1885. J PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 485 



nurus ciliatus already mentioned. Late in August I noted about here 

 the handsome Lantana Camara, which cattle seem to avoid, the sting- 

 ing Jatropha Texana, the jjurple-flowered Callirrhoe involucrata, and 

 several pretty Leguminos£B, viz., Hoffmanseggia caudata, Cassia procum- 

 bens, Zornia tetraphylla, Indigo/era leptosepala, Tephrosia Lindheimeri. 

 Other conspicuous plants were Heliotropium convolvulaceum, Comme- 

 Una Virginica, Palafoxia Soolceriana, Gaillardia pulchella, Monarda 

 punctata, var. lasiodonta, a form with very narrow leaves. More homely 



and common herbs are, Croton , tall and branching, Carlowrightia 



parvifolia, Diodia teres, Lippia nodiflora, AcalypTia radians, Gonolohus 

 parviflorus. 



COAST. 



The vicinity of the sea does not appear to have any favorable influ- 

 ence on either the nature or vigor of the vegetation. From the mouth 

 of the Eio Grande to Corpus Christi the coast is low, mostly bare, and 

 unattractive. The trees or arborescent shrubs seen at the above town 

 are Mezquit, mostly shrubby, extending to the very edge of the bay, Hui- 

 sache and Retama, both of large size and much cultivated, Ebony 

 [Acacia flexicaulis, Black Willow. Hackberry, Texas Persimmon. These 

 trees, or some of them, with the addition of the Green Ash, the Water 

 Elm {Ulmus crassifoUa), Anaqua {Eliretia elliptica) and Nacahuite 

 [Cordia Boissieri) are seen in thin fringes on many of the drains, arroyos 

 and creeks opening into the sea. 



Of the trees or shrubs introduced at Corpus Christi, the Tamarisk, 2 

 feet in diameter, China Tree (Melia), Red Mulberry, Osage Orange and 

 Oleander are quite thrifty. 



The scrubby chaparral, extending from the shore inward for several 

 miles, consists mostly of Mezquit, Granjeno, Texas Persimmon, Junco, 

 Coyotillo (Karwinskia), Acacia amentacea and Jlexicaulis, Condalia oho- 

 vata, Castela Nicholsoni, Xanthoxylum Pterota, Lippia lycioides, Berheris 

 trifoUata, Lantana Camara, Aster Palmeri. 



The vines are Anredera scandens, Vitis incisa, Serjania brachycarpa, 

 Maximowiczia Lindheimeri. 



Of Grasses, the most common are Bermuda Grass {Gynodon Dactylon), 

 Aristida purpurea, Bouteloua Texana, Eragrostis reptans, and Eleusine 

 ^gyptica. 



MOUNTAINS. 



The principal mountain ranges of Texas are the Guadalupe, Limpio, 

 Eagle, Chenate, and Chisos, all lying beyond the Pecos, in the western 

 part of the State. They extend from the border of New Mexico south- 

 eastward into the Great Bend of the Eio Grande. Other elevations, 

 with an altitude of 1,200 feet or less, also called mountains, intervene 

 between these ranges and are also seen on the headwaters of the Brazos 



