112 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



fact, that this is the only part of the plant that is dangerous. 

 There exists a widespread belief, however, that people may be 

 poisoned at a distance from the plant, the poisonous principle 

 being supi)osed to be conveyed by the pollen or plant hairs. 

 Not all people are susceptible to the poison, but those who 

 are, usually give the plant a wide berth and still are poisoned. 

 'i'hc smoke from burning poison ivy is also said to poison 

 some people. The harmful principle is a resin. Possibly at 

 certain seasons some emanation from this source may cause 

 the intense itching and vesiculation characteristic of this 

 affection. 



Yellow Iris Naturalized. — Recently while driving 

 I found an iris c[uite new to me. It was growing in low wet 

 ground 1)y the roadside and its one remaining flower was a 

 bright soft vellow in color. The leaves were long — quite two 

 feet or more — and narrow and bright green, lacking the soft 

 bloom that many of our cultivated varieties possess. The 

 flower, which had evidently passed its best days, was about the 

 size of our common native species but with the inner divi- 

 sions of the perianth very short, after the fashion of the Jap- 

 anese iris. The onlv light 1 can bnd on the subject is a note 

 in Gray's Botany saying that the yellow iris of luiropean 

 marshes "is reported as having l)ecome established in Mass. 

 and N. ^'." The flower is very attractive and if you can give 

 me any information in regard to it, through the magazine, I 

 shall Ije verv glad. As much of it was being destroyed by the 

 gracbiig of the road 1 brought a clump home with a clear 

 conscience. 1 wonder if hybrids of value could be grown 

 from k.—Adclla Prescott, New Hartford, N. Y. [The plant 

 referred to is Iris pseudaconis a iuiropean specias often offered 

 in the catalogues of iris dealers. Kike many other Old 

 World plains il has a disi)osition to look out for itself and 



