586 A. E. Verrill — The Bermuda Islands. 



which may be a foot or more in diameter, but seldom more than 

 15 to 20 feet high. It yields the astringent drug, "kino." 



Its leaves are thick, leatheiy, rounded or heart-shaped, and often 5 

 to 6 inches across. Its berries are purple and grow in clusters ; pro- 

 bably their appearance gave rise to the English name. Matthew 

 Jones stated that the berries were eaten raw by school children. 

 They are sometimes used for preserves, but do not seem to be much 

 valued. Widely distributed from Florida to Brazil. 



Euphorbia buxifolia Lam. 



Common in crevices of the cliffs and in rocky places along the 

 shores. Leaves oval, pointed, crowded and overlapping on the stems. 

 It ranges from Florida to Venezuela and the West Indies. 



Croton maritimus Walt. 



A grayish or hoary herb, 2 to 3 feet high, with thick, ovate, 

 roundish, or slightly cordate leaves, on long petioles ; flowers small, 

 in spikes. Common on the sand-hills near the shore. Ranges from 

 North Carolina to Venezuela and the West Indies. 



Eel Grass ; Turtle Grass. (Ruppia maritima L. and Zostera marina L.) 

 Both grow in shallow sea water. (See p. 448.) 



Crab-grass. {Stenotaphrum Americanum Schr.= S. glabrum in 

 Lefroy.) 



The most abundant native grass ; it grows in all dry and rocky 

 places by the sea-side and on the cliffs, and also in the interior. It 

 forms depressed or flattened rosettes of leaves close to the ground, 

 and sends out rooting stolons, often several feet long, in every direc- 

 tion. These may often be seen hanging down over the edges of 

 cliffs and of rock cuttings along the roads, swinging with the wind 

 and ready to take root in any crevice. 



Burr Grass. (Cenchrus'tribuloides L.) 



A common grass on the sand-dunes and one of the most useful of 

 the plants for binding the sand. 



Sea Grass. ( Spartina juncea Willd.) 



Ireland Island, in the edge of the sea. A tall grass which grows 

 in similar places, from Canada to Florida. 



