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HENDERSON'S HANDBOOK OF PLANTS. 



ERY 



quets. The plant grows about two feet high and 

 w very branching. It is strictly an autumn 

 flowering plant, but if the seeds are sown early 

 in spring in a hot-bed, the season of flowering 

 will be greatly prolonged. 



Erysimum. Hedge Mustard. From eryo, to 

 draw it is considered a powerful cure for sore 

 throat; it is also said to draw and produce blis- 

 ters. Linn. Telradynamia. Nat. Ord. Srassica- 



An extensive genus, mostly biennials. All of 

 but little merit. One or two cultivated species 

 of hardy annuals make rather effective clumps 

 in the border. E. Arkansanum, western Wall- 

 flower, grows about two feet high, the stem be- 

 ing crowded with bright orange yellow flowers 

 as large as those of the Wall-flower. Propagated 

 by seed. 



Erythrsea. From erythros, red; the color of the 

 flowers of some of the species. Linn. Pentan- 

 drla-Manogynia. Nat. Ord. Qentianacece. 



A somewhat extensive genus of biennials and 

 annuals. The latter are of easy culture, and 

 produce freely small pink flowers. Seed should 

 be sown in autumn in the open border. The 

 biennials require the protection of the frame, 

 which their merits do not deserve. The annuals 

 are natives of Europe, and have been long known 

 in the garden. 



Erythrina. Coral-tree. From erythros, red; the 

 color of the flowers. Linn. Dtitdelphia-Tetragy- 

 nia. Nat. Ord. Phbacece. 



A genus of ornamental flowering green-house 

 shrubs, commonly known as Coral-trees. They 

 are found pretty generally distributed through- 

 out the tropics of both hemispheres. All pro- 

 dace scarlet or crimson pea-shaped flowers in 

 pairs at the axils of the leaves. E. Crista-tjalli 

 and laurifdia are from Brazil. Both succeed well 

 planted out in a warm situation in the open bor- 

 der, producing flowers in the greatest abun- 

 dance. They require considerable room, being 

 rank growers. As a shrub for the lawn they 

 have few if any superiors, their showy flowers 

 contrasting finely with their bright glossy foli- 

 age. K Hendersonii, a variety of recent intro- 

 duction, is one of the very finest flowers, a 

 bright scarlet, smaller than the other species, 

 but produced in greater abundance. As it 

 flowers earlier it seeds freely, so that it can be 

 grown as an annual plant. The only care re- 

 quired is to take the plants up, after the tops 

 are killed by frost, and keep them through the 

 winter in a warm dry room or in the cellar. The 

 roots should be kept covered with dry sand. In 

 spring cut well back before planting out. They 

 are readily propagated by cuttings of the tender 

 shoots, or from seed, which should be sown in 

 boxes about the first of January, and they will 

 make flowering plants the coming summer. 

 Ery throleena. Mexican Thistle. From erythros, 

 red, and Icena, a cloak; referring to the scarlet 

 flowers. Linn. Syngenesia-^qualis. Nat. Ord. 

 Asteracece. 



E. conspicua, the only species, is the prettiest 

 of all the Thistles. It is a tall plant, growing 

 from eight to ten feet high; the leaves, not un- 

 like the common Thistle, are at the base of the 

 plant, two feet long. The flower-heads, clus- 

 tered at the ends of the branches, are about 

 three inches long, and very handsome, scarlet 

 and orange. Young plants are readily obtained 

 from seed. Introduced in 1825. 

 Erythronium. Dog's-Tooth Violet. From ery- 

 thros, red; referring to the color of the leaves 



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and flowers of the species first discovered. Linn. 

 Hexandrm-Monogynia. Nat. Ord. L'diaceai. 



A genus of small growing bulbous-rooted 

 plants. Most of the species are American, and 

 are common in moist woods in most of the 

 States. With but one exception the native vari- 

 eties have large yellow flowers, borne singly on 

 a slender scape six to nine inches high. K al- 

 bidum, a rare species found in Iowa and south- 

 ward, has nearly white flowers, without the spots 

 on the leaves common to the species. E. dens- 

 amis, common in Europe, has purplish rose- 

 oolored flowers, with light rose-color within. 

 Propagated by offsets. 



./throxylon. From erythros, red, and xylon, 

 wood; the wood of the trees is red. .Linn. De- 

 candria-Trigynia. Nat. Ord. Erythroxylacece. 



Bushy shrubs or low-growing trees, chiefly 

 natives of tropical South America and the 

 West Indies. One of the species has a world- 

 wide reputation. For the following account and 

 description of it we are indebted to The Treas- 

 ury of Botany: " E. Coca is the most interesting 

 of the species, on account of its being extensively 

 cultivated, and its leaves largely employed as a 

 masticatory, under the name of Coca, by the 

 inhabitants of countries on the Pacific side of 

 South America. It is a shrub of six or eight 

 feet high, somewhat resembling a Blackthorn 

 bush. The Coca leaves are of a thin texture, 

 but opaque, oval, tapering toward both extrem- 

 ities, their upper surface dark green, the lower 

 paler and strongly marked with veins, of which 

 two, in addition to the midrib, run parallel with 

 the margin. Small white flowers are produced 

 in little clusters upon the branches, in places 

 where the leaves have fallen away, and stand 

 upon little stalks about as long as themselves. 

 The use of Coca in Peru is a custom of very 

 great antiquity, and is said to have originated 

 with the Incas. At the present day it is com- 

 mon throughout the greater part of Peru, Quito, 

 and New Grenada; and also on the banks of the 

 Rio Negro, where it is known as Spadic. Coca 

 forms an article of commerce among the Indians, 

 and wherever they go they carry with them a 

 bag of the carefully dried leaves, and also a lit- 

 tle bottle-gourd filled with finely powdered 

 lime, and having a wooden or metal needle at- 

 tached to its stopper. Four times a day, what- 

 ever the nature of his occupation, whether em- 

 ployed in the mines, the fields, as a muleteer, or 

 domestic servant, the Indian resigns himself to 

 the pleasures of Coca chewing, mixing the leaves 

 with lime, or the ashes of Cecropia. When used 

 in moderation Coca exerts a pleasurable influ- 

 ence upon the imagination, and induces a for- 

 getfulness of all care. It is also a powerful 

 stimulant of the nervous system, and when 

 under its influence Indians are able to perform 

 long and rapid journeys, and carry heavy 

 loads, without requiring any other sustenance. 

 But when taken in excess it produces intoxica- 

 tion, of a character resembling that of opium 

 rather than alcohol, but not so violent, although 

 the consequences of its prolonged use are quite 

 as injurious, and very few of those who become 

 slaves to the habit attain an old age. Spruce 

 says that an Indian with a chew of Spadic in his 

 cheek will go two or three days without food, 

 and without feeling any desire to sleep." A 

 preparation of Coca, under the name of " Coca 

 Beef Tonic," is now being sold ; but those who 

 use it will do well to remember that it does not 

 "make old bones." 



