BOTANY. 367 



red leaves. It sometimes attaches itself to an oak-tree, be- 

 comes a climber, and attains a thickness, though very rarely, 

 of four inches in the trunk, with a height of forty feet. 



293. Various Plants. The amole, ( Chlorogalum pomer- 

 idianwn) or soap-plant, has an onion-like, bulbous root, which, 

 when rubbed in water, makes a lather like soap, and is good 

 for removing dirt. It was extensively used for washing, by 

 the Indians and Spanish Californians, previous to the American 

 conquest. The amole has a stalk four or five feet high, from 

 which branches about eighteen inches long spring out. The 

 branches are covered with buds, which open in the night, be- 

 ginning at the root of the boughs, about four inches of a branch 

 opening at a time. The next night, the buds of another four 

 inches open, and so on. The dry bulb abounds in tough fibers, 

 which are separated from the other material, and used as a 

 substitute for hair in mattresses. 



The mistletoe grows abundantly on the oak-trees of Califor- 

 nia. The Spanish moss, (E-oernia jubata) which hangs in long 

 lace-like gray beards from the branches, also serves to give 

 beauty to the groves in the valleys. We have willows and 

 cottonwood, which differ little in appearance from those of the 

 Mississippi Valley. There are wild grapes, blackberries, 

 gooseberries, huckleberries, raspberries, salmon-berries, and 

 strawberries. A truffle, or a root resembling it, is found in 

 the valleys of the coast and the Sierra Nevada. The grizzly 

 bear considers it a delicacy, and frequently digs it up. A 

 shrub called the "joint-fir," (a species of Ephedra) sometimes 

 used for making tea, is found in Calaveras and Tuolumne 

 Counties. In the valleys of the Coast Mountains is found the 

 yerba buena, (Spanish for " good herb ") a creeping vine, 

 bearing some resemblance in its leaf and vine to the wild 

 strawberry. It has a strong perfume, half-way between pep- 

 permint and camphor. The yerba de la vibora y (Spanish for 

 " rattlesnake-herb," known to botanists as the Daucus pusillus) 

 is a carrot-like vegetable, the leaves of which are said to be a 



