346 



If this character and figure be compared with the descrip- 

 tion of Mr. Pursh, making allowances for their being all ex- 

 ecuted from dried specimens, I think it will appear that the 

 two plants in question, if not the same as to species, are in all 

 probability so as to genus, and that they will rank in the 

 Nat. Ord. Portulace^, very near to Talinum. Indeed, I 

 have some species of Talinum^ gathered by Dr. Gillies in the 

 South American Andes, which approach very nearly to this 

 in habit. As a species, the present appears to differ from L. 

 rediviva in its rose-coloured flower (Douglas), not white 

 veined with pink; and in its white, not sanguineous roots, 

 which are crisped and brittle. 



Mr. Douglas found the plant to be abundant at the junc- 

 tion of the " Spokan River" with the Columbia, in dry 

 stony soils, also on the " Flathead " and " Salmon Rivers," 

 ^" in similar situations. 



The roots, Mr. Douglas informs me, are gathered in great 

 quantities by several of the tribes who inhabit the country 

 skirting the subalpine regions of the Rocky Mountains, on 

 the west side, and are known among those who use the lan- 

 guage of the Spokan tribes, by the name of Spatulum. The 

 mode of using them is simply to boil them in water, when 

 they form a substance similar to Salep, or boiled Arrow-root. 

 Owing- to their highly nutritive quality, these roots are ad- 

 mirably calculated for carrying on long journeys; two or 

 three ounces per day being sufficient for a man, even while 

 undergoing great fatigue. 



In June 1826, Mr. Douglas gathered flowering specimens, 



. but lost them from his boat while descending a rapid. In 



March 1827, those were secured which revived after having 



been pressed in the Herbarium, and were planted in the 



Horticultural Society's Garden, as above mentioned. 



Tab. LXX. Tig, 1, Plant o^ Lewisia rediviva, /3 : — nat size. 

 Fig. 2, Unopened flower. Fig. 3, The same, all the 

 calyx-segments being removed, and the petals, except the 

 inner one. Fig. 4, Front view of a stamen. Fig. 5, Back 

 view of do. Fig. 6, Pollen. Fig. 7, Pistil. Fig. 8, 



