175-8 
saffron, Colchicum autummnale, Linn., is also a member of this section. Veratrum 
viride, Helonias dioica and Trillium are represented in this work. Zz/iacee proper. 
Under this head are classed the Aloé, Squillz, Allia, etc. Squills, Sgzz/a and 
Scilla maritima, Stein., Linn., come to,us from the Mediterranean coasts; a milder | 
form, Sguzla Fancration, Stein., thought to be the Pancration of Dioscorides, is 
found, with the previous form, especially at Malta. Other forms of squills are the 
South African Urginea altissima, Baker, the North African Sczdla Indica, Roxb., 
and the Abyssinian Scz//a Indica, Baker. Nearly allied forms, with varied proper- 
ties, are the Cape Itch-bulb, Drima ciliaris, Jacq., and the Indian emetic, Cr7wum 
toxicarium, Roxb. The common or Barbados Aloe is the North African Aloe 
vulgaris, Lam. (A. Barbadensis, Mill.). The Socotrine Aloe is a product of Aloe 
Socotrina, Lam. (A. vera, Miller), growing upon the southern shores of the Indian 
Ocean, Red Sea, and Island of Socotra. Cape Aloes are said to be derived from 
Aloe ferox, Linn., Aloe Africana, Mill., Aloe spicata, Thun., Aloe Angueformis, 
Aloe arborescens, Mill., Aloe Commelini, Willd., and Aloe purpurascens, Haw. 
Allium sativum, Linn., the common garlic, is of uncertain nativity; Adium cepa, 
Linn., the common onion, is a native of Egypt; other allied species are the Leek, 
Allium porrum; the Echalotte, Alum ascalonicum,; Chives, Allium scheno- 
prasum; Rocambole, Allium scodoprasum,; the Southern Wild Garlic, Adium 
Carolinianum,; and the Meadow Garlic, Allium Canadense. The dog’s-tooth 
violet, Erythronium Americanum, Ker., was offered by Bigelow as a substitute 
for Colchicum; the Indian Zrythronium Indicum is used against equine strangury 
(Ainslie); and the bulbs of the European Erythronium Dens canis as a food in 
Siberia (Pallas). The Lily of the Valley (Convadlaria mazaits, Linn.), a plant whose 
reputed value in some forms of cardiac diseases is at present before the profession, 
belongs to this section. The bulbs of 7u/ipa gesnertana, like many other liliaceous 
bulbs, are used for cataplasms; those of Zudipa sylvestris are emetic (Poiret) ; those 
of /ritillaria imperialis, and Gloriosa superba, are violent poisons; while those of 
Calochortus elegans and various species of the genus Li/zwm, form nutritious foods, 
The North American Indians use as foods the following species under this order: 
Kamass root (Cammassia esculenta) is eaten raw or cooked; in the latter form it 
is said to resemble the potato. These roots also yield a very good molasses when 
boiled in water, and are greatly esteemed by the Nez Perces, Pitt River, and Cape 
Flattery Indians. Spanish bayonet (Yucca ébaccata): This spinous-leaved plant 
yields a fruit that nearly resembles in size and shape the West Indian banana. 
The Indians of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico are very fond of these fruits, which 
they either eat fresh, or dry and preserve when ripe, and roast when green 
together with the young flower buds.* African hemp is a product of several spe- 
cies of Sanseviera (Griffith), and New Zealand hemp of Phorimum tenax. Dragon’s- 
blood, an astringent resin, long used, is a product of that famous East Indian tree, ° 
Dracena Draco. Various pot-herbs are found in this family, the principal ones 
being Asparagus officinalis, Asparagus acutifolius, and the South Sea Island Ti- 
plant, Cordyline terminalis. The Smilacee yield Jamaica sarsaparilla, Smilax offict- 
* J. R. Dodge, in U. S. Agric. Kep., 1879, pp. 408, 418. 
