PLANTS. 287 



nervous temperament should be careful not to use it to 

 excess, i? . 



The Fever or Peruvian Bark (Cinchona officinalis) 

 is the product of an evergreen tree, eighteen feet in 

 height and two in circumference. Leaves lanceolate-oval, 

 smooth and shining ; flowers are pale red ; the fruit en- 

 closed in an oval capsule. The bark, rugged and of an 

 ash-gray color, contains a yellow, intensely bitter sap, 

 which is most efficacious in the cure of fevers, and much 

 esteemed in medicine. Quinine, the chemically prepared 

 extract of this bark, is considered a specific in intermit- 

 tents. There are many varieties and relative genera, b . 



Evergreen herbs, smooth, creeping, with opposite leaves. 

 Button Weed, Partridge Berry (M. repens), etc. 



THIRTY-SEVENTH FAMILY. VALERIANACE^:. (Class 

 3. Linn.) 



Common Valerian (Valeriana officinalis). Stem erect, 

 furrowed, naked, and branching ; leaves pinnately divided ; 

 bloom's in panicles ; grows in woodlands, pasture-fields, 

 or beside ditches. The root is short and fibrous ; odor 

 aromatic, but unpleasant ; taste bitter. Cats are so fond 

 of this plant that, on meeting with it, they roll them- 

 selves over and over upon it in a kind of intoxication. 

 The root is used to relieve cramp. The extract of valer- 

 ian is recommended in nervous affections. 2. 



Pawnee Lettuce Field Valerian (Valeriana oli- 

 toria). Stem forked ; leaves obtuse-lanceolate ; flowers 

 bluish. Grows in fields, alluvial grounds, or in vine- 

 yards. Radical leaves are used as food, dressed as salad, 

 or otherwise cooked. Sometimes called Lamb-lettuce. 

 Oregon Indians cook and eat it. O. 



Nearly related to this race is 



The Scabius or Mourning Bride (Scabiosa arvensis). 



