342 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM, 
Euphorbia misera Benth, 
This species was noted by us only in the vicinity of San Francisquito and Cala- 
mahué, It grows on dry, rocky hillsides as a shrub or very short-trunked tree 1.2 
to 1.8 meters in height and very thick at the base. The trunk and branches are much 
gnarled or contorted. A specimen with flowers and growing fruit was taken at Cala- 
mahué, September 15, The species is based on specimens taken at San Diego and 
San Quintin during the voyage of the Sulphur. It is recorded by Brandegee from 
San Martin and Natividad islands. 
Euphorbia tomentulosa S. Wats. 
A specimen of this species in flower and fruit was taken at the mouth of La Provi- 
dencia Canyon at the east base of the San Pedro Martir Mountains, June 26. It grows 
here as a shrub 0.5 to 1.2 meters high. Recorded by Brandegee from La Paz. 
Euphorbia xanti Engelm. LIGA. 
The “liga,” as it is called in the Cape District, was abundant on the coastal plain 
near Matancita and southward along much of our route to Cape San Lucas. It grows 
as a shrub 1.2 to 3 meters high. After rains fresh shoots thrown out are so tender that 
they snap off at the basal joints almost at a touch, allowing the poisonous, milky juice 
to flow freely. This juice often gets on the lips and faces of feeding animals and 
causes the hair to come off. It sometimes enters their eyes and results in more or 
less severe inflammation and even blindness. Several of our mules were affected by 
it. Flowering specimens of the plant were taken between Agua Colorada and Cerro 
Colorado, December 15, and between El Sacatén and Cape San Lucas, December 29, 
Brandegee records it from San José del Cabo, Todos Santos, and La Paz. 
Euphorbia eriantha Benth. 
In places along our route through the hill country from La Purisima to Comandt 
this species was common. A plant which we took to be the same species occurs on 
the coastal plain at least as far south as Matancita. It grows as a shrub 1.2 to 1.5 
meters high. A specimen in flower and growing fruit was taken between La Purisima 
and Comandt, November 4. Millspaugh records specimens in full fruit collected by 
Brandegee on Magdalena Island, January 22. Brandegee in his Flora of the Cape 
Region lists the species from San José del Cabo. This Euphorbia doubtless has a 
wide range, mainly in the Lower Sonoran Zone of the Peninsula. It has been recorded 
by Parish as far north as Agua Caliente, in southern California.) 
Jatropha canescens Muell. Arg. LomMbBol. PLate 116, A. 
A widely ranging representative of the flora of the Cape District. It was first seen 
by us near Santo Domingo, whence it was one of the most abundant and generally 
distributed species along nearly the whole route to Cape San Lucas, as also on the 
islands of Magdalena, Margarita, and Espiritu Santo. It forms a large shrub or a 
small tree 4.5 to 6 meters high. Specimens in flower were taken at Santo Domingo, 
September 26, and Tinaja de Santana, October 4, and in fruit between Tres Pachitas 
and Valle Flojo, December 25. This species is also common on the east side of the 
Gulf of California. 
Jatropha cordata (Orteg.) Muell. Arg. . 
This species resembles J. canescens in size and general appearance, but differs con- 
spicuously in its smoother leaves, which, as Brandegee says, “glisten in the sunlight 
as if varnished.’’? Specimens in fruit and flower were collected at about 600 meters 
altitude, 5 miles southwest of El Potrero on our way across the mountains from Mulegé 
‘Zoe 4: 166. 1893. * Zoe 2: 149, 1891. 
