40 ' ESSAYS. 
teen inches in height, with pure white flowers. During this 
ascent we collected Galium latifolium, Michx., just coming 
into Hower; and we subsequently found this species so widely 
diffused throughout the mountains of North Carolina, that we 
were nuch surprised at its remaining so little known since 
the time of Michaux. On a moist, rocky bank by the road- 
side, we gathered some specimens of a Scutellaria, which did 
not again occur to us. It proves to be a species mentioned 
by Mr. Bentham under S. serrata, and subsequently de- 
scribed by Dr. Riddell with the name of S. saxatilis, which 
apparently is not of uncommon occurrence westward of the 
Alleghany Mountains. It is a slender plant, from six to 
twenty inches high; and the stems often produce slender sub- 
terranean runners from their base. We here also collected 
Asarum Virginicum, Linn. in similar situations. In the 
higher mountains the northern A. Canadense takes the place 
of the former species, while A. arifolium, Michx. seems to 
be confined to the lower country. The banks of the shady 
and cool rivulets,which we crossed every few minutes during 
our ascent, were in many places covered by the prostrate or 
creeping Hedyotis serpyllifolia, Torr. & Gray (Houstonia 
serpyllifolia, Michx.), which continues to flower sparingly 
throughout the summer. This pretty plant has quite the 
habit of Avenaria Balearica; and the root is certainly per- 
ennial. We found it very abundant in similar situations 
throughout this mountain region. Towards the summit of 
this ridge we first met with the Magnolia Fraseri (M. 
auriculata, Bart.), which resembles the Umbrella- tree 
(Magnolia Umbrella) in the disposition of its leaves at the 
extremity of the branches. This, as well as J. acuminata 
(the only other species of Magnolia that we observed), is 
occasionally termed Cucumber-tree; but the people of the 
country almost uniformly called the former Wahoo, a name 
which in the lower part of the southern States is applied to 
Ulmus alata, or often to all the Elms indifferently. The 
bitter and somewhat aromatic infusion of the green cones of 
both these Magnolias in whiskey or apple-brandy is very 
extensively employed as a preventive against intermittent 
