr was com-
pelled to abandon the collection of plants to which he had made almost
daily additions since leaving the Missouri river. This was a loss which
caused the deepest regret to the young collector, and one which can be
appreciated only by those who have known by experience the labor,
cost, and delight of collecting unrecognized material in an unknown
region. It was a foot-sore, starved and ragged party of seven which
finally reached Sacramento on August 12th, and began its search for
gold. The party had fair success in mining, but the following spring a
severe attack of mountain fever left Dr. Mohr so weak that he returned
168 THE PLANT WORLD
to the East, coming via the Panama rente. On reaching the Isthmus
he was prostrated with Chagres fever, and during his sickness his pack
mules were stolen, and with them disappeared the large botanical col-
lection which he had made in California.
Soon after his return he established himself in the drug business
at Louisville, Kentucky, where in 1852 he married Sophie Roemer, who
survives him. In 1856 his health became such that he was obliged to
find a more southern climate, and he spent the following year in the
vicinity of Orizaba, Mexico, and the collections which he made at that
time gave us almost the first botanical knowledge of that section, which
has been visited by so many botanists during the last fifteen years. On
his return to this country in 1867, he located in Mobile, where he estab-
lished himself in the drug business, which he continued until his re-
tirement in 1892^ his firm being at that time the oldest drug firm in the
city. At the outbreak of the civil war, he, together with Dr. F. J. F.
Bohmer, established a laboratory for the preparation of medical suj)-
plies for the Confederate army.
In 1880 he made the investigation of the forests of the Gulf region
for the 10th census. In 1883 he made collections of field and forest
products of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad region for the New
Orleans Exposition, and in doing that work made the finest collection
of woods which had ever been brought together in the United States.
In 1884 and 1885 he had charge of the Alabama exhibit at New Orleans.
He was an honorary member of the Ohio and the Louisiana State
Pharmaceutical Associations, a member of the American Pharmaceuti-
cal Association, a corresponding member of the Philadelphia Academy
of Natural Sciences, of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, of the
Torrey Botanical Club, and a fellow of the American Association for
the Advancement of Science. Prom the time of its organization he was
an active and leading member of the American Forestry Congress, and
attended its meetings more regularly than those of any other associa-
tion. The degree of Ph. D. was conferred on him by the State Univer-
sity of Alabama.
After his retirement from active business in 1892, he was engaged
for a number of years in a systematic investigation of the forest trees
of the South for the Department of Agricultrure, and was busied more
or less constantly with that work until 1900. During that time he gave
special attention to the pines, and in 1896 published an exhaustive
review of the "Timber Pines of the Southern United States," which was
issued as Bulletin 13, of the Division of Forestry.
During all his long residence in Alabama, he found his rest and
recreation in studying the flora of the State, storing away his collec-
tions and notes until he should be able to make them a valuable con-
THE PLANT WORLD
VOL. IV. PLATE XIII.
S€(X/l^
170 THE PLANT WOELD
This brief sketch of his life and work can give no real idea of Dr,
Mohr to those who had not the good fortune to know him, but to those
who shared his work and know how the love of nature warmed his
heart and shone from his face, no words can add to the value and joy
of his memory which will abide in the hearts of his friends.
Biloxi, Mississippi.
THE PASQUE FLOWER.
By John M. Holzingeb.
ONE of the most conspicuous objects on many of our western prai-
ries, soon after the winter's snow is gone, is the pasque fiower
{Pulsatilla Ludovicimia) wrongly called crocus. They dot the
drier gravelly fields, the flowers appearing at first very short-stemmed,
X)eeping barely above the bunches of last year's dry leaves, later with
elongated scapes, some singly, others in clumps of ten, twenty, and
even more flowers. Herbarium specimens are inadequate for represent-
ing the curious underground development of this plant from year to
year, and it is hox>ed that the accompanying study will be a satisfactory
supplement to existing descriptions and figures. The left-hand figure
represents a younger plant of a few years' growth, blooming the first
or second time, with three leaf buds of diflferent ages. As in Caltha,
Hepatica, and many other perennial so-called '• stemless " herbs, the
underground buds of the pasque fiower have for bud scales the bases of
last year's leaves. These, to avoid multiplicity of detail, are mostly
removed both in the smaller and in the larger central drawing. The
latter represents about one-half of a clump which was estimated to be
over twenty years old.
It appears, from a study of the several stages of bud growth, that a
newly set bud has to function as a modest leaf-bud for at least three
years before it can aspire to the reproductive functions, and add to its
two or three leaves a fiower. The stem, of which an enlarged cross-
section is shown in the lower right-hand comer, never rises above
ground. It becomes ultimately much ramified, appearing like a diminu-
tive tree top, with its branches all submerged beneath the soil. Both
root and stem tissues persist and accumulate from year to year. A
striking difference is noted, in this respect, in different herbaceous
plants, and by way of (5omparison the case of the marsh marigold only
may be mentioned. At the blooming time of the latter plant, three
generations of annual, or better biennial roots, may be observed — a set
of- decaying roots perpendicularly below those that are concerned in
171
THE PLANT WORLD
Vol. IV. Plate XIV.
The Pasque Flower {Pulsatilla Ludoviciana, )
172 THE PLANT WOELD
the growth of the year, and a set of little " sprouting " roots just above
that ring of active roots. It must be that this root arrangement com-
pels the plant to pnU itself down into the ground each succeeding year.
The pasque flower, on the other hand, having a root system like trees
and shrubs, can not thus tuck itself back, but eventually forms a slight
elevation, the soil for which is supplied by ants and the wind.
The flower bud, at first surrounded by the silk covered fringes of
the involucre, at the time of flowering is raised about an inch above it.
But soon after flowering, this little inch long stem rapidly lengthens
(eight inches or more), bearing aloft the head of hairy-tailed achenes,
while the scape below the involucre does not lengthen at all after flow-
ering. This development is moderately shown in the lower right-hand
figure.
Winona, Minnesota.
It goes without saying that an annual plant must seed every year
and go through the whole round of life safely, or it will be destroyed
But a perennial, on the other hand, need seed and grow from seedlings
perhaps only once in a generation. Mr. Clement Beid, in his unique
and valuable work on the " Origin of the British Flora," makes the fol-
lowing interesting statements regarding a number of common British
plants:
"The horse-chestnut grows well even as far north as Bergen in
Norway, and in Britain it produces abundance of ripe seeds every year;
but even in the south of England, as far as I am aware, it never suc-
ceeds in establishing itself from self-sown seeds. The common elm
( Ulmus campesfris), on the other hand, in England only produces per-
fect seed about once in forty years. Forty yeara is far less than the
life time of an elm, and if the tree seeds once in a life time, and the
seed germinates, the species may establish itself. Perfect seeds have
not come under my observation, and I cannot therefore say whether
this elm does grow from seedlings. It is generally said only to occur
where planted. The butcher's broom {Buscus aeideatus) is an instance
of a plant which just manages to hold its own. After watching it fruit-
ing for twelve years in succession, I find that as a rule only about one
plant in fifty produces any fruit, and these are not only few in number,
but, as they ripen in November, an early winter may prevent them rip-
ening at all. The plant being perennial and hardy can survive, but it
has evidently reached its northern limit in Britain. The sycamore,
maritime pine and common rhododendron (i?. Ponficum) are instances
of plants undoubtedly introduced, which seed and grow freely from
seedlings in the south of England."
Have any of our readers made observations on our plants along
these lines?
THE PLANT WORLD 173
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
What Shall We Do About It?
Some weeks ago the bnsiness management of this journal sent out
mailing cards to all the former known subscribers to the Aaa Gray Bul-
letin^ with the view of ascertaining whether sufficient financial support
to warrant the reprinting of Volume I. No. 1 of the Bulletin could be
secured. Those receiving the cards were requested to sign a promise
to pay twenty-five cents for such reprint, and to return the cards to the
office of the Plant World Company. At the present time we are
obliged to announce that the response has not been sufficient to justify
the expense of making the plates.
The A8a Gray BvlUtin was established as the organ of the Asa
Gray Chapter of the Agassiz Association — a small but earnest body of
amateur students who issued a small and unpretentious magazine.
There was at first no thought of attempting to secure a subscription
list beyond the Chapter membership, and hence the edition of this first
number of the Bulletin was very limited, and was almost entirely dis-
tributed among the members. Later the growing interest in popular
botany, and the need of some publication to represent this science in
the primary and secondary schools caused the editors to materially
enlarge the pages and scope of the Bulletin, which continued to grow
and gain in importance until the time of its absorption by The Plant
World. Since that time the sales of back issues have been quite exten-
sive, and most of the purchasers of these back volumes are naturally
anxious to complete their sets of Volume I. The net proceeds from
these sales are turned over to the families of the late editors of the BuU
letin, Gilbert H. Hicks and Thomas A. Williams, so that our own inter-
est in the matter is purely that of an agent. We do not therefore feel
warranted in reprinting the number in question unless the amount is
practically assured by subscription aside from the revenues now de-
rived from the sale of the Bulletin. At the same time it must be ad-
mitted that Volume I, if complete, could probably be disposed of to
much greater advantage, and the families of the deceased editors would
reap greater benefits. We will accordingly hold the question open for
a short time to await the effect of this public announcement to readers
of The Plant World, many of whom were former supporters of the
174 THE PLANT WOELD
Bulletin; and we hope that sufficient pledges of financial support may
be received to insure the re-publication. From the standpoint of the
bibliophile alone the opportunity is an important one, since this num-
ber of the suspended journal can never be obtained hereafter, and will
become rarer with each succeeding year.
In our advertising pages of this issue will be found a full price list
of the BvMetin, with a synopsis of its leading contents during the eight
years of its existence. — Publishers of The Plant World.
Australian Forests.
The imi)ortance of forest conservation is beginning to receive in-
creased attention in Australia, where the revenue from the state forests
remains considerably below that obtained in countries possessing far
less wealth of timber. In New South Wales, according to Mr. Coghlan,
forests, contrary to the x)opular idea in Europe and America, extend
over almost the whole area of the State, excepting portions of the Mo-
naro, the Lachlan, the Murrumbidgee districts, and the trans-Darling
region, where extensive treeless plains occur, clothed with salt-bush,
scrub, or species of natural grasses. The country covered by timber
may be divided into three classes — open, brush, and scrub forests. The
first of these cover the greater portion of the surface of the State, and
are found in every formation. The trees met with are chiefiy species
of Eucalyptus, Angophora, and other genera of the family Myrtaceae.
The prevalence of the eucalypti, and the large extent covered by the
forests, give the country a rather monotonous aspect; but the park-like
appearance of the open forests, and the beauty of the many flowering
shrubs, win admiration in spite of the sameness of the trees, while even
the dull, greyish-blue of the foliage of the gum tree, when relieved by
the yellow blossoms of the wattle, including the graceful myall, or the
beautiful and shapely kurrajong, is not without its attractiveness. The
trees, are, for the most part, straight and cylindrical in the trunk, and
when full grown, their first branch is a considerable height from the
ground. The roots of the eucalyptus often lie at no great distance from
the surface soil, an adaptation of nature to the peculiar climatic condi-
tions of the country. The finest sx>ecimens of most of the timber trees,
those yielding the most valuable timber, are found on ridges and hill-
sides, in places frequently too rough and stony for cultivation. This
circumstance is in many ways fortunate for the State. In the course
of settlement, when the rich plains axe denuded of their trees, and when
scarcity will make timber more appreciated than it is at present, land
not adapted for agricultural settlement will still be available for the
cultivation of the finest trees. Among the many trees of commercial
THE PLANT WORLD 175
value, immense specimens of red gum and apple trees, on the northern
river flats, mark the course of the stream; while on the ridges and
mountain sides, other species predominate, such as the white or she-
ironbark, narrow-leaved ironbark, broad-leaved ironbark, mugga or red
ironbark, blackbutt, white mahogany, tallow-wood, spotted gum, grey-
box, red mahogany, grey gum, forest red gum, and Sydney blue gum.
Neither must turpentine, one of the most beautiful trees of the State,
nor the brush box of the northern rivers, a tree much in request for
ornamental purposes, be forgotten. The brush forests cover a large
extent of country along the coasi The trees found in them differ en-
tirely from those of the open forests, and there is no lack of variety
either in the character of the trees or the color of their foliage. Tall,
graceful fern trees, sometimes attaining a height of sixty feet, beautiful
species of palms, cabbage trees, and Moreton Bay figs of enormous pro-
portions are prominent features of the northern brushes, though these
are perhaps more ornamental than useful. There are, however, found
in the brush forests timber trees of the greatest value. Among these
may be mentioned the red cedar and its close allies, rosewood and red
bean, three of the most valuable woods of the State; beech, a valuable,
little shrinking wood, now getting scarce; colonial or hoop pine, a soft
wood, not of the best quality; brown or berry pine, which resists white
ants and other timber pests in a marked degree. Besides the timbers
mentioned, there are worthy of note the silky oak, the red silky oak or
beefwood, tulipwood, flindosa or cudgerie, native teak, blueberry ash,
maiden's blush, red ash, corkwood, and many others too numerous to
mention. The character of the vegetation of the brush forests alters
considerably according to the latitude. The trees of the genera Arau^
carta and Flindersia, as well as cedar and its allies, find a home chiefly
in the northern parts of the State, while many of the trees growing in
the south have no representatives in the northern forests. The soil of
the brush lands is wonderfully fertile, consisting as it does of decom-
posed volcanic rocks, enriched by the accumulation of decayed vege-
table matter, and when cleared it yields an abundant return. The
scrub forests are found in the poor soils, principally in the Lachlan and
Darling districts. The chief genera represented are the pines, and
multitudinous species of acacia and eucalyptus; but although some of
the trees are of great beauty, they have little commercial value. The
most uninviting portion of the State is covered with scrub, and the mal-
ice districts, clotibed as they are with stunted timber — species of euca-
lyptus — ^impress the traveler more unfavorably than would even a bar-
ren waste. The varying character of the forest country in New South
Wales readily explains the conflicting accounts of visitors, each of
whom simply describes what he saw, accepting it as representing the
whole. — John Plummer, in Forest Leaves for August, 1901.
176 THE PLANT WOELD
GENERAL ITEMS.
The Journal of the New York Botanical Garden for August con-
tains a very interesting and instructive article on the nature and uses
of the peanut. This was deKvered as a lecture at the Garden last May,
but the author is not stated. A full account of the peculiar method by
which the plant rii)ens its seeds is given, followed by a discussion of
the food value of peanuts and their other economic uses.
In nearly every old-fashioned garden in the north of Europe, a
plant of wormwood is regarded as essential. The leaves dried, reduced
to x>owder, mixed with bread into a pill, is an infallible remedy as a
vermifuge. It is also called ''old man," but why is not on record.
Singularly, on the Pacific, Artemisia Calif omica is also called "old
man." The Indians believe they can fortell the weather. If before the
rainy season comes, the roots are not more than six inches long, there
will be plenty of rain — ^if over a foot, there will be a dry season. It is
supposed that the plant knows beforehand that there will be little rain,
and so sends its roots deep, in order to prepare for the drought at the
surface. — Meehans' Monthly far August.
The John Day Basin, in which I spent practically the entire month
of July just passed, is situated in north-central Oregon, where it occu-
pies a position between the north and south ranges of the Blue Moun-
tains. It is drained by the John Day river and its numerous branches
and tributaries, and is from one to two hundred miles from the Colum-
bia river. The cultivation of the region is confined to very narrow
strii)s along the river bottoms, and is dei)endent entirely on irrigation.
The principal crop is alfalfa. I was struck by the number and home-
like appearance of certain common weeds. Thus the mullein ( Verhas-
cum Thapstis) covered every hillside, the stalks often eight feet in
height. Sweet clover is there regarded as a pernicious weed. It lines
every irrigation ditch, and as it seeds freely, is distributed over all the
ground reached by the water. Yarrow is also an abundant weed. — F.
H.K.
THE PIJLNT WOELD 177
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
The Broom-Grasses of Wyoming is the subject of a Bulletin (No
46, Wyoming Agric. Exper. Station) by Professor Aven Nelson.
In an interesting paper recently published in the Proceedings of
the Iowa Academy of Sciences, Mr. Carleton B. Ball enumerates the
willows of the State of Iowa. He describes fourteen si)ecies.
In the Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Sciences (Vol. VII.),
Professor L. H. Pammel describes and figures a remarkable quince
fruit which produced over one hundred seeds, contained in five cells.
Ordinarily the ceUs are normally three to five, and the seeds much
fewer in number.
Bean diseases and their Bemedies is the subject of a valuable Bul-
letin by Dr. B. D. Halsted (N. J. Agric. Exper. Station, No. 151), in
which he describes the fungus diseases that have become troublesome
to the grower of the ordinary garden sorts. Each form is fully illus-
trated, and the best means of combating it given.
In my notes on Kentucky plants in your last issue, I should have
said that Styrax pidverulenta and not ^S'. Americana was found in Ohio
county, and that I also found Comus strictUy these both out of their
usual range. I also find Hicoria Garolinae-septentriorudis in this county.
This extends its range considerably to the northwest. — Sadie F. Price,
Bowling Green, Kentucky.
A few years ago the supposed number of North American si)ecies
of Antennaria could be counted on one's fingers, but once attention was
turned to them, each form was found to be an aggregate, with the result
that within the past five years some fifty species have been character-
ized. In a recent pai)er Mr. Elias Nelson (Proceedings U. S. National
Museum, Vol. XXTTT. pp. 697-713) has presented a timely revision of
178 THE PLANT WORLD
the species allied to Antennaria alpina and A. dioica oocnrring in north-
em and western North America. He enumerates 35 species and 7 sub-
species, of which number 4 are described as new.
The genus Ndumbo exhibits such a variety of x)eculiar and seem-
ingly inconsistent characters, that its systematic position has been
much in dispute. In anatomy the plant seems to conform more nearly
to the tyx)e of the monocotyledons, while on the other hand the large
X)eltate leaves with their reticulate venation are perhaps more sugges-
tive of the dicotyledons. The flower might easily belong to one of
either class. With the view of ascertaining the bearing of tibe develox>-
ment of the embryo on the question of systematic position, H. L. Lyon
has recently studied (Minnesota Botanical Studies) the fruit. He con-
cludes that both in its anatomy and embryology it conforms to the type
of the monocotyledons, and should be classified among them in the
series Helobiae.
THE PLANT WOELD 179
EDITORIAL.
It has not usually been found necessary to protect plants against
botanists, for no true plant-lover will uproot the last specimens of a rare
species, no matter how much he may desire them for his herbarium.
The perpetuation of a plant in its original habitat is of far more imi>ort-
ance than the possession of the last-known dried specimen of it. But
with some amateurs and the pestiferous ''summer visitor** the case is
far different, and well may concealment be resorted to to save the
showy, rare or otherwise interesting plants from vandal hands. The
passing of the climbing fern from "many of its New England haunts, is
still too fresh in mind to x>ermit of exx)eriment. It is, therefore, with
feelings of profound astonishment that we open the pages of a recent
issue of a prominent botanical journal, and find therein the'advertise-
ment of a well-known railroad under the caption: '' If you are looking
for the best botanizing in the Eastern States you should save up x>en-
nies enough to visit The * * * " ! Then follows a two page list of
rare or interesting plants, with explicit directions how to reach them —
via this railroad ! Of course this advertisement, or the essential part
of it, was written by a botanist (^), and evidently a thoroughly com-
petent one, who has sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, possibly
in the form of an annual pass over this railroad: The certain effect of
turning loose a horde of more or less irresponsible x)eople among
"rare" plants is shown conclusively in the same issue of this journal,
and in the same State! Following is the wail of despair: " Gamptoso-
rus rhizophyllus. In one locality only, growing over a ledge, near * .
When I last visited the place in 1894, the plants were being decimated
by local amateur collectors." ''Twelve years ago Adiantum pedatum
was very common all about this region; but the plant has been so much
sought after by summer visitors that it is practically extinct in all
accessible localities."
Need anything further be said?
180 THE PLANT WOBLD
BOOK REVIEWS.
Disease m Plants. By H. Marshall Ward, Sc. D., F. R. S. 309 pages.
Macmillan & Co., New York and London, 1901.
In the above work we have a fresh and interesting general discus-
sion of this subject. The book is one of a set termed "Nature Series."
In the treatment of the subject the author has departed somewhat from
the usual method of presentation. The book is divided into two parts,
the first of which, " Some Factors," is scarcely covered by the title of
the work. This consists of eight chapters devoted to a concise and
very readable account of the present status of our knowledge of the
principal facts of plant physiology, pointing out the great advances
which have recently been made in our knowledge of this subject. Part
2, " Disease in Plants," includes chapters IX to XXX. In the fij^t
chapter of this part are given brief but comprehensive discussions of
phytopathology and the most important steps in its developments with
its divisions. In the next chapter we have a discussion of health and
disease, in which is pointed out the difficulty of giving an exact defini-
nition of disease and of deciding when disease is present in a plant.
In the next chapter on " Causes of Disease," attention is called to the
great number of factors which influence the plant, and the difficulty of
deciding to which the disease is attributable. The living and non-
living environments with their complex interactions make it very diffi-
cult to determine the exact cause of any trouble. The next chapter is
given to a discussion of the living environment in its relation to plant
diseases. Here brief discussions are given of injuries by man and other
animals, and also those which are either directly or indirectly caused
by plants. Next follow chapters on the nature of disease, spreading of
disease and epidemics, the factors of an epidemic, remedial measures,
variation and disease, symptoms of disease, artificial wounds, excres-
cences, exudations and rotting, necrotic diseases, monstrosities and
malformations, and finally one on life and death. The book is intended
for the use of practical agriculturalists and the gardeners, and treats of
the various subjects in a brief and non-technical manner, but at the
same time presenting the essential facts regarding the subject as they
are understood at present. The book should be carefully read by all
students taking up work in phytopathology. The author's scientific
standing as a phytopathologist is sufficient guanuatee for the accuracy
of the work, which should be ead by all who are interested in this
subject. — C. L. S.
THE PLANT WORLD
VOL. IV. PLATE XV.
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol, IV. OCTOBER, 1901. No. 10.
NOTES ON TREES OF CUBA.
By Db. Valery Hayabd, Subgeon, U. S. A.
{Concluded from page 166.)
Fruit Trees.
TEOPICAL fruits, as a very general rule, contain much more sugar
than northern fruits, and the period during which they are pala-
table and wholesome, that is, from the time they are fully npe to
that when they begin to ferment and decay, is relatively short; they
appear also to be more readily affected by weather, soil and culture,
hence great variations in their flavor and quality. Americans seldom
take to them kindly at first, but after some cultivation of taste, often
become fond of them. The various species of Citrus thrive in Cuba,
and yield prime fruit. The fine fiavor of the uncultivated orange shows
how easily it would be to develop sui)erior grades by selection and cul-
tivation. So far, the attention of all land owners and planters has been
absorbed by sugar cane and tobacco, so that fruits and vegetables have
been neglected to an amazing degree, but it is very probable that in
the near future the bulk of the best oranges and lemons in the market
of the United States will come from Cuba and Porto Bico.
Of all fruit trees in Cuba, the Mango {Mangifera Indica) stands
pre-eminent by the size and beauty of the tree and abundance and
quality of the fruit. It must have been imx)orted from India at an
early day, for groves of it are found in all parts of the island, hardier
and apparently more at home than many native trees, thriving in all
kinds of soils and situations. When fully developed, its noble stature,
strong, spreading limbs, ample, thick and glossy evergreen foliage,
thick clusters of white fiowers in winter, and abundant drupes hanging
182 THE PLANT WOELD
from long pedicels in summer, make it one of the handsomest trees in
the world. The fruit is about the size of an apple or pear, but of
unique and characteristic shape, which might be described as a flat-
tened cone with oblique base, and rounded, slightly incurved point.
There are dozens of varieties of mangoes, some entirely delicious, others
more or less stringy and resinous, but in all of them tlie bulk of the
stone is a sore disappointment. The future Cuban cultivator who first
obtains a notable reduction of stone and corresponding increase of
pulp, will do as much for his country as the patriot who first estab-
lishes a well ordered government. The mango is perfectly wholesome,
in spite of the injurious remarks levelled at it by the ignorant and the
prejudiced. In the first days of the invasion of Cuba by American
troops, when rations were scant, the writer has seen whole regiments
feeding on mangoes, and never heard of a case of sickness resulting
therefrom.
To the same family (Anacardiaceae) belongs the cashew, or ma-
ranon of the Cubans {Aiiacardium occidentale), a small, pretty tree with
large, leathery, rounded leaves and the peculiar, often-described kid-
ney-shaped fruit resting upon the much larger, pyriform pedicel. The
roasted nut is very fine, somewhat like peanut, but of much more deli-
cate flavor. As to the fleshy pedicel, it is so pungently astringent that
no one with normal taste ever eats it a second time.
Here also belong the hog plums {Spondiaa lutea and ^S', purpurea)^
the jobo and ciruela of the Cubans, both (esi)ecially the latter) culti-
vated, the plum-like fruit with large ridged stone, thick skin and scant
but pleasantly acidulated pulp, much relished by the natives.
The one tropical or semi-tropical fruit which northern visitors like
from the very fijrst and remain fond of, a delicious and most wholesome
fruit-vegetable is that of Persea gratissima, the aguacate, from which
Indian-Spanish name are derived the alligator pear of the English and
the avocatier of the French. ' It is a rather tall tree of upright habit,
with elliptical, shining leaves a half-foot long. The pear-shaped fruit
begins to ripen in April and lasts all summer; it consists of a large
stone, thick greenish-yellow oleaginous pulp and hard skin. The pulp
is mostly eaten as a salad, but is very palatable in any shax)e.
The Anonaceae play an important part in the fruit supply of the
Cuban market, the four following si)ecies, small, umnteresting trees,
being commonly cultivated. The first two are native, the last two in-
troduced.
Anona sqwamosa^ sweet sop of the English, anon of the Cubans;
common in fields, its fruit resembling a small pineapple and the best
of the genus, being much consumed raw and in ices.
A, muricata, sour sop, the guanabana of the Cubans, has a much
THE PLANT WOELD 183
larger fruit, covered with soft, curved prickles, looking somewhat like
a dark green porcupine; the white pulp makes delicious drinks and
ices.
A, reticidata, custard apple, the mamon of the Cubans, is hard to
distinguish by the foliage from A. cherimolia, the cherimoya of Span-
iard and English. The fruit of the former has an areolated, reticu-
lated surface, and ripens in March and April; that of the latter is
minutely tuberculate, and ripens much later. The taste of both is
described as " a slight, agreeable acidity mingled with a luscious sweet-
ness," but is seldom appreciated by the visiting stranger.
Next to Anonaceae, the Sapotaceae contribute the greatest number
of trees with edible fruit. The following three, whose fruits are com-
monly kept in Cuban markets, deserve mention:
Ghrysophyllum cainitOy star apple or caimito, a medium-sized,
shapely tree T\dth oval to oblong leaves, lustrous above, golden pubes-
cent beneath, and round fruit, eight to ten-celled, the reddish pulp of a
very pleasant sweetish-acidulous flavor.
Lucuma mammosa, mamey Colorado or mamey sapote (called Sa-
pote in Santiago), the mammee sapota of the English. In common
cultivation; not unfrequently fifty to sixty feet high, the obovate-oblong
leaves with long wedge-shaped base; fruit ovoid, four to five inches
long, with hard, rough, brownish skin, and one to three large, shining,
black seeds; the reddish, soft, homogeneous pulp is not unlike rich
custard.
Achras sapota, sapote of the Cubans (called nispero in Santiago)
and sapodilla of the English. A smaller tree than the preceding, with
oblong-lanceolate, wrinkled leaves, crowded at the end of the branches^
the globose or ovoid fruit one to two inches in diameter, with brownish,
thin skin, and eight to ten seeds in a yellowish pulp. Eaten as it be-
comes soft, in the incipient stage of decay, it is very palatable, being
more acidulous than the preceding, and preferred by many.
The mamey de Santo Domingo (Mammea Americana), of the Clu-
siaceae, not to be confounded with the mamey Colorado, is a large,
beautiful tree, fifty to eighty feet high, with obovate-oblong, lustrous
leaves; the globose, russet fruit, three to six inches in diameter, con-
tains one to four seeds in a yellowish, granular pulp, and is eaten raw
or cooked, but not highly esteemed in either state. The reddish wood
is very hard and durable.
The Rosaceae, which in higher latitudes produce the bulk of our
best fruits, here do not furnish a single fruit of any value, Prunics
occidentalis is described as a pretty tree, with hard, compact wood, but
its cherry is not used except perhaps to impart a flavor of hydrocyanic
acid to certain liquors. The only tree of that family cultivated to any
184 THE PLANT WORLD
extent, sometimes large and handsome, is the Japanese nisx)ero or med-
lar, loquat {Briobotrya Japonica), whose yellow, marble-shaped fruit,
produced in abundant clusters, has a really delicious acidulous flavor.
Allied to the rose family is the native icaco {Chrysobalanits Ica>co),
seldom more than a large shrub, with white flowers in cymes and plum-
like, ribbed fruit, mostly used in preserves and confections.
One of the most common and x)opular fruits in Cuba is that from
the mamoncilla {Melicocca hijuga\ a large fine tree with characteristic
leaf of four leaflets. The perfectly round, green fruit is very astringent
until fully ripe in July, when it becomes deliciously flavored, and is
much consumed in spite of the large stone and rather scant pulp.
To the same family belongs Blighia aapida, the akee of the English
and arbol del seso of the Spaniards, with strikingly ornamental scarlet
fruit, containing an eatable white arillus. This tree, so commonly cul-
tivated in Jamaica and other Antilles, is very rarely seen in Cuba.
The most profitable of all native fruits is that of the guava or guay-
ava of tke Spaniards {Psidium Gxuijava)^ which grows wild everywhere
as a shrub or small tree, with stiff, strongly-veined, oblong leaves and
globose or obovate, many-seeded berries, which, besides being made
into the well-known paste and jelly, are also very good raw.
We have already seen that the Cubans have their plums or ciru-
elas, species of Spondias; they also have their cherries or cerezos {Mal-
pighia glabra and M. punici/olia), allied, if not identical species, with
ovate to elliptical, small, entire leaves, reddish, umbellate flowers and
red dmipe of the exact shape and color of the cherry, but a i)oor sub-
stitute for it. This fruit is rather too acid to be palatable, but makes
an excellent jelly; instead of a stone, it contains three leathery, winged
pyrenes. A remarkable feature of these cerezos is their prolificacy,
producing, in the summer, new crops of cherries every six weeks, so
that they are always in blossom or fruit. I have not yet seen a single
specimen of Prunvs Cerasus in Cuba.
A hardy, quaint but graceful tree, cultivated in all gardens, is the
papaw or papaya {Carica Papaya) ^ with simple unbranched trunk, pal-
mate leaves with pinnatifid lobes, and yellowish, ovoid fruit, ranging in
size from an orange to a shaddock and clinging to the trunk. This
fruit has a rich, sweetish, not unpleasant taste, and is said to have some
of the digestive power so remarkable in the milky juice of the plant.
Another medicinal fruit is the pod of Tamarindus IndicuSy a large,
handsome, spreading tree, abundantly naturalized in Cuba. Its habit
of branching near the ground makes it undesirable for roadsides, but
can be grouped together into beautiful groves. The pulp of the fruit,
although always acid, is quite palatable when fully ripe.
Commonly cultivated on the hills, in the province of Santiago, is
THE PLANT WORLD 185
the cacao tree {Theobroma Cocoa), and under the shelter of its foliage,
the shrubby Gqfea Arabica. This industry, brought from Hayti and
San Domingo by emigrating Frenchmen early in the last century, and
once prosperous and lucrative, is now falling into decay, although the
climate, soil and altitude are suitable and the quality of both fruits
excellent.
The breadfruit or arbol del pan {Artocarpus incisa), is a tall tree
seen in many gardens, with huge, roundish, pinnatifid leaves, cultivated
more for ornament than use, although the excellent flavor of its large,
farinaceous iruit, eaten either baked or boiled, will be a revelation to
the uninitiated.
Havana, Cuba.
SOME INTERESTING CASES OF PLANT DISTRIBUTION.
By John M, Holzingeb.
IT is now twelve years since the writer found Claytonia Chamissoi
more than a thousand miles out of its range^ discovering a colony
of this species at the foot of Queen's Bluff in southeastern Minne-
sota. It^ranges throughout the Bocky Mountain system of North Amer-
ica, from New Mexico to Alaska, and occurs mostly at altitudes varying
from 6000 to 9000 feet above sea level, apparently rarely descending
below 5000 feet, as is attested by a long series of herbarium specimens
from upward of fifty localities in the National Herbarium, a complete
list of which was furnished by the courtesy of Mr. F. V. Coville. Not
a single station is known outside of that range in the intervening belt
of a thousand miles and more of the Great Plains, except the little
patch at the foot of Queen's Bluff.
To this single flowering plant have been added in the past ten
years of field work, six similar cases of distribution of mosses. It is
necessary to briefly take them up in order.
1. Coscinodon Baui is a common moss on boulders of calcareous
sand rock near the tops of bluffs about Winona, some 500 feet above the
Mississippi, or 1300 feet above sea level. Outside of this area it is so
far known only from Colorado, where it rarely occurs at an altitude of
less than 5000 feet.
2. Coscinodon Wrightii occurs in similar situations, both near Win-
ona and in Colorado. It is, however, known also from Kansas, Texas,
and New Mexico, but not from points intermediate.
3. Ditrickumjlexicatble brevifoUum {D. elatum Kindb.) occurs at the
same altitude on our bluffs as the Cosdnodons, but grows usually in
186 THE PLANT WOELD
loose sand on north exposures, not attached to rocks. It is very abun-
dant here but always sterile. Being a reduced form of a rather vari-
able species, considerable care has been taken to determine its exact
relationship (see The Bryologist, July, 1901). It appears that this par-
ticular form occurs also in England and in the Canadian Eocky Moun-
tains.
4. Grimmia teretinervis occurs abundantly near Winona in the same
dry situations as do the Ooscinodons. It is not known elsewhere in
North America, and we have to go to the alpine regions of southern
Europe before we find it again — ^to Tirol, Kamthen, Steiermark. From
both regions it is known only sterile.
5. Wehera proligera occurs abundantly but always sterile at several
stations within twenty miles of Winona. It was recently found also in
Massachusetts, but is at the present writing not known from any other
stations in North America.* In Europe it is found in the alpine regions,
ranging through Steiermark, Kamthen and Tirol. It also occurs in
England and Norway, where it occasionally fruits.
6. Weisia Wimmeriana may also be cited here. It was first found near
Taylor's Falls, Minn., in the valley of the St. Croix river, and was recog-
nized as this species by my friend M. Jules Cardot. Plants since col-
lected near the mouth of the Minnesota river, near the Lamoille cave,
fifteen miles below Winona, and in the valley of Trempealeau riyer in
Wisconsin, are identical with the Taylor's Falls plant. In Europe this
plant is considered rare; according to Limpricht (see Latibmoose I: 258),
a true alpine moss, it occurs from the Pyrenees through the Alps to
Steiermark, "descending rarely below 3300 feet," and yet none of the
American stations so far established for it are over 900 feet above sea
level!
We have thus seven plants, occurring from one thousand to five
thousand miles or more apart from their natural range, in a limited
area in the upi)er Mississippi basin, at an elevation of 2500 to 5000 feet
less than these same plants require in their wider range. Four of these
have come from the Rocky mountains, the remaining three from Eu-
rope. And it is a matter of especial interest, under the circumstances,
that while the latter have a considerable alpine range, they were all
three collected by one and the same European student, Mr. John Breid-
ler, in Steiermark, as is attested by the citations in Limpricht's Laub-
moose. Of the Coscinodons, it is also to be noted that they occur to^
gethevy both in the Mississippi valley and in Colorado, in both of which
regions they were collected by tiie writer. Converging to this little
spot from the Eockies aud the Alps, they must needs be under some-
what of a climatic strain, especially at the lower level at which they are
*See, however, The Bryologist^ 4: 62, October, 1901.
THE PLANT WOELD 187
compelled to live. That this strain has not worked out even varietal
differences since the beginning of their isolation is very strange indeed.
The identity of each species has been placed beyond doubt by scrupu-
lous comparison with Rocky Mountain and Alpine specimens, and by
helpful conference with European students. In only one case is a
diversity of opinion to be recorded, and the circumstances justify a ref-
erence to it here. The noted Scandinavian bryologist, Dr. Eindberg,
dissents from the general judgment regarding Webera proligera, and
considers it suflSciently different to stand as a distinct species. On all
the other plants the judgment is unanimous for perfect identity.
One is naturally strack with the insular isolation in which these
plants exist in the midst of hundreds of strangers. Like Bobinson
Crusoe on his island, they seem stranded on this area, living in it,
cramped climatically it may be, yet safely, as in a haven of refuge, since
they have ceased battling with the fiercer elements in the Ice Age.
This geological event seems to furnish the only satisfactory explanation
for their existence together in this, to them, out-of-the-way comer of
the earth, for it may be stated, in closing this note, that the area on
which they occur is a part of the so-caUed Driftless Area, stretching
out as it were along its northwestern border. According to a letter
from Dr. F. W. Sardeson on this subject, the general boundary of ihis
Driftlees Area " might be given as from Winona, Minn., to Dubuque,
la., to Freeport, HI., to Madison, Wis., to Baraboo, to Black Biver
Falls, to Winona." Undoubtedly a closer study of the plants in this
large area, and more especially of the northern borders of it, in the
four states involved, will reveal other strangers as isolated as the above
seven plants; and when this survey is more complete than it is at pres-
ent, it is not unlikely that it will at least aid in answering some of the
puzzling questions regarding the physical and climatic conditions of
the Driftless Area in inter-glacial and early post-glacial time.
Winona, Minnesota.
188 THE PLANT WORLD
THE KNUBBLE— ADVICE TO BEGINNERS IN BOTANY.
By Walteb Deane.
AS I turn over fhe botanical sheets of mounted plants in my her-
barium, I frequent! J come across one labelled "The Enubble,
Shelbume, New Hampshire." What a flood of delightful recol-
lections that word Enubble brings with it, for it was on that very siK>t
that years ago I began my botanical experience.
Li the broad valley of the Androscoggin River, in eastern New
Hampshire, there rises abruptly from a bright, green meadow, a wooded
mound some thirty feet high. It is about two hundred feet in length
and one hundred in breadth, and is intimately associated in my mind
with my visits to Shelbume in the early eighties, and the happy days
that passed so quickly among the plants that clothed its sides and top.
I was filled with the keen enthusiasm of a beginner, and many of my
first discoveries were made on this Knubble, as it was always called.
It lay but a few minutes' walk from the h6use across the field, and the
river flowed swiftly by its foot. It was my Mecca. Mount Moriah
towered across the sparkling waters to the south, while to the north-
west Bald Cap frowned with its beetling cliffs. The accompanying
illustration was taken by a friend of mine in April, 1898, before the
snow had entirely left the ground. The view is looking south. The
eastern spur of Moriah is seen to the right, and the river, not visible in
the picture, flows in an easierly direction through the intervale just be-
hind the Knubble. The view of Mount Moriah* was taken later in the
season of the same year. The heavily wooded foothill is Mount Olivet.
On the right of the picture is seen the south bank of the river, which
cuts through the plain.
The beaked hazel nut {Gorylua rostrata) fringed the borders of the
Enubble, and I eagerly watched the lengthening beaks as the summer
advanced. A plunge through the hazel and a short scramble up the
slope gave me a most interesting find. Springing up through the soft
moss was the little mountain cranberry ( Vaccinium Vitia-Idaea). It
was on July the second, and the plant was still in flower, and a mounted
sheet of it is still in flower near me in my herbarium. Parts of the
Knubble were carpeted with it, in company with the bunch berry {Gor^
nu8 Canadensis) that beautiful little white flowered plant that clothes
our northern forests. Its bright red berries are most attractive in the
autumn. I well remember how surprised I was to find that the white
involucre was not the corolla and did not belong to the flower at all.
Surely I thought that botanists had a strange way of referring the con-
* The two photographs were taken by Professor James B. Greenough, of Cam-
bridge, Massachusetts, and kindly loaned to me for this paper.
THE PLANT WORLD
VOL. IV. PLATE XVL
The Knubble.
Mount Moriah.
THE PLANT WORLD 189
spicuous showy part of a flower, or what seemed to be one, now to the
calyx which is generally green and inconspicuous, and again to the in-
volucre or circle of modified leaves below the flower cluster. These are
the surprises that delight the young botanist.
In regard to the fruit of the mountain cranberry, William Oakes,
who was one of our early New England botanists, and whose name is
identified with the fiora of the White Mountains of New Hampshire,
says: " The fruit when ripe resembles almost exactly in taste the com-
mon cranberry, and is equal or superior for tarts and jelly. Expertus
dico." I can testify to its fine qualities for jelly, for several years ago,
aided by some young friends, I collected my large botany box full of
the pretty red berries, on the summit of Mt. Monadnock, New Hamp-
shire, and supplied the table of forty guests at our boarding house with
a most delicious sauce. The reason that the berry is not common in
our markets is because it softens in a short time. The plant is very
abundant in the Scandinavian peninsula, and the fruit is imported into
this country in small casks which contain just enough water to float the
berries and keep them from getting badly crushed, and is sold in Chi-
cago under the name of Swedish Lingon. The berries become soft,
and the juice escaping mingles with the water, making a rich sauce.
My Knubble was well wooded. The gray birch {Betula popuUfolia)
and the white birch {Behda papyrifera) were both there. It is the
tough bark of the latter species that is used in the manufacture of the
well-known birch bark canoes, and how pleased I was to see and know
the tree. Of the cone-bearing trees there was plenty of white pine
(Pinus Strobus), and I was delighted to find a seedling pine with its
many cotyledons or seed leaves, arranged in a whorl or circle. It had
a good start in life, I thought, and bore the promise of a mighty tree.
Two species of poplar were abundant, the American aspen {Populus
tremtUoides) and the large-toothed aspen {Poprdus grandidentata). The
almost incessant trembling of the leaves of the aspens even under the
slightest breath of air, I could not understand till I examined the flat-
tened petioles or stems. This flattening I found to be at right angles
to the surface of the leaf, and hence the leaf shakes edgewise. All
these well-known facts I then learned for the first time, and I think my
pleasure was as great as that of the first discoverer, for was not I a dis-
coverer myself? The hop-hornbeam {Ostrya Virginica) was full of the
greatest interest to me with its branches laden with the hop-like fruit.
It was strange that the fruit of this tree, which belongs to the oak fam-
ily, should resemble so much that of the twining hop, which with our
American elm belongs to the nettle family. It was merely another sur-
prise, and it told me that I must study the structures of the flowers and
the relations of one family to another to understand rightly these
190 THE PLANT WORLD
things. What a pleasure it was to enter my little wood daily, botany
book in hand, and force an introduction to all these plants. Some of
them were very reluctant to reveal their names, but they all came round
in time, and we were ever after the best of friends, all the more so be-
cause no third party hastened the acquaintance.
The red oak {Quet^cii^ iiibra), the beech {Fagus femiginea), and the
noble American elm {Uhnu^ Americana)^ were all there. No other spe-
cies of oak could I find in Shelbume during the six summers that I was
there. This led to an intimate aquaintance with the species, and I
always look upon it as the typical oak. Rock or sugar maple {Acer
aaccharvm) and the red maple (Acer rubrum) were abundant, as well as
the moose maple {Acer PerDisylvanicum). Throughout Maine and New
Hampshire the red maple is called white maple. The true white maple
{Acer saccharinum) is a very small tree or even a shrub in Shelburne.
I asked a native what he called it. He said that he didn't call it any-
thing, and yet he had a keen knowledge of every tree or shrub that had
any practical use. The shad-bush {Amelaiichter Canadensis) flourished
also on the Eiiubble. It was very common all through Shelbume, and
fruited profusely. The round red berries when ripe are delicious, and
much sought after by boys and birds. I remember once when trouting
up one of the beautiful mountain brooks, that I found the fruit a cool
and refreshing lunch.
Shrubs there were in'plenty on my mound: Scarlet thorn {Orator-
gu8 coccinea or one of its many segregated forms), so beautiful in the
autumn when laden with its scarlet fruit; dockmackie ( Viburnum aceri-
folium), with its maple-like leaves, whence its specific or Christian
name, for all plants have a surname or genus, and a Christian name or
species, and the withe-rod, its near relative {Viburnum casmwides).
The withe-rod has such tough, pliable stems that it is used to-day in
many places as a substitute for cord. Of the orchids, Habenaria Hook-
eri, a species of rein-orchis, was so abundant on the top of the Knub-
ble that I thought it must be the commonest species, and was much
surprised afterwards to learn that it was comparatively rare.
One day I thought that it was time for me to atta<5k the grasses,
and so with considerable difficulty I first read up carefully the charac-
ters as given in Gray's Manual. I then ran over to the Knubble to find
a specimen: There were plenty near the house, but my first si>ecies
must come from my favorite spot. I found a rather odd-looking grass
growing very abundantly on the top in the cool shade. This, I said,
shall be the first to be wooed and won. I gathered some sx)ecimens
and began my task. An hour's work on the key brought me to the
genus Panicum or panic-grass, a rather difficult grass for the beginner.
I then found that I had as much or even more work beyond, for there
THE PLANT WORLD 191
were twenty-five species to determine between. I persevered, however,
and finally landed on Panicum ocanthophyaum, marked "rare" in the
Manual. I declared that of course I was wrong, for my first grass,
picked at random, could never be rare. But no, I found out later that
I was right. I rejoiced, and began to feel that my Knubble was cap-
able of producing anything. This grass was named by Professor Asa
Gray in 1835, when he was but twenty-five years of age. The name
xanthophysum refers to the yellowish-green color of the plant. Though
I found this grass so abundant on that particular spot, yet in all my
botanical wanderings since then in apparently precisely similar situa-
tions, I have never met with it again. This shows how very local or
restricted a plant may be in its range.
This is a very simple storj', but my object in telling it is to advise
and urge every beginner to seek out for himself some spot as I did, and
to make his pilgrimages there many and many a time, till he feels that
it is his second home. Analyze every plant that grows there. Become
familiar with the species, the genus, and the family of each one. You
will be surprised to find how many interesting plants can grow in a
smaD compass, and a thorough knowledge of them will give you a
splendid start. Puzzle out the names by yourself, no matter how long
it takes you. The longer time you spend, the nujre familiar will you
become with the plant and the fonder of it will you grow. Why do I
love so dearly the common agrimony {Agrimoma Eupatoria), that
homely plant with small yellow flowers, that grows by our roadsides?
Shall I ever forget that it has two akenes or small hard fruits inclosed
in a top-shaped calyx which is almost closed at the top? Why does
that picture always come up before my mind whenever I see the plant?
It is because when I first analyzed the agrimony in Shelbume years
ago, I spent two whole days in trying to find out its name. I am glad
that I did spend that time. I thought that the nearly closed calyx was
the ovary, and that tlie two akenes were seeds. No wonder I was
thrown off the track. I shall never forget my joy when I reached the
truth. Nature does not reveal her secrets too easily. Such delights
can all be yours if you will begin your study in this way, and as the
years roll by these fond recollections will grow deeper and deeper
and whenever you see a species of herb, shrub or tree that grew on
your Knubble, you will experience, as I always do, the keenest pleas-
ure and the fondest remembrance of early botanical days.
Cambridge, Massachusetts.
192 THE PLANT WORLD
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
The Socieiy for the Preservation of Native Plants.
The following circular, which was issued recently, merits the care-
ful attention of all plant lovers:
A number of persons who take a keen interest in wild flowers have
united to form a " Society for the Protection of Native Plants." The
objects of this society are to try and do something to check the whole-
sale destruction to which many of our native plants are exposed — a de-
struction often a matter of pure thoughtlessness in the excessive pick-
ing of flowers, and unnecessary pulling up of roots, or an extensive col-
lecting of flowers and plants for sale.
It is the intention of the society to publish brief articles, or leaflets,
calling the attention of thoughtful people to the matter, and to x)oint
out wnat plants especially need protection and in what way the desired
end may be best affected. It is the intention to distribute these leaflets
to teachers in our schools, to flower missions and village improvement
societies, and in such other places as it may seem that they will be
effective.
This movement for the protection of native plants has the approval
of the New England Botanical Club, which, as a body, feels keenly the
loss or great reduction of many plants once more or less abundant in
the neighborhood of our large cities.
For information in regard to the Society for the Protection of
Native Plants, or its leaflets, application may be made to Miss Maria E.
Carter, Curator of Herbarium, Boston Society of Natural History,
Berkeley street, Boston, Mass.
In addition to this circular the society has sent out the first of a
series of educational leaflets, in which some of the plants especially in
need of protection near Boston are enumerated. There should be a
large enrollment of botanists and nature students in this society, and
the fullest measure of support should be extended to its aims and en-
deavors. — C. L. P.
Veratrum Woodii in Iowa.
In the August number of The Plant World Professor Pammel
gives some interesting notes concerning the above-named species. We
have lived many years in southern Iowa and have had occasion to ob-
serve this species at its best in its native haunts. This Veratrum has
been regarded as a rare species in Iowa and is seldom found in her-
baria made up of Iowa material. The reason we shall try to explain.
THE PLANT WORLD 193
A number of years ago we found specimens of a monocotyledonous
plant not in bloom, and showing no tendency to bloom. These speci-
mens were from a perennial root which was covered with a fibrous coat-
ing and had many slander rootlets, the portion above ground consist-
ing of two to several lanceolate parallel-veined leaves, a foot or more in
length, acuminate at both ends, the x)etiole being slender and about half
the total length of the leaves. The plant grew in rich woodlands, and
was of frequent occurrence. Its identity was puzzling for quite a while
until finally we found a colony in early July in southeastern Iowa in a
rich soil surfaced with sand in rather old woods. There must have
been a hundred of them to a square rod, and a solitary one in the cen-
ter of the colony had sent up its stem and was beginning to bloom.
The means were now at hand to unravel the mystery, and the result
was that the heretofore stranger became known as Veratrum Woodii.
Specimens in our herbarium are from Decatur county, immediately
west of Corydon, Wayne county, the locality mentioned by Professor
Pammel; also from Appanoose county, immediately east of Wayne
county, and from Jefferson county, in southeastern Iowa, the locality
where we first found the plant in bloom.
The results of our observations are: 1. The plant is of frequent
occurence in southern and southeastern Iowa. 2. The supposed rarity
of the species may be accounted for by the fact that the plant seldom
blooms, and the flowerless forms are not recognized. This habit is
analogous to that of Erythronium cdhidum, which gives a thousand or
thereabouts of flowerless forms to a flowering one. Professor J. C.
Arthur reported the species from Des Moines county, southeastern
Iowa in Volume m of the Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of
Natural Sciences, the locality being given as Burlington, which report
we believe to be the first reference to the occurrence of the species in
Iowa, Professor Pammel's report the second, and this the third. — T. J.
and M, F. L. Fitzpatrick, Iowa City, Iowa.
Additional Notes on tlie Habitat of tlie INesquite in Olclalioma.
In a short note in The Plant World for April, 1901, 1 stated that
the mesquite {Prosapia glundalosa) was found in southwestern Kansas
and on the salt flats of the Cimarron river in northwestern Oklahoma,
but that in these regions it always appears stunted and dwarfed. Dur-
ing the past summer I have had opportunity to examine the plant in
the newly-settled Kiowa and Comanche country, and in Greer county
in the southwestern part of the Territory, In this region the mesquite
is quite abundant on the flat lands both north and south of the Wichita
mountains. It is rarely found near a stream, but appears to prefer the
dry and almost barren plains composed chiefly of a stiff red clay soil.
194 THE PLANT WOBLD
So abundant is it in places that several localities in the region are
known by the characteristic name " Mesquite Flats."
The trees sometimes attain a size of nearly a foot in diameter and
twenty-five feet in height. They are usually straight and symmetrical
with a bushy spreading top but scant foliage. The fact that they make
good fence posts and excellent fuel, taken with the other fact that in
many places they are the only tree to be found, will shortly result in
their practical extermination in the region. Already over a good part
of the country nothing but stumps remain. It is not an unusual occur-
rence to meet loads of wood and posts coming into the new towns that
are springing up all over the country. Unless the settlers take the
matter in hand, it seems but a question of a few months till the mes-
quite will be gone from the region. — Charles Newton Gk)uld, University
of Oklahoma.
Dyed Flowers.
French scientists have recently taken up the artificial coloring of
flowers, and a series of lectures has been given at the Sorbonne by a
French chemist who has made a specialty of this particular subject.
According to this professor, the problem of coloring flowers by artificial
means has for several centuries past interested chemists. In 1709 a
scientist named Magnal caused a sensation by producing tuberoses of a
most exquisite pink, ordinary tuberoses being colored by plunging them
into the juice of phylotagne. Some twenty-five years later Comparetti
a scholar of Padua, made himself famous and added distinctions to the
last days of his town by furnishing for the decoration of churches and
cemeteries, wonderful wreaths of black convolvulus. Having made a
fortune, he at last agreed to tell his secret, and declared that he had
colored the flowers by putting their stems in common ink. The scheme
didn't work when tried by the townsfolk, so the esteemed Paduan was
apparently a liar of parts as well a^ a maker of the famous Paduan con-
volvuli.
Boissin in 1840 obtained marvelous hyacinths and lilies colored by
chemical meaas, and since then not only chemists but practical florists
have made frequent use of dyes in the coloring of flowers. Camellias
grown in earth mixed with rosin show fine veins of coral red on their
white petals. Earth mixed with iron filings will also color some fiow-
ers blue, and pansies take on wonderful hues by the dipping of their
stems in certain aniline dyes. Some of these unnaturally tinted fiow-
ers are dangerous, and the green carnation was suppressed by the
municipal laboratory of Paris, because scientists said that the odor of
the fiower had poisonQus effects. — New York Sim.
THE PLANT WORLD 195
GENERAL ITEMS.
The field work of the Division of Agrostology from the date of its
establishment by Congress in 1895, is made the subject of an interest-
ing report by C. L. Shear. It is taken up by regions, showing that
work has been done in all parts of the country, and is profusely illus-
trated.
Mr. Frederick V. Ooville, noticing Pr. Knowlton's reference to
yarrow as an abundant weed in the John Day Valley of Oregon, calls
our attention to the fact that this western yarrow has been shown to be
a distinct species from the one with which we are familiar in the east.
The western yarrow is entirely a native plant, and was so recognized
by Nuttall, who gave it the name Achillea lanulosa on account of the
densely woolly herbage. In discussing the use made of the yarrow by
the Klamath Indians, Mr. Coville remarks that it is ''from the evi-
dence of its occurrence even in very remote and unsettled parts of the
plains and from the statements of the Indians, unquestionably native in
our Northwest" (Cont. U. S. Nat. Herb. 5: 105. 1897).
The outlook for gardening and some agriculture in the cold inter-
ior region of Alaska, along the Yukon, is made quite encouraging by
oflScial reports recently received at the U. S. Department of Agriculture
at Washington. Professor C. C. Georgesen, who is in charge of the
Alaska experiment stations, has spent the summer in the interior and
along the Yukon Valley, visiting the experiment station established by
the Department of Agricvlture last year at Bampart, just outside the
Arctic Circle, and other points where experiments were arranged for.
Good gardens were found all along the route, especially at Eagle City
and Holy Cross Mission. Although the season was unusually late this
year, new potatoes, cabbage, cauliflower, beets, and other vegetables
were ready for the table before the middle of August, and lettuce, rad-
ishes, and turnips, grown in the open had been in use for some weeks.
Flower gardens containing a large variety of annuals grown from seed
furnished last year were in full bloom. At the station at Rampart, rye
seeded the previous fall wintered perfectly and was ripe in July. Spring
seeded barley had ripened about the middle of August, and there was
quite a prospect for oats and wheat to mature.
196 THE PLANT WORLD
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
The Catalogue of hardy trees and plants lately recdiyed from
Messrs. Thomas Meehan & Sons oontains a number of inviting pages
for those interested in landscape gardening.
We learn from the Journal of the New York Botanical Garden that
the expedition of Dr, Britton and Mr. Cowell to St. Kitts, of the British
West Indies^ has proved highly successful. A large number of seeds
and living plants, and 1200 herbarium specimens have already been
received at the Nevir York Botanical Garden.
Professor Edward L. Greene has published the second of his
essays on " Some Literary Aspects of American Botany," in which he
continues his criticisms of some of the titles used for American serials,
and administers a reprimand to a luckless young author who in the
title of one of his unpublished papers was careless enough to use the
word "asymmetry" in place of "irregularity." The influence of these
entertaining papers upon the deplorable tendency to looseness of
speech and writing exhibited by so many of our professional botanists
cannot fail to be excellent, and we hox)e that the author intends to
continue them in the same vein.
TJie Forester for September is an unusually interesting number.
It contains a report of the meeting of the American Forestry Associa-
tion recently held in Denver, an outline of the forestry work which is
being undertaken in the Philippines, and the first part of a paper on
The Open Bange and the Irrigation Farmer, which was read before the
Association by Professor R. H. Forbes, Director of the Arizona Agri-
cultural Experiment Station. Professor Forbes points out the great
importance of conserving and encouraging the native vegetation, espe-
cially the grasses, which are such an important feature and bear such
a direct relation to the conservation of moisture.
THE PLANT WORLD 197
Meehan£ Monthly for October opens appropriately with a fine col-
ored plate of the witch-hazel {HamameUs Virgintana), the curious fall-
blooming shrub.
Li a short paper in the Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture,
Mr. y. K. Chesnut describes some poisonous plants of the northern
stock ranges, this being a condensation of his larger bulletin on this
subject. The plants found to be most injurious are the water hemlocks
{Cicuta Douglasii, G. vagans, G. occidentalis), the larkspurs {Delphinium),
and the poison camas {Zygadentts, species).
The October number of the Journal of Applied Microscopy contains
an interesting account of the botanical laboratory and garden of the
Tokyo Lnperial University of Japan. It is written by Mr. Miyake,
who is at present at Cornell University. The rapid and substantial
development of botanical work in Japan is but another striking exam-
ple of the great progress which the Japanese are making in all direc-
tions.
Professor William R. Dudley has just distributed copies of a short
paper on the zonal distribution of trees and shrubs in the southern
Sierra (Sierra Bulletin No. 24), in which he describes and in many
cases illustrates the sx)ecie8 characteristic of the various zones. He
recognizes four zones: the plain, the foot-hills, the forest, and the sub-
alpine woods. It should be of interest to those who are fortunate
enough to visit this interesting region.
Mr. M. A Carleton has recently issued a short bulletin (Farmer's
Bulletin No. 139, U. S. Dep*t Agric), on emmer, a grain that seems
adapted to the semi-arid regions of this country. Botanically this
grain [is a wheat {Triticum diococcum) not greaitly unlike spelt in ai>-
pearance, but differing in having a closer spike and usually two-seeded
spikelets. Its uses compare well with oats and barley, and it possesses
the advantage of producing a good crop in regions where these often
fail.
The October number of Forest Leaves contains an interesting
article under the caption of "A Surveying Experience." In running
over some old lines surveyed in 1793, it was found that certain comer
stones were missing. Near where it was presumed one should be was
a white oak tree twenty-two inches in diameter, which should show
** witness marks.*' At first no marks could be detected, but some four
inches of solid wood was cut away and the old ''witnesses " were found
still as clear as when made. The full page plate of this tree after the
side was chopx)ed away, shows the marks as plainly as though made
within a few years instead of one hundred.
198 THE PLANT WOELD
EDITORIAL
We are glad to observe that Dr. Charles E. Bessey, in a recent
issue of Science^ has called attention to the excellent work among the
ferns and fern allies now being carried on by the linnaean Fern Chaj)-
ter of the Agassiz Association. This organization, founded only eight
years ago, has prospered so that it is no longer thought of as a branch
of the parent society, but rather as an independent body of fern stu-
dents. The membership is about 125, and includes representatives in
several foreign countries. For three years the Chapter maintained its
own publication, known as The Linnaean Fern BuUetin, but with the
beginning of 1896 the journal passed into the hands of the present man-
agement, the name having been changed to The Fern Bulletin. It con-
tinues to be the official organ of the Chapter, and by arrangement be-
tween the editor on the one hand and the officers on the other, it is
sent free to aU members.
We have outlined the history of the Chapter at some length be-
cause we wish to commend it to the support of all nature lovers. Such
organizations as the Fern Chapter, or its offspring, the Sullivant Moss
Chapter, devoted as they are to special groups, serve to contribute
toward a knowledge of, and respect for, many plants that might be
passed over by the unappreciative; they also create a healthy public
sentiment with regard to the preservation of rarities like the hart's-
tongue fern; they promote good fellowship and helpful intercourse be-
tween workers; and beyond all, they are democratic organizations, wel-
coming all recruits, whether amateurs or professionals, seeking only to
advance the cause of botany, and not attempting to overburden the lit-
erature of the science with useless publications.
THE PLANT WOULD 199
Apropos of this topic, we have received from a member of the
Chapter a copy of the JoUet (111.) News of October 29, 1901, from which
it appears that the fern-lovers of that city are engaged in a most com-
mendable undertaking. They have established in the public park a
collection of American ferns, and at the close of the third year have
under cultivation 102 sx)ecie8 and 7 varieties, as well as many of the
fern allies. This is probably the largest collection of native living
ferns in this country, and it is the purjwse of those in charge to make
it as complete as possible. A greenhouse is to be constructed next
season for the accommodation of the more tender forms, and as the
work appears to be of a voluntary nature, it shows that the residents of
Joilet, and particularly Mr. J. H. Ferriss, the superintendent, possess a
degree of public spirit which other communities would do well to emu-
late.
The announcement made by the publishers of The Plant World
in our last issue, regarding the reprinting of Volume I No. 1 of the Asa
Oray Bulletin^ has met with a very satisfactory and encouraging re-
sponse. We are glad to state, accordingly, that the work will be under-
taken at once, and it is hoped that copies will be ready for distribution
within two weeks. The original pages will be copied in the minutest
detail, even typographical errors being set up as in the original. It
may not be possible to duplicate the exact styles of type employed in
the headings and titles, but such differences will in no way affect the
value of the reprint as an accurate reproduction. Orders for these
are now being booked, and will be filled strictly in rotation; the price
list and further details concerning the Bulletin will be found on the
back cover page of this issue.
200 THE PLANT WOBLD
BOOK REVIEWS.
Plant Life op Alabama. By Charles Mohr, Ph. D. Cont. U. S. Nat.
Herb. Vol. VI. U. S. Department of Agriculture.
Dr. Mohr's magnum opus, the fruition of years of study and en-
deavor, came from the bindery of the Government Printing Office just
two weeks after the author's eyes were closed by death. He had so
eagerly anticipated the completion of his work, the only work of im-
portance on southern botany issued since the last generation, that the
circumstances seem almost pitiful. But the massive book of over 900
pages must forever remain as a silent testimonial to a long and useful
life spent largely among the plants in the woods and field.
The scope of the volume is quite comprehensive. The main por-
tion consists of a systematic catalogue of all plants growing without
cultivation in the State, beginning with the slime moulds and so extend-
ing through all the orders up to the highest of the seed-bearing plants.
The accepted names, which are in conformity with the principles of the
Rochester Code, are in bold-face type, followed by the citation of the
place and date of publication, and the common names by which the
plant is known; then follow brief synonymy and mention of the lead-
ing authorities, a very careful statement of the distribution, compara-
tive abundance, etc., the type locality, and the herbaria in which speci-
mens can be found. Frequently these enumerations of species are
enriched by interesting notes or observations, and there are not a few
entirely new species described and illustrated.
The introductory portion of the work is of considerable value to the
general reader, even if not a botanist, as it discusses in detail the char-
acter, distribution and interrelation of Alabama plant life. There are
chapters on the physiographical features, including the topography
and geology; the river systems and drainage; the climate; the life
zones; the various plant formations and the factors on which they de-
pend; and an elaborate comparison of the Alabama with other local
floras. The account of the various areas and zones and the plants that
inhabit them is of special interest, and well illustrates the painstaking
care with which Dr. Mohr made his observations.
We are glad to Jeam that the book will also be issued by the State
Survey of Alabama, which will insure for it a wide distribution. It is
not too much to say that with the exception of Dr. Chapman's Manual,
no work on Southern botany has ever equalled "Plant life of Alabama"
in importance. — C. L. P.
THE PLANT WORLD VOL. IV. PLATE XVIL
Sheldon on Rooting of Qxalis Leaves
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. NOVEMBER, 1901. No. 11.
ROOTING OF OXALIS LEAVES.
By John L. Sheldon.
WHILE weeding a tray of seedling ferns last winter, I suppose
that I broke off some of the leaves of a common yellow oxalis
{Oaxdis cornicidata siricta) which was growing among the ferns,
and left the leaves on the moist soiL The tray was kept covered with
a pane of ground glass in order to prevent the soil from drying out, and
also to protect the tender ferns from the sun. When I went to water
the ferns several days later, I happened to notice that two of the oxalis
leaves had rooted, one from the end of the broken petiole, the other at
the junction of the leaflets. The rooting of oxalis leaves was to me a
new method of propagation for that genus, the usual one being by bud
division or tubers, and reproduction by seeds.
Leaves of several of the cultivated sx)ecies were procured from one
of the city florists and set out among the ferns to see if they too would
also root. Most of the older leaves were destroyed by fungi or
"damped off." The few that survived were transplanted when they
were well rooted.
Another tray was partly filled with soil, on top of which was placed
a layer of sand about an inch thick. More leaves were procured and
set out so that the ends of the petioles did not quite reach the soil.
The sand was kept moderately moist by sprinkling. Every few days
the sand was carefully removed from one side of a few of the i)etioles
to see what was taking place. It was found that calluses were forming
in the same way that they do on cuttings. After several weeks roots
began to api)ear and extended down into the soil. The more mature
leaves did not seem to root as readily as those that were growing. A
few succumbed to an attack of red spider.
202 THE PLANT WORLD
The calluses on the large pink ones increased in size and became
bulb-like (Fig. 1, a), while the yellow and white ones formed thickened
tuber-like processes (Fig. 2, b) on their roots. The leaves remained
green for a long time (however, no new leaves were produced), and
finally changed color gradually and appeared to be ripening naturally.
The experiment had to be discontinued during the summer.
Whether true bulbs and tubers would have been formed finally, or
whether what was formed would have died soon after the leaves had
ceased to function, will require further experimentation. Some plants,
such as BryophyUam and Begonia^ are readily propagated from the
leaves, though in a somewhat different manner than that employed for
oxalis.
While the propagation of oxalis from the leaves has no commer-
cial value at the present prices charged for bulbs, even if it can actually
be accomplished, perhaps the mere rooting of the leaves may be new
and of some interest to a few beside myself.
Lincoln, Nebraska.
THE BLOOMING OF TWINING HONEYSUCKLES.
By Byron D. Halsted.
A HEDGE of honeysuckle {Lomcera Japonica var.) near my house
offers opportunity for a daily watching of the anthesis of these
plants. Passing over all preliminaries of early and late blooming
of this sx)ecies, it may be said that the observations of a systematic sort
began when marks were placed upon the nodes bearing long white
flower buds, invariably four at each joint. The coarse strings were
tied on at five P. M., and at six o'clock four of the twenty buds were
opened; an hour later nearly all the marked buds were expanded. All
except one set of buds were open the next morning, and this, bloomed
the following evening.
The blossom opens by one of the five lobes of the corolla, the lower
one, separating from the other four which always remain as one piece
with the pentamerous type plainly demonstrated in the four prominent
teeth of the upper lij) of the long showy corolla. As the independent
lobe splits off from the other, the five long stamens and the equally
long styles are exposed to view in the space between the two parts of
the very irregular two-lipped corolla. The anthers at once show large
quantities of pollen, and while the upper and much larger lip of the
corolla is being reflexed upward, insects arrive. It is at this time that
the delicate, far-reaching fragrance of the many opening flowers is
borne upon the air of the approaching evening.
THE PLANT WOELD 203
The earlier of the blooms are visited by honey-bees, which are
content with the large quantities of pollen now found in the anthers,
and do not make any attempts to reach into the long tube of the coroUa
for the sweets found in abundance at its base. The amount of this
honey almost any child will serve as witness, for with the flower re-
moved from its stem in hand, it knows how to draw the style backward
and remove the nectar with the piston-shaped stigma, and regale itself
at the expense of the bumble bee that was possibly ready to get the
same delicate draught in its own natural way.
But as the sun declines and the air gets more and more laden with
the honeysuckle fragrance, due to the increasing number of freshly
ox>ened flowers, the various night-flying insects are in evidence. Among
the most conspicuous of these is the syhinx-moth, which pauses before
each of the white blossoms long enough to take a sip and then darts on
to the next. So busy are they in their round of service, that, standing
motionless, the interested watcher can have them close to his eyes, see
the whole and exceedingly simple process all done while upon the
wing. The down-turning of the single lobe of the corolla and the uj)-
tuming of the other four united making an arched opening into which
the long protruding stamens and style provide guides, combine in form-
ing a cavity into which the probosis of the moth is thrust, and the nec-
tar being close at hand is easily removed without the flower forming
any resting place for the insect attendant. The wonder is that the
moths can sustain themselves so steadily in front of each blossom; but
from the almost inaudible hum it is evident that the large and delicate
wings are moved with remarkable rapidity. Where the moth rests him-
self during the hours when not in attendance upon the honeysuckle is
a matter that is left to the lepidopterous entomologist to elucidate.
The moth in question has a rival in the person of master humming
bird, and so much alike are these to the unobserving observer that only
a dancing, swaying, hazy, vanishing blur is seen in either case against
the indistinct background of the honeysuckle hedge in the deepening
twilight.
The humming bird is less easy to study, and to get close to his
fast fluttering wings is a rarity indeed. As soon as the busy bird is
once recognized by his long, needle-shaped bill, bright, iridescent
plumage, exceedingly quick, darting motions and characteristic hum-
ming of the wings he is not confounded with the sluggard of a moth or
any other creature. The bird, like the insect, with which he might
weigh in the same notch, pauses in the air before the evening blossom
and quickly sips the nectar without indulging in the climbing method
of alighting as is in vogue with the heavy, short-winged humble bee.
The bird makes a cleaner job of it than the moth in every way. His
204 THE PLANT WORLD
eye may be keener sighted and liis body more submissive to his will.
The bill may be a better instrument than the proboscis for extracting
the honey. Who can tell whether the blossom and the bird are made
for each other's best interests, and the moth is an interloper. Were
Darwin with us we might ask him. It seems true that the flowers onco
visited by the humming bird are not relished thereafter by the moth,
and Levite-lilfe are passed by, while a number of moths may follow in
succession in their visits to those flowers undrained by the bird.
Those who are familiar with the honeysuckle blooms are aware
that upon a vine some are white and others are creamy in color, then a
light yellow-orange, and lastly a darker shade of the two neighboring
colors as the flowers hang collapsed upon the short stems. The rapid-
ity with which these blossoms pass these stages has been a matter of
observation and surprise. Abundant facts were obtained by the use of
strings mentioned at the outset, and daily inspection of the flowering
branches. Each of these branches usually has upon an average six
successive nodes that are to bear blossoms, the series being preceded
by a few neutral nodes and followed by an indefinite number that are
entirely vegetative. The blooming of a series represented by any stem
is usually compassed by a week or at most ten days — ^the rapidity seem-
ing to depend upon the individual peculiarities of the plant or some
circumstances of nourishment and the weather. During the period of
watching there was a rainy day and night, and upon the intervening
evening there was but little show of bloom and a noticeable absence of
the characteristic fragrance, and of course of the insect and bird at-
tendants. A halt was called in the regular procession of bloom that
may or may not have affected the whole period of blossoming. But
tliis is a fact that can only be obtained by extending the observations
over many seasons.
To the reader unfamiliar with the Lonicera, it may be said that
the long, slender, twining stems bear their leaves in pairs upon oppo-
site sides of the stem. Between the bases of the leaf stalk and the
stem above, a bud arises which quickly forms a stem an inch or so long,
bearing a pair of small leaves, and between these two flower buds form.
It is thus seen that at each joint or node upon the stem there are two
brief side shoots each bearing two flowers — ^that is, four blossoms are
produced with but very few exceptions at a node, or none at all. When
once a series of flowers has begun there are no breaks in it until the
end is reached. The four buds very regularly open upon the same
afternoon or evening, and display their four white corolla lobes through
the live-long night. The next morning they begin to take on a sugges-
tion of cream color, which rapidly develops as the day declines, and
become strongly in contrast with the four swelling white buds of the
THE PLANT WORLD 205
next younger node that are destined to follow along the same road
twenty-four hours later. By the second evening the flowers have be-
come orange-yellow and lost their fragrance — at least it is lost in the
richness of the younger blossoms which become the only ones before
which the moths and humming birds pause for their evening draughts
of nectar. Of hundreds of such transient visitations the writer has
never seen an old flower considered for an instant. They appear as
oblivious to them as if they were not there. It may be that the eyes of
the night flyers are color blind to the hybrid yellow-orange, while they
are sharp indeed upon the white. With thoughts like these in mind I
have watched the hedge-row as the darkness deepened until the old
flowers passed from sight and only the fresh white ones stood out dis-
tinctly against the black background of the obscured vegetation.
Sometimes one of the quartette of blooms gets belated and comes
into flower along with the four ux)on the next younger node; but then
it is out of place and the chances for visits are diminished, for the four
make an attractive setting, and all can be sipped before advancing to
the next group. The torsion common to the lonicera stems provides
that all the flowers present a uniformly open front; in other words,
they hang the banner upon the outer wall, even though it may be neces-
sary to turn a sharp comer in the event
It has been said that a new set of four flowers is not uniformly pro-
vided for each new day. That may be the rule, but there are dark days
and rainy days, and so the uniformity is more or less broken. This,
however, seems to be the rule — ^that no half-ways are indulged in, and
if a bud is not quite ready to open upon one afternoon, it holds over
imtil near the close of the next, thus giving forth its perfume upon the
evening air, and at a time when night-loving insects may catch sight of
its showy whiteness and sip its sweets, while incidentally bringing to
it the x)ollen from some other blossom. Back of all the plan that has
been written upon, there lies between the lines the deeper one of wide
pollination, which i)erhaps both honeysuckle and honeysucker knew
nothing about, and yet is essential for the well-being of each, and suc-
ceeds so well in the great struggle entailed upon all living things.
New Brunswick, New Jersey.
206 THE PLANT WORLD
FAIRY RINGS.
By E. M. Williams.
ON coming to eastern Sonth Dakota eleven years ago, one very
noticeable thing about the flora of the prairies was the great
number of " fairy rings " to be found on all the uplands where
the wild grass sod had not been broken. These rings were from one to
fifty feet or even more in circumference, and in more or less perfect cir-
cles which could be seen at considerable distances because of the level
country and the clearness of the atmosphere. The grass is a much
darker green inside than outside the ring, and also grows much more
luxuriantly in these sjwts, particularly toward the outer edges. Occa-
sionally toward the center of very large rings the grass is not much
darker than that outside, but is always bordered by a zone of luxuriant
dark green grass. These were found to be common all over the eastern
and northeastern parts of the State, and probably occur farther west
also. The rapid settlement of this part of the State has brought most
of these areas under cultivation, but wherever the wild grass is yet un-
disturbed they are to be seen.
The Fairy Ring Mushroom [Marasmius areades).
Gray Bulletin.
Reprinted from The Asa
Such a marked difference in these spots could hardly fail to attract
attention, and various reasons have been assigned as to their origin.
One student at the college at Brookings, and afterwards at Cornell, who
made (juite an exhaustive study of these " rings," came to the conclu-
sion that they were caused by the growth of one or more large species
of puff-ball which are very abundant on the prairies in early spring and
sometimes at intervals throughout the summer.
THE PLANT WORLD 207
From my own observationB I could assign a no more reasonable
explanation, since during six years of study I not only found many of
the large puff-balls, but also several of the smaller kinds showing a
decided preference for these dark green areas, though by no means
confined to them. Five years ago on one of my first field excursions at
Takoma Park, two large ** rings" were found, and growing in them a
great number of one of the common large pufiE-balls of that region,
forming almost complete circles near the outer margin* These two
rings were under observation for three years, and during that time not
only large but small pufiE-balls and also several species of gill-bearing
fungi were found in them, such as Gcdera tenera, Mnrasmius oreadea^
Agaricus campestrisy A. subrufescens, and A, fiemervidortus. These spe-
<*ies of fungi were found in the surrounding meadow as well, but showed
always a decided preference for the rings. Three years ago it was
proven beyond a doubt that these rings were made by the growth of
Lepioia MorganL Other rings of a similar nature were also found, and
one of them, which was illustrated in a recent Bulletin sent out by the
Department of Agriculture, during a year of observation showed a sim*
ilar disposition to encourage the more luxuriant growth of other species
of fungi that occurred elsewhere in the surrounding field.
The crowning surprise was reserved for this year. When riding
in the outskirts of the city of Brookings on October 9th, I found grow-
ing in great abundance a large species of Tncholoma (which for lack of
literature I am unable to name), and growing too in such a manner as
to leave no doubt that this was the fungus that originally caused the
ring. The same fungus was found in other rings wherever the ground
remained undisturbed by the plow. In one place one was seen as an
almost perfect hemisphere, the other half of the ring having been made
into a lawn. In all cases the mushrooms were crowded to the extreme
outer edge of the ring, and grew so closely together that they seemed
to be piled on each other, making in many places almost complete
chains of shining white caps often six inches in diameter, surrounding
the darker area inside. How so large a fungus could have escaped
notice in a country where a fungus having a pileus over three inches in
diameter is indeed a rarity, is a mystery that is hard to explain.
Though the unusually moist autumn may account in a measure for the
large size of the caps, the fact remains that the growth under any cir-
cumstances must be conspicuous. An interesting question is also
raised as to the effect the growth and decay of these robust species
that originally cause the rings may have in promoting the growth of
other species of fungi.
Brookings, South Dakota.
208 THE PLANT WORLD
^'YOU WILL HAVE TO HURRY."
By Aven Nelson.
ANEW expression had birth somewhere here in the West during
the present year. It originated, I believe, at some one of the
numerous " street fairs " held in different cities throughout the
region. The proprietors of the several attractions at these were con-
stantly crying the superiority of their particular shows, and admonish-
ing the crowds in stentorian tones that " Tou will have to hurry " in
order not to miss this wonderful exhibition. "Tou will have to hurry "
became the rallying cry, and was effective in proportion to the amount
of circumflex expression that the speaker could put upon the word
"hurry." The phrase proved inmiensely catching, and at once became
exceedingly popular. It was heard on all sides, under all circumstan-
ces, and at all times. The advertisements said "You will have to
hurry " if you secure one of those marvelous new gas stoves, or those
superior suits at reduced prices, or those effective pills sold only by
Timothy Calopstock, or that new spiced drink at August Guggen-
heimer's place. The bands improvised tunes more or less amusing
under the title of "Tou will have to huiTy," Were a man walking with
unusual celerity, his friend would cry out to him "Tou will have to
hurry," or if sauntering leisurely to enjoy the morning's sunshine the
same expression would soon greet his ears. From the ragged news-
boys up to the more dignified people in the various walks of life, the
infection was all but complete. Fortunately, however, like measles and
chicken-x)ox it will only run its course, and the epidemic has now
nearly passed away.
During the height of the epidemic the thought came to me that
this expression has been for untold centuries old Motiier Nature's favo-
rite one in dealing with many of her children. Some have heeded her
admonition, and they and their descendants still flourish upon our
mountain tops, upon our arid plains and in our wastes and deserts.
Others, heedless of her cry, passed away and left no trace of themselves
as the rising mountains and plateaus brought new environments.
In our mountains the cry still rings clarion clear "Tou wiU have to
hurry." On the higher slopes great snow banks linger into late June,
July, or even into August. Sharp freezes and skifts of snow usher in
September. During the few, sometimes very few, favorable weeks,
magnificent flowers, gentians and erythroniums, asters and erigerons,
pentstemons and delphiniums, spring up and develop into blossom and
fruit with a celerity scarcely surpassed by Jack's famous "bean stalk."
These are the descendants of ancestor that for many generations have
succeeded in gradually accelerating the life activities, not into the
THE PLANT WORLD 209
"pace that kiDs," but into harmony with a changing environment.
On our cold, arid plateaus we see the same conditions and the same
processes and results. The examples may be less striking, but even
here the forms that survive have had many a sharp lesson.
But no more striking example can be given than is exhibited in
some of the interior deserts, the Red Desert of Wyoming, for example,
where not the shortness of the season but the scarcity of water is the
prime cause of the noticeable haste. In such localities the moisture
that falls is principally the snows of late spring. These on melting
furnish the water which must cj,rry many of these desert forms to full
fruition. The cloudless skies of June bring to maturity many small
annuals that spring into life in cool but moist May. More numerous
perennials scatter far and wide their abundant fruitage before July's
sun bakes completely dry valley, hill and plain. These latter have
adopted the storage plan as the best means of securing the requisite
speed when the favorable season comes. Rhizomes, bulbs, tubers and
roots, often enormous, are packed full of food materials which are con-
verted into immediately available funds to meet the heavy drafts that
the rush season demands.
There is perhaps no class of plants that have learned the art of
hurrying so well as the generally despised weeds. A cockle«bur and a
pigweed rarely fail to mature some seed. Cut them off near the ground
repeatedly during the summer, and each time they will put out new
branches from the stump. These may in turn be destroyed, till as
Autumn approaches you forget about them, but they do not forget their
business. When the season closes a few prostrate branches will be
found with mature fruit.
That plants, like most i>eople, will not hurry except from neces-
sity, was abundantly in evidence during the field work of the past sea-
son. The identical species (various Eriogonums, Senecios, Solidagos
and many others), that were in full bloom on the higher plains of more
northern Wyoming in late July or early August, had reached only the
same stage of development by the first of September, in middle Colo-
rado and southward. The contrast was all the more striking, since the
Colorado season opens two or three weeks earlier as well as closes as
much later.^
University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming.
210 THE PLANT WORLD
FIELD NOTES OF A MIDSUMMER TRAMP.
By Ohables 0. Plitt,
My friend and I met one day at Camden Station, Baltimore, to
take the early train to Olenbumie. Arriving at the latter place,
we took our usual route past the old hut to the pond. To-day
again, as on our last four trips, the variety of fungi attracted consider-
able attention. What a harvest this year for the mycologist! We were
satisfied, however, in simply admiring them. One beautiful large mush-
room with a fungous growth all over the pileus, showed how these
plants not only attack the higher plants, but even prey one upon the
other. The parasitism of the G^rardia {Q. Jlava) was examined. A
plant was carefully dug up so as to disturb the roots as little as pos-
sible. The little sucker-like disks on its rootlets, attached to the roots
of a species of Vaccinium ( V. vaciHana) which grew close by were read-
ily seen. The rootlets of the Q^rardia no doubt i)Osses8 the power of
forming these disks whenever they come in contact with other roots.
That they have not the xx>wer of discernment, however, is also seen, for
they frequently attach themselves to other roots of the same plant of
which they themselves are members.
When we arrived at the branch, we walked along the half swampy
lowland bordering its bank. The chain-fern ( Wbodwardia angusHfolia)
was in profusion, but what pleased us most was the finding of Habena-
ria Blephariglotiis, We had never before seen it here, although during
the spring I saw a plant which made me suspect its presence. This
year seems to be again a good one for this beautiful orchid, judging
from the number found in flower. There were many beautiful si>eci-
mens, though I found none that equalled the unusually fine ones found
last year year in another locality. Later we visited this si)ot also, but
here too they were not so large. This plant, although it grows in very
damp places, does not seem to like excessively wet ones. In the latter
places we found instead H, tridentata, a much smaller and very much
l^ss showy species. We were surprised to find in one of these very wet
places a plant of Oypripedium acaule. It had not bloomed, nor was it
in a flourishing condition. The plant, in this vicinity at any rate,
grows and thrives in very much drier situations. Rhus copaUina^ the
dwarf sumach, is now found in flower, and I think is the last of all the
sumachs to bloom.
As we left the hut, Mr. W. kept close to the stream; I took the
drier path, and had not gone far when he called me. From the racket
that he made, I thought that something important had been found, and
so it proved to be — two beautiful specimens of Habenaria dliaris, A
very important find we considered it, for we know of but one other
THE PLANT WORLD 211
place where it grows. As soon as I came up with him, we looked care-
fally for more specimens, and eight more were found. This plant, too,
like H, tridentata, can grow in very wet places, as some were found
growing in the water! The most beautiful specimen of all was observed
a little more closely. To it was still attached the remains of last year's
flower stalk, showing that it had not only bloomed but also fruited.
We now went directly to the i)ond, and while Mr. W. took a boat
to get water lilies, I examined Marailia quadrifolia. The water lilies
(Nymphaea odorata) attracted our attention on account of their long
rigid flower stalks, raising the flowers fully four inches out of the water.
The stalks, as a rule, are not rigid but rather limber, allowing the flower
to float with the motion of the water. Another plant found out of
water, and where one might think a long rigid stalk would be produced,
had it only long enough to bring the bud to the surface, and the flower
lay expanded close to the ground. MarsUia quadrifolia was in fine
condition, and examination showed many plants with sporocarps.
These were found on terrestrial plants, none of those in the water hav-
ing a single one. One plant only, and that so close to the shore that
its stem was barely covered with water had them. The sporocarps,
one, two, or three in number, but generally two, were on very short
stalks attached to the stalk of the leaf. Another thing noticed was that
some of the leaves twined around other leaves. This, however, was no
doubt brought about mechanically, and not from any inclination on the
part of the leaves themselves.
It was now after twelve o'clock, so we found a pretty nook on the
hill overlooking the pond, and here we ate our lunch. While we were
eating a shower of rain fell for a short time in large drops, but shortly
afterward we had another which was of longer duration. Within half
an hour, though, it had stopped, and during the greater part of the re-
mainder of the afternoon it was only partly cloudy.
After dinner we went toward the old furnace. On our way we
stopped to examine the spring which we had cleaned out some months
previously. It was found with much difficulty, as brier, bramble and
vine had taken possession of every available inch. While looking for
it, we saw a most brilliant display of the flowers of Lilium superbum.
They were so beautiful — ^in fact, I have never seen a more beautiful dis-
play — ^that we decided to see them at close range. They were sepa^
rated from us by an almost impassable network of brier and bramble.
Had we depended on trying to force ourselves through this mass, I
think we would never have succeeded. But by means of a stout stick
Mr. W. beat down everything before him, and thus we Anally reached
them. There were seven plants close together, the tallest being fully
eight feet high. Forty-two fully opened flowers were counted, the
212 THE PLANT WORLD
greatest number of buds and flowers on any one plant being eighteen.
We now went on to tlie old fomace. We did not stay here very
long, bnt went on to the little inlet, where we found a few specimens of
Sahbatia chloraideSy Eryngium Virginianumy and Discopleiira capiUacea.
It was now after six o'clock, so we wended our way slowly back to
the station. During the day sixty-eight different plants were found in
bloom. One of them, Glitoria Mariana, was found very abundantly
and in a number of places, which was quite a contrast to the very few
plants found several years ago.
On August 10th, just two weeks later, this locality was again vis-
ited. The plants of Marsilia qiuzdrifolm which were previously so full
of sporocarps, were now apparently destitute of them. But on closer
examination I saw the cause of this seeming scarcity, for that portion
of the rootstock which bore them was now entirely devoid of leaves,
and it required close observation to distinguish them from the brown
soil. They were then about ripe, for they burst open with only slight
pressure.
THE PLANT WORLD
VOL. IV. PLATE XVIII.
The Snow Plant {Sarcodes sanguinea).
THE PLANT WORLD 213
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
The Snow Plant.
Although the wierd but beautiful Indian pipe is known to almost
every child who frequents the August woods, fewer people have seen its
blood-red relative Barcodes sanguinea^ the Oalifomia and Nevada snow
plant. Several of these growths, sent from Washoe Veilley, Nevada to
New York came in excellent condition, neither faded nor shriveled by
their long journey. I was fortunate enough to receive one which was
larger in every way than the Califomia type. The stem was over fif-
teen inches high, one and a half inches thick, of a flj^h pink color,
glandular pubescent, and thickly clothed with small fleshy scales, the
lower ones ovate and closely imbricated, the upper gradually more
scattered, narrower, passing into linear bracts which mostly exceed the
flower, their margins glandular ciliate. The brilliant red flower is
thicker and larger than that of the Indian pipe, and instead of a single
flower, there are upwards of seventy-five growing in circles around the
stem, five or six in a circle. The flesh-colored pedicel one and a half
inches long, at first erect, then drooping, diminishes in length as it ap-
proaches the apex. The calyx consists of five oblong, erect, hairy, per-
sistent sepals, divided almost to the base. The corolla is cyUndrical-
campanulate; stamens ten, included, glabrous; filaments slender; an-
thers linear-oblong, attached to the outside a Uttle above the base, not
appendaged, the two cells united throughout, and with a very narrow
connective, opening by the whole obliquely truncate apex; ovary five
lobed, five celled; style columnar; stigma capitate,, slightly five lobed;
capsule fleshy, the thick pla^sentae adnate to the axis their whole length;
seeds ten, oval.
Sarcodes does not turn black on being touched as is the case with
the Indian pipe, and when dried loses but little of its brilliant color.
It is usually found in coniferous forests, especially of Sequoia and
Abies through the Sierra Nevada at an altitude of from four thousand
toTnine thousand feet, shooting forth and flowering as soon as the snow
melts. It is also occasionally found at quite a distance from fir or
pine. — ^Pauline Kaufman, New York City.
Double Trilliums.
The article by Mr. Holzinger in the July issue of The Plant World
on the subject of a green trillium in which the various organs of the
214
THE PLANT WOBLD
flower had reverted to leafy bracts, recalls an interesting short article
by Mrs. W. A. Kellerman in the Asa Qray Bulleiin several years ago.
It wonld seem that this feature of " doubling " or reversion to vegetative
rather than reproductive organs is not uncommon in the large flowered
trillium {T. grandifhrum). In the case cited by Mrs. Kellerman, how-
ever, the extra whorls preserved the appearance and texture of the nor-
mal perianth-segments (or petals), so that the result was virtually a
double blossom of great beauty. A still more remarkable fact was the
A Double Trillium. (Reprinted from TA^ Asa Gray Bulletin, 6: 17. 1898.)
constancy with which the plant produced flowers of this type each suc-
ceeding spring after it was placed in the garden. Following are Mrs.
Kellerman's comments.
''When the flowers began to wither they were cut and given to me
for preservation. One was pressed intact, the others carefully dissected
and mounted the different whorls * * * One of the Trilliums thus
mounted shows nine, the other thirteen whorls of petals. * * The
plant and flowers attained the average normal size, and aside from the
peculiarities noted, was normal throughout. The flower was pure
white, assuming no tinge of pink even in withering." — Charles K Pol-
lard, Washington, D. 0.
THE PLANT WOBLD 216
GENERAL ITEMS.
The Office of Vegetable Pathology and Physiology of the Depart-
ment of Agricoltore has recently purchased the large collection of fongi
accumulated by the late A. B. Langlois, of St. Martinsville, Louisiana.
It contains a very large and complete series of southern species, and
many co-types of species described from Mr. Langlois* specimens. It
will prove a very valuable addition to the mycological herbarium of the
Department
Beoently a farmer brought in a plant for me to determine. He
had cured a sore on the leg of a valuable horse with a poultice made of
the root, when all other remedies had failed, and considers that he has
found a wonderful remedy for horse-flesh. The plant is Heuchera nutc-
rorhiza SmalL It is very common here on river bluffs. — Sadie F. Pricey
Bowling Oreen, Kentucky.
This note is of interest as we do not recall many cases of healing
properties ascribed to fleuchera, which is a genus of the Saxifrage fam-
ily. Can our readers contribute to the general information on this sub-
ject?
At the recent meeting of the British Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, Professor I. Bayley Balfour, president of the botanical
section, selected for the subject of his address a discussion of the causes
which have led the Angiosperms or higher flowering plants to become
the dominant types of the existing flora. Climatic differences of our
epoch, contrasted with earlier periods, have been important factors, and
especially the great difference in the relative proportions of the land
and water areas ux>on the globe. He says: " The statement is war-
ranted that the Angiosperms have become dominant in great measure
because in their construction the problem of the plant's relationship to
water on a land area has been solved more satisfactorily than in the
case of the groups that preceded them. By the formation of flowers
and seed the Angiosperms freed themselves from the risks which at-
tend reproduction in the Pteridophytes by providing a special pla^se for
the development of the germ and thereby rendering it independent of
the presence of water.**
216 THE PLANT WOBLD
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
Nature Study is printing a series of observations on organotopic
plants, by Frederick W. Batchelder. Parasitism is one of the most
interesting subjects for investigation, and one who is not a botanist
would scarcely suspect how many of our plants are dependent on others
for at least a part of their subsistence.
In the last number of the Contributions from the U. S. National
Herbarium (Vol. VII, No. 2), Mr. O. F. Cook has given an interesting
and valuable discussion on the origin and distribution of the Cocoa
palm. This valuable species^ now widely distributed throughout the
tropical regions of the globe, has long been supposed to be of Asiatic
or Malayan origin, in this aspect being an anomaly, for all other genera
and species of American palms are different fi*om those of Asia. After
considering all claims, Mr. Cook concludes that this palm is undoubt-
edly of Central American origin, and even in prehistoric times began
its journey around the world.
The subject of beautifying school grounds was recently discussed
editorially in this journal, and we are glad to note the recent publica-
tion by the U. S. Department of Agriculture of a Farmer's Bulletin (No.
133) entitled " The Planting of Bural School grounds," by the Assist-
ant Sui)erintendent of Tree Planting, Bureau of Forestry. The Bulle-
tin calls attention to the fact that a great number of schoolhouses in
the United States lack the surroundings that make for comfort and
contentment. City school grounds are often so small that planting is
out of the question, though where space permits, it is not uncommon to
find them carefully laid out, with a good arrangement of grass plots,
flower beds, and shade trees. In towns and villages also, may be
pointed out many examples showing great care and attention. In the
country, however, an improved school ground is rarely found. .In hilly,
forest regions they are often denuded of soil and full of stones and
stumps, and on the prairie many are well nigh as bare, bleak, and in-
hospitable as when they formed a part of the unsettled plain. The
paper points out the needs of rural school grounds and indicates meth-
THE PLANT WOBLD 217
ods for their improvement. Imx)ortant lines of study are suggested for
teachers and schools in connection with trees and forests, and the in-
formation and advice given apply to country churchyards and to school-
yards in many towns and villages.
The flavor of the pineapple is so agreeable that no one has to acquire
a taste for it. Pineapples are on the market throughout the year, but
those sold at other times than during the main crop season are too high
priced a luxury for the average man. The main shipping season is
from the middle of April to the middle of July. The area in the
United States adapted to their cultivation is considerable, and
can be greatly extended. The largest tract of pineapple land
is in Florida. Pineapples can also be produced profitably on some
land in southern California. Although all of Porto Bico and the Ha-
waiian Islands are free from frost, the soil and cUmate are not uni-
formly adapted to their production. There is more land in the Phil-
ippines adapted to the production of pineapples than will be utilized
for several generations. The pineapple supply of the United States is
contributed to by Porto Bico, the Bahama Islands, Jamaica, San Sal-
vador, and Trinidad. With the view of furnishing to all persons inter-
ested in the culture of pineapples information relative to their propa*
gation and cultivation, the U. S. Department of Agriculture has had
prepared and will soon issue Farmers' Bulletin No. 140, entitled "Pine-
apple Growing." This Bulletin was prepared by Peter H. Bolfs, path-
ologist in charge of the tropical laboratory of the Bureau of Plant In-
dustry. The publication gives a concise statement of the general ope-
rations connected with the production of pineapples in the field and on
a large scale. No attention is given to the growing of pineapples in
glass-houses, the method being so radically different that a separate
treatise is necessary. It gives a history of the pineapple family; de-
scribes the leading varieties, and treats of all matters connected with
the cultivation, of the pineapple and disx>osal of the crop, including soil,
gathering, shipping, markets, prices, fertilizers, planting, cultivation,
irrigation, canning, and disease. The Bulletin is for free distribution,
and will be sent to any address on application to Senators, Bepresenta-
tives, and Delegates in Congress, or to the Secretary of A^culture,
Washington, D. C.
218 THE PLANT WORLD
EDITORIAL.
As nearly as we can now estimate, Mr. Pollard's work on "The
Families of Flowering Plants," issued as a monthly eight-page supple-
ment, will be completed by the close of 1902, and we are already plan-
ning for the preparation of some work of permanent value to be issued
in the same manner, thus making use of the pages that will then be
available. We have in mind two works — ^a popular dictionary of plant
terms, or a list of American plant-names somewhat similar in scope to
Britten and Holland's well-known Dictionary of English Plant Names.
We beg that our readers will advise us as to which of these proposed
works will be most acceptable, or to suggest additional lines along
which we may confer the " greater good to the greater number."
It may not be generally understood, but it is a fact that the United
States Government is at the present time probably more generous in
the aid of botanical research than any other government in the world.
Through the medium of the various scientific departments at Washing-
ton, and the Agricultural Experiment Stations and Agricultural Col-
leges in each State and Territory, it is appropriating annually a sum
considerably in excess of half a million dollars. A very considerable
portion of this is being used in the prosecution of technical research,
but of course the major part is expended in fostering economic lines of
study. Under the first head comes systematic botany along many
avenues — the working out of the life histories of various members of
the lower groups of plants, etc.; while under the second comes investi-
gations as to methods of combating plant diseases, forest conservation
and management, forage plants, etc. Another very interesting line is
that of botanical exploration and plant introduction. A number of
students are maintained almost constantly in traveling in all parts of
THE PLANT WOELD 219
the world on the lookout for new plants that may be grown successfully
in this country, or in securing better and stronger strains of well-
known plants. The introduction of a hard-grained rice from Japan, of
drought and fungus resisting wheat from Eussia, of salt-bushes from
Australia, and date palms from the Orient, are a few of the numerous
examples that may be cited.
BOOK REVIEWS.
Statistical methods with special Eefebence to Biological Vakution.
By C. B. Davenport, Assistant Professor of Zoology, University of
Chicago. 16mo. Morocco flexible covers, 148 pp. Protractor and
20 pp. coordinate paper. Price $1.25. John Willey & Sons, New
York.
The study of biological variation has received much attention ever
since Darwin first called the attention of the scientific world to its great
imx>ortance as a factor in the evolution of Uving forms, but strange as it
may appear, it is only recently that the subject of variation has re-
ceived systematic and accurate study. The most work along this line
has been done by the zoologists, but it is time botanists began to realize
more fully the great imx)ortance of this work, and to devote more atten-
tion to it
The little book before us is devoted to methods of making quanti-
tative studies of species and of organic variation in general, and the
plotting of the results of such study. The subjects of the first five
chapters are as follows: Chapter I. On the Methods of Measuring Or-
ganisms. U. On the Seriation and Plotting of Data and the Normal
Frequency Polygon. IH. Abnormal Frequency Polygons. IV. Cor-
220 THE PLANT WORLD
related Variability. V. Some Applications of Statistical Biological
Study.
The remainder of the book is devoted to tables and formulae used
in the calculation of curves. These are conveniently arranged, and are
indispensable in the line of biological work.
This little volume will prove very useful to all who wish to make
an exact quantitative study of the variation of organisms, which study
we believe is destined to receive great attention in the future, and to
give us an exact basis for testing many of the current theories and
speculations regarding the various factors of organic evolution. — 0. L. S
Manual op the Flora op the Northern States and Canada. By Na-
thaniel Lord Britton, Ph. D. 12mo., pp. X, 1080. New York,
Henry Holt and Company. Price $2.25.
It is a neat-appearing and compact little volume which Dr. Britton
has given us as a competitor to Gray*s classic work, and one which
arouses interest not merely in the treatment of species by the author,
but in the arrangement and mechanical construction of the book.
Brevity requires, in a comprehensive manual of this kind, the abso-
lute suppression of unnecessary matter; so that while many persons
will feel annoyance at the omission of most of the synonyms, the aver-
age student will accustom himself to using the book for the sake of the
descriptions, and will look elsewhere for his bibliography. The clear-
ness and comparative fulness of the diagnoses of species, as well as the
excellence of all the keys, cannot fail to find high favor among amateur
workers. One of the very best features, in contrast with Dr. Gray's
Manual, is the collation of all the divisions of a key rather than a pro-
miscuous distribution through the pages of the texi We are pleased
to observe, also, the insertion of ordinal names and their descriptions.
In the preparation of his text the author has freely availed himself
of the cooperation of si)ecialists, and the treatment of many families
has been revised or contributed outright by Dr. Small and Dr. Eydberg.
There is a tendency to radicalism in contrast to Britton and Brown's
Illustrated Flora, which was somewhat conservative. Several hundred
additional species are included, many of them new, but we regret the
lack of uniformity in designating these new species, as also the careless
proof-reading which has resulted in such errors as " Gymnandeniopsis,"
a genus said to be derived from "Gymnandenia."
As a thoroughly modem and practical presentation of our present
knowledge of the northeastern flora, based on the most approved prin-
ciples of nomenclature and classification, this book will take its place
as our standard manual. — C. L. P.
THE PLANT WORLD
VOL. IV. PLATE XIX.
1
•I
■3
I
o
u
en
The Plant World
A MONTHLY JOURNAL OF POPULAR BOTANY.
Vol. IV. DECEMBER, 1901. No. 12.
FURTHER NOTES ON TREES OF CUBA.
Hedge Tbees.
By Dr. Vamsby Havabd, Surgeok, U. S. A.
BEFORE these modem days of barb wire which now so universally
fences one off from fields and pastures, boundaries were marked,
and cattle as well as other trespassers kept out, mostly by live
hedges; these were made from certain trees and shrubs combining the
necessary qualities for the purpose, especially great hardiness and
quick reproduction, from cuttings thrust into the ground.
The most commonly planted hedge tree in all parts of Cuba is the
pinon espinoso, Erythrina coraUodendron, with low branching trunk and
fine scarlet flowers in early spring, before the appearance of the trifoli-
ate leaves. Bees find much nectar in the flowers, and cattle eat the
foUage. Another species, probably E. cri9tagall% is said to be also
used for the same pmpose.
Another very common hedge tree, especially in the province of
Santiago, where it grows like a weed, is pinon botija (Jatropha curcas),
with cordate, palmately-lobed leaves, pale yellow flowers and greenish
plum-like fruit drying black, and containing three large, bluish seeds.
These seeds have a sweet, pleasant taste, and may tempt the unwary;
they are a much more agreeable medicine than castor oil, but it is not
safe ip eat more than one or two, as the writer knows from experience.
The prettiest of this ^lass of trees is the leguminous pinon plumago
(Glincidia sepium Kunth, [Lonchocarpua aepium DC.]), remarkable for
the profusion of its light purple flowers (resembling those of the locust)
on the leafless branches in winter, when it becomes the most conspic-
uous omajuent of the country. Other common hedge trees are:
Bursera giimmifera, almacigo, which yields an abundance of resin.
222 THE PLANT WOELD
Its smooth, brownish-red bark has popular fame as a hydragogae
cathartic. Its whitish wood is so worthless as to be slighted even by
the charcoal burners, so that it is generally the only tree left standing
in the stunted woods or jungles in the vicinity of Santiago.
Cordia alba, varia blanca, is very common along roads in the prov-
ince of Santiago. It has a bushy, spreading head, an abundance of
snow-white blossoms in summer, and white, transparent berries.
Spondias lutea, the hog plum, has already been noticed.
Euphorbia Canarioisis, cordon, much planted around fields and
gardens in the western provinces, especially about Havana, becomes
arborescent when left alone, but submits easily to any amount of trim-
ming, and forms a tight, forbidding hedge. It leafs freely, but has
never been known to blossom on the island. An abundant milky and
very corrosive juice flows from all cuts and breaks.
Much less common is Yucca gloriosa.
Another plant worth mentioning, although not arborescent, is Bro-
melia pinguiriy maya, or pina de raton of the Cubans, looking somewhat
like its relative the pineapple, but with stronger, stiffer, spiny leaves,
four to six feet long, which, interlacing, form a dangerous hedge, the
kind our soldiers had often to cut their way through in the Santiago
campaign. The spike of the pink flowers in spring is quite pretty, and
the acidulous berries very palatable.
Let us add to the list two shrubs of the orange family, used here
and there for ornamental hedges, Triphasia trifoUata with yellow fruit,
and Murraya exotica, a handsome evergreen with red berries.
Miscellaneous Cuban Trees.
Widespread over the whole island, and conspicuous round about
Havana is the ceiba or silk-cotton tree (Eriodendron anfractuosum), a
giant among Cuban trees, its straight columnar trunk sometimes seventy-
five feet high before breaking, and seven or eight feet in diameter be-
low, with strong, twisted, wing-like buttresses at base, the huge
branches spreading out horizontally above and often giving the whole
tree, especially when much exposed to the wind, the aspect of a huge
parasol. This is the historical tree of Cuba; under it, in 1519, was cel-
ebrated the first mass in Havana, a descendant of the original tree now
growing luxuriantly on the very same spot, in front of the Templete.
Under a ceiba, also, General Shafter received the surrender of the
Spaniards at Santiago in 1898. The wood is worthless, but the trunk
was formerly hollowed into large canoes. The abundant wool in the
capsules is sometimes used by upholsterers.
Another large tree, also with palmate leaves and strong buttresses
at the base, but the trunk divided a few feet from the ground, is Ster-
THE PLANT WOELD 223
ciiUa Carthaginensis, called anacahuite by the natives, but very different
from the Mexican anacahuite {Gordia Boiaaieri). It is common in San-
tiago, but rare about Havana. Its strong, tortuous, wide-spreading
limbs and dense foliage sometimes afford ample shade for a dozen fam-
ilies. The large capsules contain bluish, very palatable seeds.
Oftentimes, as one looks up a wooded slope, masses of brilUant
white are seen swaying in the breeze, as if much of the slope was in
bloom; this optical illusion is produced by the snow-white under sur-
face of the moving, broad, palmate leaves of Cecropia peltata, a near
relative of the bread-fruit tree, and sometimes mistaken for it. The
wood of its cylindrical, annulated trunk is soft and useless.
Bambusa vulgaris, the common bamboo of Cuba, with stems often
four to six inches in diameter (thicker in Santiago than in Havana) and
sixty feet high, forming above long nodding plumes of tender green,
deserves the distinction of being mentioned among trees. It is most
frequent on lowlands, being thriftiest near watercourses, but it is also
sometimes seen growing on high slopes and even on the very hilltops.
In favorable localities the stems grow in thick clusters not unlike the
fluted pillars of gothic cathedrals, the tops spreading above and form-
ing arches through which is ever heard the murmuring breeze.
The stem being hollow, with tight partitions at the nodes, is very
useful as bucket and water canteen. By boring through two or three
partitions, segments of stem four or five feet long can thus be utilized
and carried slung on the back like a gun. During the siege of Santi-
ago all the water used on San Juan Hill was hauled up in bamboo
stems.
Of timber hardwood trees Cuba has a number of valuable species.
The first place belongs to the mahogany {Svnetenia mahagoni)^ and the
allied West Indian cedar {Cedrela odorata), both large, high trees for-
merly common all over the island, now only found in interior forests.
The mahogany of Cuba is particularly hard and fine grained, much
superior to that from Honduras which now mostly supplies the Ameri-
can market. Cedar wood is reddish-brown with a pleasant odor, and
formerly entered largely into the construction of the best Cuban houses.
Both woods are a common material ol the doors, shutters, floors, ceil-
ings and beams of old buildings, and during the war in Santiago were
commonly burned as fuel.
Among valuable leguminous hardwood timber trees may be men-
tioned:
Braya ebenus, ebony, granadillo, a small tree, rather common, with
very hard, heavy wood, sometimes pure ebony black, but generally
ranging in color from yellow to deep brown with sharply defined inky
bands and blotches, or again nearly black with clearly cut whitish
224 THE PLANT WORLD
markings. It is much used for cabinet-work, musical instruments,
canes, etc.
Hymeiioea covrbaril, quiebra hacha, a high spreading tree with
exceedingly hard and compact wood well deserving its name of ax-
breaker.
Belairia miicronata, jamaguey, with compact, heavy, fine-grained,
light-colored wood.
Lysiloma sabicu, sabicu, a large tree with wood having all the qual-
ities of mahogany, but lighter colored, and almost indestructible.
Poeppigia procera, tengue, medium-sized tree with dark, brick-
colored heairtwood beautifully veined.
Andira inermis, yaba, a rather common medium-sized tree with
wood of variable color from reddish to dark brown and yellow; much
esteemed for the construction of boats.
The mesquite {Prosopis jxdiJlora\ so common from Texas to South
America, and in Jamaica, is not found in Cuba. Acacia Farnesiana is
found in all parts of the island, but never larger than a small strag-
gling shrub; whoever has seen it in Texas (the huisache of San Anto-
nio) as a shapely tree, a foot or more in diameter, wonders at such de-
generation in the tropics.
Among Sapotaceae may be mentioned:
Bassia albescens, acaua, of large size, with edible fruit and reddish,
almost indestructible wood; IHphoUs saiicifolia, cocuyo, a large fra-
grant tree with very strong, compact, elastic wood, dark yellow with
black veins; Sideroxylon mastichodendron, jocuma prieta, a common
medium-sized tree with dark, very hard, compact wood.
Other timber trees equally valuable for their hard, strong, compact,
heavy, durable, often richly colored wood, but which can only be enum-
erated here, are: Hibiscus tiliaceus^ majagua; Gxmjacum offichiale, Gua-
yacan; Gordia gerascanthoides, varia; Ouazuma ulmi folia and O, tomen-
tosa, guasima; Galicophyllum candidissimum, dagame; Ouettarda longir
fima and Q. scabra, cuero; Ghrysophyllam oliviforme, caimitillo; Oxan-
dra virgata, yaya; Cameraria latifolia, maboa; Laplacea Gurtyana,
almendro: Ghuncoa obovata. chicharron prieto; Bucida capitata, jucaro
prieto; Zantlioxylum bmnbacifolium, agua amarilla; Ma^lura tinctoria,
fustete; Thiodia loetioides, guaguasi; Tecoma longijlcra^ roble real; J?y>'-
Honimia lucida^ came de donoella.
The oak family is represented solely by Quercus virens in Pinar del
Bio, where it is neither abundant nor of large size.
Of conifers, apparently only one pine is known, Pinus Gubensis,
common in Pinar del Bio as a small or medium-sized tree, but much
larger on the Isle of Pines. Three species of Podocarpus are described,
P. Purdieanus, very large tree in southeastern Cuba, P. coriaceus and P.
THE PLANT WORLD 225
nngmtifolitis in Pinar del Bio. Jumperua Virgtniana is also mentioned
in Sauvalle's catalogue, but is probably not indigenous.
Of Anacardiaceae, the mango and species of Spondias, already re-
ferred to as fruit trees, have also serviceable wood; much more useful,
however, for cabinet-work and construction is that of Rhus metopiumy a
small to medium-sized tree abundant on the Isle of Pines. The ill-
famed, everywhere common guao {Comocladia dentata), which in Cuba
replaces the poison ivy of the United States, sometimes becomes arbor-
escent and twelve to fifteen feet high, with a verticil of spreading
branches at the top; it is, however, principally noticed here on account
of its virulently toxic properties.
In closing, let us mention the many arboreal and arborescent spe-
cies of Coccoloba found near the seashore, and the ubiquitous mangrove,
silently pursuing its task of reclaiming salt marshes.
Havana, Cuba.
NOTES ON THE PAN-AMERICAN EXPOSITION.
By Pauline Kaufman.
THE horticultural display on the grounds of the Pan-American £x-
X>osition was excellent. Almost every flower that blooms was
shown in profusion, in its season. We were too late for the mas-
ses of roses, which were said to have been beautiful, but came in time
for the grand showing which late summer and early autumn affords.
Especially fine were the masses of canna and of cardinal flowers with
unusually dark red leaves. Large collections of cacti, grasses and
ferns were seen. Tired with sight-seeing, one had only to step out of a
building and sit down to a feast of flowers. South of the Manufactures
building Victoria regia held court, surrounded by her satellites Nym-
phaea and Lotus of varying shades of pink and blue, yellow and white,
and guarded by tall rushes, sedges, and water plants of all kinds.
Li the Horticultural building the plants were rather a disappoint-
ment, iiiough much attention was paid to what looked like a small plan-
tation of pineapples and to the seedling cacti in their one-inch pots.
Forage and medicinal plants constituted the botanical exhibit of vari-
ous countries. Of the latter Honduras had, I think, the largest num-
ber. Here we were shown a thick vine, minus leaves, from which we
were told India rubber is obtained. The identity of this vine was
known only to two native gentlemen, who were not yet ready to make
it public. Another interesting growth was the limb of a small tree
which showed on the cut ends a perfect Swiss cross. This is called the
226 THE PLANT WOELD
Tree of Life. We could get no botanical names, as the labels were all
Spanish, as was also our informant. A root lying on a shelf was bloom-
ing, with a raceme of bright scarlet flowers. It looked like a Euphor-
bia, but was rhubarb — ^very different from our own. Many poisonous
plants and their antidotes were exhibited. One small room was also
set apart for the interesting ruins of Copan.
Li the streets of Mexico orchids and cacti plants could be bought,
also a candy made from the melon cactus. It was made in the shape
of the melon, and slices were cut off. It was quite palatable, but after
a little while became stringy. The Japanese village had its usual quota
of dwarf evergreens and azaleas.
Nature has done much for the Filipino. Everything is made of
bamboo. The waterproof houses built on stilts and shingled with nipa,
the leaf of the cocoanut palm, the furniture, almost all of the utensils
used in daily life, the beautifully carved and lacquered vases that look
just like bronze, even the toys of the children. The windows of the
houses are made of a flat, straight, semi-transparent oyster shell, for
the purpose, one would think, of keeping i)eople from looking in. You
could see the natives making rope from the fibre of a native plant called
abaca; weaving the daintiest gauze from the fine strong fibre of the
pineapple leaf with old-fashioned hand looms. This pina cloth is used
not only by the Filipino belles, but in quite large quantities by our own.
They can give us points also in ironing. This is done sitting, with a
long-handled, flat-bottomed metal reed filled with burning charcoal,
passed back and forth just like our smoothing irons. The betel nuts,
longer than our pecans, but much like them in shape, were mostly hol-
low. Their jute-like exterior is used like a tooth brush, the rest being
chewed. The antics of the only caribou or water buffalo, with his
small attendant were very diveiiing, several daily baths being essential.
A comer in the Horticultural building set apart for Java was also
rich in botanical interest. Cocoanuts in all sizes shapes and designs
were beautifully carved and etched; calabashes with fine pen-and-ink
sketches of native fruits; necklaces of various beans and seeds, partic-
ularly the glossy gray Job's tears {Coix lacryma^obi); fancy articles
and exquisite doylies made from lace bark ornamented with groups of
ferns and edged with French cotton, which though very like our milk-
weed is the product of the cotton tree; lace mats of banana fibre; the
monkey tamarind, and a bean one and a half inches wide and a foot
long, called by the Jamaicans woman's tongue, because the least little
breeze set them all in motion. The English gentlemen in charge ab-
jured all responsibility as to the name of the latter. Most unique were
the lace bark dusters, the handle being the bark in its natural state,
while the duster consists of several layers of the bark threshed out to
THE PLANT WOBLD 227
lace-like filminess. So far as we could discover, Jamaica was the only
place in the Exposition where collections of native ferns coxdd be pur-
chased.
Chili had a wonderfol educational display — such a number of fine
pictures, marble groups and figures, native animals and fishes, miner-
als, manufactures, splendid work of all kinds from schools and colleges,
and last but not least, a very valuable ethnological subject, the petri-
fied body of a woman found in a copper mine. There was but the
outer shell left, but the hair and nails were still perfect. The body
weighs fifty pounds, and it is not positively known to what tribe she
belonged. This is said to be the only petrified body found, and the
authorities have refused large sums of money for it.
New York City.
THE FLORA OF SNOW CANON, CALIFORNIA,
By S. B. Paeish.
MILL Creek is a stream conveying the drainage of the southern
slopes of Grayback and San Bernardino mountains, the culmin-
ating summits of the range which takes its name from the latter
peak. From its narrow, boulder-strewn gorge these mountains rise
with great abruptness, often in acclivities of naked rocks, but generally
shaggy with a scattering growth of conifers and oaks, or a denser chap-
arral of Ceanothus and other shrubs. At one place, secluded in a re-
cess which it has excavated in the rock-walls, a slender stream tumbles
over the precipice and then makes its way in a series of cascades to the
canon floor. On the opposite side of the stream the slopes are nearly
as rugged and abrupt, but are less lofty, and are cut by a few side can-
ons. Botanically Mill Creek possesses considerable interest, for here
have been found the types of half a dozen species, one of which, Juncus
canalicidatus, is as yet known only by the scanty collections which have
been made on its banks. But in general its vegetation is that common
everywhere at the same altitude in these mountains. It has, however,
a short side branch which can bear no other name than that of Snow
Canon, which seems to me one of the most interesting spots in south-
em California. This is a little below the falls, and on the opposite or
southern side of the creek, and consequently in the lower mountains of
that side, and not in the dominant peaks. The altitude of the point
where it reaches the creek bead is about 5500 feet above sea level. Its
mouth is choked with a great moraine of boulders, and discharges no
surface water. But following up for a half mile one comes upon a pure
228 THE PLANT WORLD
cold stream rippling orer its stony bed. Another half mile of ascent
and the canon divides, the stream coming from the left-hand fork. The
right-hand branch is a narrow gorge, having very abrupt sides, and so
situated that it is sheltered from the summer sun. A miniature glacier
of compacted snow fills its bed and lingers late into the summer, per-
haps, after winters of unusual snowfall, carrying a lingering remnant
into a second season.
At the time of my last visit, June 20, 1901, the snow-field began
just above the mouth of the gorge, and extended up it nearly a mile.
The altitude at the foot of the snow must be about 6000 feet, and as the
ascent is very steep, the upper end must be about 6500 feet. In man^'
places the conductivity to heat of the rook-wall of the gorge had formed
a crevice between it and the snow-bank. At one point this was sixteen
feet deep, which would indicate a depth of perhaps twenty-five feet in
the middle of the bank. The bent and broken shrubbery of the sides
showed that at the close of winter the snow had been fully eight feet
deeper. No water flowed from the snow-bank, the wastage being ab-
sorbed by the dry atmosphere, or percolating through the porous bed
of the gorge.
The influence of this mass of snow on the vegetation of the canon
was manifested in two ways: first, by enabling a few plants to remain
at an altitude much lower than that which they usually occupy else-
where in this region; and second, by the presence of a few representa-
tives of a more northern flora, which are found in these southern moun-
tains only at this place, so far as is known.
The most conspicuous member of the first group is Pinus cdbieauliji,
which caps the summits of our highest peaks, at 10,000-11,000 feet, and
consequently is here some 4,000 feet below its usual altitude. There
are also thickets of Salix flavescens, which were not yet in leaf, 1,500
feet lower in altitude than elsewhere in these mountains. SelagineUa
Watsoni was plentiful in the crevices of the cliffs, a species I had never
seen below 7,000 feet, and then not in abundance, and which is more
commonly found at 9,000-10,000 feet. I also got a specimen of Draba
corrugata, which has been collected elsewhere only on the summit of
Grayback, 11,726 feet, and of San Jacinto, over 10,000 feet above the
sea.
The second group of plants, those which have not been found else-
where in southern Califomia, is a very interesting one. Some of these,
probably all of them, may yet be discovered in other canons of these
mountains, but as yet none, with a single exception, have been reported
from any station within hundreds of miles; and it is most improbable
that there is any other unexplored canon in which so many northern
strangers are congregated.
THE PLANT WOELD 229
At the very foot of the snow a fringe of Acer glahrum skirts the
ravine. The nearest point from which this has been reported is the
Panamint mountains some 200 miles to the north, where it was col-
lected by the Death Valley Expedition. It is here a graceful shrub,
eight to twelve feet high, and at the time of my visit was loaded vnth
well-grown fruit. Some of the leaves were covered with the brilliant
scarlet blotches of an elegant ascomycetacous fungus, too young for
determination.
On the rocks from which the maples grew were clumps of Polysti-
chum scopulinumy a fern which I have collected also in one other south-
em Califomia locality. I cannot find any station rex>orted for this
fern vdthin 500 miles so far south."^ With it also grows Polypodium
mdgare, which has not been reported from any place vdthin an equal
distance,! but which may well be exi)ected elsewhere at high altitudes.
The plants are rather intermediate between the species and the variety
occidentalism the form attributed to Califomia by recent writers. The
last of this group is Senecio triangularisy for which the nearest reported
station is the Big Tree Canon of the Kaweah Biver, in Kern county.
These lists are not extensive, but it seems to me they are notable for
a single narrow canon, hardly a mile long. Repeated visits might be ex-
pected to enlarge them, for in the upper part of the chasm which had
opened between the snow-bank and the canon side, the crevices of the
rock were full of plants just starting into growth. Every night the
snow, only a foot or two away, must reduce the temperature to the
freezing i)oint. They were growing «ls plants grow in the far north, or
on alpine heights, at the edge of the snow, but their growth was vigor-
ous. They were quite too young to permit even a guess as to what
they might be, except one, a maidenhair fern, which was just uncoiUng
the tips of its delicate fronds. It appeared to be Adiantum CapUkm-
Fenerisy and if it were, is as far above its usual haunts in this region
as some of the other plants are below theirs. One's curiosity was
piqued as to what its companions might be, for what might not be
hoped from these frigid surroundings? Hardly was it to be exx)ected
that the ordinary inhabitants of these southern mountains should have
adapted themselves to this exceptional environment. But the determi-
nation of these questions must be left for later visits, should an oppor-
tunity permit, or, perhaps, for other visitors.
San Bernardino, Califomia.
*** Santa Cruz and Mendocino Counties," M. E. Jones, Ferns of the West, 26.
* 'Near Shasta," Lemmon, Ferns Pac. Coast, 6.
t**Yo Semite." Lemmon, /. c. '*Near San Frandsco." D. G. Eaton, in Brew.
& Wats. Bot Cal. a: 334.
230 THE PLANT WOBLD
BRIEFER ARTICLES.
The Preservation of Native Plants.
The thoughtless and indiscriminate picking of flowers and break-
ing of twigs or branches from wild plants is an oflEence peri)etrated by
many persons who ought to know better. Every effort to educate peo-
ple to realize that plants which are thus picked or broken can not be
enjoyed by others who follow them, is a distinct aid in diminishing
selfishness and in developing the more healthy taste to preserve natural
objects rather than to deface or destroy them. In the vicinity of many
of our cities and towns, wild flowers, once common, have become rare
by such vandalism, so that the healthful pleasure and interest of wood-
land walks have become much less enjoyable.
In order that the desirability of preserving native species in their
full beauty shall be continuously brought to the public attention, the
Misses Olivia and Caroline Phelps Stokes presented to the Board of
Managers of the New York Botanical Garden, under date of August 29,
1901, the sum of $3,000, on condition that the interest of this fund
should always be used for the investigation and preservation of native
plants, or for bringing the need for such preservation before the public.
At a meeting of the Board of Managers held October 23, 1901, the
following resolution was adopted:
Resolved, That the gift of $3,000 from Olivia and Caroline Phelps
Stokes, for the investigation and preservation of our native plants, be
and is hereby gratefully accepted, under the conditions of the letter of
Miss Olivia E. Phelps Stokes to Professor N. L. Britton, dated August
29, 1901.
At the same meeting it was referred to the Scientific Directors, with
power, to determine upon a method for the expenditure of the annual
interest upon the fund, and at a meeting of the Scientific Directors held
December 6, 1901, the following resolutions were adopted, they having
previously been submitted to the Misses Stokes, who made some valu-
able suggestions concerning the details:
Resolved, That this gift be known as the Olivia and Caroline Phelps
Stokes Fund for the Protection of Native Plants.
Resolved, That the annual income from the Stokes Fund be at
present applied to the payment of prizes for essays upon the preserva-
THE PLANT WOELD 231
tion of wild plants, including shrubs, herbs and trees, and the publica-
tion and distribution of such essays, which are to be first published in
the Journal of the Garden, and republication of them invited from other
journals, magazines and newspapers; that they also be issued as sep-
arates from the Jourrud and distributed gratuitously to all interested.
Resolved^ That such essays must be submitted to the Director-in-
Chief not later than February first; those accepted for prizes to be pub-
lished in the March, April and May issues of the Journal; they must
not exceed three thousand words in length and must be clearly written
or type-written in triplicate; they become the property of the Garden,
which does not undertake to return any essay submitted.
Resolved^ That for the year 1902 the following prizes be oflFered,
payable April 15th:
1. A first prize of $50.
2. A second prize of $30.
3. A third prize of $20.
Resolved^ That the awarding of these prizes be referred, with power,
to a committee consisting of Judge Brown, Professor Underwood and
the Director-in-Ohief.
It is further arranged that in all lectures, bearing in any way on
native plants, delivered under the auspices of the Garden, this topic
shall be alluded to; it will be brought out in its very important relation
to forests by Mr. Van Brunt in his lectures on "Trees, their Flowers
and Fruit," to be given at the American Museum of Natural BBstory in
April, and will be brought to the attention of visitors to the wild parts
of the Garden by suitable notices and restrictions.
Presentation of essays in comi)etition for the three prizes now
offered is invited from anyone interested, under the conditions outlined
in the foregoing resolutions. — ^N. L. Britton, Director-in-Chief, New
York Botanical Garden, Bronx Park, N. T. City.
Notes on Plant Distribution In Nebrasica.
The article in the October Plant Wobld on "Some Interesting
.Cases of Plant Distribution," has no doubt been as interesting to many
of your readers as it was to me. I believe we have too little of that
kind of information, and should have all that is to be had. I therefore
add my little, though some of it is now growing old with me.
In June, 1891, friends brought me a violet from ten miles south of
Atkinson, Holt county, which "whitened the ground like snow" in a low
hay meadow on their claim. It turned out to be Viola lanceohta, not
reported west of Minnesota. The same year I found Braxenia peltata
in Swan Lake, twenty-five miles south of Atkinson. It was past flow-
ering, but the ranchman, a college graduate, described the flowers.
232 THE PLANT WORLD
which left no reasonable doubt after finding such unique leaves. 'Ttfan-
itoba and Texas," are the nearest i)oints mentioned in the Illustrated
Flora. August 22, 1896, I found Tribulus terrestris in the village of
Newport, Bock county, very abundant, and observed during the two
previous years. It formed a suitable companionship with the sand-bur
{Cenchrus tribulotdes), with which it was so intermingled that collecting
it was a disagreeable task. It seemed possible that it had been brought
west in " relief goods," during the drought of 1894, as the burs will
stick even into boxes, and might be carried for long distances. It be-
longs on the Atlantic coast, as an accident from ballast, I suppose. In
1900, 1 found two or three hundred plants of Sisymbrium cdtissimum in
a vacant lot iu Ewing, the eastern village of Holt county. Previously
Minnesota had been the nearest locality.
May 14, 1896, 1 found in Long Pine Canon, Brown county, a plot
of Geranium maculatum about a yard in extent. Dr. Britton would not
believe that I could be correct until he saw it. It blooms profusely,
but spreads only by stolons underground, probably lacking cross fer-
tilization. A careful search has failed to disclose any other plants.
Whether this is a survival of ancient times when a moister climate pre-
vailed in this part of "the great American desert," or how else it is to
be accounted for is a puzzle for the scientists. I have found no prob-
able evidence that any settlers brought it from the east, and I am con-
fident that no one in that vicinity knows where to find it. I did not
dare to disclose it to others for fear of its destruction. Two miles up
the canon, in 1899, 1 found Pyrola ellipfica and Avena striata growing
together in a shady dell under black walnut trees. Pyrola had not
been found before in Nebraska, and Avena but once, in the northwest
comer of the State, over 250 miles away.
In my yard in Long Pine, I found in May, 1898, about two hun-
dred plants of Erysimum repandumy a weed of Syria and Palestine. It
had been found once before, on ballast in Philadelphia, and mine was
the second collection to find its way into the National Herbarium. It
is slowly spreading into vacant lots, and maintains itself well on the
same spot. Will somebody account for it? The same year I found •
Lithospermum arvense in a back yard in Long Pine — a dozen strong
plants — ^where it had never been seen before. It has been collected
at Lincoln, 250 miles east. My friends who feund it on their premises
are acute observers, very fond of plants, and could not have passed it
by in other years. The next year it did not " show up," nor has it since.
In Cherry county there are six miles of Galtha pahmtris gilding the
marsh • of Boardman creek. I know of no other locality nearer than
Iowa. In Sheridan county, which is west of Cherry county, I found
Solidago speciosa abundant in a dry canon thirteen miles northwest of
THE PLANT WOELD , 983
Bushville, on the road to Pine Bidge Agency. The raoemes are less
developed than in moister climes, otherwise they are splendid sx)eci-
mens. Other less notable discoveries might be enumerated, bat I fear
to trespass upon valuable space. I have but one explanation for these
rarities, viz.: that we lack trained observers to see, identify and rei)orL
From what I have found I have reason to believe that I have only made
a good beginning of what is to be found, and that such plants as I have
here reported are scattered here and there all over our wide domain,
waiting for those who have eyes to see. —J. M. Bates, Callaway, Neb.
Struggle for Existence among Plants.
The study of those plant-formations that owe their origin to the
disturbances set up by man incident upon his cultivation of the soil,
affords an interesting field for observation. The breaking of the soil
and destruction of native species opens the way for the introduction of
new species particularly suited to the prevailing conditions. A waste-
formation is the result, and the composition and character of such for-
mations vary with local conditions.
On the vacant lots in Stillwater, Oklahoma, it is not unusual to
find very compact waste-formations composed entirely, in some cases,
of Prionopaia ciliata, one of the Oompositae. This is a rather widely
distributed plant throughout Oklahoma and the Southwest, and assumes
in many localities the character of a rather important weed. A vacant
lot was selected, on which the plant covering was composed almost en-
tirely of this species, for the purpose of determining by accurate counts
the number of plants per square meter of area. A total of 4038 plants
were found on an area of exactly 100 square meters, the average num-
ber of individuals per square meter was therefore found to be 40!
Counts were made to determine the average number of heads per
plant, and this average was found to be 7.5 on the 100 square meters;
therefore there were 30,225 heads, or an average of 302 heads per square
meter! On the entire area not to exceed a dozen live plants of other
species were found on September 1st, distributed among the following
species: Panicum capiUare, Ambrosia artemiaiaefolia^ and an undeter-
mined Polygonum. Surely this may be considered a typical example of
a ^^ closed " formation. The perfect adaptation of this plant to the ex-
tremely arid conditions prevailiujg in the region throughout the sum-
mer, had enabled it to outlive the few plants even that had survived the
severe struggle for existence that occurred early in the season.^-S. Mead
Wilcox, Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn, Alabama.
234 THE PLANT WORLD
GENERAL ITEMS.
The seventh annual winter meeting of the Yermont Botanical Club
will be held at Burlington on January 24th and 26th, on which occasion
they will be addressed by Dr. B. L. Bobinson, of the Gray Herbarium,
who will speak upon " Some Becent Advances in the Classification of
Flowering Plants." This organization is one of the best in the coun-
try, and is doing excellent work, which we could wish to see emulated
elsewhere.
While spending a few days with a botanical friend in Connecticut,
my attention was called to a peculiar exudation on the berries of the
staghom sumach {Ehtmhirta). It looked like salt. I was told that an
excellent drink could be made from the same. On tasting, I had my
doubts as to the excellence. Several branches of berries were steeped
in water for some hours, the water strained and sweetened, the result
being a splendid lemonade — or should one say sumachade — ^with a
more refined taste than that made with either limes or lemons. — Pauline
Kaufman^ New York City.
Some time ago we mentioned the fact that the Bureau of Forestry
of the U. S. Department of Agriculture had offered to prepare plans for
the scientific management of private forest tracts in various parts of the
country. The quickness with which this offer was accepted is well
shown by the fact that within two years they have been given the man-
agement of more than a million and a half of acres of private forest
land in the South alone, and have in hand requests for the handling of
more than 2,500,000 in other sections. The Baltimore k Ohio Bailroad
Company has asked for a working plan for a tract of 125,000 acres of
their forest land in southeastern West Virginia, and other corporations
are doing likewise. All this shows better than anything else can the
marvelous advance made by scientific forestry within the past decade,
and it may be accepted as a sure indication that public sentiment has
at last been thoroughly aroused. It now really seems that something
will be done before it is too late, to save our priceless forests.
THE PLAOT? WORLD 235
NOTES ON CURRENT
LITERATURE
Captain George P. Ahem, TJ. S. A., who is in charge of the For-
estry Bureau at Manilla, has compiled a small work on the important
woods of the Philippines, containing a number of colored plates taken
mainly from Blanco's and Yidal's classical treatises. It appears that
there are over 600 species of trees on the islands, yielding besides tim-
ber other important economic products, such as gums, rubber, oUs, etc.
No 8 of Mr. C. G. Lloyd's series of mycological notes has been dis-
tributed. It contains interesting and valuable notes on several species
of puffballs, especially Oeasters, and is illustrated with reproductions
of Mr. Lloyd's excellent photographs. It is greatly to be regretted that
the usefulness of the author's work is so largely decreased by his pecu-
liar ideas of nomenclature. Neither priority nor authority being rec-
ognized, confusion rather than clearness frequently follows a study of
his notes. .
"Ten Common Trees," by Susan Stokes, of the High School in
Salt Lake City, published by the American Book Company, is the lat-
est addition to the well-known series of Eclectic School readings. In
the form of interesting stories it presents a series of simple nature les-
sons dealing with ten of the trees most familiar to children. These les-
sons describe the life of the tree and its relations with the soil, moist-
ure, winds, and insects. The topics are so arranged that the teacher
can readily accompany each lesson with actual nature work. The book
is illustrated by carefully made and accurate drawings, and contains a
list of articles, in both prose and poetry, referring to the tree-families
described, and suitable for reading and recitation.
Dr. W. J. Beal of the Michigan Agricultural College, has an article
in the November number of School Science entitled " The Study of Bot-
any 36 Years Ago with Asa Gray." Dr. Beal is one of the few links
connecting the older school of botanists in this country with the pres-
ent day. He relates in a very interesting manner his studies under Dr.
Gray at Harvard in 1866, and contrasts the condition of the science of
236 THE PLANT WORLD
botany at that time, and the methods pursued in its study with those
of to-day. The co;ntrast is, of course, striking, and brings very force-
ably to mind the rapid strides which hare been taken in the various
lines of botanical investigation. At that time there were but two -per-
sons in America who were following botany as a profession and secur-
ing a livelihood by this means. These were Asa Gray, of Harvard, and
D. C. Eaton, of Yale. The teAching was almost entirely from text-
books, and limited mostly to systematic botany, which was restricted
chiefly to flowering plants. Graduate students read Mohl on the "Veg-
etable Cell," and Lindley's "Vegetable Kingdom," We should remem-
ber, however, in noting the work done at that time, that the science of
botany was in its infancy almost, so far as teaching was concerned, and
that modem facilities, methods and appliances were largely unknown.
The January Country Life in America is a California number with
superb pictures characteristic of this unique and beautiful magazine,
and wholly devoted to the out-door world on the Pacific coast. The
special covers show big trees of the Sierras, and a magnificent frontis-
piece the blooming orchards at the foot of snow-capped mountains.
The leading article, by L. H. Bailey, tells of the diversified beauties
and peculiarities of the land that flowers in winter and sleeps in sum-
mer, where thunder storms are not, and where the sun shines everlast-
ingly. Pioneer days are recalled by "The Heroes of the Firing Line,"
a poem by Joaquin Miller; the trend of wonderful development is the
theme of "Country Life in California," by A. J. Wells: and "The Story
of a Great California Estate," by Charles Howard Shinn, naturally fol-
lows. Throughout, the unusual opportunities for illustrating Califor-
nia at its best have been well taken, but of particularly striking beauty
are several series of photographs. Of these, "The Cypresses of Mon-
terey" show a picturesque feature of the southern coast; the Yucca
palms and Gila monsters, the weird life of the Mojave desert; and the
poppies and poppyworts furnish the color that gives California its fame
as a land of flowers. Then, in a practical way, a portion of the number
is devoted to the making of homes and gardens, the culture and com-
mercial handling of fruits, and to many aspects of the soil. Certainly
Country Life in America grows better with every number, and proves
the grip that life under the open skies has upon us Americans.
THB PliANT WOBIJ> 887
EDITORIAL.
On another pa^e of this issue will be found an announcement of
the New York Botanical Garden with respect to a prize competition in
which we think all of our readers will be interested. Several months
ago the sum of $3,000 was oflEered to the Garden to be used in such
manner as might be approved for the maintenance and preservation of
native plants. This munificent gift, made to an influential and power-
ful institution, and supplementing the educational and missionary work
now being carried on by the Boston Society for the Preservation of
Native Plants, is sure to go far in the solution of the problem. The
Scientific Directors of the Garden have wisely decided to use, for the
present, only the income of this sum; and as a means of gaining valu-
able suggestions from plant-lovers and botanists throughout the coun-
try, they oflEer three prizes for the best essay on any phase of the sub-
ject of plant preservation. The conditions of the competition will be
found enumerated in the official announcement; and we trust that some,
at least, of our subscribers will decide to make a trial.
The latest leaflets issued by the Boston Society for the Preserva-
tion of Native Plants contain interesting articles by Professor G. L.
Goodale and Mr. Geo. E. Davenport, and will be sent to anyone upon
application. It is gratifying to learn that the American botanical press
is united in its supi>ort of the objects which the Society strives to at-
tain, and it gives us pleasure to note that the journal in which is ap-
pearing the railroad advertisement criticised by us editorially in the
September issue of Th£ Plant World has published an explanation of
the advertisement which eliminates the worst features of the latter.
238 THE PLANT WORLD
We desire to testify to our appreciation of the letters we have re-
ceived commending the neat appearance of our reprint of volume I No.
1 of the Asa Gray Btdletin. We trust that those who have received
copies will not be remiss in forwarding payment promptly. The close
of a year, with the necessary indexing, purchase of supplies, etc., brings
heavy expenses to all publishers; and this year we are planning some-
thing in the way of a New Year's gift to our subscribers to signalize
the opening of our fifth year.
The editors of this journal desire to enter a respectful but vigorous
protest against the use, by plant ecologists, of the term '' plant-forma-
tion." This term has become so firmly fixed in geology and paleontol-
ogy that it is an integral part of its literature, and ought not to be dis-
placed or rendered ambiguous. A plant-formation, therefore, is prop-
erly a geological horizon which is marked or characterized by the pres-
ence of fossil plants. A ''plant-formation " of the ecologist is simply a
plant society or association characterized by the presence of certain
living plants growing under similar conditions.
BOOK REVIEWS.
A Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. By Fred. D. Chester*
Octavo, pages vi-401, figs. 13, New York, MacMillan & Co., 1901.
Price $2.60.
The author informs us in the preface that this work was the out-
come of a study of the bacterial flora of cultivated soils. On account
of the great amount of labor involved in compiling and collating the
THE PLANT WORLD 239
mformaidon required for ihat work he decided to embody the results
in a more permanent form which might prove useful to other workers.
Professor Chester has already published in the Annual Eeport of the
Delaware Experiment Station for 1897, a preliminary arrangement of
the species of Bacterium, The present work contains descriptions of
780 forms. The system of classification is chiefly that of Migula, whose
great work on systematic bacteriology covers the whole ground in a
very thorough manner, and is based upon actual investigations and
cultivation of the species described. The present work will no doubt
be found useful to students who do not have access to Migula's work.
A portion of the book is devoted to terminology, which contains an
illustrated series of simple terms which much facilitate the description
of various characteristics of cultures. The tyjwgraphy of the book is
excellent, and it will no doubt find a place among the reference books
of most bacteriological laboratories. — C. L. S.
Southern Wild Flowers akd Trees. By Alice Lounsberry. Illus-
trated by Mrs. Ellis Eowan. 12mo, pp. xxxi, 570. With 176 plates
and numerous text figures. New York, Frederick A. Stokes Com-
pany.
This book is of more than passing importance to plant lovers or to
botanists in general. It is the first work of a popular character devoted
entirely to our southern wild flowers. We have had a long procession
of non-technical floras, each following some distinct and remarkable
classification, but the southern limit of all of them has apparently been
Mason and Dixon's line. Now we are taken by Miss Lounsberry to the
very crest of the southern Alleghenies, and down to the broad expanse
of pine barrens, while the familiar flowers of Dixieland smile at us from
drawing or from painting on almost every page.
That Miss Lounsberry's work has been well done everyone who
has read her earlier books will be ready to believe. Her style is attrac-
tive, and the scientific information which she presents is accurate, some-
thing that cannot be said of many popular floras. In order to famil-
iarize herself with southern plant life, the author has traveled exten-
sively in the South, and spent some weeks at the Biltmore Herbarium
carrying on studies with Mr. C. D. Beadle, its Curator, who contributes
an introduction to the book.
Mrs. Rowan's beautiful drawings are so well known that they re-
quire little further commendation. In the simpler studies of blossom
and branch she is at her best, a certain faulty perspective becoming
240 THE PLAST WOULD
manifest in those pictnrefs containing suggestions of landscape. The
plants chosen as subjects for the sixteen colored plates have in mftny
cases never been figored, and so x)Ossess an added interest. Among the
best of the plates may be mentioned the flame-colored Azalea and the
American Wistaria. The treatment of text is uniformly excellent.
Each popular account is preceded by a brief description, which, though
scientific, is readily to be understood. The nomenclature throughout
is that of the Bochester Code, which in spite of some attempts to prove
the contrary, seems to be finally establishing itself in the literature of
popular botany. Altogether, Miss Lounsberry's latest book is an ad-
mirable piece of work, and cannot be too highly commended to every-
one interested in the science. — C. L. P.
Old-Time GARDia^s. Newly Set Forth by Alice Morse Earle. A Book
of the Sweet of the Tear. Octavo, pp. xix, 489. The Macmillan
Company,
Mrs. Earle has written with authority and charm of many things
pertaining to colonial days, and her delightful recent book on Old-
Time Gardens is most welcome to flower-lovers. It is pleasant to read
of our colonial ancestors engaged in the genial pursuit of garden-mak-
ing, and the chapter describing these first American gardens is one of
the best in the book.
Fifty years after the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, a traveler named
Josselyn published lists of plants then in cultivation in New England.
These showed the gardens to be well stocked with vegetables and med-
icinal herbs, and though ornamental plants were fewer, still they made
a brave showing. The Dutch settlers, Mrs. Earle says, brought to
America their love of flowering, bulbs and the bulbs themselves; and
the kitchens and flower gardens of the Netherland dames were proudly-
kept possessions. In the Southern colonies there were fine gardens on
the large estates, but less care for fiowers in the humbler homes.
The front door-yards, Mrs. Earle tells us, was derived from the
English fore-court, and she writes sympathetically of New England
front door-yards, establishing the pedigree of some door-yard favorites,
such as the peony, which is of unquestioned antiquity, dating back to
the Greeks. Lilacs have a chapter all to themselves, and the apple
tree, with its historic and legendary lore, is not neglected. The author
also discourses pleasantly of plant names, garden boundaries, herb gar-
dens, formal gardens Tdth their indispensable adjuncts of box border
and sun dial, and closes the book with a chapter on the roses of yester-
day. The illustrations are excellent, including half-tones of the gar-
dens at Mt. Vernon, Van Cortlandt Manor, and the Bartram garden in
Philadelphia.— E. M. P.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS.
By Charles Louis Pollabd.
CHAPTER XVn.
Orders Polygonales and Cenirospermae.
The order Polygonales comprises the single family Polygonaceae,
and its characters are those of the family. The Centrospermae, on the
other hand, form a group of considerable size, embracing no less than
ten families, of more or less economic or ornamental interest. This
order is distinguished from the Polygonales by the variously curved or
coiled embryo* in the seed, and by the fruit, which is not an achene.
The flowers are mostly perfect, rarely monoecious or dioecious, and the
ovary is entirely superior or free from the calyx in both groups.
Family Polygonaceae. Buckwheat family. Contains about 30 gen-
era and 800 species, of very wide geographic distribution. They are
herbs, frequently of twining habit, shrubs or even trees, their most con-
spicuous feature being the sheathing united stipules around the bases
of the leaves. This sheath is so distinct in appearance from the ordi-
nary type of stipule, that it is known by a special name, ocrea. The
leaves are simple, mostly entire ; the flowers are small and regular,
variously clustered, with a perianth consisting of calyx alone, which,
however, is frequently colored like a corolla. The stamens are 2 to 9
in number, the ovary 1-celled, becoming in fruit a shining angled or
lenticular (prune-shaped) achene.
The Polygonaceae are well represented in our country, not only by
numerous species of smartweed {Polygonum) and of dock {Rumex)^ but
in the western States by many species of the genus Eriogonum^ which
may be known by the umbelled or capitate flower-clusters, each group
springing from a bell-shaped or cup-like involucre. Polygonum is the
largest genus of the family, however, and has also the widest distribu-
tion, being found from the far north all the way to the tropics, the
species usually of rank growth and weedy appearance.
Buckwheat, an important article in the daily dietary of many per-
*This can be seen very plainly by cross-sectioning the seeds of some one of the
common goosefoots {Cheno^diutn).
94
FAMILIES OF FLOWERUTG PLANTS
Fig. 76. flowering brauch of
buckwheat {Fagopyrum Fagopy-
rum), with enlarged flower and
fruit. Original.
sons, is the product of Fagopyrum Fagopi/rum, a member of this family,
illustrated in Fig. 76. The plant, originally a native of Asia, is grown
extensively in some parts of the United States
and on the continent of Europe, whence it
has escaped frequently and become estab-
lished in a half-wild state. Buckwheat flour,
although less nutritious than wheat, is greatly
superior in this respect to rice. Another
polygonaceous food-plant of considerable im-
portance is the rhubarb {Rheum Rhaponfi-
cum). As we are familiar with it in gardens,
it is a tall herb with enormous basal leaves,
whose thick juicy stems furnish a most appe-
tizing sauce, and filling for pies. Like Ru-
meXy it contains a very powerful acid prin-
ciple, upon which its value as an article of
food chiefly depends. The genus Rheum is
native of eastern Europe and Asia, several of
the species being described by travelers as
very imposing features of the landscape, par-
ticularly in dry waste regions of the Hima-
layas.
There are several ornamental plants of the family, the most famil-
iar in greenhouses being the vine Antigonon
fepfopus, the large inflated calyces of which are
bright red in color, and retain their beauty on
the plant for some time. Brunnichia^ a native
shrubby vine of the southern States is also
worthy of cultivation, although the flowers are
not brilliantly colored. The prince's feather
{Polygonum orieniale) is a favorite in gardens.
Family Chenopodiaceae. Goosefoot Fam-
ily. Contains about 75 genera and 550 species,
of wide geographic distribution. The goose-
foots, or pigweeds, as they are often called, are
herbs or rarely shrubs, ha^dng simple leaves
entirely without stipules. The flowers are per-
fect or bisexual, usually greenish in color, vari-
ously clustered. The periantli consists only of Fig. 77. uppermo^n^
a calyx, which is persistent, investing the fruit, larged flower and section of fmit
mr 1 ji • 1 I'll' ^^ Chenopodium \ second line.
Ihe latter is known as a utiicle, bemg a flower and fruit of >4i«ara«M«j,
grain mth several enveloping papery coatings. «i»o^»ng the drcumsdMiie utn-
mr i .J . • -Y-1* rrrr -11 ^^^ : lowermost line, flower and
The two uppermost drawings m Fig. 77 will fmiloi Phytolacca, original.
A*(^l^.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
95
give a good idea of the floral structure in this family, and of the curved
embryo shown in the cross-section of the fruit.
With the exception of Chenopodium, the species of which are mostly
distributed over the country as weeds, the American Chenopodiaceae
are largely natives of the western States, where tliey form the predom-
inant vegetation of the so-called " alkali " plains, and are known as
saltbushes {Atriplex and Suaeda), Farther south one meets the shrubs
known as "greasewoods" {Sarcobatus), which are abundant in the des-
ert regions of the lower Colorado watershed. When growing in saline
soils, either in the interior, or along the coast, the plants are usually
extremely fleshy and succulent, like other halophytes. (See Fig. 78.)
As potherbs many of the mem-
bers of this family are highly es-
teemed. The leaves of spinach {Spi-
nacia)^ of the beet {Beta), and of the
common lamb's quarters {Ghenopo-
diicm album) are used for this pur-
pose. The beet, moreover, is of com-
mercial importance, aside from its
value as a vegetable, on account of
the sugar extracted from it. The
sugar-beet industry, particularly in
France, has assumed large propor-
tions in recent yeai*s, and the product
is in many respects superior to cane
sugar. Soda and potash are obtain-
ed from some species of Salsola, while
many of the genera yield essential
oils valuable in medicine as antispas-
modics.
Family Amaranthaceae. Ama-
ranth family. Contains about 40
genera and 450 species, widely distributed, but most abundant in the
tropics. They are herbs or undershrubs, with simple leaves and small
perfect monoecious or dioecious flowers, usually borne in dense clus-
ters. The perianth may be in one or two series, but there are no true
petals. Like other families in the order Centrospermae, the Amaranth
fruit is utricular, but it splits in a transverse ring at about the middle ;
this is called by botanists a circumscissile dehiscence. The flower and
fruit are shown in the middle line of Fig. 77.
The genus Amaranthus, which shares with Chenopodium the name
of "pig-weed," is one of the largest representatives of the family, and
includes a number of familiar weeds of the eastern United States. The
Fig. 78. The common saltwort {Salicomia
herbacea)^ showing the fleshy cylindrical
leaf. After Britton & Brown, 111. Fl. North-
east. U. S.
96
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
flower-clusters in some species are bright red, and these types are cul-
tivated in gardens, together with CelosiUy the cockscomb, and Gom-
phrena, the globe amaranth.
Family Nyctaginaceae. Four-o-clock Family. Contains about 17
genera and 250 species of wide distribution, most of them American.
They are herbs, shrubs or trees, with simple entire leaves, and perfect
clustered flowers, often subtended by an involucre simulating a calyx,
the latter in its turn usually colored like a corblla, which is always
wanting. The sepals are united, and the calyx is thus called gamo-
sepalous. The ovary is one celled, becoming a grooved or winged fruit.
Probably the most familiar ex-
ample of this family is the com-
mon four-o-clock or marvel-of-Peru
(Mirabilia Jalapa). The flower has
a funnel-shaped calyx of various
colors, exactly imitating a corolla,
while the green involucral bracts
at the base of the calyx tube are
usually taken by the student for a
true calyx. Mirobilis is repre-
sented by several species in the
southwestern States. Abronia, also
a western genus, is commonly cul-
tivated for its verbena-like clusters
of variously colored flowers. (See
Fig, 79.
Family Batidaceae. Batis Fam-
ily. This consists of a single genus
and species, Batis inaritima, a
fleshy maritime shrub of the West
Indies and the Gulf coast.
Family Cynocrambaceae. Cyno-
crambe Family. Likewise re-
stricted to a single type, Oynocrambe prostrata, a low shrub native of
the Mediterranean region.
Family Phytolaccaceae. Pokeweed Family. Contains about 22
genera and 90 species, mainly tropical. They are herbs or shrubs, with
entire leaves destitute of stipules, and regular, polygamous or monoe-
cious flowers, the perianth consisting of calyx alone ; the structure of
the flower may be seen in the lowermost drawings of Fig. 77. The fruit
is either berry-like or capsular. The ovary contains several cells.
Most of the pokeweeds possess bitter emetic or purgative proper-
ties, and some are violent poisons. On the other hand, tiie herbage of
Pig. 79. The pink Abronia {Abrania micran-
tka) showing flowers and wing-margined fruit.
Original.
FAMILIES OP FLOWERING PLANTS
97
oar common North American representative of the family (Phytolacca
decandra), famish a most pala-
table dish when the young
shoots are boiled like Aspara-
gas. The berries yield a dark
red dye.
Family Aizoaceae. Carpet-
weed Family. Consists of 22
genera and aboat 500 species,
natives chiefly of warm regions.
They are nearly all herbs of in-
significant aspect, usaally pros-
trate and diffusely branched,
with opposite or whorled leaves
and small perfect flowers, mostly
destitute of petals. The ovary
is free from the calyx and sev-
eral-celled, becoming a capsule
in frait. The common carpet-
Fig. So. The carpctwced {MoUugo verticiUala) weed (MollugO VerticiUatu) is
lowing enlarged flower and section of fruit. After - . Y q^ ^
Britton & Brown, IlL Fl. Northeast. U. S. SllOWn in tig, OU. beSUVtUm
Portulxwastrum, the sea purslane,
is a familiar plant along the south-
em seacoasi By far the largest
genus is Mesembryanthemum, vari-
ous species of which are cultivated
in gardens, M. crystallinum being
the well known " ice plant." It is
a curious feature of distribution
that two species of this genus oc-
cur on the islands off the coast of
Oalifomia, while the remainder are
confined almost exclusively to the
Old World. The family is also
known by the name Ficoideae.
Family Portulacaceae. Por-
tulaca Family. Contains about 20
genera and 175 species, largely
American, and always showing an
affinity for dry and arid regions,
their succulent and fleshy herbage
enabUng them to withst^d any .^Xpo^^celf n^;..* ^^^If^l'
amount of drought. They are original.
98 FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
closely related to the Pink family (Caryophyllaceae) but differ in the
calyx, which consists commonly of only two sepals. The petals are
frequently large and showy, but always evanescent ; they are four or
five in number, and like the stamens are hypogynous, that is, they are
inserted on the axis beneath the pistil. The ovary is 1-celled, becom-
ing in fruit a capsule which opens either by three valves, or is circum-
scissile (see above).
Our familiar garden representative of this family is the portulaca
{Portulaca sp.), which is remarkable for the brilliancy and variety of
coloration displayed by its flowers. The common purslane or " pusley "
is also a species of Portulaca, though scarcely so highly esteemed.
Olaytonia, the spring beauty, is one of the daintiest of our wild flowers
in the eastern States ; in the west the species are much more numer-
cus, although none of them surpass G. Virginica in beauty. Lewisuiy a
genus of the western plains, has large pink flowers and very fleshy
leaves. An entire plant, only slightly reduced, is shown in Fig. 81.
Family Basellaceae. Basella Family. Six genera and about 16
species, mostly tropical American fleshy twining vines. They have
been frequently united with the Chenopodiaceae, but differ in the posi-
tion of the stamens and in the bracts around the base of the calyx.
BoussingauUia, the Madeira-vine, is common in cultivation.
Pig. 83. The white campicm {Silitm
mlba)^ the detached calyx natural slae.
Original.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
99
Pig. 83. I«ong-leaved stitchwort
{Aisine longifoUa\ with enlarged
flower. Original.
Family Caryophyllaceae. Pink Family. Contains about 70 genera
and over 1500 species, widely distributed, but most abundant in the
northern hemisphere. They are all herbaceous plants, the stems fre-
quently swollen at the joints, the leaves opposite and with or without
stipules. The flowers are perfect, provided with both calyx and corolla,
the former either composed of distinct sepals or united into a tube.
The ovary is one-celled, becoming a utricle or capsule in fruit. Owing
to the fact that a number of genera of very diverse habit and structure
are included in this family, it is difficult to give more than very general
characters.
The Carypphyllaceae are of interest only as ornamental plants.
Various species of Dianthus are represented in cultivation by innumer-
able horticultural varieties, including all the pinks, picotees, carnations,
etc. Lychnis, Silene and Gypsophila are also cultivated. In Fig. 82, a
wild white-flowered species of the latter genus {Silene alba) is shown.
A number of small herbs with white or greenish flowers, known collec-
tively as " chickweeds," are comprised in the genera Arenaria, AMne,
Spergukiy Tissa and Cerastiam, These are all distinguished from the
true pinks by having the sepals distinct and not united into a tube.
(See Fig. 83.) One of the familiar weeds of waste places is the
"Bouncing Bet," Saponaria officinalis, also a member of the Pink
Family.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS.
By Charles Louis Pollakd.
CHAPTER XVin.
Order Randies,
The representatives of this order include many of our most familiar
native plants, and some of them are among the first to appear in early
spring. The order is a large one, comprising sixteen families, of which
the Nymphaeaceae, Rannnculaceae, Berberidaceae, Magnoliaceae and
Lauraceae are the most important. As a rule, the flowers have a corolla
comx>osed of distinct petals, but there are often cases of apetalous flow-
ers, particularly in many Rannn-
culaceae and in practically all the
Lauraceae. The ovary is always
superior and free from the calyx ;
it may be comi)osed of one or
many carpels. The stamens are
numerous and hyi)ogynous (in-
serted beneath the ovary).
Family Nymphaeaceae. Water-
lily Family. Contains eight gen-
era and about 30 species, all
aquatic herbs, denizens of fresh
water ponds and streams in tem-
perate and tropical regions. They
furnish by far the finest and most
ornamental examples of cultivated
aquatics. The plants produce sol-
itary axillary flowers, whose struc-
ture differs remarkably among
the different genera. In the water-shields {Gobomha and Brasenia) the
sepals and petals are 3 and the stamens 6 ; in the true water-lilies {Gas-
t(dia)y the lotuses (Nelumbo), and the spatter-dock (Nymphaea), tlie
petals and stamens are numerous, and there is often a tendency for the
stamens to become petaloid and to lose their function as pollen-bearers.
Fig. 84. The water-shield {Brasenia purpurea ).
After Brittou & Brown, 111. Fl. North. U. S.
102
FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
All the transition stages of this process may be observed in the flower
of the common water-lily. This genus (Castalia) is represented in the
United States by several species. The flowers of C. odorata are the
most fragrant ; in southern species the fragrance partially or wholly
disappears. On the coast of New England, particularly on Cape Cod,
occurs a beautiful pink-flowered variety. The exotic Castalias, usually
cultivated as Nymphaeas, exhibit a wide diversity of coloration, includ-
ing all shades of blue, purple and red. The yellow lotus {Nelumbo
Intea) is common in certain parts of the country, while the pink lotus
{N. Nelumbo) has become natural-
ized in x>onds about Bordentown,
New Jersey. The giant water-lily
of the Amazon ( Victoria regva) is too
well known by description to require
comment.
Family Ceratophyllaceae. Horn-
wort family. Contains a single
genus, Cerafophyllitm, with three
widely distributed species, the most
familiar of which is C, demeraum. It
is a submerged aquatic, with capil-
lary or thread-like stems and leaves,
found frequently in slow-moving
streams. The flowers are without a
corolla, and the calyx is many-
parted. The fruit is an achene with
a long beak, and usually covered
with tubercles or provided with
spiny appendages.
Family Trochodendraceae. Tro-
chodendron Family. Contains two
genera, Cercidiphyllum, with two spe-
cies, and Trocliodendron^ which is monotypic. They are Japanese trees,
formerly included in the Magnoliaceae, but distinguishable on account of
their peculiar flowers, which are entirely destitute of perianth. The
numerous stamens are deciduous, surrounding the 5-8-celled ovary. The
leaves are borne in whorls, a character from which the names of both
genera are derived.
Family Ranunculaceae. Crowfoot or Buttercup Family. Con-
tains about 40 genera and over 1000 species, natives of temperate or
even arctic regions, remarkably scarce in the tropics. They are herbs
or rarely climbing shrubs, with watery and acrid juice, simple or com-
pound leaves, and flowers usually with both calyx and corolla, the
Fig. 85. The marsh marigold {Caltha pa-
lustris). After Brittou & Brown, 111. Fl.
North. U. S.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
103
sepals and petals distinct. The stamens vary from few to many, and
are hypogynous, or inserted on the receptacle beneath the pistils.
On account of the ease with which the floral parts of most Ranun-
culaceae can be examined, this family has long been a favorite with
amateur students, and in the old sequence established by Bentham and
Hooker, the Banunculaceae were placed at the head, chiefly on account
of their simplicity of structure. In many respects the group as it
stands is an artificial one, for it includes plants with berry-like fruit, as
in Aetata and its relatives ; plants bearing achenes, like the crowfoots ;
and plants with small capsules or follicles like the columbine and lark-
spur. But while the genera have of late years been frequently divided,
Hepatica being removed from Anemone^ and Atragene from Clematis, for
example, the family has been
treated as an aggregate.
Members of the Banuncula-
ceae are among the first flowers to
welcome us in early spring. The
hepatica, well shown in the beau- <^
tiful accompanying photograph, c.
unfolds its fuzzy flower buds on
rocky slopes with the first balmy
breath of spring, often when crev-
ices of the adjacent cliffs are still
sealed with snow. A little later,
various species of Ramincidus
brighten the open woodlands and
pastures with flecks of golden yel-
low, a color reflected from the
near-by swamps in the flowers of
the marsh-marigold {Caltha palus-
tris). The anemone and the rue-
anemone help to carpet the ground,
while the feathery, grayish-white
masses of meadow-rue {Thalictrum dioicum) give a ghostly suggestion
to the woods. In midsummer various forms of clematis serve as a re-
minder of the family.
The beauty of most ranunculaceous flowers in the wild state has
rendered it unnecessary to develop them to a marked degree in culti-
vation, but the larkspurs have been greatly improved, while the genus
Paeoniay which has its headquarters in eastern Asia, has attained a
wonderful prominence in the hands of the horticulturists. Many of
the large double paeonies are fully equal to roses in the beauty of their
coloring, and in delicacy of texture. The columbines, moreover, being
Fig. 86. The early meadow-rue ( Thalichnm
dioicum). After Brittou & Brown, 111. Fl.
North. U. S.
104 FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
a group in which there is naturally a wide range of color, have re-
sponded well to hybridization, and may now be found in almost all
shades of yellow, red, blue and white.
Owing to the acrid and caustic principle that pervades the herbage
and more particularly the roots of many members of the Ranuncula-
ceae, several important drugs and poisons, such as aconite and helle-
bore, are derived from them.
Family Lardizabalaceae. Lardizabala Family. A smajl Asiatic
family of seven genera and eleven species, interesting chiefly as orna-
mental shrubs. AJcebia quinata, a Japanese woody vine with lurid pur-
ple flowers, palmately lobed leaves, and odd green fruit, is now com-
monly cultivated in this country.
Family Berberidaceae. Barberry Family. Consists of eight gen-
era and about 140 species, most of which belong to Berheris, The
group consists of herbs or shrubs, which may be known by the flowers
having imbricated petals, and stamens of the same number as the
petals, and placed opposite them. The pistil is simple, becoming in
fruit a berry or a capsule.
The Berberidaceae was made by older systematists to include the
Lardizabalaceae. Its relationship to the other families discussed in
this chapter may be traced by means of the hyi)Ogynous petals and
stamens. Berheris^ the most important genus, is represented by a num-
ber of pinnate-leaved species native in western North America, and by
many exotics of the simple-leaved group in cultivation. , The pendent
racemes of variously colored flowers, succeeded by the showy berries,
are highly ornamental. The fruit of the common barberry (B. vulgaris)
makes an excellent preserve, while the bark of several species is used
in the manufacture of dyes.
The mandrake or may-apple {Podophyllum pdtatum)) one of our
familiar eastern wild flowers, belongs to this family, as does also the
twin-leaf {Jeffersonia diphylla), and ttie blue cohosh {Caulophyllum thcd-
wtroides). The large leaves of the mandrake, curiously suggestive of
umbrellas, conceal beneath their ample expanse a handsome waxy white
flower, possessing a peculiar pineapple-like fragrance. This is suc-
ceeded by a lemon-shaped fruit of a disgustingly mawkish flavor, which,
as Dr. Gray once observed, is " eaten by pigs and boys." The Berberi-
daceae as a group are confined to temperate regions, and find the center
of their distribution in the Chino-Japanese region.
Family Menispermaceae. Moonseed Family. A group of twining
herbaceous or woody vines, comprised in about 55 genera and 150 spe-
cies, natives mostly of tropical regions, with only a few representatives
in the temperate zone. The family is at once distinguished by the pe-
culiar curved embryo in the seed, which may be plainly seen in cross-
THE PLANT WORLD
Fig. 87. The hepatica, Hrpatica Hepatica. After photograph by Mr, Carl Krebs. Cleveland. Ohio.
Fig. S8. The bugbane, Cimicifuga. After photograph by Mr. Carl Krebs, Cleveland, Ohio.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 105
section. The flowers are small and dioecious, borne in cluster^, and
have from 4 to 6 sepals, 6 petals, an equal number of stamens, and from
3 to many pistils. The fruit is a berry.
In the northern States we have only the common moonseed {Meni-
spermiim Ccuiadoise); this is reinforced in the South by the cupseed
(Calycocarpum Lyoni\ a handsome vine with large grape-like fruits;
and by the Carolina moonseed {Gebatha Carolina). The family as a
whole has bitter and narcotic properties, and some plants belonging to
it are extremely i)oisonous. The tropical Cissampelos Pareira yields
the well known tonic, Pareira brava.
Fig. 89. The dwarf barberry (^^AtfrMi»ai»fl), one-third natural size. Original.
Family Magnoliaceae. Magnolia Family. Contains about ten gen-
era and 70 species, of very wide geographic distribution. All are trees
or shrubs with alternate, entire leaves, and large flowers having 3 sepals
and 3 petals, innumerable stamens, and very numerous carpels borne
on an enlarged base or receptacle, and ripening into one- or two-seeded
follicles or achenes, still coherent in a mass. The tulip-tree or white
poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera), a flower of which is shown in the ac-
companying figure, is of immense value not only as a timber tree, but
as an ornamental shade tree when growing singly near a dwelling. The
native species of Magnolia, while all handsome when in flower, are ex-
106
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEINa PLANTS
celled in this respect by numerous Asiatic species, most of which differ
from our forms in flowering before the leaves appear in early spring.
Probably the handsomest of our native Magnolias is M.foetiday which
is evergreen-leaved, and which in the extreme South attains very lofty
proportions. In this region grows also Ulicium Floridamim, a shrub
with dark green leaves and reddish-purple flowers, suggestive of a
Fig. 90. Flowering brandi of moonaeed {Menispermum Canadense) one-third natural size. Original,
diminutive Magnolia. Like aU the plants belonging to this family, it
X)ossesses bitter and aromatic properties.
Family Calycanthaoeae. Calycanthus Family. Contains the two
genera Butneriay formerly known as Calycanthus, and Chimonanthiis,
They are shrubs having very fragrant flowers, which in the former
genus exhale the odor of strawberries, whence the name " strawberry
shrub." The sepals and petals are very numerous and imbricated ; the
stamens innumerable ; the pistils also innumerable, and enclosed in the
hollow, calyx-like receptacle; from this pecidiar character is derived
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
107
Fig. 91. Flowering branch of the tnlip-tree {Ldriodendron tultpi/era). From Bulletin 73, Vermont
Agricultural Experiment Station, by Miss Anna Clark. I«oaned by the University of Vermont.
the name " cal jcanthus," meaning "calyx-flower." There are three
species of Butnena, all natives of this country, and two of GhionanthnSy
a Chino-Japanese shrub frequently cultivated in gardens, where it often
blooms in midwinter. The family possesses no economic value, so far
as I am aware.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS.
By Chables Louis Pollard.
CHAPTEE XYni.—Contmmd,
Family Lactoridaceae. Lactoris family. Consists of a single
genus, which in turn is monotypic, the species being Lactoin^ FernaN-
ifeziana, native of the island of Juan Fernandez. It is a low shnib with
jointed l)ranches, fleshy leaves and axillary inflorescence.
Family Anonaceae. Custard-apple Family. Contains 46 genera
jmd about 600 species, widely distributed throughout the tropics, but
very few extending into the temperate zone. The plants are trees or
Fig. 92. The pygmy papaw (Asimt'na pygmaea), one-third natural sixe. Original.
110
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
shrub possessing more or less aromatic properties ; they have alternate
entire leaves and rather large solitary flowers, with 3 sepals and about
6 petals, thus presenting an anthotaxy or floral arrangement somewkat
unusual among exogenous plants. The
stamens and carpels are variable, the lat-
ter usually fleshy in fruit.
The common papaw, Aaimina triloba, is
familiar to residents of the southern
States and of the Ohio and Mississ-
ippi valley regions. The lurid purple
flowers of this tree, appearing with the
leaves in early spring, are quite ornamen-
tal, while the oblong yellowish fruits have
a rich flavor when rii)e, superior in the
writer's opinion to that of the banana.
There are other sx)ecies of Asimina in the
far South. None of them attain the dig-
nity of arborescence, but some have very
large and handsome flowers (see Fig. 92.)
Fig. 93. Fruiting branch of nutmeg j i.i^ Wftflf TndiAA fliA rftlpfftfl crATina
(y»fyrw/u:ayrfl^««j[), one-half natural ^ ^^^ ^ ^^^ inoies tne reiatea genus
size, original. Anorux yields several much-prized tropical
fruits. The soursop is the product
of A, muricata; it has a white pulp
and a pleasant subacid flavor, the
outer rind being greenish and cov-
ered with prickles. The sweetsop
is the fruit of A, squamosa; it is
sweeter but also more tasteless.
Uvaria^ which is common through-
out the Indo-Malayan region, con-
sists wholly of climbing shrubs; the
fruit is occasionally edible, but tlie
genus is chiefly valuable on ac-
count of the variety of medicinal
substances extracted from roots,
bark, flowers and seeds in the dif-
ferent species. The South Amer-
ican genus Xylopia is similarly use-
ful.
Family Myristicaceae. Nutmeg
Family. Consists of the single p^^. ^ California nutmeg (UmMlufaHa
genus Myristica, including about Ca///br«ira)shawing fruit and detached flower,
80 species, natives of the tropics of '^^^Z" "^'^' "" •»"«'«""'««> '»«-'»"•
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
111
both hemispheres, but paxticulaxly abundant in southern Asia. They
are lofty trees having alternate simple leaves and small monoecious or
dioecious flowers destitute of corollas; the stamens are from 3 to 12,
the ovary with one to several carpels. The fruit is succulent, enclosing
a single nut-like seed, closely invested with a membrane known tech-
nically as an aril. This false membrane, when dried and ground, con-
stitutes the spice called mace. It is of a bright red color when fresh,
but later turns dark brown. The nutmeg is also sun-dried before
being packed for shipment, and the outer shell is usually removed.
Commercial nutmegs are yielded by several species of Myristica, but
the best, known as the Penang nutmeg, is the fruit of M. fragrans,
(See Fig. 93.)
Family Gomortegaceae. Gomor-
tega Family. This group resembles
the Lactoridaceae in being monotypic,
consisting of a single genus and spe-
cies, Oomortega nitida, a Chilean ever-
green shrub.
Family Monimiaceae. Monimia
Family. Contains about 23 genera and
150 species, natives of South America
and Australasia. They are trees or
shrubs with opposite leaves and mo-
noecious flowers. The divisions of the
perianth are all similar, and are borne
in several rows; stamens indefinite; car-
pels several, becoming achenes in fruit,
enclosed within the persistent perianth.
The herbage, as well as the bark, is
fragrant and aromatic, indicating a re^
lationship to the succeeding family; the
plants possess little economic value, P»8-95- The bloodroot {SangMtnarta
.11. 11 #.i m m . Canad^jtj). After Britton& Brown, 111. Fl.
except that the fruits of a few species Northeast, u. s.
are edible.
Family Lauraceae. Laurel Family. The highly aromatic trees
and shrubs of this important group, are distributed in about 40 genera
and over 900 species, common in tropical, but rather scarce in temper-
ate regions. They have simple, usually alternate leaves, and small per-
fect, monoecious or dioecious clustered flowers. The corolla is want-
ing; the calyx is 4-6 parted, bearing the stamens inserted in groups of
three; ovary 1-celled, becoming in fruit a 1-seeded berry or drupe.
One of the earliest shrubs to indicate the approach of spring in the
eastern States is the spice-bush {Benzoin Benzoin)) its tiny honey-yellow
112
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
flowers are borne in such profusion on the leafless branches, that the
swamp at a Uttle distance has a distinctly yellowish cast. The sassa-
fras blooms somewhat later, its green twigs and peculiarly shaped
leaves rendering it conspicuous at any season of the year. On the Pa-
cific coast the California nutmeg {Umbellidaria Galifornica) is a hand-
some evergreen-leaved tree with plum-like fruit. (See Fig. 94.) In the
South several species of Persea occur, a genus represented in the trop-
ics by the avocado or Alligator pear (P. gratisshna). In Europe the
bay laurel {Lawrus nobilis) i)08ses8es historical interest from the fact
that it furnishes the original
"laurel" used to crown the
heads of heroes of antiquity.
Bay leaves are extensively used
as a flavoring herb in soups,
stews, etc.
In Asia there are two laura-
ceous trees of economic inter-
estjthe cinnamon(6V?i?ia/nowu//*
Zeylanicam) and the camphor
{G. Gamphora). Becentlysome
experiments in the cultivation
of the camphor tree have been
made under the auspices of the
Department of Agriculture
along the southern Atlantic
seaboard, with a fair degree of
success. In British Guiana
occurs the greenheart (Nectan-
dra Rodiaei), which yields an
ash-colored bark known as
bebeeru; it is used medicinally as a tonic and febrifuge. Another spe-
cies of Nectandra grows in south Florida, and is handsome on account
of its panicles of creamy-white flowers.
Mention should also be made of a peculiar genus {Gasmjtha), usu-
ally classed with this family, although it should be more properly sep-
arated as a distinct group. The species are leafless twining parasitic
vines.
Family Hernandiaceae. Hernandia Family. Contains 4 genera
and about 20 species, natives of tropical regions, and formerly included
in the Lauraceae, which they resemble in structure. They possess no
especial economic interest.
Fig. 96. The yellow water.cress (Ron'pa palustris),
showing an enlarged pod. After Britton & Brown, 111.
Fl. Northeast. U. S.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
113
CHAPTER XIX.
Order lihoedales or Papaverales
Tliis group is characterized by the regular newel's, usually
with both calyx and corolla. The stamens are hypogynous; the car-
X)els two or more, united into a compound ovary. The plants are
almost all herbs, with a watery or milky and
often pungent juice. The order includes six
families, the Papaveraceae, Cruciferae, To-
variaceae, Capparidaceae, Resedaceae and
Moringaceae.
Family Papaveraceae. Poppy Family.
Contains about 25 genera and 200 species, of
wide distribution, but most abundant in the
north temperate zone. They are herbs or
rarely shrubs, with milky juice, alternate
leaves, and solitary or clustered flowers. The
sepals ore usually only two, and caducous,
that is, they fall as soon as the blossom ex-
pands. The petals are from 4 to 6; stamens
few [to many; ovary one-celled, capsular in
fruit.
The Poppy family furnishes us with a
number of highly ornamental plants. The
tme poppies (Papaver) are natives of the Old
World, and have been so much improved by
long cultivation that we now have varieties in
all shades of red, white and yellow, with
single, semi-double or very double flowers, in
both annuals and perennials. The Califor-
nia i)oppies, which are the delight of every
visitor to the Pacific coast, belong to the
genus EschschoUzia; they have finely dis-
sected leaves and yellow or orange flowers.
In this region also occur several shrubby
genera, like Romneya and Dendromecon. The
prickly poppy (Argemone) is introduced
from the tropics as a weed in certain parts of
the country, while the bloodroot {Sa)iguinaria Canadensis) ^ shown in
Fig. 95, is familiar to everyone.
A group of closely related genera, comprising the Fumariaceae or
Fumitory Family, has been included by recent authors among the pop-
pyworts. They may be known by the iiTegular flowers, having one or
Fig. 97. The lace-pod ( Thysan-
ocarpus curvipes) about two-thirds
natural size. Original.
114
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
more of the petals spurred at the base. Our common "Dutchman's
breeches," species of Bikuhilla, are good examples of this division of
the family.
A narcotic property is present in the milky juice of most Papaver-
aceae, but is particularly prominent in Papaver, and it is from the juice
of P. somniferum that the drug opium is obtained.
Family Cruciferae. Mustard or Cress
Family. The Cruciferae are distin-
guished easily from related groups by
the peculiarity of their stamens, two of
which are shorter than the other four;
this condition is called tetradynammis
by botanists. The plants are herbs, with
a watery pungent juice, the flowers hav-
ing 4 petals and 4 sepals after the pat-
tern of a cross, whence the name Crucif-
erae is derived. The ovary consists of
two united carpels, separated by a thin
partition; in fruit it becomes a 2-celled
IX)d-like fruit known as a silique; in a
few exceptional cases it is indehiscent
(not splitting open at maturity), and is
then called a loment. While the flow-
ers are very much alike in most of the
genera, being white, yellow or pink in
color, the differences in the fruit and
seeds are very considerable. It is this
fact that renders the Cruciferae a very
difficult one for the beginner.
The family contains about 190 genera
and 1600 species, of very wide distribu-
tion, but most abundant in temperate
regions. Many of them are common
™te'^?f XS"«C:2. th',X weeds of early spring; others are exclus-
with one valve turned back showing seeds; ively alpine; a few are garden vegeta-
all natural «i*e. Original. y^^ ^j ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ Cultivated for
ornament. Figure 96 shows one of the yellow marsh cresses of the
genus Rorippa, which also includes the common water-cress. Another
type of fruit may be seen iu the next illustration (Fig. 97), which rep-
resents a delicate little Calif omian annual known as lace-pod (Thymno-
carpus curvipes).
The cabbage and turnip belong to the genus Brassica, the former
vegetable consisting of the mass of young leaves compacted into a
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
115
" head," the latter of the enlarged root. Mustard is derived from the
seeds of another species of Brassica; the genus is illustrated in Fig. 98.
The radish is the root of Raphanus sativua; while horse-radish is the
dried and pulverized root of Rorippa Armoracia. Among ornamental
crucifers may be mentioned the stock (Matthiota), the rocket (Hesperis),
the candytuft (Iberis), and the sweet alyssum {Konig maritimum)*
Family Tovariaceae. Tovaria Family. Consists of a single genus
and species, Tovaria pendula, a tropical American herb with an odor
resembling that of celery, and structurally similar to the caperworts.
Family Capparidaceae.
Caper Family. Contains
about 35 genera and 400
species, natives chiefly of
warm regions, and compris-
ing both herbs and shrubs.
They have simple or palmate
leaves and variously clus-
tered flowers. The sepals
are from 4 to 8, the petals
usually 4, often borne on
long claws; the stamens are
from 6 to many, all of equal
length. The ovary is fre-
quently long-stalked, and be-
comes in fruit either a cap-
sule or a berry.
Several species of Oleome
are prominent among the
flowers of the western plains,
as also two species of Pota-
nisia^ the "clammy-weed," so
called on account of its viscid pubescence (see Fig. 99.) Capers are
the preserved flower-buds of a species of Capparis^ and the industry is
an imx)ortant one in some parts of Europe.
Family Besedaceae. Mignonette Family. Contains 6 genera and
about 55 species, belonging mostly to the Old World. They are herbs
with alternate leaves and unsymmetrical flowers, borne in spikes or
racemes. The calyx is 4-7 parted, the petals similar; stamens usually
numerous; ovary comxx>imd, becoming in fruit a many-seeded capsule.
^8' 99* 1*h^ clammy-weed {Polanisia graveoUns).
After Britton & Brown, III. Fl. Northeast U. S.
* Odd as this name may appear to the uninitiated, the genus was first published by
Adanson with this designation, and by a consistent application of the rule of priority
in nomenclature, must remain with unchanged orthography. The plea that such a
name is not correctly Latinized is without force when one considers the numerous ety-
mological barbarities now in use.
116
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
(See Fig. 100.) Reseda is the most imxx>rtant genus, and includes the
fragrant garden mignonette {K odorata). A yellow dye and paint is
obtained from the yellow-weed or dyers '-weed of Europe, /?. Lufeola,
Family Moringaceae. Moringa Fam-
ily. Consists of a single genus, J/o-
ringa, with 3 si)ecies, natives of south-
em Asia. They are trees with pinnate
leaves and clusters of rather conspic-
uous flowers, the calyx and corolla
each with five divisions; stamens 8 or
10; ovary simple, stalked, becoming in
fruit a 3-valved spongy capsule. Tlie
winged seeds of M, pferygoHpenna are
called ben-nuts, and yield a clear fluid oil much used by watchmakei-s;
the roots are pungent, Uke those of the horseradish.
CM^
Fig. loo. Flower and fniit of dyer's
weed {Reseda Lufeola) twice natural mze.
Original.
THE PLANT WORLD
Fig. 102. The huntsman's cup in its natural haunts. From MacMillan's " Minnesota Plant Life,'
by courtesy of the author.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS.
By Charles Louis Pollard.
CHAPTEK XX.
(h'der Sarraceniales,
This interesting group of three families, Sarraceniaceae, Nepentha-
ceae and Droseraceae, is justly celebrated on account of the wonderful
adaptability of the leaves as insect traps. The plants are all herbs,
frequently of scapose or stemless habit,
with solitary or racemose flowers hav-
ing the ovary free from the calyx, be-
coming a capsule in fruit. The leaves
vary in the different families; in SaiTa-
ceniaceae and Nepenthaceae they form
hollow receptacles which serve to catch
and retain water; numerous insects
crawl into the "pitchers," and being
unable to escape, fall to the bottom,
where they are gradually macerated,
the liquid being ultimately absorbed.
In Droseraceae the leaf surface, as will
be explained later, acts as a trap for
small insects. The group as a whole
is tropical, although with some repre-
sentatives in temperate regions.
Family Sarraceniaceae. Pitcher-
plant Family. Consists of three gen-
era, Sarracenia, Chrysamplwra, and
Heliamphora, the last two monotypic,
the first containing about 8 sx)ecies.
They are marsh plants with tubular
leaves, and large scapose nodding flowers. The sepals are 4 or 5, per-
sistent; the petals 5, or sometimes wanting; stamens numerous; ovary
several-celled, with a peculiar peltate (umbrella-shaped) style. (See
Fig. 101.)
Fig. loi. The huntsman's cup or purple
pitcher-plant {Sarrac^nia purpurea.) After
Britton & Brown, 111. Fl. Northeast. U. S.
118
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
The distribution of the family is rather remarkable. Chrysaniphora,
the Califomian pitcher-plant, belongs only to the Pacific coast, and is
remarkable on account of the large, bifurcated hood to the pitchers,
suggestive of a fish's tail. Heliamphora is confined to the mountains of
Venezuela; while the species of Sarracenia are among the most con-
spicuous plants of the southern savannahs and pine barrens, one {S, pur-
purea) extending northward into Canada. The photograph reproduced
in Fig. 102 gives an excellent idea of the plant in its natural habitat; its
leaves are more graceful in shax)e than those of any other species. In
the South S. paittacina, with small red flowers, and leaves curiously
resembling the outline of a parrot's head and body, replaces S. pur-
purea; while S. Jlava, S. Drummoiidii and S. variolaris have very large,
erect, funnel-shaped leaves, often handsomely variegated.
The mode in which insects are attracted
to these death traps is very ingenious. In
most species there is a sweet exudation on
the inner surface of the tubular leaf just be-
neath the protective flaps or hood. Insects
crawl down to feed upon this, and soon come
upon a smooth polished area, which causes
them to slip farther down; a succession of
slender hairs, all pointing the same way, ren-
ders the remainder of the descent easy, and
effectually precludes all attempts of the
struggling insects to climb out by the same
path.
Family Nepenthaceae. East Indian
Pitcher-plant Family. Consists of the single
genus Nepenthes, embracing about 40 species,
natives principally of the Indo-Malayan
region, one in Madagascar. They are herbs
or somewhat shrubby plants, with dioecious
flowers, the sterile containing about 16 an-
thers united in a head, the fertile with a sin-
gle 4-celled free ovary; calyx 4-parted, petals none. The leaves are
even more remarkable than those of the Sarraceniaceae, for in addition
to the pitchers or traps, the petiole develops, in one portion, to a broad
expanded blade, fulfilling the functions of an ordinary leaf, and in
another portion is tough and wiry, acting as a tendril to support the
whole leaf and its contents. The size and shape of the pitchers differ
considerably. In many of them the hood forms a perfect lid, closing
the mouth of the pitcher completely. Several are in greenhouse culti-
vation, the most common being probably N. Rafflesiana.
Fig. 103. Spatulate-leaved sun-
dew {Drosera intermedia) showing
enlarged flower and fruit. After
Brittou & Brown, III. Fl. Northeast.
U. S.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
119
Family Droseraceae. Sundew Family. Another interesting fam-
ily, with a somewhat i)eculiar geographical distribution. There are six
genera; Drosera^ with about 110 species, occurs in temperate and sub-
tropical regions of both hemispheres, being particularly abundant in
Australia; Dioncea is a monotypic genus, restricted to a limited area
along the coast of North and South Carolina; Aldrovandra^ another
monotypic genus of south Europe and Asia; Byblis, with two Australian
Fig. 104, Thread-leaved sundew {D. Jili/ormis). After Berry in Asa Gray Bulletin, Vol. V. No. 5.
8i)ecies; Roridula, with two South African species; and Drosophyllum^ a
monotypic half-shrubby gentis of Portugal. With the latter exception,
the plants are marsh or aquatic herbs, glandular-f>ubescent, and exud-
ing a viscid secretion; they are mostly scapose, the leaves in a tuft or
cluster at base. The flowers are solitary or racemose, with a 4-5-parted
I^ersistent calyx and 5 hypogynous petals; stamens 5-20; ovary 1-3-
celled, the style often cleft or divided (see Fig. 103).
120
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
Everyone who has penetrated a bog filled with sphagnum moss has
noticed the glistening reddish-hued leaves of the round-leaved sundew
{Drosera rotundi/olia), which is our commonest species. Its tiny white
flowers open singly, and the curved one-sided raceme elongates just
sufl&ciently to enable the flower of the day to point skyward. D.filifor-
mis, with long slender leaves and rose-
purple flowers, common in the New
Jersey pine barrens and southward,
is a more handsome plant (see Fig.
104). An examination of the leaves of
Drosera under a lens will show a mi-
nute drop of viscid fluid at the tip of
each hair; this serves to entangle small
flies, gnats, et<5. In Dioymeay however,
the process of specialization has gone
even farther, and the leaf, which is
divided at the midrib into two nearly
semicircular fringed lobes, closes like
a steel trap the moment any foreign
object comes in contact with tlie slen-
der sensitive hairs of its inner surface.
After the imprisoned object is thor-
oughly digested, the leaves again ex-
Fig. 105. The cx>mmou river- weed {Pbdo- j ••!_•. * j xi i
stemonCeratophyllum). After Button & Brown, paud; if a bit Of WOOd Or Other USCieSS
111. Fl. Northeast U. S.
will open in a few hours.
material has been imprisoned, they
CHAPTEE XXL
Order Resales,
This large and imix)rtant order, of which the Rose family (Rosa-
ceae) is the type, contains seventeen other families, including the Pa-
pilionaceae, Mimosaceae, and Caesalpiniaceae, three groups which col-
lectively comprised the old order Leguminosae, and which include the
most valuable of our economic plants. In so large a group as the
Rosales, it is difficult to find distinguishing characters which will apply
ecjually well to all the members; but in general the roseworts may be
known by the insertion of the stamens, which may be either hypogynou^
(on the axil below the pistil) or epigyiwus (on the pistil itself); by the
sepals, which are more or less united or conduent with the receptacle;
and by the simple ovary, consisting of one or many distinct or united
carpels.
Family Podostemaceae. River-weed Family. Contains about 21
genera and 175 species, all tropical except Podostemon, which is repre-
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
121
sented by a single species extending throughout the eastern half of the
United States. The plants are fresh-water aquatic herbs, exhibiting a
primitive type of structure, with little differentiation between leaf and
stem. The flowers are without any perianth, and are enveloi)ed at first
in a spathe-like involucre. The ovary is frequently stipitate (stalked),
becoming a capsule in fruit (see Fig. 105).
Family Hydrostachydaceae. Hydrostachys Family. A group of
aquatic plants, consisting of the single genus Hydrostachys, closely re-
lated to the preceding family.
Family Grassulaceae. Or-
pine Family. This interest-
ing group of plants, of wide
geographic distribution, com-
prises about 15 genera and
over 500 species. They are
herbs or half-shrubs, remark-
able for their fleshy or succu-
lent herbage, the result of
adaptation to the arid situa-
tions in which many of them
are found. The persistent
calyx is 4-5-parted; the petals,
equal in number, are also per-
sistent; stamens and carpels
equalling the petals; the car-
pels either wholly distinct or
slightly united below, becom-
ing small follicles in fruit.
Sedtim, the stone-crops,
includes many North Ameri-
can species. The American
orpine or live-for-ever (Sedum
felephioides) is one of the most
attractive, with the light green
foliage and clusters of pink
flowers (see Fig. 106). A Eu-
ropean species {Sedum acre) having bright yellow flowers, is frequently
seen in cultivation. In southern Europe and northern Africa species
of Echeveria and Sempervivum are very common, growing frequently on
the roofs of houses and on old walls.
Family Saxifragaceae. Saxifrage Family. Contains about 70 gen-
era and 600 species, natives mainly of temperate regions, many being
alpine. They are herbs, shrubs, or even trees, with solitary or vari-
Fig. io6. The American orpine {Sedum Ulephioides)
with detached flower enlarged. Original.
122
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS '
ously clustered flowers. Sepals and petals usually 5, the stamens equal
or twice as many in number;
carpels one or more, generally
2, distinct or partly united;
fruit a capsule, follicle, or
berry.
Saxifraga is by far the
largest genus, comprising over
200 species, all of which are
perennial herbs. While the
group is quite a natural one,
its subgenera are strongly
marked. Thus some species
have solitary yellow flowers;
others dense panicles of creamy
white blossoms; in still others
the flowers are pink.* Numer-
ous other genera are repre-
sented in the United States,
one of the most interesting
Pig. 107. Alum-root {Heuchera Americana),
Britton & Brown, III. Fl. Northeast. U. S.
After
^m
Fig. 108. Grass-of- Parnassus {Pamassia palustris).
After Britton & Brown, 111. Fl. Northeast. U. S.
being Heiwhera, which is
characterized by large simple
basal leaves and scapes ter-
minated by panicles of deli-
cate flowers, white or vari-
ously-colored (see Fig. 107).
The various hydrangeas, sev-
eral of which may be ranked
among our most desirable
hardy shrubs for lawn plant-
ing, belong to this family.
The conspicuous florets in a
cluster of hydrangea blos-
soms are "neutral," that is,
they are without stamens or
pistils. Sometimes the whole
cluster is sterile in this man-
ner. PhiladelphuSy the mock-
orange, or, as it is altogether
falsely called, "syringa," be-
longs here, as does also the
*See article ''Concerning Saxifrages," by T.
World, 3: 37. 1900.
H. Kearney, Jr., The Plant
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
123
handsome climbing shrub of our southern States, Decumaria. Mention
should also be made of the anomalous genus Pamassia, the " grass-of-
Pamassus," which is now very generally referred here, though it might
better be made the type of a distinct family. The flowers are remark-
able for the clusters of staminodia (imperfect stamens) borne at the
base of each petal (see Fig. 108).
Family Grossulariaceae. Gooseberry Family. Contains only the
genus BibeSf with about 75 spacies, natives of the north temperate zone.
Besides the garden gooseberry
{B. Uvor-crispa) and the currant
{R, rubrum), the genus contains
several species ornamental in cul-
tivation. All are shrubs, with al-
ternate leaves and flowers having
the tube of the calyx entirely
united with the ovary, and the 4
or 5 small petals borne on the
calyx. The ovary has 2 distinct
or united styles, and becomes in
fruit a pulpy berry, crowned by
the persistent calyx.
Family Cephalotaceae. Ceph-
alotus family. A monotypic fam-
ily, consisting of the Australian
plant CephalotusfolliculariSy which
calls to recollection the pitcher-
plants. It is a very short-stemmed
herb, with spoon-shaped or stalked
leaves; the "pitchers" are short
and thick, with a lid like those of
the Nepenthaceae, the rim being Carolina)
fringed with hairs. The singular
feature about these pitcher-like bodies, however, is that they are entirely
distinct from the true leaves, being borne on separate stalks. The
flowers are borne in a long spike, and are destitute of corolla.
Family Pittosporaceae. Pittosporum Family. Contains 9 genera
and about 100 species, chiefly confined to Australasia. They are shrubs
or trees, with regular 5-merous flowei-s and a 2-5-celled ovary which
becomes in fruit a berry, frequently edible. Some of the trees yield
resins and gums; they are usually called maple or mapau in New
Zealand.
Family Bmnelliaceae. Brunellia family. Consists only of Bra-
Fig. 109. The southern witch-hazel {Fothergilla
a flowering branch with detached en-
larged capsule. Original.
124 FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
neUia, a genus of South American and Hawaiian trees, resembling the
prickly-ash {Xanthoxylum) in structure and appearance.
Family Cunoniaceae. Cunonia Family. Contains about 20 genera
and 120 species, natives of the southern hemisphere. They are shrubs
or trees with opi)osite leaves, differing from related groups by the pres-
ence of stipules. The trees of the large genus Weinmanma afford a
light wood suitable for cabinet-making, and the astringent bark is used
for tanning.
Family Myrothamnaceae. Myrothamnus Family. Consists of one
genus, Myrotlvamnus, with several South African species.
Family Bruniaceae. Brunia Family. Contains 5 genera and about
50 species, all low, heath-like shrubs of South Africa and Madagascar.
Though differing very much from the following family, they are not
materially distinct in structure, except that the leaves are without stip-
ules.
Family Hamamelidaceae. Witch-hazel family. Includes 15 gen-
era and 35 species, natives of North America, South Africa and Asia.
They are trees or shrubs with simple, alternate leaves, and perfect or
polygamous flowers, often lacking a perianth. The ovary consists of 2
carpels, becoming in fruit a 2-valved woody capsule. Hamamelis, the
witch-hazel, is well known in our eastern States, through its i)eculiarity
of blooming in the late fall when the leaves are dropping. FothergiUaLy
a closely allied genus of the southern States is shown in Fig. 109.
Liquidambar, the sweetgum, is a handsome forest tree.
Family Platanaceae. Plane-tree Family. Comprises only the
genus PlatanuSy with about 7 species, the best known of which is the
common plane-tree, button-wood or sycamore (P. occidentcdia). The
flowers are monoecious, in dense globular heads. The hollowed petiole-
bases of the leaves fit over the bud for the ensuing year like a cap.
This family is obviously related to the Hamamelidaceae, and is now
placed next to it, although widely separated in the old sequence of
Bentham & Hooker.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS.
Bt Chables Louis Pollabd.
CHAPTER XXI—C(mtinued.
Family Crossosomataceae. Crossosoma Family. Consists of the
genns Cfrossoaoma^ with two si)ecies, natives of our southwestern bor-
der, extending into Mexico. They are shrubs with small coriaceous
leaves and white flowers with a superior oyary comi)osed of a number
of separate carpels (see Fig. 110). The genus is an anomalous one, and
has been placed by some bot-
anists in the Banunculaceae,
by others in the Dilleniaceae,
but it is best regarded as the
type of a distinct group.
Family Bosaceae. Bose
Family. The modern tendency
toward the recognition of
smaller and more sharply de-
fined natural families of plants
is well exemplified in the
Bosaceae as they now appear
in our text-books. The old
family included pears, plums,
apples and their allies, to-
gether with spiraea, cinque-
foil, blackberry and straw-
berry. The apples and pears are now separated as the family Poma-
ceae, while the plums, cherries, etc., constitute the family Drupaceae.
The Bosaceae proper, containing all other genera of the group, are
characterized by the regular flowers with 6 sepals, 6 petals, numerou^
stamens, and 1 to many carpels, distinct or united to the calyx. The
fruit is usually an achene; the plants themselves are herbs, shrubs, or
rarely trees. There are 65 genera and over 1200 species, of very wide
geographic distribution. In Fig. Ill the two uppermost flowers exhibit
two distinct typea of structure found in this family: the hypogynoua
flower, in which the stamens are borne on the receptacle beneath the
Pig. no. Flowering branch and enlarged flower of
the southwestern desert shrub, Crossosoma Bigelovii.
Original.
126
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
carpels, and the perigynoua flower, in whicli they are borne on the rim
of the receptacle around the carpels.
Owing to the vast extent of the family, and the large nnmber of
noteworthy plants it contains, we shall find it advantageous to discnss
the various subfamilies or general groups in some detail.
The Spiraeoideae are typified by the genus Spiraea, represented
by numerous wild species throughout the United States, and by several
ornamental exotics in cultivation. The spiraeas are mostly under-
shrubs, with large, dense clusters of small red, pink or white flowers.
The petals are borne on the calyx in this group, and the carpels are
From Coulter's Plant Structures. Cop}rright, 1900, by D. Appleton & Co.
Fig. III. Flowers of Rose and Apple Families; (i), hypogsmous flower of J^tUniHIa, the sepals,
petals and stamens borne on the receptacle beneath the carpels; (3), perigsmous flower of AlchemiUa,
these organs borne on the rim of the receptacle above the carpel; (3), epigynous flower of the apple,
the parts arising from the summit of the ovary. After Focke.
comparatively few in number, not exceeding 5. The two sx)ecies of
PorteranthiiSy known as "Indian physic" possess medicinal properties;
they are herbs, with graceful foliage and delicate white flowers. Quil-
laja Saponaria, a Chilean tree, has bark which yields sai)onin in abund-
ance from which a very good quality of soap is manufactured.
In the subfamily Bosoideae, we note a handsome Asiatic shrub
{Kerria Japonica), whose golden-yellow double flowers have been con-
spicuous in the Washington parks during the past few weeks. PotentiUa
may be ranked as the largest of the few rosaceous weed genera in this
country; it includes about 150 species, natives of the north temperate
zone, and with very few exceptions herbaceous in habit. They have
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
127
yellow, rarely purple or white flowers, and either palmate or pinnate
compound leaves, those of the palmate type being frequently composed
of five leaflets, so that the plants have received the name of cinquefoil
or five-finger. The closely allied genus Cojruirum illustrates practically
tiie same tyi)e (see Fig. 112). The tormentil (P. Tormentilla) is the
only species possessing marked medicinal properties. Fragaria, the
strawberry, is another genus whose members are mainly of northern
distribution. Wild strawberries, of one sort or another, occur throughr
out the country; and we are all familiar with the advances made by
horticultural science in the domes-
tic strawberry. It should be pointed
out that the edible portion of this
fruit consists of the enlarged pulpy
axis or receptacle, while the so-called
*^ seeds " embedded on its surface are
the real fruits, each being a small
one-seeded achene. In the raspberry
and blackberry, members of the
genus Bubus, the fruit is of wholly
different structure, consisting of a
coherent mass of little stone-fruits
or drupes, which when ripe pull easily
away from the dry columnar recep-
tacle. Rvbus is likewise of temi)er-
ate distribution, but its species are
found in several continents; they are
especially numerous and very diffi-
ciilt to identify in Europe. The lit-
tle Arctic and alpine herbs belong-
ing to the genus Dryas are somewhat
similar to the preceding in the appearance of their flowers, but the nu-
merous arch^ues, when ripe, are tipped with long plumose styles like
those of a. clematis. In Gkum, a genus which furnishes. some omameur
tal si)eoies, the styles are also persistent, but not always plumose. The
same floral structure may be seen in the mountain mahogany. (Cercocarr
pus) and several allied trees of the western States. The herb known as
agrimony {Agrimonia Eupatoria) was formerly of much repute in med-
icine. Its leaves and rootstocks are astringent, the latter yielding a
yellow dye. Several species of this genus occur in the United States;
the calyx of the small yellowish flowers is beset with bristly hooks,
which furnish a means of artiflcial transi)ortation for the ripe fruit along
with other "stick-tights." The bumets belong to the genus Sangui-
sarha; they are tall herbs with spikes of small white flowers. In this
Pig. 112. The marsh cinquefoil or cow-
berry {Comarum palustre). After Britton &
Brown, 111. Fl. Northeast. U. S,
128
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
neighborhood also belongs Oliffordm, a genus of South AiErican shrubs
comprising about 40 species.
The rose {Rosa) is naturally the tyi)e and most imi)ortant genus of
the Bosaceae. There are very diverse views among botanists as to the
number of wild species that should properly be recognized; over 600
have been described, but this number can probably be reduced to 200
or 300. The rose flower has an urn-shaped calyx, five petals, and very
numerous stamens and carpels; the latter, when ripe, form 1-seeded
From Coulter's Plant Structures. Copyright, 1900, D. Appleton & Co.
Fig. 113. The common pear {Pyrus communis) showing flowering branch (i), section of flower (2),
section of fruit (3), and diagram of flower (4). After Wossidlo.
achenes enclosed in the fleshy fruiting calyx, known as the hvp or hep.
In cultivation the number of the stamens becomes greatly reduced, and
the petals correspondingly increased. No flower responds more read-
ily to the methods of the horticulturalist than does the rose, and hun-
dreds of distinct garden varieties, belonging to many distinct tyx>es, are
known. The two important economic uses of the rose are in the manu-
facture of rose water and attar of roses.
Next in the systematic arrangement of the family we find the sub-
family Neuradoideae, containing two North African desert shrubs
{Neurada and Orielwm).
Family Pomaceae. Apple Family. As above explained, this and
the succeeding were formerly regarded as sections of the rose family
THE PLANT WORLD
Fig. 114. Two views of the shad-bush, Aniflauchier Canadensis, in full bloom. After photogrn', h.«<
lyCa 1 Krebs.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
129
proper. The apples and their allies may be easily disidngaished by
the fruit, which consists of the enlarged fleshy calyx-tabe, enclosing
from one to five thin-walled or papery carpels, each usually single-
seeded. This structure may be seen in Fig. 113. A fruit of . this type
is known to botanists as a jporne (from pomum, fruit).
Generic differences in this family are more apparent than real, and
indeed the apple (Malys), the pear {Pi/rus), and the mountain ash {Sor-
bus), were until recently generally placed together in the single genus
Pyrus. But all three belong to very distinct natural types, and one
who is absolutely ignorant of botany can distinguish any pear from any
apple, and any quince from either.
The family contains
about 20 genera and 225
species of wide distribution;
all are trees or shrubs. In
this country we have very
few indigenous si)ecies of
Pyrus, Mains or Sorbys, but
Amelanchier, the shad-bush
or service-berry, is repre-
sented by about 12 species
in the United States, while
CrataeguSy the hawthorn,
now contains over 100, and
the number is rapidly on
the increase. Two hand-
some photographs of the
%hdA'hx3iah{Amelanchi€r Carv-
ddensis) may be seen in the Pig. us- The cockspur thom (Cratoiis^us Cms-graUt).
«^^^*^,^««.r«'^^ «1«4.« /TK^ After Britton & Brown, 111. PI. Northeast. U. S.
accompanying plate (Jbig.
114). The cockspur thom {Grataegvs Oms-galli) is shown in Fig. 115.
Hawthorns are extremely ornamental trees in cultivation, with their
white or pink flowers and often brightly colored fruits. Most of the
trees are armed with spines; their wood is very hard.
Family Drupaceae. Plum family. Contains about 6 genera and
over 100 species of wide distribution, most abundant in the north tem-
perate zone. They are trees or shrubs with resiniferous bark, nearly
all parts of the plant containing prussic acid. The flowers have five
petals, borne on the calyx, which is free from the ovary; stamens nu-
merous; ovary consisting of a single carpel, becoming what is known as
a drupe in fruit, the outer coating being fleshy or pulpy, the inner hard
and crustaceous, enclosing a solitary seed. The great majority of the
species are comprised in PrunuSy the plum, and Cerasus, the cherry,
130 FAMILIES OF FLOWEETNG PLANTS
which are often united into a single genns under the former name.
AmygdaJuSy the peach, though not originally a native of our country,
has become extensively naturalized as an escape from cultivation.
It will be seen that the Bosaceae and their allies form a well-
defined natural group, with remarkable regularity in the appearance of
their flowers (so that the term " rosaceous " is in common use) but with
great diversity in fruit structure. The reverse is the case in the pea
family and its allies, which we shall consider later. A remarkable f^ar-
ture of the Bosaceae is that the color blue seems to be entirely wanting
among the flowers of the various genera.
Family Gonnaraceae. Connarus Family. This is a connecting
link between the great groups already discussed and those which will
follow. It contains about 160 species of tropical climbing shrubs, dis-
I)osed in 16 genera, of which Connarus and Bourea are the most import-
ant. They have flowers of the leguminous tyi)e, but the ovary is com-
I)osed of several carpels.
THE PLANT WORLD
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SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS.
By Chables Louis Pollard.
CHAPTEB XXI—Gmtinued.
We have now reached one of the largest, probably the most impor-
tant, and certainly one of the most distinct natural groups in the whole
vegetable kingdom; the group known for many years under the name
Leguminosae or Pulse Family, and still commonly so called. The
name is in allusion to the fruit, which consists of a single more or less
fleshy thin-walled carpel, bearing the seeds in one row. It is known
technically as a legume, and popularly as a pod, and is so characteris-
tic in appearance, that with very few exceptions any plant of this group
may be recognized, when in fruit, as a " leguminous " (legume-bearing)
plant.
Becent systematists, considering the remarkable differences in
floral structure that obtain among various subdivisions of the Legumi-
nosae, have treated the group as consisting of three families, and this
classificatiod is generally followed in America. These families are
known as the Mimosaceae, the Caesalpiniaceae, and the Papilionaceae.
Family Mimosaceae. Sensitive-plant Family. Mimosa Family. A
group conspicuous in the tropics, very limited in the temi)erate, and
wholly absent from the arctic zones. It includes about 30 genera and
1400 sjpecies, the plants being herbs, shrubs or trees. They have alter-
nate leaves, which are nearly always pinnately compound after the pat-
tern of those in the common greenhouse sensitive plant {Mimosa pudica).
The small i)erfect and quite regular flowers are borne in heads, spikes
or racemes. The calyx is cup-shaped, with from three to six teeth; the
corolla with a similar number of distinct or slightly united x)etals. The
stamens vary greatly in number in the different genera, some of them
being distinguishable from each other as genera only by the number of
stamens. The ovary is of course one-celled, and the fruit a legume, as
above explained. Fig. 116 conveys a good idea of the flowering branch
of an Acacia, which is a typical mimosaceous plant.
Edible fruits are yielded by many tropical trees of this group, par-
ticularly by species of Inga and Prosopia. The latter is the well-known
134
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
"mesquite" of Mexico and the southwestern States; the two species
occurring within our borders diflfer strikingly in their fruits, one (P.
ptibescens) having the pods twisted like a corkscrew, so that it is known
as screwbean. The true mesquite (P. julijlora), has long flattened pods
containing "beans" or seeds which are an important article in the
dietary of the average Mexican.
The very large genus Acacia, is represented in all tropical coun-
tries. A peculiar feature of its morphology is that the usually decom-
pound leaves, consisting of many leaflets, are in nearly all the Hawaiian
and Australian species reduced to flat bodies known as phyllodes, which
look exactly like ordinary sim-
ple leaves, though somewhat
coriaceous (leathery) in tex-
ture, and standing vertical in-
stead of horizontal. The most
important economic product
yielded by the genus is gum,
particularly gum-arabic; also,
the drug known as catechu.
Both these articles are derived
from the refined juice or sap.
Adetmnthera pavonina^ the red
sandalwood of tropical Asia, is
one of the most valued timber
trees of that region. Its bright
scarlet seeds, oddly enough,
are very uniform in weight,
each being 4 grains, and they
are therefore extensively used
by Oriental jewelers as weights.
While the shrubs and trees of
this family are not extensively
grown in our greenhouses, they
form a very important item in
tropical landscape gardening,
and in congenial situations they are of great size and beauty. The
group is probably more conspicuous in Australia than in any other
country. i
Family Caesalpiniaceae. Senna Family. Herbs, shrubs or trees,
comprised in about 90 genera and 1000 si)ecies, chiefly of tropical dis-
tribution. They are distinguished by the nearly regular, often rosa-
ceous flowers, with 5 sepals and 5 petals, the upper or odd petal en-
closed by the lateral ones; stamens 10 or fewer; fruit a pod.
From Coulter's Plant Structures. Copyright, 1900, D
Appleton & Co.
Fig. 116. A sensitive plant {Acacia), showing the
flowers with numerous stamens, and the pinnately
compound leaves. After Meyer and Schumann.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
135
There are nunjerous ornamental plants belonging to this gronp,
though it is a matter for regret that most of them are scarcely hardy
enough to withstand our temperate climate. Poinciana regia, the royal
Poinciana, together with many species of Caesalpinia, may be ranked
among the most showy of tropical trees, whether in flower or fruit (see
plate, Fig. 117). The large East Indian genus Bauhinia, consisting of
climbing woody shrubs with curiously bilobed leaves, has handsome
flowers, often of a delicate rose color. In our own country the redbud
or Judas-tree (Cercis) yields a
warm tone to the landscape in
early spring with its masses of
purple-pink flowers.
Valuable balsams are obtained
from most of the species of Copai-
/era, while copal gum is derived
from some species of Hymenaea
and Trachylobium. A bitter bark^
known as sassy-bark, is furnished
by the African red-water tree, Ery-
throphloeum guineense; it is used
for medicinal purposes, and by the
natives, especially as an ordeal
bark. Various species of Cassia
yield the drug senna, while others
are ornamental shrubs. The tam-
arind {Tamarindus Indica) affords
a valuable addition to the tropical
dietary, the pulp from its pods
being utilized in all kinds of pre-
serves, though somewhat unduly
acid. The fruit of the carob-tree
{Cerafoma siliqim), native of Af-
rica, but naturalized in parts of ^*^- "®- Kentucky coffee tree {Gymnocladus
rx -c . , j.v, dioica); a, young flowering branch, b, seed pod.
southern ±iUrOpe, is also edible. After Chesnut, BuU. no. ». Div. of Bot. U. S. Dep.
Finally, valuable timber is yielded of ^gric.
by several trees of this group, but particularly by various species of
Sioartzia, natives of South America. The wood of these trees is very
hard and of a fine grain; it is known as Brazil-wood. Fig. 118 illus-
trates the Kentucky coffee tree {Gymnocladiis dioica) of our own coun-
try. At the end of this family is placed by the German systematists a
somewhat anomalous genus, Krameria, consisting of about a dozen spe-
cies, ranging from the southwestern States to Chile. The flowers are
quite irregular, like those of some Cassias, and the fruit, although inde-
136
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
hiscent (not splitting oi)en) at maturity, is one-seeded, and structurally
a pod. The genus was formerly placed with the Polygalaceae, and by
many authors is now regarded as a distinct family.
Family Papilionaceae. Pea Family. This, the typical group of
the Leguminosae, is at the same time the largest and most important
family of the Order Bosales. The plants range in size from the small-
est of herbs to the loftiest of forest trees, and are comprised in about
310 genera and 5000 species, most abundant in tropical and subtropical
regions, though some extend to the Arctic zone. The character from
From Coulter's Plant Structures. Copyright, 1900, D. Appleton & Co.
F|g. 119. A leguminous plant {Lotus) showing flowering branch; (i), detached flower; (a), clus-
ters of 10 stamens; (3), single carpel; (4), fruit, a pod; (5), petals dissected apart; (6), consisting of
standard (a); wings {d)\ and keel (c); and floral diagram (7). After Wossidlo.
which the family takes its name is found in the peculiar and very irreg-
ular shape of the flower (see Fig. 119). The upper petal, usually the
largest, is known as the banner or standard; the two lateral are called
wings, and the lowenpost or forward pair jointly form the keel, which
usually closely enfolds and protects the stamens and pistil. The lat-
ter is 1-celled, forming a pod in fruit. The stamens are usually 10, and
may be distinct, diadelphous (united into two sets by their filaments,
or monadelphous (similarly united into a single set).
The papilionaceous flower, as it is usually called, is in most of the
genera identifiable at sight, but there are some exceptions; thus in
Amorpha the corolla consists of only one petal, the standard, which is
folded over the pistil like the keel in an ordinary flower. So also the
FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
137
shape of the keel itself is found to vary; the peculiar snout-like shape
of the keel in the bean flower is well known. We shall follow the sys-
tematic arrangement of the tribes in this family, taking a hasty survey
of such genera as are of special importance.
In the tribe Sophoreae the yellow-wood {Cladrastis liUea) of our
southern States, furnishes us both with a highly ornamental tree and a
yellow dye. Several exotic species of Sophora are cultivated in gar-
dens, while the' South American
genus Myroxyhn yields a fine bal-
sam.
Tribe Podalyrieae. This con-
sists mostly of shrubs with simple
or palmately divided leaves. It in-
cludes our various wild false indi-
goes (Baptisia) and the large Aus-
tralian genus Pultenaea.
Tribe Genisteae. In this group
are a member of well known Euro-
X>ean plants, such as the ''golden
shower {Laburnum vylgare)y the
Scotch whin or gorse (Ulex), the
broom {Cytisus scoparius), and the
woad-waxen or dyer's weed {Genista
tinctoria). Several of these have be-
come naturalized in the United
States; but the important American
genus of this tribe is LupinUS, the Fig. 120. wild lupme, tu^nus perennts.
lupines, comprising a large number ^'^^^ ^"^^" * ^~""' "'' ^'' ^°^^«^»^- ^- «
of species throughout the western plains and along the Pacific coasi
Fig. 120 shows the only lupine of the northeastern States {L. perennia).
In Florida occur two species with apparently simple leaves, but in
reality the leaf is a compound one reduced to a single leaflet, as shown
by the joint between blade and stalk. The genus Orotalaria is also a
large one, and widely distributed through warm regions. The inner
bark of Cjuncea, the "sunn" or Bombay hemp of India, yields a valu-
able fiber.
Tribe Trifolieae. This includes the true clovers {Trifolium), the
yellow hop-clover {Chrysaspis), the alfalfas {Medicago), and the sweet
clovers {MelUotus), In Euroi)e are found also the "rest-harrows"
{Ononis), and the fenugreeks {Trigonella). All clover-like plants may
be known by the close heads or spikes of small flowers, and by the usu-
ally palmate leaves. Those of cold or alpine regions are usually her-
baceous, while those of the warmer temperate zone are often shrubs or
138
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
undershrubs. Their chief value is as forage or grazing plants and as
honey producers.
Tribe Loteae. The genus Lotus exhibits considerable diversity,
both in habit and in the color of its flowers. It is widely represented
in the Pacific States, and also in Europe.
Tribe Galegieae. The large genus Indigofera is well known on
account of the beautiful blue dye yielded by /. fincforia and /. AniL
Ornamental garden plants are afforded by wisteria (Kraimhia) and
locust {Bobinia), the native pink flowered species of which are very
beautiful. The Liberian pea
tree {Caragana) is also orna-
mental, and is of considerable
economic value in the regions
where it occurs. The bark fur-
nishes tough cordage, and the
seeds are good food for poul-
try. On our western plains
the traveler will notice the
great abundance and variety of
species of Astragalus and re-
lated genera. These are herba-
ceous plants of clover-like ap-
pearance, but decidedly oppo-
site in the character of their
herbage, since many of them
are " loco " weeds, and are ex-
tremely poisonous to cattle.
The licorice tree {Glyq/rrhiza)
yields the familiar sweet drug
of our childhood.
Tribe Hedysarieae. This includes some European genera valu-
able for forage purposes, notably Orwhrychis and Coronilla, It also
includes that toothsome product of our southern States, the peanut
{Arachis hypogaea). The tick-trefoils {Meibomia) are common and
troublesome weeds whose jointed pods are beset with fine bristles, giv-
ing them abundant opportunity to travel about and seek new abiding
places through the agency of the passer-by (see Fig. 121). M. gyrans,
of India, the telegraph-plant, is said to indicate approaching storms by
the movement of its sensitive leaflets.
Tribe Dalbergieae. The tropical genera Dalhergia, Ma^haerium
and Pterocarpiis, besides being ornamental, furnish useful timber.
Dipteryx o(hrata yields the tonka bean, which is extensively used by
Fig. 121. The hoary tick-trefoil Meibomia canes-
cens. After Britton & Brown, 111. Fl. Northeast. U. S.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS 139
perfumers in the manufacture of sachet powders and other perfumes.
The odor is due to a principle known as cournarin.
Tribe Viceae. From the economic standpoint this and the follow-
ing are the most important groups of the Papilionaceae. The genus
Pisum comprises all forms and varieties of the cultivated pea, while the
Fig. iM. Hairy vetch, Vicia villosa, showing also enlarged flower, column of stamens and pod.
After Tracy, Bull. No. 15, Div. of Agrost. U. 8. Dep. Agric.
fragrant sweet pea. belongs to the genus Lathyrus, of which there are
many wild species. Vicia, a closely related genus, includes the wild
vetches and tares, so troublesome in grain fields, but it also contains
the hairy vetch ( V. vUloaa), an important forage plant of the southern
States (see Fig. 122). The European genus Lens furnishes the lentil,
while dicer is the gram or chick pea.
140 FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
Tribe Phaseoleae. This includes most of our caltiyated beans, and
a number of wild beans, the important genera being Phaseohis, Cana-
vaMa and Glycine. Clitoria and Bradburya furnish the " butterfly i)eas,"
very ornamental in cultivation, as are also the coral-red flowers of the
tropical genus Erythrina. Cajan Cajan furnishes the pigeon pea of the
West Indies and the Florida Keys. Dolichoa Lablab is the familiar
hyacinth bean.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS.
By Charles Louis Pollard.
CHAPTEE XXn.
Order Geraniales.
The large group Eosales, with which we have been dealing, was
distinguished, it will be remembered, by the simple ovary, consisting
either of one cari)el or several separate
and distinct carpels. In the order
Geraniales the carpels are united, form-
ing a compound ovary; the stamens are
definite in number, rarely more than
twice as many as the sepals; and the
position of the ovule or immature seed
in the ovary is also characteristic. The
order is a large one, comprising 20
families, of which the most important
are the Geraniaceae, Linaceae, Buta-
ceae, Burseraceae, Meliaceae, and Eu-
phorbiaceae. The plants include herbs,
shrubs and trees, many of which are of
economic or ornamental value.
Family Geraniaceae. Geranium
Family. Contains about 11 genera
and 475 si)ecies, of rather wide distri-
bution, but particularly abundant in
South Africa. They are herbs with
solitary or clustered flowers, which in
Geranium and Pelargonium are often
showy and bright colored. The sta-
mens are 5 or a multiple of 5; the
ovary 5-celled, becoming a capsule in
fruit. The carpels, or divisions of the
ovary, bear long tails which are often
elastic when ripe, causing them to curl up. This has given the name
"cranesbill "to the geraniums and their allies.
Fig. 123. The Alaskan cranesbill {Ge'
ranium erianthum) oae-half natural size.
Original.
142
FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
The most important genus is Geranium^ represented in this coun-
try and in the Old World by numerous species, whose flowers range in
size from those of the Carolina cranesbill {O. Garolinianum) and the
herb Jlobert (G. Sober tianum), to the large-flowered Alaskan 8i)ecies
shown in Fig. 123. The cultivated geraniums belong mostly in the
genus Pelargonium, distinguished by the somewhat irregular corolla.
They have been wonderfully developed by long cultivation and hybrid-
ization. The genus Erodium,
widely distributed in temperate
regions of the Old World, is rep-
resented by three native species
on the Pacific coast which fre-
quently become bad weeds.
They are known by the Spanish
name of "alfilerilla."
Family OxaJidaceae. Oxalis
Family. Contains about 7 gen-
era and 270 si)ecies, 250 of which
are comprised in the single genus
Oxalis. They are herbs of vari-
able habit, or in a few instances
shrubs. There is remarkable di-
versity in the leaves; while upu-
ally palmately 3-foliolate they
are sometimes pinnate or even
undivided and x)eltate (shield-
shaped). The various shapes
are shown in the four species of
Oxalis represented in Fig. 124.
The flowers are solitary or more
often in forking cymes; sepals
and petals 5, stamens 10-15;
Fig. 124. Species of o;ra/M or sorrel, i.o.versi- ovary 5-celled, usually capsular
sicolor. a. O. commutata. 3. O. approximaia. 4- O. jj^ fruit. The juice of the plautS
htrta. All one-half natural siae. Original. , . • • i j i.
contains a sour principle due to
oxalic acid. The various wild species of Oxalis are known as wood-
sorrels; they have white, yellow or purple flowers. South Africa, par-
ticularly the Cape region, is the metropolis for these plants, and many
varieties now in cultivation have come from there.
Family Tropaeolaceae. Tropaeolum Family. Consists of a single
genus, Tropaeolum, including about 35 species, natives of the higher
parts of Central and South America. They are herbs, erect or climb-
ing by means of twisting leaf-stalks. The leaves are simple, and -pel-
BAfP
FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
143
tate or palmately lobed or divided; the flowers, mostly large and shDwy,
are quite irregular in structure, the calyx being prolonged into a nectar-
bearing spur. The 5 x)etals are borne usually on long daws; stamens
5; ovary usually 3-celled, capsular in fruit (see Fig. 125, no. 1). It is
Tropaeolum majus which is such a universal favorite in our gardens,
and which commonly bears the name ^' Nasturtium." This is an inex-
cusable misnomer, for Nasturtium was known for years as the genus-
name of the water-cress; and the fact that the latter is now known by
another scientific name (Rorippa) does not excuse the misappellation
of Nasturtium. The word Tropaeolum is easy to pronounce and to
remember.
Family linaceae. Flax
Family. Includes 4 genera and
about 150 species of wide geo-
graphic distribution in both
temperate and tropical regions.
The family is remarkable for
the regularity and symmetry of
its flowers, which have 4 or 5
sepals, 4 or 5 alternating petals,
4 or 5 stamens, and a 2-5-celled
ovary (see Fig. 125 no. 2).
The genus Linum is a large
one, containing numerous North
American, south European and
African species. While several
are in garden cultivation, the
only one of importance is the
common flax {L. vMtatisaimum).
This has been in cultivation
since the earliest times, and is
one of those plants that is not
now known to occur in the wild state. Besides the use of the fiber from
its stems in the manufacture of fine linen, the seeds, when soaked in
water, yield a mucilaginous substance possessing medicinal proi)erties,
and when pulverized an oil known as linseed oil is expressed from them,
the resulting oil-cakes being extensively used for fattening cattle.
Family Humiriaceae. Humiria Family. A group of South Amer-
ican trees comprised in 3 genera and about 20 species. Humiria bed-
samifera yields a reddish balsamic juice, which when dry is burned as
an incense. A medicinal ointment is also prepared from it. The struc-
ture of the flowers in this family is similar to that of the Linaceae, but
the fruit is a drupe instead of a capsule.
Pig. 135. Cross-sections of flowers; i, TropaeO'
lum pentaphyUum. a. Flax {^Linum usilattssimum);
3a and 3b. Redwood (Erythroxylon pulchrum) show-
ing two forms of stamens and pistils. All natural
sixe. Redrawn from Engler.
144
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
Family Erythroxylaceae. Redwood family. Contains two genera,
Erythroocyloji, with about 90 species, natives of South America and
Africa, and AneulophuSy with a single species, A. Africayiay a shrub of
Upper Guinea. The plants are all shrubs or trees with small flowers,
having 5 sepals and petals, and 10 stamens, the latter monadelphous,
as we noted those of the Leguminosae to be. The fruit is a drupe con-
taining a single seed. The bark, as the name indicates, contains a red-
dish coloring matter, from which a dye is prepared. The most inter-
esting of the Erythroxylons is undoubtedly E. Coca, which yields the
famous drug known as cocaine (Fig. 126 no. 3).
Family Zygophyllaceae. Caltrop or Bean-caper Family. Con-
tains about 20 genera and 150 species, of wide distribution in warm and
tropical regions. They are herbs, shrubs, or trees, with leaves mostly
opposite and more or less divided. The flowers are perfect, with the
parts chiefly in fives; ovary 4-12 celled, capsular or baccate in fruit.
Several low herbs with pinnate leaves
and yellow flowers, belonging to the re-
lated genera Tribidus and Kalhtroemia,
are common in the southwest, as is also
the interesting creosote bush {Govillea
Mexicana), So strong is the odor of the
resinous principle in this plant, that I
have known herbarium si)ecimen8 many
years old to cause a violent attack of hay-
fever in a person subject to that disease.
The shrub thrives in the desert region of
Arizona and New Mexico and Mexico, and
is very ornamental when in full bloom,
although valueless either as fuel or for
forage (see Fig. 126). The genus Guiacum
consists of trees noted for the remarkable
hardness of their wood, and for the resin
which they contain. G. officinale, which is highly ornamental in culti-
vation, with its blue flowers and pinnate leaves, yields the heavy wood
known as lignum-vitae. The leaves of G. sanctum are frequently used
in the West Indies as a substitute for soap.
The seeds of several Old World shrubs or herbs belonging to this
family, notably Zygophyllum Fabago, the bean caper, and Peganum Har-
mala, are used as vermifuges.
Family Cneoraceae. Cneorum Family. Contains the single genus
Cneorum, comprising about 12 species of maritime shrubs in the Medi-
terranean region and in the Canary Islands. They have yellow flowers
with 3-4 petals, 3-4 stamens, and a 3-4-lobed ovary. The fruit is pecu-
Fig. ia6. Creosote bush ( CovilUa
Afexicana); flowering branch, one-half
natural size. Original.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
145
liar, consisting of 3 or 4 carpels which are fleshy without and hard or
bony within. The plants have no economic and httle ornamental value.
Family Butaceae. Bue Family. Contains about 110 genera and
nearly 900 species, most abundant in Australia and South Africa. They
are trees or shrubs, rarely herbs, with strong-scented dotted herbage,
opposite or alternate usually comi)ound leaves, and usually cymose
4-parted flowers, the fruit a berry or a capsule. There are many ex-
ceptional characters, however, and the only reliable means of distin-
guishing the rueworts from allied families is by the glandular-dotted
foliage.
The type of the family, JSuto, the rue, is a genus of herbs or under-
shrubs, frequently cultivated for the i)owerful volatile oil which they
Fig. 127. The southern prickly-ash {Xanthoxylum Clava-Herculis)\ showing fruit one-half nat-
ural size. Original.
contain, and which is used medicinally as a stimulant. In the same
tribe is the highly ornamental herb Dictamnu8y known as "fire-plant,"
from the fact that the oil given off by the herbage is so volatile as •
actually to become inflammable in hot weather.
The tribe to which Boronia belongs contains about 20 genera, ex-
clusively Australian, many of them shrubs with prettj'^, heath-like flow-
ers. Another tribe contains the prickly ash {Xanthoocylum), of which
there are several species in the eastern United States (Fig. 127). The
146
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
berries are pungent and aromatic, and are sometimes chewed as a rem-
edy for toothache. The trees of the Brazilian genus Esenbeckia have
bark possessing bitter and tonic properties.
The orange and orange-like plants have frequently been classed as
a distinct family, but are now usually included in the Eutaceae. There
are numerous genera in this tribe, almost exclusively East Indian in
origin, but frequently cultivated. All are distinguished by the familiar
pulpy fruit. The orange, lemon, Ume and shaddock all belong to the
genus Citrus. Mention should be made of one other American ruta-
ceous tree, the hop trefoil {Ptelea), distinguished by its trifoliate leaves
and dry, winged fruit.
Family Simarubaceae. Ailanthus Family. Contains about 27
genera and 150 species, natives of tropical regions. They are trees or
shrubs with bitter bark, distinguished from the preceding family mainly
by the absence of dots on the foliage. The flowers are regular, either
perfect or dioecious, 3-5-parted, the petals
borne on a disk. The fruit is various.
Our only North American representa-
tives of this family are the ailanthus or "tree-
of-heaven," a well-known shade tree exten-
sively naturalized from Asia, and an indig-
enous species of Simaroitba^ on the Keys of
south Florida. Various South American
species of the genus yield valuable medi-
cines. Quassia is the product of several
trees belonging to this family, but is princi-
pally derived from Simarovba amara (Fig.
128, no. 1).
Family Burseraceae. Terebinth Fam-
ily. Contains 16 genera and about 300 species, natives exclusively of
tropical Asia, Africa and America. They are forest trees of high value
as resin and balsam bearing plants. Thus myrrh is the product of
CommipJiora Abyssinica, and bdellium is derived from C. Africana.
The resin known as olibanum, which is supi)osed to have been the
frankincense of the ancients, comes from the Arabian BosioelUa Carieri.
Various gums are yielded by Bursera, the only genus which penetrates
the Florida peninsula. The fruits of Canarium are edible. The Bur-
seraceae as a whole have no good characters distinguishing them from
the two preceding families, except that the husk of the fruit splits into
valve-like segments. A section of the flower of Boswellia Garteri, show-
ing structure, is seen in Fig. 128, no. 2.
Family Meliaceae. Melia Family. Contains about 40 genera and
200 species. They are trees or shrubs differing from most of the fam-
Fig. 128. Cross-section of flow-
ers, enlarged, i. Quassia {Sima-
rouba officinalis). 2. Boswellia Car-
ieri. 3. Mahogany {Szvieienia Ma-
hogoni). Redrawn from Bngler.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
147
ilies already discussed in having leaves without stipules.* The sepals
and petals are 4 or 5; the stamens, equal in number or more numerous,
are commonly united in a tube. The fruit is a berry, a drupe or a cap-
sule. Like the Simarubaceae, most of the trees of this family have
bark possessing bitter and tonic properties. The " pride-of-India " or
chinaberry tree {Melia Azede>*ach) is extensively cultivated in the South
as a shade tree, and has now become thoroughly naturalized; it has
enormous pinnate leaves and large panicles of pink flowers succeeded
Fig. 129. Byrsonima lucida, natural size. Original.
by small straw-colored berries. The tropical genera TVichilia and
Garapa yield useful oils. Swietenia Mahogoni is the source of mahog-
any (Fig. 128, no. 3).
Family Malpighiaceae. Malpighia Family. Contains about 50
genera and 600 species, natives mainly of tropical America. They are
trees or shrubs with opx)osite stipule-bearing leaves and regular flowers
borne on jointed pedicels. Calyx 5-parted; petals 5, usually long-
clawed; stamens 10, inserted with the petals on a disk; ovary 3-lobed,
* A stipule is the small leaf-like body borae at the base of an ordinary leaf.
148 FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
fleshy or capsular in fruit; the carpels often very curiously and promi-
nently winged. The fruit of Mcdpighia glabra is edible, being known
in the West Indies as the Barbadoes cherry. Other species of this
genus are cultivated for their peculiar flowers, as also species of Bants-
term and Hira^a. This family is represented in the United States by
five genera, one member of which is the undershrub Byrsonimia Itwida,
occurring in south Florida. It has racemes of rather pretty pink flow-
ers. B. spicata of the West Indies has edible acid berries and bark
used for medicinal purposes and for tanning.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
By Chables Louis Pollabd.
CHAPTER XXIL— Continued.
Family Trigoniaceae. Trigonia Family. A small group of South
American trees consisting of two genera, Trigonia^ with 26 species, and
Lightia, with two. The plants are most anomalous in structure, and
have given botanists much trouble to dispose of them properly in the
systematic sequence. The flowers are very irregular, one petal being
much larger than the remaining four, and placed uppermost, like the
banner petal in a papilionaceous flower. One of the petals is spurred
somewhat like a violet; the stamens are united in two series.
Family Vochisiaceae. Vochy Family. Contains 7 genera and
about 130 si)ecies, exclusively South American. They are trees or
shrubs with opi)osite leaves and very showy yellow, white, pink or pur-
ple flowers in large terminal racemes or panicles. The flowers are
irregular, having 4 to 5 sepals, an equal number of petals, and few sta-
mens, sometimes reduced to one; the ovary is 3-celled, becoming a
winged fruit or capsule. Vochisia and Qiwlea are often cultivated for
their beautiful flowers, and the trees frequently yield valuable timber,
the well-known copaiy^ wood of Guiana being the product of Vochisia
Ouianensis. A yellow dye is also obtained from certain sx)ecies of
Qiwlea. The popular name which I have adopted for the family is de-
rived from the native name of some of the trees in Guiana.
Family Tremandraceae. Tremandra Family. Two genera, TVe-
mandra and Platythecay the former with two species, the latter with
one, all confined to West Australia. They are heath-like shrubs with
red, blue or white slender-pedicelled flowers; the latter are regular,
with 4>5 sepals, 4>5 petals, 8-10 stamens, and a 2-celled ovary.
Family Polygalaceae. Milkwort Family. These plants are herbs,
rarely shrubs or small trees, comprised in about 10 genera and 750
species, widely distributed in both temperate and tropical regions.
PolygaJa is the most important genus, consisting of over 250 species, a
fifth of which are found in the United States. The plants are of inter-
est to the botanist on account of the somewhat singular structure of
150
FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
their flowers; there are 5 sepals, the two lateral ones much larger than
the others, often brightly colored, and known as wings; the petals are
3 or 5, somewhat united at their bases, the lowermost one often crested;
stamens 8, monadelphous or diadelphous (united in one or two sets);
ovary 2-celled, capsular in fruit, the seeds with a wart or protuberance
called a caruncle. The flowers vary greatly in color and in the mode
of arrangement, being white, yellow or purple, borne in close heads, in
spikes, racemes or cymes, the latter a spreading, flat-topped form of
inflorescence.
In the northern States the milkworts are mostly small, inconspic-
uous plants, an exception being noted, however, in the case of the beau-
tiful little fringed polygala (P. paucifolia), often
known as flowering wintergreen. This has leaves
like the true wintet-green, with rose-purple, beau-
tifully fringed flowers. It also produces subter-
ranean flowers without petals, and these yield
most of the fruits. In the South, particularly
throughout the pine barrens, the milkworts are
among the most conspicuous of the flowering
plants, large masses of various species being con-
stantly met with. Among the more handsome
forms should be noted the various yellow flowered
species (P. cymoaa^ P. ramoaa^ and P. lidea\ and
the large purple flowered P. grandiflora (see Fig.
130).
Family Dichapetalaceae. Dichapetalum Fam-
ily. Consists of 3 genera and about 80 species,
widely distributed in the tropics, and particularly
abundant in Africa and Madagascar. They are
trees or shrubs with small flowers, similar in gen-
eral structure to those of the following family.
Family Euphorbiaceae. Spurge Family. Contains about 210 gen-
era and 4000 species, of wide distribution. They are herbs, shrubs or
trees; with monoecious or dioecious flowers, and an acid, often milky,
and frequently i)oisonous juice. The flowers are usually without pet-
als, and sometimes, as in Euphorbia, without a calyx, the latter being
replaced by an involucre or whorl of leaves resembling a calyx. The
stamens vary greatly among the diflEerent genera; the ovary is usually
3-celled, with 3 styles, and the fruit a 3-lobed capsule; the latter gen-
erally serves as an easy means of identifying any member of the family.
The Euphorbiaceae are of interest in many ways; and following
the practice previously adopted in these pages, we shall discuss the
imi)ortant genera in the order of their tribal relationship.
Fig. 130. I*arge-flowered
milkwort {Polygala grandi-
flora ), one-half natural size.
Original.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 161
Phyllanthus (leaf flower) is a large tropical genus, named from the
circumstance that the flowers in some of its species are borne on leaf-
like, flattened branches called phyUocladia. Though the genus con-
tains over 400 species, none are of any economic importance. Many
are weeds of waste places in the tropics.
The genus Groton is represented in our country by numerous rank
weeds in the South and West, often called goatweeds. The herbage in
most of the species is covered with stellate hairs, giving the plants a
silvery or even woolly appearance. The so-callod crotons of cultiva-
tion belong tn an entirely diflferent genus {Godiaeum). The most im-
portant member of the genus is G. THglium, native of the East Indian
archipelago, the seeds of which yield croton oil, a i)owerful imrgative.
Many species x>ossess tonic and aromatic properties, like the West In-
dian (7. Eluteria, from which cascarilla bark is obtained. G. bacciferum
and G. Draco yield a resin used in varnish-making.
The tribe Acalypheae includes a number of genera, Acalypha^ the
type, containing the now familiar " chenille plant " of cultivation, with
long drooping crimson spikes of staminate flowers. The stringwood of
the island of St. Helena, now known to be quite extinct, was A. rubra.
Mallotus PhilippinensiSf a tree of the Polynesian and Philippine regions,
bears capsules covered with a red x>owder, from which is obtained a
brilliant orange dye well known in India by the name KamaJu. The
genus Tragia, with several American sx)ecies, has stinging hairs like
those of nettles, which the plants strongly resemble. The castor oil
bean {Bicinus communis) is too familiar an object in cultivation to re-
quire description. Its highly ornamental seeds are susceptible of a
fine polish.
In the tribe Jatropheae we have the genus Jatropha, several spe-
cies of which yield medicinal oils, also AUwites Moluccana, the candle-
berry tree of the South Pacific islands. The seeds of this tree bum
with great freedom on account of their large percentage of oil. They
are also used as an article of food.
To the native in South America, manioc or cassava is as important
as wheat to the northerner, as it forms his staple diet. Various spe-
cies of Manihot yield cassava, which is obtained by grinding or x>ound-
ing the root after the i)oisonous juice which it contains has been ex-
pelled by pressure.
The tribe Hippomaneae contains the West Indian manchineel
(Hippomarht MancineUa) one of the most poisonous trees of the family;
also the sandbox tree (Hura crepitans), the explosive property of whose
fruits has been so often described.
Finally, there is the genus Euphorbia, the type of the family, em-
bracing about 600 species, distributed in all parts of the world. They
152
FAMILIES OF FLOWEMNG PLANTS
are herbs or shrabs, in some regions leafless and fleshy, like cacti,
which they replace in the deserts of the Old World. Our species are
mostly herbs of weedy aspect They frequently have the upi)er leaves
and bracts brilliantly colored, as in the familiar x>oinsettia, which is a
Euphorbia. E. marginata, represented in Fig. 131, belongs to this
class.
Pig. 131. The white-margined spurge {Euphorbia marginata). Original.
The milky juice which is found in members of this genus possesses
important medicinal properties. It is also very poisonous when taken
internally, though the i)oisonous principle may be dissipated by the
action of heat. A fair article of caoutchouc is made from the juice of
an East Indian species.
Family Callitrichaceae. Water Starwort Family. These are
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
153
small aquatic or sometimes terrestrial herbs, comprised in the single
genus GaUitriche, which contains about 20 widely distributed species.
They have slender stems, opposite leaves, and minute perfect or monoe-
cious axillary flowers, destitute of calyx and corolla; stamen one, ovary
4-celled, becoming a capsular fruit which splits into 4 little one-seeded
carpels. The plants are inconspicuous, and without special interest
Fig. 13a. Kllcgheny hioMntain spurge {J\ichysandra procumbens). Original.
CHAPTEB XXTTT.
Order Sapindales.
This order is essentially similar to the Geraniales, although there
are important differences in the structure of the seed. The families
comprised in it must therefore be learned by experience. There are
20 of these, the most important being the Anacardiaceae, Aquifoliaceae,
Celastraceae, Aceraceae, Hippocastanaceae, and Sapindaceae.
154
FAMILIES OF FLOWEMNG PLANTS
Family Buxaceae. Box Family. This was formerly united with
the Spurge Family above described, from which it may be distinguished
by the absence of milky juice. There are 6 genera and 30 species; the
familiar evergreen known as box is Buxm sempervirens^ a member of
the typical genus. In the Allegheny mountains grows a curious herb,
the Allegheny mountain spurge (see Fig. 132), which also belongs to
the family; the spikes of staminate flowers are quite fragrant. The
only other known species of Pachysandra is Japanese, the genus thus
affording another instance of that curious analogy between the Japan-
ese and the eastern North American flora.
Family Empetraceae. Crowberry Fam-
ily. These are low, evergreen shrubs of
heath-like aspect, with small axillary or clus-
tered dioecious flowers succeeded by berry-
like drupes. Sepals 3, petals 2 or 3 or want-
ing; stamens usually 3. There are only
three genera, JEhnpetrum, Gorema and Corrig-
iola. High up in the arctic regions, extend-
ing southward to our northern border, grows
the crowberry (see Fig. 133), covering dense
patches of ground, its black berries affording
an abundance of food for the Arctic birds.
Another species is found in Antarctic South
America. Scarcely less remarkable is the
distribution of Gorema, one species of which
{G, Gonradii) occurs in a few isolated stations
from Newfoundland to New Jersey, the other
in southwestern Europe. The third member
of this family, Gorrigiolay is a monotypic
genus of Florida.
Family Coriariaceae. Coriaria Family. Consists of the single
genus Goriaria, with 8 species, natives principally of the Old World,
although one species occurs in Peru. They are shrubs with ribbed
leaves and clusters of flowers having the parts in fives. The fruit con-
sists of 5 one-seeded carpels, surrounded by the persistent fleshy petals.
The fruit of the common Eurox>ean species (G. myrtifolia) is x>oisonous,
but some of the Oriental forms have edible fruits, though the seeds are
usually poisonous.
Family limnanthaceae. False Mermaid Family. These are deli-
cate annual herbs of two genera. One, LimnantheSy is confined to the
Pacific States, and contains about 6 species; the other, Floerkea, is a
marsh plant rather widely distributed through the United States. The
family is distinguished by the alternate, pinnately divided leaves, and
Fig- 133* The crowberry {Em-
peirum nigrum). Original.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEMNG PLANTS
155
by the perfect flowers, which bear glands alternating with the i)etals;
stamens twice as many as the petals; fruit capsular, the carpels nearly
distinct The delicate flowers of Limnanthes Douglam are sometimes
seen in cultivation, but the family is of slight imx>ortance.
Family Anacardiaceaa Cashew Family. The trees and shrubs
comprising this family may nearly always be recognized by the milky,
often caustic juice, inconspicuous flowers, and ovary containing a single
ovule; the leaves, moreover, are without glands or dots. There are
Fig. 134. The poiaon sumach {Rhus Vemix). After Britton & Brown, IlL Fl. Northeast. U. S.
about 50 genera and 400 species, most abundant in tropical regions. In
our own area the family is represented by the sumiachs {Bhiis)^ some
species of which are quite harmless and extremely ornamental, while
others are highly poisonous* The poison oak {K Vemix) or swamp
sumach is the most virulent of these, while the common poison ivy {R.
radicans) is dangerous to many people. The researches of specialists
during the last few years have shown that the i)oisonous principle re-
sides in a volatile oil which occurs in all parts of the plant; also that
the best remedy is a solution of acetate of lead.
In the tropics there are a number of important economic trees be-
longing to this family. The fruits of Anacardium occidentalcy known as
cashew nuts, are edible after the acridity has been removed by roast-
156
FAMTLIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
Fig. 135- The poiaoii ivy {Rhus radicans). After Britton & Brown, 111. Fl. Northeast. U. S.
ing. Pistache nuts are the product of a species of Pistdcia, native of
western Asia. The mango, that most delicious of tropical fruits, is
yielded by Mangifera Indicay a handsome tree with deep green foliage.
The odor of turpentine so noticeable in the outer skin of the mango is
significant of a prox>erty common to nearly all Anacardiaceous trees,
and a great variety of varnishes, resins and the like are obtained from
them.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
By Charles Louib Pollabd.
CHAPTEE XXUl— Continued.
Family Cyrillaoeae. Cyrilla Family. This consists of two small
trees, CUftonia and Cyrilla^ both natives of the southern United States,
and a genns of tropical American shrubs, Costaea^ with 3 species. The
two first-named genera are probably both monotypic, although a second
species of Cyrilla has been described. They are both highly ornamen-
tal, having long racemes of white, holly-like flowers. The family is
indeed very closely related to the Holly Family, but differs in the
fruit, which is sometimes winged.
Family Pentaphylacaceae. Pentaphylax Family. Contains the
single genus Pentaphylax^ with one species, an East Asiatic tree.
Family Corynocarpaceae. Corynocarpus Family. Also mono-
typic, containing the New Zealand Corynocarpus laevigatus. The lat-
ter is a very handsome tree with deep green foliage and small white
flowers in terminal clusters. The tree is said to be valued for its fruit,
which resembles a plum in appearance and laste. The seeds are poi-
sonous when raw, but after cooking, an edible farinaceous substance is
extracted from them.
Family Aquifoliaceae. Holly Family. Contains five genera and
about 175 species, natives of both temperate and tropical regions. Ilex
is the only important and by far the largest genus, containing over 160
species. This family is characterized by the usually dioecious flowers,
which are regular in structure, having a 3-6-parted calyx, and corolla
of 4-6, sometimes united petals (see Fig. 136). On the latter account
the family has oftefi been placed over among the gamopetalous plants,
or those having the corolla in a single piece; but the joining is not very
complete, appearing more like simple cohesion. The fruit is a small
berry-like drux)e, red, blue, or black in color, and familiar to us as the
"hoUy berry " of Christmas-tide-
The English or European holly {Hex Aquifolium) has more glossy
deeper green foliage than our American holly (/. cpaca\ and hence is
imported to a considerable extent for decorative purposes. There are
158 FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
about a dozen other species of Ilex in the United States, some with
deciduous and some with evergreen leaves, but none of them are very
ornamental except possibly when loaded with ripe fruit. The leaves of
the " yaupon " in the Southern States (/. Casdne) have been used for
tea; but it is from the leaves of /. Pardguayensis, a South American
species, that a beverage of really fine quality is obtained. It is known
as mate or Paraguay tea, and is as important in the commerce of the
country as ordinary tea is in China, the annual consumption reaching
8,000,000 pounds. The beverage is very stimulating, and when taken
in excess is almost an intoxicant. The leaves of several other South
American species are used for the same purpose.
Family Celastraceae. StaflE-tree Family. Consists of about 40
genera and 350 species, of wide distribution, though chiefly in warm
regions. They are trees or shrubs, frequently climbing, with simple
leaves and small regular perfect flowers,
with a conspicuous disk in the center, on
which are situated the stamens and x>et-
als, which are both 4 or 5 in number,
alternate with each other. The ovary is
3-5-celled, becoming in fruit either a cap-
sule or a somewhat fleshy pod having
much the appearance of a berry, the
seeds with an appendage known as an
fi\ liSM^ ^^ T)ina is often brilliantly colored,
\v L ^^''jf whence the name of " burning bush," ap-
. plied to our American sx>ecies of Euony-
Pig. 136. The two uppermost draw mi«, oue of which is showu in Fig. 137.
;rnhX'."i^i:rrefttrd"c.t«Te':j Theclimbmg false bittersweet ((MM«n«
IVimmeria; lower right hand, flower of SCandcns) is a famihaX objCCt iu the fall,
PHytocrene. Redrawn from Engler. ^jj^ j^^ ^^^^j^^ ^^y^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^
arilled seeds. In Fig. 136 is seen a section through the fruit of Wim-
meria, a tropical shrub belonging to this family.
The Celastraceae i)ossess no very important economic feature. The
Arabian Gatha edidis furnishes from its dried leaves a beverage known
as kat-tea or cafta, the flavor of which is pleasing. The Arabs also
believe that a twig of the bush worn in the bosom prevents the person
from danger of infection. The herbage of Euonymus is i)oisonous.
Family Hippocrateaceae. Hlppocratea Family. Contains lERppo^
cratea, with about 60 species, and SaJacia, with about 70. Both are
tropical shrubs or trees, distinguished from the preceding family by
having flowers with 3 monadelphous stamens and 5 petals. The fruit
is sometimes edible. Hippoci^atea ovaixi, a climbing shrub, is the sole
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
159
representative of the family in the United States, occurring in the Ever-
glades of Florida.
Family Stackhousiaceae. Stackhousia Falhiily. Consists of a sin-
gle genus, with about 20 sx)ecies, all herbs, natives of Australia and
New Zealand. They have flowers with unequal stamens, and with the
petals slightly united into a tube, but possess no features of especial
interest
Family Staphyleaceae. Bladdemut Family. Trees and shrubs,
comprised in 5 genera and about 25 species, widely distributed. They
have the leaves pinnate or in threes, with regular x>erfect flowers in
axillary or terminal clusters, the parts in fives. The interesting struc-
tural character is found in the fruit, which is an inflated capsule in
Staphylea, the bladdemut, a rather
ornamental shrub, having creamy
flowers and curious bladdery pods
(see Fig. 138).
Family Icacinaceae. Icaco Fam-
ily. Contains about 40 genera and
nearly 100 sx)ecies, tropical trees or
shrubs. They are close in structure
to the Aquifoliaceae, but are often
remarkable for the woolly flowers,
one of which, of the genus Phytocrene,
is shown in Fig. 136. The South
American ViUaresia Congonha, be-
longing to this family, yields a tea
similar to the true mat^ described
above.
Family Aceraceae. Maple Fam-
ily. Consists of Acer, the maples,
with about 100 species, and Dipter-
onia, a monotypic genus of Asia,
which differs in having the fruits
winged on the whole circumference.
The maples are a most interest-
ing group of trees, and the different
species have a very marked individuality. They are grouped accord-
ing to the flowers, which may be in dense axillary clusters, like those
of the red, or soft, and silver maples, which open before the leaves; in
lateral flat-topped clusters or corymbs, often drooping, like those of the
sugar maple, which open with the leaves; or they may be in long spikes
or racemes opening after the leaves, as in the striped maple (see Fig.
139). The petals are 5 in number, or wanting in some species; the sta-
Fig. 137. The American spindlc-biuih {Ew
onymus Americanus). Original.
160
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
mens are 4-12; and the 2-lobed ovary becomes in fruit a familiar "key"
or samara, differing greatly in shape. Maple wood is hard, of variable
density and color; it is ordinarily susceptible of a fine polish, and plays
an important part in cabinet making.
Family Hipi)ocastanaceae. Horse-chestnut Family. Contains two
genera, j^sculus, with about 15 species, and BiUia, with 2, the latter
Mexican. They are trees or shrubs with palmately divided leaves and
perfect, irregular flowers borne in large pyramidal panicles. The calyx
is bell-shaped; petals 4 or 5, long-clawed; stamens 5-8; ovary 3-celled,
becoming a leathery capsule containing 1-3 large shining seeds.
The common horse-chestnut {^. Hippocastanum) of our streets and
parks is a native of Asia, but
has escaped from cultivation
in many places in the East.
The western buckeye {^.
glabra) is well shown in the
accompanying photograph
(Fig. 140.) There are sev-
eral other ornamental native
species, some with red and
some with yellow flowers.
Family Sapindaceae.
Soapberry Family. Con-
tains about 120 genera and
over 1000 species, of wide
distribution in tropical and
semitropical regions. They
are trees or shrubs with
The bladder-nut {Staphylea trifolid) show- mOStly pinnate Or palmate
ing flowering branch and detached fruit. Original. leaves, and regular or irreg-
ular, perfect or sometimes dioecious flowers. Calyx 4-5 lobed or di-
vided; petals 3-5, borne on a fleshy disk, as are the 5-10 stamens; fruit
a berry or a capsule, the latter sometimes bladdery-inflated, as in the
balloon vine {Cardiospermum) of our gardens.
Sapindica is a genus of about 10 species, one or two of which are
found within our borders. They are called soapberries, from the fact
that the outer covering of the fruit contains a saponaceous principle
used extensively in the tropics in place of ordinary soap. The hard
round seeds of some species are used for making necklaces and rosa-
ries. Seiy'ania and PaulUnia are two very large genera of climbing
shrubs, common in tropical regions. The seeds of P. sorbilisj the gua-
rana, are made into compressed cakes from which a cooling beverage is
prepared, and form an extensive article of trade in Brazil. Litchi nuts,
THE PLANT WORLD
Fig. 140. Buclieyc {.-l^scu/us g/adra). After photograph by Carl Krebs.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
161
which are sold among the Chinese in our large cities, are the product
of Litchi Ghinensia. Blighia sapida, a West African tree, also furnishes
edible fruit.
Family Sabiaceae. Sabia Family. Four genera and about 65
sx)ecies, tropical trees and shrubs of no special interest.
Family Melianthaceae. Melianthus Family. Two genera and
about 15 si>ecies, also tropical.
Family Balsaminaceae. Balsam Family. Contains the genus /m-
patiens, with about 220 species, mostly natives of the Old World, and
Hydrocero, with one, the latter a native
of India. The balsams or jewel-weeds,
as we call them, are succulent herbs,
with alternate single leaves and showy,
very irregular flowers. Sepals 3, the
two lateral ones small and green, the
other large and sac-shaped, spurred,
and colored like the corolla; petals 5,
3 of them cleft; stamens 5; fruit in Im-
patiens a capsule, in Hydrocera a berry.
We have two jewel-weeds, the pale
and the spotted (see Fig. 141). The
flowers are dainty little things, quite in
keeping with the cool, shaded swamps
or brooksides where the plants usually
abound. Other species are cultivated
in our gardens.
Family Bhamnaceae. Buckthorn
Family. Contains about 45 genera and
575 species, widely distributed in tem-
. J X • 1 • mu ^«- '39- The striped maple [Acer
perate and tropical regions. 1 hey are /hmnsyivanicum). After Britton & BTX)wn.
shrubs or small trees, sometimes thorny, i"- ^i- Northea»t. u. s.
with small, clustered, regular flowers. Calyx 4-5-toothed; petals 4-5,
inserted on the throat of the calyx, or sometimes wanting; stamens 4-5;
ovary 2-5-celled, becoming in fruit a small druj)e or a capsule.
Bkamnus, the buckthorn, occurs in both Europe and America, and
several species may be classed as ornamental trees, the dark green foli-
age being usually very handsome. The fruits of B. catJiarticus were
formerly in some demand as a purgatfve; various pigments are derived
from the fruits of this and other species. On the Pacific coast one of
the conspicuous shrubs is the California lilac (Geanothua thyraijlorus),
which has bluish flowers somewhat resembling those of the lilac.
There are over 30 other sx>ecies of this genus through California and
Mexico. One of the few eastern species, C. Americanus, is known as
162
FATVnr.TEH OF FLOWERmO PLANTS
Fig. 141. The pale touch-me-not [/mpaiiens aurea). After Britton & Brown, III. PI. Northeast. U. S.
New Jersey tea, from the fact that the leaves were used as tea by the
troops during the Bevolntion. .
The fruits of various species of Zizyphus are largely eaten in the
Orient, particularly those of the jujube (Z.lJujvba).
Some of the woody climbers belonging to this family are resx>on-
sible in the tropics for the impenetrable jungle of vegetable ropes or
lianas which must be cut apart before a path can be made. In the
West Indies and on the Florida Keys, Gouania Domingensis is an
example. The photograph (Fig. 142) shows the clusters of small flow-
ers and the tendrils by which the plant climbs. Throughout our South-
em States the supplejack {Berchemia volvbiUs) is conspicuous in swamps,
its slender rope-like stems possessing a wonderful degree of tenacity.
THE PLANT WORLD
Fig. 142. Braiich of chew stick {Gouam'a Domtngenst5\ showing
flower-spikes and tendrils. After photograph by G. N. Collins.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
By Chables Louis Pollabd.
CHAPTER XXIII.—G(mtinued.
Characterization of the order Bhamnales was accidentally omitted
from the last installment of the
Supplement. It consists only
of the two families Bhamna-
ceae and Vitaceae — the buck-
thorns and the grai)es. Both
are distinguished from the
preceding group of families
(comprising the order Sapin-
dales) by having the stamens
opposite instead of alternate
with the j)etals.
Family Vitaceae. Grape
Family. Consists of 10 gen-
era and about 450 species, of
wide distribution. Though
not very large, contaroing only
about 40 sx>ecies, the genus
Vitis is the most important
from an economic standx>oint.
The common grape of Europe
{Vitis vinifera)y is among the
most ancient of cultivated
fruits. Vineyards are fre-
quently mentioned in the Bi-
ble, and the references date
back even to the flood: "Noah 0^8^°^!-
began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard." Tet it is a
remarkable fact that although southern Europe is the headquarters for
cultivation of the vine, there is no single indigenous species on the
Fig. 143. The wine grape of Burope ( yitis vini/era).
166
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
Continent.
V. vini/era is native of the eastern and southern shores of
the Caspian and the Black seas,
and a number of species occur
throughout India, China and Ja-
pan. In North America the spe-
cies belong to distinct groups.
The fox-grapes are characterized
by dense clusters of fruit having a
soft pulp and a strong, musky fla-
vor. F. Labrusca, an example of
this class, is our commonest north-
eastern species. In cultivation it
gives rise to those excellent vari-
eties of hardy grai)es known as the
Concord, Isabella and Catawba.
The muscadine, or bullace grapes,
constitute another tyi)e, repre-
sented in the Southern States by
V. rotundifolia; this has nearly
Pig. 144. Fruiting branch of Sloanea quadri-
va/tns, a tree of the Elaeocarpus Family. Original.
orbicular leaves, without lobes
and the berries are solitary or
few. The famous "scupper-
nong " of the South is derived
from this species; its fruit,
with a plum-like pulp, is ex-
celled by no other grape un-
less it be by the Tokay of Cal-
ifornia.
Grape cultivation in Eu-
roi)e is almost entirely for the
production of wine, the annual
consumption of which, partic-
ularly in the Old World,
reaches enormous proportions.
In western Asia Minor grapes
are grown largely for drying,
in which condition they are
familiarly known as raisins.
Cooking currants, so-called,
are not true currants, but
small seedless raisins of a
more acid variety.
The Vitaceae, which were
formerly called Ampelidaceae,
Fig. 145. One of the jute plants {Corchorus olito-
tonus) showing leaves, flower and fruit. Original.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEMNG PLANTS
167
may be distinguished very easily.
They are climbing or erect shrubs
with alternate leaves and watery
juice. The small greenish flowers
are either perfect or dioecious, and
are borne in variously shaped
clusters. The petals are 4-5, and
fall soon after the flower expands.
When tendrils are present they
are borne apparently opposite the
upi)er leaves, the inflorescence
being opposite the lower leaves as
shown in Fig. 143. These ten-
drils, however, are technically re-
garded as abortive shoots.
The Virginia creei)er (Par-
thenocisms qidnquefolia) is another Fig. 146. Grewia orientaiis showing flowering
member of the fainily, as also the ^"^<^^ *"<* enlarged flower. orfginaL
Japanese ivy (P. tricuspidata).
The very large genus Oissus
is widely represented in trop-
ical Asia.
CHAPTER XXIV.
Ot'der McUvalea.
This very distinct order
contains eight families, the
most important being the
Malvaceae or Mallow Family
and the Tiliaceae or Linden
Family. Like the preceding
order they are distinguished
mainly by floral characters.
The sepals are called by
botanists valvate, which
means that in the bud before
unfolding their edges just
meet without overlapping, in
which case they would have
been imbricated. The valvate
sepals may be easily observed
in the flower of any common
Fig. 147. h'lower of Hibiscus scMt'zopgtaius showing the n^a^^rkxsr Tli 1 K
monadelphous stemens. Drawn from a photograph by Mr. "laUOW. XUe OVUle-Deanng
G. N. Collins. walls withiu the ovary are
168
FAMILIES OF FLOWEKING PLANTS
also united in the center throughout the order.
Family Elaeocarpaceae. Elaeocarpus Family. Contains 7 genera
and about 120 species, which formerly constituted one or more sections
of the Linden Family (Tiliaceae), from which they may be jiistinguished
by the fringed or laciniate petals. The plants are shrubs or trees,
native of the tropics of both hemispheres. Elaeocarpus, named for the
resemblance which its fruit bears to an olive, contains about 60 species,
some of which are valuable timber trees. The pulp of the fruit is edible,
and the seeds are polished and sold as ornaments. Sloanea, another
large genus, has hard capsular fruits, splitting into four or five valves;
a fruiting branch of S, quadrivalvia is shown in Fig. 144 The wood of
S. Jammcensia is known as ironwood, or breakaxe.
Fig. 148. Flower and fruit of the cotton plant {Gossypium herbaceum). After Dodge. Report No
9, U. S. Dcp't of Agric.
Family Chlaenaceae. Thickleaf family. Trees or shrubs com-
prised in 7 genera and about 20 si)ecies, of somewhat peculiar interest
from the fact that the whole family is confined to the island of Mada-
gascar. They are trees or shrubs, with leathery, spirally arranged
leaves, and flowers produced from a sort of cup or involucre.
Family Gonystylaceae. Gonystylus family. Consists of the sin-
gle genus Gonystylus, with 7 species of Asiatic trees.
Family Tiliaceae. Linden Family. Contains about 35 genera and
250 species, of wide distribution in warm or tropical regions, compara-
tively few in the temperate zones. They are chiefly trees or shrubs,
having simple, usually alternate leaves, and clustered flowers. The
calyx has 5 sepals; the petals are of the same number, or sometimes
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
169
fewer, rarely entirely absent; stamens numerous, united in several sets;
ovary 2-10-celled, becoming a berry a drupe or a capsule in fruit. The
Linden family is represented in our region almost exclusively by the
linden proper (2\7ta), of which there are several species in America and
Europe. The tree may always be recognized, when in bloom, by the
fragrant clusters of white flowers, the peduncles of which are jxartly
coherent with, in fact seeming to spring from, a broad membranous
bract. At other seasons the broad, cordate leaves are characteristic.
Pig. 149. Flowers, section of fruit, column of stamens, and seeds of the swamp rose mallow
{Hibiscus moscheuios). After Dodge, Report No. 9, U. S. Dep't of Agric.
Lindens or basswoods are not only useful as shade trees, but they yield
wood of fine quality, and the flowers provide a favorite food for bees.
The inner bark is tough and fibrous, and in Eussia forms an extensive
article of commerce under the name of Bussia matting, being used for
tying, packing, etc. But it is the genus Corchorus that is of the most
value in this respect, for several species of the latter yield jute, one of
the most valuable of our fibers. One of the jute plants, an East Indian
species (0. olitorins) is shown in Fig. 145. All the members of this
genus are herbs. Grewia and Ti*iumfetta are other types of the Linden
170
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
family, consisting of tropical trees, most of which yield useful fiber and
good timber (see Fig. 146).
^^8- 150. Baobab tree {Adansonia digitata), the upper comer showing a branch bearing flowers
and fruit. Redrawn from Bngler.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEKING PLANTS
171
Family Malvaceae. Mallow Family. Contains about 40 genera
and 800 species, of wide distribution in both tropical and temperate
regions. The mallows are herbs or shrubs, rarely trees, with mostly
palmately-veined leaves and large flowers. The calyx, of 5 sei)als, is
often surrounded by leafy bracts at the base. The petals are 5; sta-
mens numerous and always characteristic of the family on account of
their union by the filaments into a single bolumn closely surrounding
the pistil, when they are said to be monadelphous; this column is
well shown in the flower represented by Fig. 147. The ovary
Fig. 151. Flowers and fruit of the chocolate tree ( Theobroma Cacao). Redrawn from Engler.
is several-celled, and the fruit is usually 'a capsule of several car-
pels. The mallow family as a whole possesses mucilaginous juice,
and also yields fibers of more or less value. Cotton is the product
of various species of Oossypiam. It consists of the tuft of fine
hairsattached to the seed, and known technically as the coma.
One or two species of wild cotton are found in the extreme
southern part of our country, but the commercial product is de-
rived from species of exotic origin (see Fig. 148). One of the largest-
genera is Hibiscus^ which furnishes us with such ornamental plants as
the garden hibiscus, and the shrubby althea, which must not be con-
founded with the true Althea, one species of which {A. ojfficinalis) fur-
nishes the marsh-mallow of commerce. H. cannahinus affords a jute-
172 FAMILIES OF FLOWEIUNG PLANTS
like fiber sometimes called bastard hemp. In the marshes along the
Atlantic coast of the United States grows the beautiful rose mallow
{H. moscJveiUos), very completely illustrated in Fig. 149. The nearly
related genus AbehnoschiM contains plants with aromatic properties,
some of which are used in the manufacture of i>erfume. A, eaculentus
is the okra, one of the leading vegetables in the South, where it is
extensively used both as a table vegetable and as the basis for soups.
In our western States, particularly on the Pacific coast, there are
numerous wild mallows belonging to the genera Sphaeralcea and McU-
vastrum. McUvaviscuSy Pavonia and AhvutiUm yield handsome green-
house plants. Mcdvay with several species, is found as a weed in many
parts of the world.
Family Bombacaceae. Silk-cotton Family. Contains 20 genera
and about 100 species, widely distributed in the tropics of both hemis-
pheres. Tney are trees of characteristic api>earance, usually with pal-
mately lobed or compound leaves, large solitary flowers, and cax)6ules
containing numerous seeds invested with a copious supply of down.
The baobab of Africa {Adaiisonia digitata) which has been frequently
described, is a member of this family. The accompanying figure (150)
gives a good idea of the habit of the tree, with its enormous trunk, and
also of the foliage, flowers and fruit. Ceiba is the common silk-cotton
tree of the West Indies. The family may be distinguished from the
Malvaceae by the fact that the stamens are in five or more sets.
Family Sterculiaceae. Sterculia Family. Contsins about 40 gen-
era and 500 species, mainly South African and Australian. They are
trees, shrubs or herbs, closely related to the preceding families, from
which they differ in having the anthers of the stamens 2-celled. The
seven tribes exhibit remarkable diversity in structure, so that it is not
possible to give a more complete account of family Characters. One of
the most important economic genera is Theobrovna (see Eig. 151).
Chocolate in all its forms is the product of the ripe seeds of T. CacaOy
which are first fermented and then dried. The tree is successfully cul-
tivated in many parts of South America. A valuable tonic is furnished
by the juice of the cola nut (Cola acuminata), which, although a native
of Africa, has been extensively introduced into South America. Others
of the Sterculiaceae are in ornamental cultivation.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
By Charles Louis Pollard.
CHAPTER XXV.
Order Parietales.
The name of this order is taken from a Greek word meaning ivalJ,
on account of the fact that the ovule-bearing surfaces (placentae) are
attached to the walls of the ovary instead of forming a separate column.
This condition may be plainly
seen by sectioning the capsule
of a violet or pansy. The
ovary in this group is com-
X>ound, and the stamens almost
always numerous. It contains
thirty-one families, many of
them small and not well
known; the most important
ones are the Theaceae, Hyper-
icaceae, Guttiferae, Cistaceae,
Violaceae, Dipterocarpace^e,
Passifloraceae, Carieaceae and
Begoniaceae.
Family Dilleniaceae. Dil-
lenia Family. A group con-
taining about 30 genera and
260 species, consisting of trees
or shrubs widely distributed
in Australia, Indis, and some
parts of South America. They
may be distinguished by the
five persistent sepals, borne in two rows, the five deciduous i>etals, and
the numerous stamens, frequently bent over to one side. The fi-uit
consists of several carpels, and is sometimes edible. Some of the trees
Fig. X52. Flowering: shoot of DilUnia Indica, greatly
reduced. Redrawn from Eugler.
174
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
produce valuable timber, and many of them, as Dillenia speciosa, have
handsome flowers, rendering them desirable for greenhouse cultivation
(see Fig. 152).
Family Eucryphiaceae. Eucryphia Family. Consists of a single
genus, Eivcryphiay which presents rather anomalous characters, and has
been placed by some authors in the Hose Family, and by others with
the St. Johnsworts. There are four species, two in Chile and two in
southern Australia and Tasmania; and
oddly enough, one species in each of
these pairs has pinnate leaves, the other
simple entire leaves. All are trees or
^AiP ^"^'^ tall shrubs, having showy solitary flow-
Fig. 153. Flower of Ouraua speciab- ers with four or five sepals, four or five
iirs and fruit of o. eUgans. Redrawn i-^ig ^u^j innumerable stameus; the
from Kngler. '^ ', '
ovary is 5-12-celled, becoming in fruit a
woody capsule containing winged seeds. One of the Tasmanian spe-
cies, E. BiUardieri, is a most beautiful forest tree, attaining lofty pro-
^ portions, and at certain seasons is covered with large white flowers.
Family Ochnaceae. Ochna Family. Includes 17 genera and over
) 200 species, trees or shrubs of exclusively tropical distribution. Their
bark contains a yellow coloring
matter, and is also very astrin- .*"^.*^^, m^ ^
gent, in consequence of which
several si)ecies furnish tonics.
The flowers are generally large
and conspicuous, having the
parts in fives, and the stamens
often turned to one side; the
carpels of the ovary are situated
upon an enlarged base or recep-
tacle^ which becomes fleshy in
fruit, like that of the strawberry.
The largest genus is Ouratea,
chiefly of West Indian distribu-
tion, some species of which are
used as greenhouse plants (see
Fig 153).
Family Caryocaraceae. Souari-nut family. Consists of two gen-
era, Cai-yocar and Aiithodiscus, the former with 10, the latter with 3
species, all South American trees. The Souari-nut, Caryocar nuciferum,
may be taken as typical of the genus; it is a lofty forest tree with very
durable timber, largely employed in shii)-building. The leaves are
compound, having three leaflets; the flowers are of large size, with five
Fig. i5<. Flowering branch of Caryocar glabrum,
and fruit, partly sectioned, of C, nmcijerum, both
greatly reduced. Redrawn from Qngler.
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
175
sepals, five petals, and numerous long slender stamens borne in a ring.
The fruit is also large, containing from two to four kidney-shaped
nuts or seeds with a flavor somewhat resembling that of the Brazil nut;
a superior quality of oil is extracted from them. Fig. 154 shows a flow-
ering branch of (7. glabrum and the fruit of C. nuciferum.
Family Marcgraviaceae. Marcgravia Family. Contains 5 genera
and about 40 species, natives of tropical America. They are trees or
shrubs, distinguished by the peculiar
pitcher-like bracts which often subtend
the flowers. In Marcgravia the flowers
have the further peculiarity that the
corolla is united in one piece (gamopeta-
lous) which falls oflf like a cap. The sta-
mens are usually numerous, the ovary 1-
celled, becoming capsular in fruit.
Family Quiinaceae. Quiina Family.
A small and unimx>ortant South American
family of trees, consisting of two genera
and 19 species.
Family Theaceae. Tea or Camellia
Family. Contains about 16 genera and
160 species, rather widely distributed.
They are trees or shrubs with large regu-
lar flowers having usually 5 imbricated
sepals, 6 petals, numerous hypogynous
stamens and a 2-celled ovary, becoming in
fruit a woody capsule.
The representatives of this family in
our territory are shrubs of great beauty
when in bloom, their large, solitary white
flowers suggesting single roses. There
are two genera, Stiiartia and Gordonia,
both natives of the Southern States, the
latter known as the loblolly bay. But it
is the genus Thea (including Camellia)
which lends great commercial importance
to the family. The genus consists of about 16 species of shrubs, con-
fined in the wild state to India, China and Japan, but cultivated in
many parts of the world. The flowers are large and handsome, and are
succeeded by 3-valved cai)sule8, two of which are shown in the iUustra-
tion (Fig. 155).
The process of drying the tea leaves is an elaborate one, and upon
the methods employed dei)ends the flavor of the final product. The
Pifif. 155. Flowers and fruit of the
tea plant ( TAea Sinensis), about one-
third natural size. Redrawn from
Bngler.
176
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
^^g- I56- I'bc flowers and fruit of the mammey ap-
► I e ( Ma m mea A merlca na ) greatly reduced . Original .
highly expensive faaicy teas are made of the young leaves and flower
buds, but only a small quantity of these grades is ever imi)orted. The
active principle in the leaves
is an alkaloid known as theine,
and the percentage of tannin
is very high. The family
Theaceae has also been known
by the name Temstroemiaceae.
Family Guttiferae. Gam-
boge Family. A tropical group
comprising about 30 genera
and 300 species, trees or shrubs
abounding in resin, with oppo-
site leaves and flowers often
incomx^lete or irregular; sepals
and petals 2-8; stamens nu-
merous, frequently united;
fruit dry or pulpy. The family is of considerable economic import-
ance. The yellow coloring matter
known as gamboge is obtained
from a species of Garcinia, the
largest genus in the family. G,
Mangoatana is the mangostan or
mangosteen, the fruit of which is
described by all who have eaten it
as being without a peer in the veg-
etable kingdom. A writer on Jav-
anese fruits says: " It is of the size
of a small orange, when rix>e red-
dish-brown, and when old of a
chestnut-brown color. Its succu-
lent rind is nearly the fourth of an
inch in thickness * * On re-
moving the rind, its esculent sub-
stance appears in the form of a
juicy pulp having the whiteness
and solubility of snow, and of a
refreshing, delicate, delicious fla-
vour. We were all anxious to . . ,„
. _ . Fig. 157. The large golden St. Johnswort {Hy-
Carry away with us some precise pericum aureum); flowering branch and detached
expression of its qualities; but capsule about one-half natural size. Original.
after satisfying ourselves that it partook of the compound taste of the
pineapple and the peach, we were obliged to confess that it had many
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
177
other equally good but utterly inexpressible qualities." Tlie seeds of
(7, Indica yield cocum oil, used in India as an adulterant for butter*
and also as a drug.
Another plant of this
family producing an edible
fruit is the mammey apple
(Mammea Americana), the
"mamey sapota" of the
West Indies. It has a
somewhat insipid flavor, but
is popalar among the natives
(see Fig. 156.) Pentodesma
hutyraceinn is the butter tree
of Sierra Leone. Calophyl-
lum is another rather large
genus noted for the oil
Fig. 15S. Flowering branch and detached fruit of />/>- yielded by itS Seeds, Called
/^rocarpusrgtusus, gviiatlyrednced. Redrawn from Engler. g^^eua oil; the timber pro-
duced by these trees is also of good quality.
Family Hypericaceae. St. John's-wort Family. Contains about 10
genera and 280 species, mostly herbs and shrubs of wide distribution,
a few trees in tropical regions. They have opposite or whorled leaves,
and solitary or panicled flowers with
4-5 sepals, 4-5 petals, innumerable
stamens and an ovary of 1-7 carpels,
l>ecoming a capsule in fruit.
The St. John's-worts embrace sev-
eral of our annoying weeds, as well as
some of our most picturesque wild
plants. The species of Hypericum
shown in the illustration (see Fig.
157) is a native of the Southern States
in hilly situations, and has very large
golden-yellow flowers, rendering it de-
sirable for cultivation. Among our
familiar plants belonging to this fam-
ily may be mentioned the spotted St.
John's-wort {H, jnaculafum) the orange
^rass or pinweed {Sarothra gentian^-
oidea); and the St. Peter's-wort {Ascy-
rttm hypericoides). The black or pel-
lucid dots in the leaves of hypericaceous plants contain an essential
oil. :
Pijf' 159' Reaumeria Ptrsica^ an entire
plant, greatly reduced. Redrawn from En-
gler.
178
FAMILIES OF FLOWEMNG PLANTS
Family Dipterocarpaceae. Wing-fruit family. Contains 16 genera
and over 300 si)ecies, natives exclusively of the Asiatic tropics. They
are trees of lofty proportions, resembling the Guttiferae in the abund-
ance of resinous juice which they contain. The flowers are distin-
guished by the calyx, which is divided into five unequal sepals, two of
them very large and wing-like. The whole calyx forms a persistent
crown on the fruit, which is of woody texture, 1-celled and l-seeded.
The resin of various species is used as a medicine and also as an illu-
minant. Fig. 158 gives a good idea of the i)eculiar fruit.
Family Elatinaceae. Water-wort family. This group of marsh or
aquatic herbs consists of two genera, Elatine and Bergia, wirh about 25
species of vnde distribution. They have opposite or whorled leaves,
with small regular flowers having
2-5 sepals, 2-6 petals, as many or
twice as many stamens, and a 2-5-
celled ovary becoming capsular in
fruit.
Family Frankeniaceae. Fran-
kenia Family. Four genera and
about 15 species of maritime under-
shrubs of heath-like aspect, vridely
distributed in tropical or subtrop-
ical regions. Frankenia is repre-
sented by a species on the coast of
southern California. The capsule
differs from that in related families
by being one-celled.
Family Tamaricaceae. Tam-
arisk Family. Contains 4 genera
and about 40 species, trees or
shrubs of wide distribution, vnth
small alternate leaves and white or
pink solitary or clustered flowers.
The ovary is of rather unusual structure, being imperfectly 3-celled by
the intrusion of 3 placentas or partitions. The seeds bear tufts of hairs.
TamariXy the tamarisk of Europe, represented by several species,
is a graceful small tree with handsome racemes of pink flowers. Myri-
caria, a closely related genus, occurs in northern Europe and Asia.
Beaumuria, a genus of low undershrubs, is found in the Mediterranean
region and in central Asia (see Fig. 159).
Family Fouquieriaceae. Candle-tree Family. Contains the single
genus Fouquiera with about 5 species, natives of Mexico and the South-
west. F. splend&nSj the ^'ocotilla" of the Mexicans, is a beautiful tree
Pig. i6o. Woolly Hudsonia {Hudsonia tomen-
tosa). After Britton and Brown, III. PI. North-
east, U. S.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 179
in the desert situations where it occurs, being covered at certain sea-
sons with brilliant scarlet flowers.
Family Cistaceae. Bock-rose Family. Contains four genera and
about 160 species, natives almost exclusively of the northern hemis-
phere, and abundant in both North America and Eurox>e. They are
shrubs or somewhat woody herbs, with simple leaves and solitary or
clustered flowers, the latter regular. Sepals 3-6; petals 3-5 or wanting;
stamens numerous; ovary 1-several-celled, capsular in fruit. Three
genera are represented in North America. The pinweeds (Lecliea) are
small plants with insignificant fiowers and a wonderfully large number
of species. The frostweeds {Helianthemum) have for the most part
rather showy yellow or white, but very evanescent floWers. Hudsonia
contains 3 species of little heath-like plants with hoary foliage and
starry yellow flowers (see Fig. 160). In Europe the species of Oistus
are very numerous, and many of them have flowers of considerable size
and beauty. G. Oreticua yields the gum ladanum, used as a perfume,
having a pleasant balsamic fragrance. C. ladaniferus in Spain and
Portugal yields a similar product.
THE PLANT WORLD
Fig. 162. American violets: upper left-hand, K. rostrata; upper right-hand, V. primulaefolia;
lowermost, V. papilionacea. After photographs by Dr. Adolph Koenig.
SUPPLEMENT.
THE FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
Bt Chablbs Louis Pollabd.
CHAPTER XXV.—C<mtinued.
Family Bixaoeae. Bixa Family. GontainB 4 genera and about 20
species, mostly tropical, but Amorevada, a mallow-like herb with large
flowers, reaches onr southwestern borders. The type of the family,
Bixa^ consists of the single si>ecies, B. Orellana. It is a small tree with
broad, cordate leaves, somewhat suggesting those of a poplar, and clus-
ters of pink flowers having very numerous stamens and a 2-lobed stig-
ma (see Fig. 161). The fruit is a very spiny jkmI which splits into sev-
eral valves when ripe; the seeds have a red, waxy coating, constituting
the substance known as amotto. This is an orange coloring matter
used as a dye, and also to impart a color to butter. Since the discov-
ery of a method by which it can be prepared synthetically by chemical
processes, the value of amotto has depreciated.
Family Coclilosi>ermaceae. Shell-seed Family. Contains two or
three genera and abous 18 species, most of which are included in Coch-
lospermvm. They are shrubs or small trees with palmately-lobed, long-
stalked leaves, and large yeUow flowers in terminal panicles. The chief
difference between this family and the preceding lies in the single, un-
branched stigma and the downy seeds. Some species of Cochlosper-
murfiy which is exclusively tropical, yield a variety of gum, while others
furnish a yellow dye somewhat similar, but inferior to amotto.
Family Koeberliniaceae. Junco Family. Consists of the single
genus and species Koeberlinia spinosa^ a remarkable shrub of the Bio
Grande region in Texas and Mexico. It is apparently quite destitute
of leaves, the latter being minute and promptly deciduous. The smooth
green branches and twigs taper to sharp spiny x>oints; the small white
flowers, which are borne in umbel-like clusters, have 4 sepals, 4 x>etal8,
8 stamens, and a 1-celled ovary becoming a black berry in fruit.
Family Yiolaceae. Violet Family. Includes about 15 genera and
325 sx>ecies, of wide distribution. Many of the tropical genera are
shrubs or trees, but in temx)erate climates the plants are mostly peren-
182
FAMILIES OF FLOWEBING PLANTS
nial herbs. The genus Viola far ontnumbers other members of the
family, having nearly 200 species, abont equally divided between the
Old and the New World. Without possessing any claims to showiness,
the violet is one of the most attractive as well as artistic flowers to be
found throughout the whole range of seed plants. Before discussing
the distinct types of habit and floral structure, let us examine the char-
acters of the Violet Family. They have leaves provided with stipules
(leafy bracts) at the base, and solitary or clustered irregular flowers.
The sepals are 5; the corolla also consists of 6 x>^tals, the lower one of
which is usually much larger and differently shaped, or else provided
Pig. i6i. Flower and fruit of Bira OreUanay considerably reduced. Original.
with a spur. A twist in the peduncle causes this petal frequently to
appear uppermost. There are 5 stamens, the anthers being more or
less united into a ring. The ovary is 1-celled, ^th 3 placentae or par-
titions, developing into a 3-valved capsule.
We may dismiss most of the genera with brief consideration. Gw-
heliurriy the so-called green violet of our Atlantic States, does not afford
a hint of its relationship in its coarse foliage and upright stems; but the
tiny flowers scattered along the latter are decidedly suggestive of un-
dersized and starved violet blooms. Calceolaria is a herb of the south-
west and the tropics, the flowers of which are also inconspicuous.
Probably there is no other genus of flowering plants in which the
divisions are so well marked as in Viola, and the species fall into natu-
FAMILIES OF FLOWEKENG PLANTS
183
ral gix>ups which have been by some authors advanced to generic rank.
For example, we have in America the beautiful bird's-foot violets, which*
are distinguished by their finely divided foliage, very short and trun-
cate rootstocks, and the large beakless stigma. This includes the
handsome prairie violet of the West, and the striking pansy violet so
common in Maryland and Virginia but rare elsewhere. In general the
genus may be roughly separated into two divisions: those with leafy
stems, and those which are scapose, t. e., in which the leaves and flow-
ers seem to spring directly from the root. In Fig. 162 we have repre-
sentatives of several of these types displayed.
The pansy ( V, tricolor) has been for so long a time in cultivation that
the range of color and markings is wonderfuL These markings are apt
V\g. 163. Flowering branch of Casearia sylvesiris, wfth detached enlarged flower of C, lomenlosA.
Redrawn from. Bngler.
to assumie certain definite patterns, so that horticulturalists speak of
the various "strains" of the pansy* The foliage is quite distinctive on
account of the large stipules. In this country we have only one mem-
ber of the group, the little annual white violet ( V. Bajinesqidi), but in
Europe a large number of species closely related to F. tricolor have
been described*
The perfume of the violet has always been highly esteemed, and is
most prominent in the cultivated forms of V. odordta^ although some of
our native species are faintly sweet-scented*
184
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
Family Flacourtiaceae. Flaconrtia Family. Contains 70 genera
and abont 300 species, tropical shrubs or trees of wide distribution.
TheyJ^pbiave alternate leaves, and flowers with 4-7 sepals and petals, or
the latter sometimes wanting. The stamens are equal to or some mul-
tiple of the petals. The fruit is either a fleshy berry or a 4^-valved
capsule; it is edible in some species. Flacourtia, yields a powerful
Pig. 164. Firiqueta Caroliniana, one-half natural size. Original.
astringent. Gasearia is one of the largest genera in the family, being
particularly abundant in the West Indies and South America. Many
of its si)ecies possess medicinal properties.
Family Stachyuraceae. Stachyurus Family. Consists of the sin-
gle genus Stachyurus^ with two east Asiatic species.
Family Tumeraceae. Thmera Family. Contains 6 genera and
about 90 species, most of which are comprised in Turnera and Firiqueta.
They are herbs or undershrubs with alternate leaves and yellow, or
rarely blue flowers; the corolla, which consists of 5 x>6tals, is rather
fugacious, and disappears early; the calyx is somewhat bell-shaped;
stamens 5; style forking'; fruit capsular.
FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS 1«5
Piriqueta CaroUntana is a common plant of the Florida pine bar-
rens, and resembles a rock-rose (HeliantJiemum) when its yellow flow-
ers are expanded in the sunlight (see Fig. 164). The drug known as
damiana is derived from a Mexican species of Tumera {T. aphrodmcwa)
and also from the West Indian T, diffusa.
Family Malesherbiaceae. Orownwort Family. Consists of the
single genus Malesherbiay with about 16 species, natives of Peru and
adjacent countries on the west coast of South America. They are
herbs or low shrubs with alternate leaves and solitary yellow or blue
flowers. The calyx is tubular, and merely 6-lobed, being gamosepalous
Fig. 165. Flower and leaf of Passiflora foetida^ showing the corona, and the finely dissected
bracts surrounding the fiower. Original.
(not divided into distinct sepals). The x>etals are 5, x>ersistent; sta-
mens 5-10, their fllaments often connected with the 3 styles, forming a
column; ovary borne on a stalk, 1-celled; fruit a 3-valved capsule.
These plants are closely allied to the true passion-flowers, and were
formerly included in the same family.
Family Passifloraceae. Passion-flower Family. Contains 15 gen-
era and about 300 species, of wide distribution, mostly in tropical
regions. Of these, Passiflora, with about 250 species, is by far the
most important. The plants are herbs or shrubs, often climbing,
with alternate leaves and mostly solitary flowers.. The calyx is
5-lobed; the petals 5, frequently clothed on their upper surfaces
with small processes or filaments; stamens 5, monadelphous;
186 FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PLANTS
ovary 1-oelled, stalked, with 3 styles; fruit 1-celled, either a dry or
pulpy capsule. The flower of Passifhra is i)eculiar in having the fila-
mentous processes disposed in a ring within the i>etals, so that they
appear like stamens. This is shown in Fig. 165, and is called the crown
or corona.
Most of the species of Passion-flower are natives of South America;
a few reach our southern borders, and two (P. lutea and P. incamata)
extend as far north as Washington. The latter species is an extremely
abundant weed in the South, where it is known as " may-pops," from
the yellow, edible fruit. Many si)ecies are in cultivation in our gardens.
Kig. i66. Flower and leaf of Mentxelia decapetala, considerably reduced. Originat
The name Passion-flower has been given to the plant on account of
the symbolic numbers which its various parts exhibit; "thus the three
nails — ^two for the hands, one for the feet — are represented by the stig-
mas; the five anthers indicate the five wounds; the rays of glory, or,
some say, the crown of thorns, are represented by the rays of the * co-
rona ;' the ten parts of the perianth represent the Apostles, two of them
absent — ^Peter who denied, and Judas who betrayed our Lord; and the
wicked hands of His persecutors are seen in the digitate leaves of the
plant, and the scourges in the tendrils." — (IVecwwry of Botany.)
Family Achariaceae. Acharia Family. Contains 3 genera, each
with a single sx)ecies, the plants formerly included in the preceding
group.
Family Caricaceae. Papaya Family. Two genera, Oarica, with
FAMILIES OF FLOWEEING PUU^ 187
about 20, and Jdcaratia with 6 species, all tropical trees. They ire
dioecious, the male flowers being disposed in loose clusters, with a fun-
nel-form gamopetalous corolla, on the throat of which are borne the 10
stamens. The female flowers are smaller, with a corolla of 5 distinct
petals. The fruit is oblong, very large, with a pulpy interior and a
thick fleshy rind. In the tropics it is universally known as the papaw,
a name, however, which is more properly applied to our northern tree,
Asimina triloba. The most widely diffused species is Garica Papaya;
it is sometimes known as the melon-tree. The fruit is not unlike a
melon in 8hai)e, but is of a dull orange-yellow color; in flavor, to the
uninitiated at least, it resembles a hybrid between a melon and a pump-
kin; it is, however, seldom eaten raw, but is usually made into a pre-
serve or sauce; the green fruit is either pickled, or boiled and eaten as
a vegetable.
Family Loasaceae. Loasa Family. These are herbs, usually
rough with glutinous or sometimes stinging hairs, and having white,
yellow, or reddish flowers. The calyx-tube is united with the surface
of the ovary, so that the latter is said to be inferior. Petals 4 or 5;
stamens exceedingly numerous; ovary 1-celled, capsular in fruit. There
are 13 genera and 200 sx)ecies, all but one of which are American.
Mentzelia is a conspicuous genus on the western plains, the yellow or
white flowers of some of the species expanding five or six inches (see
Fig. 166). Several other genera furnish greenhouse plants.
Family Datiscaceae. Datisca Family. Contains 3 genera. Two
of these are monotypic; the other, Datisca, is represented by one spe-
cies on the Pacific coast {D. glomerata) and one throughout southwest-
em Asia ^D. cannaMna). The plants are herbs or trees with monoe-
cious or dioecious flowers entirely destitute of corollas. Stamens 3-7;
ovary 1-celled, capsular in fruit. They possess bitter and purgative
qualities. The resemblance between Datisca and the hemp (Cannabis)
is so striking that the former is frequently called '* false hemp."
Family Begoniaceae. Begonia Family. Contains 4 genera, two
with one species, one with 3 species, and Begonia itself with about 200.
The plants are succulent herbs or undershrubs, widely distributed in
tropical regions. The leaves are alternate, provided with stipules, and
almost invariably oblique in form; the flowers are monoecious, with
only a calyx, which is colored like a corolla, and is superior to the
ovary. The numerous stamens are aggregated in a head. Stigmas 3;
fruit 3-valved and winged. The plants furnish many sx)ecies valued in
cultivation either for tiieir foliage or flowers; they also possess medici-
nal prox)erties.
188 FAMILIES OF FLOWERING PLANTS
Family Anoistrooladaoeae. AnoistrooladoB Family. A peculiar
group, consisting of a single genus, Ancisirocladua^ wiCh 8 species, in-
habiting the East Indies. They are climlnng shrabs with hook-like
branches, panided flowers with ten stamens of two different lengths,
and a l-eelled ovary.
Jilt
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