600 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL, HERBARIUM. 



5. Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ; Klotzsch, AUg. Gartenz. 2: 27. 1834. 

 Poinsettia pulcherrima Graham, Edinburgh New Phil. Journ. 20: 412. 1836. 

 Euphorbia fastuosa Sesse & Moc. PI. Nov. Hisp. 80. 1887. 



Jalisco to Oaxaca and Veracruz ; cultivated in all the warmer parts of 

 Mexico. Central America ; cultivated generally in tropical regions. 



Shrub or small tree, 1 to 8 meters high, the branches glabrous ; leaves large, 

 usually broadly ovate or panduriform, acuminate, long-petiolate, glabrous or 

 sometimes pubescent beneath ; bracts of the inflorescence large and leaflike, 

 bright red; involucres yellow. " Flor de Pascua " (Michoac^n, Guerrero, 

 Veracruz, Hidalgo, etc., Central America, Cuba); "Santa Catarina," "flor 

 de Santa Catarina" (Oaxaca); " Catalina " (Durango, Hidalgo); " pano 

 holandes " (Oaxaca); " cuitla-xochitl " (Nahuatl) ; "flor de Nochebuena," 

 "pano de Holanda," "flor de fuego," "Nochebuena "; " bandera " (Durango) ; 

 " bebeta " (Veracruz); " pastora " (Costa Rica); " pastores " (Nicaragua); 

 " Pascuas" ( Philippines ) . 



This plant, which is generally known as " poinsettia," is cultivated widely 

 in tropical countries and also in hothouses in temperate regions. In the United 

 States it is especially common in florists' shops about Christmas time. The 

 bright red floral leaves make the plant extremely showy. It grows readily 

 from cuttings. 



The bark is sfiid to contain a red coloring principle, and it is reported that 

 the bracts yield a scai'let dye. In Mexico a decoction of the bracts is some- 

 times taken by nursing women to increase the flow of milk, but the practice 

 is said to be dangerous. The leaves are applied as poultices for erysipelas and 

 various cutaneous affectations, and Grosourdy states that the milky juice was 

 employed by the Indians to remove hair from the skin. 



6. Euphorbia xylopoda Greenm. Proc. Amer. Acad. 33 : 480. 1898. 



Known only from the type locality, hills of Las Sedas, Oaxaca, altitude 

 1,800 meters. 



Slender glabrous shrub, 0.5 to 1 meter high; leaves elliptic or obovate, 5 

 to 12 mm. wide, rounded to acutish at apex, pale beneath ; involucres terminal, 

 solitary, the floral leaves green and white. 



7. Euphorbia anti syphilitica Zucc. Abh. Akad. Wiss. Miinchen 1: 292. 1829-30. 

 Euphorbia occulta Klotzsch in Seem. Bot. Voy. Herald 277. 1856. 



"i Euphorbia ccrifera Alcocer, Anal. Inst. Med. Nac. Mex. 11: 155. 1911. 



Coahuila to Hidalgo and Puebla. 



Stems numerous, suffrutescent, 1 meter high or less, usually pale green, 

 minutely puberulent or glabrous, leafless, simple or branched ; leaves said to 

 be linear; involucres puberulent, in small clusters along the stems; capsule 

 glabrous. " Candelilla " (Zacatecas, San Luis PotosI, Coahuila, Durango, 

 Nuevo Leon). 



A kind of wax thickly covers the branches, and factories in Nuevo Leon 

 and San Luis Potosi have engaged in the extraction of this substance. The 

 plant frequently grows with the guayule {Parthenium argentatian A. Gray). 

 To obtain the wax, the branches are boiled in water, whereupon it rises to 

 the surface. It is grayish in the crude state but after refining becomes yellow 

 and finally white. It is used (mixed with paraflin) for candles, which burn 

 with a bright light and agreeable odor. It is said to be excellent for oint- 

 ments and for soap making, and has been found suitable for phonograph 

 records and as an insulating agent in electrical work. The wax has been used 

 also in shoe polish, floor polish, and lubricants, and for waterproofing. The 

 plant has pui-gative properties and is much used in Mexico as a remedy for 

 venereal diseases. 



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