32 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



een kinds of dry ground plants in such situations, many of them 

 with only one or two leaves but still in flower or fruit. The 

 black nightshade {Solanwn nigrum) was found with only 

 two leaves but with a berry of normal size that outweighed 

 the rest of the plant several times. The author calls attention 

 to the apparent dwarfing effect found in many plants that hug 

 the water's edge. Such plants as water spearwort, water 

 pennywort, Sak'iiiia and Azolla are illustrations. The series 

 culminates in the little IVolffia and IJ'olfficlla, the latter when 

 full grown not as large as a pin's head and yet a full grown 

 flowering plant. 



Sweater Than Sugar. — Several plants are known 

 which produce substances that taste sweeter than ordinary 

 sugar. According to the Kczv Bull c tin, the fruits of Sideroxy- 

 lon dulcificiiin, an African plant, are oval berries about like 

 cherries whose thin pulp imparts such an intense sensation of 

 sweetness to all kinds of acid fruits that they seem as if com- 

 posed entirely of sugar. The sensation appears to be sensa- 

 tion only, and is not due to any saccharine quality. Another 

 sweet species is TJiauniatococcus Daniclli. The most impor- 

 tant plant of this kind, however, is one of the bonesets, Bupa- 

 toriuiii Rchaudianiiui, a native of Paraguay. The substance 

 that gives the peculiar property to this plant is a glucoside cal- 

 led estevin. This is from forty to fifty times as sweet as 

 sugar. As the plant has no harmful substances in it, the 

 leaves need only to be powdered to be ready for use. It is 

 said that the plant can be produced at a less cost than can its 

 artificial coal-tar competitor, saccharine. There is only one 

 drawback to the sugary quality and that is, it has no nutritive 

 value and cannot, therefore, replace sugar as a source of 

 energy. In this connection Kew Bullcliii mentions another 

 plant, Gymneina silvestre, whose thick fleshy leaves when 

 chewed so affect the sense of taste, that the sweetest or most 



