STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 441 



matter is simple ; the dried plants are soaked in water, and the infusion drawn 

 off; the indigo soon settles to the bottom of the liquid and is rolled into balls 

 and dried. 



The use of this plant as a dye was known to the aboriginal inhabitants of 

 Mexico. In Sonora the Indians use it for coloring palm leaves and other 

 articles. In addition the plant has been much used in domestic medicine. The 

 Aztecs used the seeds for urinai'y diseases and for ulcers, the leaves as a poul- 

 tice applied to the head to reduce fever, and the plant as a remedy for syphilis. 

 Febrifuge, vulnerary, purgative, antispasmodic, diuretic, and stomachic prop- 

 erties have been attributed to the plant, and it is a favorite local remedy for 

 epilepsy. In Brazil it is one of the reputed remedies for snake bites, and in the 

 United States indigo is often applied to the stings of bees and other insects. 

 The powdered seeds or a decoction of the roots are said to be efficient in 

 destroying vermin upon the human body. 



13. Indig'ofera salmoniflora Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 5: 140. 1897. 

 Sinaloa ; type from Imala. 



Slender shrub, about a meter high ; leaflets u.sually 7 or 9, oval, 1.5 to 4.5 cm. 

 long ; flowers pink ; fruit 3 to 4 cm long. 



14. Indigofera cuernavacana Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 5: 140. 1897. 

 Morelos to Michoacan and Oaxaca ; type from Cuernavaca, Morelos. 



Slender shrub, 2.5 meters high or less ; leaflets about 9, oval, 2 to 4 cm. long. 



15. Indigofera conzattii Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 8: 310. 1905. 

 Puebla and Oaxaca ; type from Monte AlbS,n, Oaxaca. 



Low shrub ; leaflets usually 7 or 9 ; fruit about 2 cm. long. 



16. Indig'ofera palmeri S. Wats. Proc. Amer. Acad. 22: 404. 1887. 

 Durango and Jali.sco ; type from Tequila, Jalisco. 



Slender shrub, 1.5 to 4.5 meters high ; leaflets oblong or oval, 1 to 3 cm. 

 long ; fruit 1.5 to 3 cm. long. 



17. Indigofera fruticosa Rose, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 5: 140. 1897. 

 Baja California ; type from San Jos§ del Cabo. 



Shrub, 1 to 1.5 meters high. 



18. Indigofera thibaudiana DC. Prodr. 2: 225. 1825. 

 Indigofera excelsa Mart. & Gal. Bull. Acad. Brux, 10': 45. 1843. 

 San Luis PotosI and Veracruz to Oaxaca. Guatemala. 



Shrub, 1 to 3 meters high ; leaflets oblong to rounded-oval, 1.5 to 4 cm. long. 

 " Anil silvestre." 



/. costaricensis Benth. has been treated as a synonym of this species, but it 

 seems to differ in the glabrous upper surface of the leaflets. 



DOUBTFUL SPECIES. 



Indigofera lotoides Schlecht. Linnaea 12: 282. 1838. Type from Mineral 

 del Monte. Apparently not of this genus. 



Indigofera purpusii T. S. Brandeg. Univ. Calif. Publ. Bot. 6: 499. 1919. 

 Type from Barranca de Tenampa, Veracruz. 



10. AFOPLANESIA Presl, Symb. Bot. 1: 63. pi. J,l- 3831. 

 1. Apoplanesia paniculata Presl, Symb. Bot. 1: 63. pi. 41. 1831. 

 Microlohium glandulosum Liebm. Nat. For. Kjobenhavn Vid. Medd. 1853: 



104. 1854. 

 Eysenhardtia oHvana Safford, Journ. Washington Acad. Sci 6: 133. /. J. 



1916. 

 Coiima to Oaxaca. Guatemala. 



