I20 



California Art & Nature. 



Genns APOCYM'M Tonrnefort. 



APOCYNUM CANNABINUM L. 



Apocynum Cannabinum L. — Indian 

 hemp possesses diuretic, cathartic, 

 emetic and diaphoretic properties. Of 

 wide distribution, from Oregon to Baja 

 California, eastward to the Atlantic. A 

 very useful remedy in many diseases, 

 sometimes called Am.erican Ipecac. 

 A. ANDROSASEMIPOLIUM Linn. 



Apocynum androsasemifolium L. — Of 

 equally wide distribution as the last, 

 with similar medical properties. 

 ASCLEPIADACEAE. 



Genus PHILIBERTELLA Vail. 

 "Calyx small, 5-parted, the lobes acute; 

 corolla campanulate or rotate, deeply 5- 

 parted, the lobes acute or obtuse, with a 

 shallow entire or uodula^e ring forming 

 an outer crown in its throat, the inner or 

 stamineal crown consi.-Aing of 5 turgid 

 fleshy or hard scales, of flattish appen- 

 dages, attached in a circle at the base of 

 the sessile or slightly stalked gynostegi- 

 um (column), forming a hollow entiieor 

 undulate .spreading surface near the lev- 

 el of the conical stigmas; follicles naktd, 

 slender, attenuate at both ends or obtuse 

 at the base. Twining herbs, or partly 

 shrubby plants, of warm regions, with 

 opposite glabrous pubescent or woolly 

 leaves a umbellate sometimes fragrant 

 A showy fls."-^.\nna Murray Vail Torr 

 cl b 24 305 (Je 1897). 

 P HARTWEGII Vaillc 

 var heterophylla Vail 

 i\ HIRTELLA Vail 



Genns ASCLEPIAS Llnnaens, 

 ASCLEPIAS SUBULATA Decsne. 

 Asclepias Subulata Decsne. — ^"Jumete" 

 is a very powerful cathartic, equal in 

 activity to croton oil. The Indians are 

 said to use it in cases of syphillis after 

 all other remedies fail to bring relief; 

 an overdose often resulting in incur- 

 able insanity or death. In Mexico the 

 juice of this or a similar plant is said 

 to be often used in cases of enmity, the 

 victim of the insidious drug becoming 

 insane for life if not mercifully relieved 

 at once by death. Tradition says that 

 Maximilian's unfortunate empress, 

 Carlotta, was a victim of this drug. 



but the truth of this may never be 

 known. 



ASCLEPIAS ALBICANS S. Watson. 



Asclepias Albicans Watson. — A larger 

 species of jumete, from the Colorado 

 desert and adjacent regions in Baja 

 California, is credited popularly with 

 the same powerful cathartic proper- 

 ties as the last. 



ASCLEPIAS ERIOCARPA Benth. 

 ASCLEPIAS EROS A Torr. 

 ASCLEPIAS MEXICANA Cav. 

 ASCLEPIAS VESTITA H. & A. 



ASTEPHANUS UTAHENSIS Engelm. 



HenviH GO^BPHOCARPl'S R. Brown. 



GOMPHOCARPCS TOMENTOSUS A. G. 



Genus SARCOSTEMMA R. Brown. 



S heterophyllum E is Philibertia hnea 



ris heterophylla fide G 

 PHILIBERTIA TORREYI A. Gray. 

 GENTIANACEAE. 

 Genus ERYTHRAEA Pers. 

 ERYTHRAEA DOUGLASII A. Gray. 



Erythraea Douglasii Gray. — "It con- 

 tains a bitter, tonic principle, valued 

 for malarial diseases, and known as 

 'conchalagua,' " (Mrs. Bingham) in 

 common with other plants of the order 

 Gentianaceae. 



ERYTHRAEA MUHLENBERGII Griseb, 

 ERYTHRAEA VENUSTA A. Gray. 



Erythraea venusta Gray. — This is the 

 common "canchalagua" of Southern 

 and Baja California, which grows lux- 

 uriantly and abundantly in wet seasons 

 and is usually gathered and kept con- 

 stantly in store by many Mexican and 

 Indian families. The following letter, 

 published in the West American Sci- 

 entist (VI. 84) will here be found of in- 

 terest as giving some reliable informa- 

 tion regarding this and other native 

 plants possessing medicinal virtue: 



Editor of the West American Scien- 

 tist — We beg to acknowledge receipt of 

 your favor, and in reply thereto, we 

 beg to state as follows: Conchala- 

 gua is, as you mention, the Erythraea 

 venustia Gray, but more popularly 

 known as California Centaury, Califor- 

 nian Pink, etc. 



Medicinally it possesses valuable an- 

 tiseptic and febrifuge properties, and 

 is in high repute as a bitter tonic and 

 stomachic, but we see no reason for 

 considering it to be the "August Flow- 

 er" so extensively advertised. (We 



