THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 63 



ness of the stems but the book-makers, ever ready with an 

 explanation, say of it "The whole plant is so tender and suc- 

 culent that if handled md rubbed a little it will melt and 

 soften almost like ice". A related plant. Monotn>l^a liypopi- 

 t\'s, has several llowers on a stem and is usually tawny or 

 reddish in color. It is usually called "pine sap" from the 

 idea that it growls on the roots of coniferous trees, a fact 

 to which the specific name, meaning "under fir trees", alludes. 

 This is the "yellow bird's-nest" and "false beech-drops" the 

 true beech-drops being regarded as a colorless plant (Epipha- 

 gus) of the Broomrape family. "Fir rape", corrupted to fir 

 rope, has a significance similar to broom-rape. Monotrop- 

 sis odorata is the "sw^eet pine-sap" because of its odor. It 

 is also known as "Carolina beech-drops" from its habitat. 

 The "giant bird's nest" is Pferospora andromeda more com- 

 monly called "pine drops" and "Alkiny beech-drops".- In 

 the last name, Albany refers to the place where the plants 

 were once found and is scarcely descriptive since the plant 

 has a much wider range. 



