122 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN. 



As a rule, the fruits of the baccate species of Yucca and 

 of Samuela are promptly eaten by birds, rats, etc., but 

 domesticated animals are said to like them, and, being quite 

 sugary, they are enjoyed by the Indian and Mexican chil- 

 dren, who commonly call them figs or dates. All that I 

 have tasted possess, in combination with their sweetness, a 

 characteristic bitterness, which makes them somewhat un- 

 palatable, and those of the Rocky Mountain and Mexican 

 region possess a rather viscid pulp which renders them 

 unpleasant to handle when broken. My friend Mr. Bur- 

 bidge has compared the fruit of Yucca aloifolia with black- 

 currant jam with a little admixture of quinine, its purple 

 color no doubt strengthening the suggestiveness. 



The seeds of the baccate species are said to be purga- 

 tive, though Palmer (I. c.) says that the seeds of Clisto- 

 yucca and Hesperoyucca are ground and eaten, either raw 

 or as "mush; " and Gambold (Amer. Jour. Sci. 1819: 

 251) states that the pounded roots are used as a fish poison. 

 It would be interesting to have their active principles de- 

 termined. 



All of the species, when used in the right way, are of 

 decorative value. Y. filamentosa, Y. flaccida, Y. gloriosa, 

 Y. recurvifolia, Y. glauca, Y. baccata, and Y. Harri- 

 maniae appear to be hardy as far north as St. Louis, and 

 Y. Treculeana is reported frost-hardy at Angers, France 

 (Garden. 12: 369), but the other species, so far as tested, 

 demand a climate scarcely less mild than that of our 

 southern states, California or the Riviera. 



PHYLOGENY AND ECOLOGY. 



Little can be said as to the origin or mode of specializa- 

 tion of the Yucceae. They are characteristic xerophytes, 

 even those which grow in the moist climates frequently 

 having a preference for dry places, such as sand dunes. 

 Their underground parts are frequently fleshy and very 

 tenacious of life, their stems hold a considerable amount 



