96 EPIPHEGUS VIRGINIANA. BEECH-DROPS. 



Virginiana, regards the upper i^etaloid, or complete opening 

 flowers, which according to the theory first mentioned ought to 

 be useful in cross-fertilization, as " having lost their usefulness to 

 the plant." If this view be accepted, it follows, of course, that 

 self-fertilization is the latest, and not the earliest condition, 

 although, as the author remarks, " in accordance with theory, 

 self-fertilization should at length produce feebler forms." The 

 same author thinks that possibly the plant may be tri-morphic, 

 or in other words, that it may have three distinct classes of 

 flowers. The student may learn from all this that our " Beech- 

 Drops " offers an inviting field for original investigation, and 

 he will certainly agree with the remarks of the editor of the 

 " Bulletin " that " the study of these plants, and a comparison of 

 the various degrees to which the disuse has extended, would be 

 an interesting contribution to science." 



The poets seem to have overlooked this curious plant, but it 

 was once quite famous in medicine. Dr. Titford, in his " Hortus 

 Botanicus Americanus," says that it is called " Cancer-Root." 

 " Every part of it," he continues, " is very astringent and bitter. 

 It is considered a powerful remedy in dysentery, but it is chiefly 

 celebrated as a cure for cancer, and formed the principal ingre- 

 dient of Martin's Powder. Externally applied to obstinate 

 ulcers, it has been very successful." The other ingredient of 

 "Martin's Powder," we are told by Dr. Lindley in his "Vege- 

 table Kingdom," was white oxide of arsenic. It is needless to 

 say that this " remedy " has now fallen entirely into disuse. 



The seed-bearing flowers, or rather buds, of Epiphcgiis Vir- 

 giniana, appear soon after midsummer, and the barren, corol- 

 liferous ones about September. Later in the season large 

 numbers of the former are produced wholly under ground. 



The geographical range of the plant, as given by Dr. Gray in 

 the " Synoptical Flora of North America," is from New Bruns- 

 wick to Florida and Missouri. Our species is the only one 

 known so far, but Mr. Austen has noticed a form which, he 

 thinks, is probably a variety. 



