EEPOET OP THE BOTANIST. fi9 



shady, moist locations. It is most abundant east of tho Alleghany 

 Mountains. The root consists of " many long, slender, brown branches, 

 in-OL-eeding from a thick, tuber-like head." Usually several stems rise 

 ioiii the same root; they are erect, slender, smooth, from 2 to 3 feet 

 :.i;l), branched above, and very leafy. The leaves are in threes (trifo- 

 ■ lie), each part or leaflet, having a short stem or petiole, i's mostly ob- 

 'iig or iauce oblong in outline, or sometimes obovate. from 2. to 3 

 iciies long, sharp jwinted, and the margins have many sharp, close 

 ifcth. Most of the leaves are set, close to the stem (sessile), and have 

 ;it the base of each a pair of small linear-lanceolate stipules, like diminu- 

 tive leaves, decreasing in size from below upwards. The flowers grow 

 Irora the upper branches on slender peduncles, 1 to 2 inches long, and 

 form a loose, open, corymbose panicle. The calyx is tubular bell- 

 shnped, a quarter to a third of an inch long, with five saiall, erect teeth. 

 The five petals are inserted on the inside of the calyx near the top. 

 They are linear-lanceolate, three-fourths to two-thirds of au inch long, 

 spreading, and of a white or pale rose color. The stamens vary from 

 ten to twenty in number, are small and inclosed in the calyx. There 

 are five styles and ovaries, which are finally succeeded by five small 

 pods, cohering at their base, separate above, each valve containing 

 about two seeds. 



The dried root is the part used medicinally, and is of an emetic and 

 purgative nature. It has been used as a substitute for ipecac. It was 

 employed by the Indians, and from them the people of the colonies 

 learned its properties. There is another species, the Gillenia stipulacea^ 

 which has essentially the same properties. It is gathered for commer- 

 cial purposes, to some extent, in North Carolina. 



HAJJA^ r RT.is YiRGiNiCA — Witcli Hazel. 



A small tree, 15 ta 25 feet high under favorable circumstances, but 

 more commonly a straggling bush, 10 to 15 feet high, growing in most 

 of the States east of the Mississippi usually in damp woods or on the 

 banks of streams. It forms the type of a natural order {Hamamelacecc) 

 which includes about fifteen genera in diflerent parts of the world. The 

 genus Hamamelis is represented in the United States by one S])ecies, 

 Hamamelis virginica, another very similar one being found in Japan. 

 The leaves are short-stalked, 3 to G inches long, oval or obovate, slightly 

 heart-shaped at the base, with the sides unequal, with straight con- 

 spicuous veins, the margins wavy or with coarse obtuse teeth, and some- 

 what downy when young. The tree or shrub is remarkable for its late 

 period of flowering, which is in September and October while the leaves 

 are falling, and continuing on until winter. The development of the 

 ovary or young fruit begins in the following spring and is not matured 

 until the fall. The flowers grow in small clusters or heads, each with 

 a three-leaved scale-like involucre at the base. The calyx is thick, four- 

 parted, and wooUy on the outside. The petals are four, strap-shaped, 

 nearly half to three-quarters of an inch long, and of a bright yellow 

 (rolor." There are eight short stamens, only four of which are perlV'ct. 

 The small hairy ovary occupies the center of the flower ; this finally 

 develops into a two-beaked, two-ceUed, thick and hard pod, with a single, 

 black, bony seed in each cell. 



Both the bark and the leaves are used medicinally in domestic prac- 

 tice, in the preparation of certain proprietary remedies, and in the 

 practice of physicians. It is stated that they were used as a remedy 

 by the Indians. Plate YI, Fig. 1, flowers natural sizej 2, an enlarged 

 flower. 



