1SS5.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 507 



Celtis pallida, Torr. (Granjeno.) 



Very common on all mesas and foot-hills in Western and Southern Texas. 

 Generally a shrub, but becomes arborescent on the Lower Eio Grande. 

 Plant of quick growth in dry places, stiff and thorny, capable of mak- 

 ing- excellent hedges. The branches have a disposition to twist into 

 curious shapes and make very pretty canes. Wood hard, making good 

 posts and excellent fuel. 



The orange-yellow berry, called cajjul * by the Mexicans, ripening in 

 the fall, is oval in shape and about half an inch long ; it has a mucil- 

 aginous and slightly astringent, but not unpleasant, taste, and is greed- 

 ily eaten by all domestic fowls. 



Morus rubra, L. (Red Mulberry.) 



Common at San Antonio, where it may have been introduced ; prob- 

 ably does not extend farther west. Small, ornamental tree of quick 

 growth, prized for its beautiful foliage and delicious fruit. 



Morus microphylla, Buckley. (Wild Mulberry.) 



Shrub or small tree, with very variable foliage, common on Las Moras 

 Creek and farther west in the canons of the Guadalupe, Limpio, and 

 Chenate Mountains. Wood soft and sappy, but tough and resilient, 

 making very good bows. Its cambium is thick and milky, leaving a 

 white deposit wherever it adheres and dries. Fruit round or oblong, 

 rarely seen, much smaller than in the preceding species, maturing in 

 May and very palatable. 



Madura aurantiaca, Nutt. (Osage Orauge.) 



Spontaneous in Eastern Texas ; grows vigorously at San Antonio and 

 wherever planted in Western Texas if near water. Its value as a hedge 

 shrub for valleys and near water-courses is well known. 



SAPINDACE-5!. 



Ungnadia speciosa, Endl. (Mexican Buckeye.) 



Shrub or very small tree, common along rocky valleys and in mount- 

 ain arroyos west of San Antonio. 



The 3-lobed pods contain 3 or more seeds, in shape and size much like 

 small chestnuts. These, although pleasant to the taste, are quite poi- 

 sonous ; cooking does not render them innocuous. An adult can eat 

 one or two with impunity ; three or four soon produce giddiness and a 

 sensation of heat and discomfort at the pit of the stomach. In a robust 

 child four years old who came under my observation, after eating two 

 or three of these " beans," the toxic symptoms were quickly produced. 

 Within half an hour he grew very -giddy, staggered up to his mother, 

 asked for water and then fell. An emetic of mustard was promptly 

 and successfully administered. A few minutes afterward I found the 



* Capul is tlie Mexican equivalent for berry ; it is applied to the fruit of several 

 shrubs, and sometimes, by extension, to the shrubs themselves. 



