18S5.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 501 



Parkinsonia aculeata, L. (Retama.) 



Sau Autonio, Lower Eio Grande, Gulf Coast and Southeastern Texas. 

 Very handsome tree, small or medium-sized, often cultivated for orna- 

 ment. "According to Mr. Schott, it is valued by the Mexican Indians 

 as a febrifuge and sudorific, and also as a remedy in epilepsy." Mexican 

 women use an infusion of the leaves to induce abortion. Wood hard, 

 making good fuel, 



Parkinsonia Texana, Watson. 



Bluffs of the Lower Eio Grande. Small spinose shrub, with golden 

 blossoms, deserving introduction as one of the prettiest of ornamental 

 plants. Burned in the green state, the branches yield ashes rich in 

 alkali, and used by Mexicans to make soap. 



Phaseolus retusus, Beuth. (Prairie Beau.) 



Common on prairies west of the Pecos, its creeping stems often 15 to 

 20 feet long. The seeds (3 to 5 in each pod) are about the size of peas ; 

 when still green and well cooked they make an acceptable dish in the 

 field. When ripe they are too tough for use. 



Psoralea esculenta, Pursh. (Poaime Blanche.) 



Small herb, very common on the prairies of the Northwest, but very 

 sparingly found in Western Texas. Its esculent tuberous roots are 

 nutritive, wholesome and pleasant to the taste. 



HofTmanseggia stricta, Bentli. (Camote del Raton.) 



Very pretty herb found in all valleys, with an esculent tuberous root- 

 stock. 



Peteria scoparia, Gray. (Camote del Monte.) 



Stout, spiny, suffruticose herb, found sparingly in the foot-hills of the 

 mountains west of the Pecos, also with a small, edible, tuberous root- 

 stock. 



Astragalus mollissimus, Torr. 



Probably not specifically distinct from A. Bigelovii, Gray. The best 

 known "loco" plant of Western Texas. Eather common on high prai- 

 ries and mesas west of the Pecos, specially abundant about PeSa Colo- 

 rado and Fort Davis. Perennial plant, 6 to 10 inches high, with pin- 

 nate leaves quite silky, and rather consj)icuous racemes of purple 

 flowers in the early summer. 



Animals, even goats, avoid this plant which has a very nauseous 

 smell (much intensified by drying), and only eat it through inadver- 

 tence or necessity. Horses and cattle are similarly affected by it. They 

 lose their appetite, become stupid, with spells of vicious exhilara- 

 tion, grow thin, have tremors of the muscles, lose power to co-ordinate 

 movements and estimate distances so that locomotion is rendered 

 awkward and dangerous and finally becomes impossible. Horses may 



