STANDLEY TEEES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 267 



4. Clematis drummondii Torr. & Gray, PI. N. Amer. 1 : 9. 1838. 

 Clematis nervata Benth. PI. Hartw. 5. 1839. 



Tamaulipas and San Luis Potosf to Baja California and Sinaloa. Texas 

 (type locality) to Arizona. 



Plants copiously pubescent, scandent over other shrubs ; leaflets usually small 

 and narrow, rarely over 3 cm. long, attenuate, usually deeply lobed ; sepals 8 

 to 14 mm. long, white. " Barba de chiA-o " (Chihuahua. Coahuila, Zacatecas, 

 Tamaulipas, etc.) ; " hierba de los avaros " (San Luis PotosI, Safford). 



Very variable in pubescence and leaf form, but none of the forms seem 

 specifically distinct. 



5. Clematis rufa Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 10: 95. 1906. 



Known only from the type locality, between Tenejapa and Yatalon, Chiapas. 



The plant diifers from C. grossa only in its entire leaflets, and additional 

 material is necessary to determine its claim to specific rank. This and the 

 following species are very closely related, and it is probable that they are all 

 forms of a single one, C. dioica. 



6. Clematis dioica L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 1084. 1759. 



Clematis amcricana Mill. Gard. Diet. ed. 8. Clematis no. 14. 1768. 



Clematis acapulccnsis Hook. & Arn. Bot. Beechey Voy. 410. 1841. 



Clematis grahami Benth. PI. Hartw. 5. 1839. 



San Luis PotosI to Sinaloa, Chiapas, and Yucatan. West Indies, Central 

 America, and South America. 



Very variable in pubescence and shape of the leaflets ; flowers often in large 

 showy panicles; fruit conspicuous because of the feathery tails, these 3 to 6 

 cm. long. " Cabeza de vie.ia " (Chiapas) ; "barba de viejo " (Tabasco, Michoa- 

 c^n, Valley of Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua) ; " barbas de chivo " 

 (Michoacan, etc.); "barba de chivato " (Nuevo Le6n) ; "barbas de gato " 

 (Mexico); " chilillo " (Michoacjin) ; " chilillo de cerro " (Hidalgo); " cabellos 

 de angel" (Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba, Porto Rico); " crespillo " (Nica- 

 ragua). 



Known in Jamaica as " virgin's-bower " and "traveler's joy." The stems 

 contain a coarse fiber and are used occasionally as a substitute for twine. 

 The leaves of this and other species have an acrid flavor ; crushed and ap- 

 plied to the skin they are rubefacient and finally vesicant, and because of this 

 property they are used in domestic medicine. The dried leaves lose their 

 acrid properties. An ointment made with the leaves is used for cutaneous 

 diseases. An infusion of the flowers and leaves is employed as a cosmetic, 

 for removing freckles and other blemishes from the skin. The plant is said to 

 he poisonous to cattle, and the root to have purgative properties. ' 



In spite of the variability exhibited, it seems impossible to divide the ample 

 material at hand into groups characterized by any constant or important char- 

 acter. Specimens referred by Hemsley to C. fiammiilastrum Griseb. belong here, 

 as well as material referred to C. caripensis H. B. K. and C. sericea H. B. K. 



Clematis dioica or a closely related species is figured and described by Her- 

 nandez ^ under the heading. " De Cocoztamntl, sen luteo tamatli, Urinaria 

 rairabili." His account, in part, is as follows: 



" Cocoztamatl, which some call Cocoztic, Cocoztiri, or Cocoztli, is a climbing 

 shrub, having a thick pale root, whence the name. The stems are smooth, slen- 

 der, and round; the leaves sinuous and divided into three points. The flowers 

 are white, of moderate size, very like those of Izquixochitl, and from them 

 there spring berries, not unlike cherries, but white in color. The root is pale and 



' Thesaurus 118. 1651. 



