STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 1025 



Several herbaceous species occur iu Mexico. Tlie two listed here scarcely 

 deserve mention, but they are usually somewhat woody at base. 



Leaves short-petiolate, obtuse or rounded at base 1. L. acinifolium. 



Leaves, at least the upper ones, sessile and cordate at base 2. L. gracile. 



1. Lythrum acinifolium Koehne, Bot. Jahrb. Engler 1: 322. 1881. 



Durango to San Luis Potosi, Veracruz, Puebla, and Chiapas. Guatemala 

 and Chile. 



Plants very slender, much branched, sometimes 2 meters high, the stems 

 brown, with exfoliating bark ; leaves oblong to elliptic-ovate, 5 to 30 mm. 

 long, obtuse ; calyx 4 to 6 mm. long ; petals purple or white. 



2. Lythrum gracile Benth. PI. Hartw. 7. 1839. 



Nuevo Leon to Jalisco and Veracruz ; type from Zacatecas. 

 Plants usually less than 60 cm. high, much branched; leaves cordate-oblong 

 or ovate, 5 to 13 mm. long, acute or obtuse ; calyx 4 to 5 mm. long. 



5. LAWSONIA L. Sp. PI. 349. 1753. 



The genus consists of a single species. 

 1. Lawsonia inerm.is L. Sp. PI. 349. 1753. 



Lawsoiiia.alba Lam. Encycl. 3: 106. 1789. 



Cultivated in many parts of Mexico, and in places growing without cultiva- 

 tion. Native probably of Africa and Asia, but commonly cultivated in most 

 tropical and subtropical regions. 



Shrub or tree, 2 to 6 meters high, glabrous, the brancWets often spinelike; 

 leaves opposite, oblong or obovate, 1 to 2.5 cm. long, mucronate-acuminate, 

 narrowed at base ; flowers 4-parted, in large open terminal panicles, sweet- 

 scented ; calyx broadly turbinate, 3 to 5 mm. long ; petals yellow, reniform, 

 nearly sessile ; stamens 8 ; fruit globose, 2 to 4-celled, indehiscent. " Reseda " 

 (Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia, Porto 

 Rico); " cinamomo " (Philippines). 



The henna plant is cultivated in tropical America for its sweet-scented 

 flowers. It grows readily from cuttings and makes a good hedge plant, some- 

 what resembling privet. The odor of the flowers is strong and resembles that 

 of mignonette. The leaves of henna are much used in the Orient for stain- 

 ing the nails, hands, and feet yellow, and also for dyeing the hair and beard. 

 A paste of the leaves applied to the hair or beard soon produces a bright red 

 color, which is considered becoming among certain classes of Mohammedans. 

 Frequently, however, an indigo paste is next applied, and this turns the hair 

 jet black. The tails and manes of horses are sometimes colored red in the 

 same way. From the flowers is obtained a perfume which becomes an in- 

 gredient of oils and ointments, and was employed by the Egyptians in eiu- 

 halming; also by the Jews in baths and in religious ceremonies (it is the 

 " camphire " of Solomon). The plant yields a dull red dye for cloth. The 

 fruit is reputed to have emmenagogue properties and the leaves are used in- 

 ternally and externally for jaundice, leprosy, and various cutaneous affections. 



6. HELKEIA Link, Enum. PI. 2: 3. 1822. 



Only one other species is known, a native of South America. 



1. Heimia salicifolia (H. B. K.) Link, 'Enum. PI. 2: 3. 1822. 



Nesaea salicifolia H. B. K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 6: 192. 1823. 



Heimia syphilitica DC. Mem. Soc. Phys. Hist. Nat. Geneve 3^ 12. 1826. 



Nesaea suphiliiica Steud. . Flora 25: 474. 1842. 



Along streams or in wet soil, Baja California to Coahuila, Veracruz, and 

 Oaxaca. Western Texas, El Salvador, Jamaica, and South America. 



