BARTRAM’S EXPLORATION. 15 
the flora of the banks of the river up to the Tombigbee. On one of 
these excursions he discovered the scentless wax myrtle, a small tree 
called by the French the wax tree, which possessed none of the fra- 
grance of the common wax or candleberry tree (Myrica cer/fera), and 
for this reason was described by this author as Myrica ¢nodora. Sick 
with fever, he went in search of a plant of great repute as a remedy 
against malarial diseases. This he found about 30 miles higher up on 
the banks of the river, growing under the shelter of Stwartia virgin- 
7c, azaleas, and others of the shrubs noticed before. He recognized 
it as a species of Collinsonia,' and named it C. /sata, on account of the 
tine scent of the plant, reminding one of sweet anise and lemon. There 
he also found the blue sage, Sa/nva azurea, ** with its spikes of flowers 
of celestial blue,” the scarlet calamintha (CVinopodiuin coce/neum), and 
a plant of peculiar beauty described as Gerard/a flammed, easily rec- 
ognized by his description as Macranthera fuchsioides Torr. The 
swamps are mentioned as covered by tall grasses and by cypress of 
astonishing growth, above which rise on the higher banks magnificent 
forests of magnolias, with //a/es‘a d/ptera and other trees, the bullace 
grape with its Juicy berries of various colors, crossvine, and American 
elycine (Arauhnia (Wister/a) frutescens), ascending these trees to their 
loftiest heights, and the dense shrubbery beneath them entangled by 
the trumpet vine, grape vines, and vellow jessamine. On his return 
from the Perdido River and from Pensacola, Bartram describes the 
grassy savannas with their sarracenias extending from the Apalachi- 
cola to the Mobile River. 
Delighted with his rich harvest of **curious vegetables,” but with 
his health shattered by malarial fever, Bartram left the banks of the 
Tensas River and the Bay of Mobile for the banks of the Pearl River 
in search of medical aid. Returning to Mobile soon afterward, he 
started near the end of November, 1777, with a party of traders toward 
the Atlantic coast. After three days’ travel he arrived again at the 
settlements of the Creek Nation, between the falls of the Moclassee 
(Tallapoosa River) and the Indian town Alabama, near the confluence 
of the Coosa and the latter river. After a short rest he again left the 
soil of Alabama by crossing the Chattahoochee River between the 
towns of Chehaw and Usetta (a short distance above the city of 
Columbus, Ga.). 
At this point in his narrative this genuine lover of nature repeats 
his praises of the fragrant groves of illicium left behind him, stating 
that he never met with it north of latitude 33° nor south of Mobile 
except at one place, namely, at Lake George, eastern Florida, in 
latitude 28~. 
' The citronella of the settlers, a decoction of it frequently used in fevers asa dia- 
phoretic and invigorating drink. 
