THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 45 



A very similar odor is afforded by a desert shrub of the 

 same family — Ramona incana. Stachys eiliata, common in 

 wet thickets, has an odor less pungent, but extremely heavy 

 and unpleasant. 



The genus Madia, usually known as tar-weed (although 

 this name is also applied in the West to the boraginaceous 

 genus Ainsiiiekia) amply sustains the reputation of the Com- 

 positac as strong-smelling plants. Two species of this genus 

 are especially notorious, M. gloiiierata and M. saliva. Both 

 are among our commonest field and road-side weeds, and have 

 the same property as Navarretia of sending out their "perfume" 

 without any encouragement, though unlike Navarretia, it seems 

 to be greatly stimulated by the action of direct sunlight. One's 

 clothing will reek of it for weeks after a walk through fields 

 occupied by these species. 



My own personal equation is perhaps shown by the fact 

 that I do not include sage-brush in this list. The typical black 

 sage (Artemisia tridentata), the most abundant and char- 

 acteristic Western species, has an odor that can certainly be 

 described as strong, but is personally not unpleasant. In fact, 

 the tang of sage-brush in the autumn air seems a necessary 

 element in calling forth the witchery of the desert, and adds 

 greatly to its indescribable fascination. Just such a rude but 

 invigorating odor seems called for in these vast spaces — hot- 

 house perfumes would seem wholly out of place. 



