27 



667. Tlie s;uiu) ; from iH.illu;ni i.uit of island. Very coiniiion '^vahu, inalciii-- tlie Ijeafc 



fora^.! upon (liis. oiid of tlio ishiiicl. In the cauona it is very large, ^'rowing 

 so thickly that it lookw like grain, 

 673. Tho ssaino. 



668. Aveiia barbata L. Foiinil tsoriiu M|)cchiieu.s 4 feet high in < lie canons ami on the 



roiigli Kh>pcs. 



669. Aristida bromoides H. li. K. In dcop canons among other grasses and plants. 

 675. 'riie sainr. 



671. Hordeum muriiium L. Very ahinidant, bidding fair to exterminate other 



grasses and plants. 



672. Festuca Myurus L. Not common. Grows in hunches in caiions amoug 



other grasses. 



HEAD OF THE OULF OF (JALIFOKNIA. 



Three tl:iy« were wpeut at Lerdo, Mexico. This locality is CO miles 

 soutli-soutliwcst from Yuma, latitude 31^ 10' 10", atid loiijjitiide U4^ 

 43' 30". 



The most interesting thiug obtained liere was Ammobronia, which for 

 the first time has been collected in good (luautity. 



956. Nasturtium palustre D. C. 



955. Achyrouichia Cooperi T. & G. J laces in river bottoms. Lerdo, Mexico. 



934. Dalea Emoryi (hay. In the desserts of sontlieast California and western 



Arizona, and south to Los Angeles Bay. One of tlie two hosts of .immo- 



broma. 



941. Oluothera scapoidea Nutt. Var. Wtems 4 to 8 inches high, much branched at 

 base, lat<;ral Icatlets very small, or none; calyx dark red within, petals less 

 than 2 lines long, light yellow, llemsley does not mention this' plant as 

 growing in Mexico in Biol. Cent. Amer. 



933. Frauseria duraosa Gray. Also collected here by Dr. Edward Palmer iu 

 lr;8r). This species is common in the desert regions of south Utah, Ari/;oua, 

 sontheast California, and extending as far south as Los Angeles Bay, Lower ' 

 California. 'J'liis is one of the two species upon which Ammohronia Sonoru; is 

 found, ajid ils wide distribution leads us to expect that other stations of that 

 parasite will yet be found. 



957. Guaphalium Spreugelii 11. & A. Dry places in river-bottoms. 



940. Palafoxia linearis Lag. On the dry sand-hills. 



Ammobroma Soiioras Turr. This was (ii-st discovered in 18.J4 by Col. A. B. Gray 

 in charge of a railroa«l exploring party, at the head of the (Julf of CalifoV- 

 nia. At this time a short notice of the discovery was i)ublished by Col. A. 

 B. Gray iu Memoirs of the American Academy of Science, but it was not 

 until 1807 that a description of the genus was published by Dr. John Torrey 

 in tho Annals of Lye. Nat. Hist. N. Y. Vol. VIII, p. .^.1, together with agood 

 figure. So far as we can learn the plant was not collected again until 

 Schuchard got it m Arizona. And now Dr. Palmer collected it in large 

 quantities at Lerdo, Mexico. Until the present scsasou its host i>lant has 

 been unknown but Dr. Palmer has carefnlly examined into this, and col- 

 lected two common plantsof this arid legion upon which it grows. Theseare 

 Frauseria ditmoHa and Daka Emoryi. Dr. Pahner wrote that the plant grows 

 in deep sand, the dee^jcr the sand the larger and juicier the plants. The 

 Cocopa Indians gather them for food, which they relish under all circum- 

 stances. They eat it raw, boiled, or roasted. The |)lant is full of moisture, 

 and whites and Indians alike nvsort to it in traveling, as a valuable 

 substitute for water. It has a pl.-asant taste, much resembling the sweet 



