REPORT or THE BOTANIST. 67 



The leaf is cnriously parted into tvo halves, giving rig© to the name 

 " twin leaf." As a whole the leaf is round-ovate in form, with the base 

 deeply heart-shaped. When mature it may be 6 to 9 inches in diaiae- 

 ter. It is smooth and with the margins entire or wavy-toothed. There 

 are three to five principal veins to each half, which proceed from tlie 

 point of junction and ramify to the surface. The flowers come from 

 the root on one-flowered naked stnlks (scapes), which rise nearly to the 

 height of the leaves. The flovv^er has about four linear-oblong sepals, 

 which drop off upon its opening ; within these are eight oblong white 

 petals, three-fourths to 1 Inch long, and spreading and soon falling off. 

 There are eight stamens, one before each petal. The ovary is rounilis.h- 

 oval, one-celled, becoming obovate, and when ripe opening at the top 

 by a transverse lid. This plant grows in rich, shady woods, from West- 

 ern i^ew fork to Wisconsin, and sparingly southward along the Alle- 

 ghany Mountains. It is most abundant in the Western States, from 

 Ohio to Illinois and Kentucky. It is named in honor of Thomas Jeilcr- 

 son. It has a popular reputation as a stimulant-tonic, especially for 

 the cure of rheumatism. Plate I. 



Ilex oassine — Taupon, Cassena. 



A small tree, 15 to 25 feet in height, or only a shrub, growing in the 



Southern Atlantic and Gulf States, near the coast and in the southern 

 part of Arkansas. It is said to reach its greatest development in the 

 river bottoms of Eastern Texas. It is a handsome evergreen. The leaves 

 are three-quarters of an inch to an inch and a half in length, thick, smooth, 

 shining green above, pale beneath, mostly of an oblong or ovat« form^ 

 sometimes entire on the margins, sometimes with small obtuse teeth. 

 They are alternate and very sliort stalked. The flowers are in small 

 clusters in the axils or points between the leaf and the twig. They are 

 white and minute, the parts requiring a glass for their plain discrimina- 

 tion. The calyx has from four to six obtuse teeth. There arcfiom four 

 to six sepals and as many stamens. The ovary develops into a small red 

 berry, becoming black, of the size of a small pea. These berries consist 

 mostly of the two to four bony seeds which they contain. The leaves 

 have a peculiar intoxicating property, and were used by the Indians 

 under the name of black drink, both as a medicine and as a drink of eti- 

 quette at their councils. Professor Ycuable, of the University of North 

 Carolina, has recently made an analysis of the leaves, and states that 

 they contain a small percentage of caffeine, or the peculiar principle 

 foaiid in coffee and in the mate, or Paraguay tea {Ilex paraguayensis), 

 of South America. The leaves of the Dahoon holly (Ilex dalioon) are 

 said to have similar properties. Plate II. 



Rhamnus IPURSHIANUS— Cffscarffi Sagrada. 



This shrub or tree grows on the Pacific slope from Northern Cali- 

 fornia northward to Oregon and Washington Territory. It is also s]»:n- 

 ingly found in Idaho and Montana. It varies much in size accortlin.u" 

 to location, in some places occurring only as a large shrub 10 to 12 IVet 

 high, in others becoming a small tree of 20 to 40 feet in height and a 

 foot or more in diameter of trunk. The leaves are elliptical in form, nn- 

 di\aded, fi:om 2 to 6 inches in length, 1 to 3 inches in breadth, with very 

 fine teeth on the margin, or sometimes nearly entire. The petiole or stem 

 of the leaf is half an inch to an inch long, and, with the young twigs 

 and the under side of the leaves, is covered with a fine brownish pub^- 



