68 ESSAYS. 



divaricata ; Cacalia renlformis ; Sliphium perfol latum ; the 

 larger form oi Coreopsis aurieulata, with nearly all the leaves 

 undivided ; the glabrous and narrow-leaved variety of C. seni- 

 folia ( C. stellata, Nutt.) which alone occurs in this region ; 

 Melanihium Virginicum, which is a very handsome plant, with 

 the flowers cream-colored when they first expand ; and Ste- 

 nanthium angustifolium, Gray, which is doubtless iheHelonias 

 graminea of the " Botanical Magazine." We also made an 

 excursion to the White Top in Virginia, twenty miles north- 

 west from Jefferson ; a mountain of the same character as the 

 Roan, but on a smaller scale, and with the pasturage of its 

 summit more closely fed. We were not rewarded, however, 

 with any new plants, and the cloudy weather obscured the 

 prospect, which is said to be very extensive. On our return, 

 we found Cedronella cordata, Benth., nearly out of flower, 

 with runners often two or three feet in length. Mr. Bentham 

 has omitted to mention the agreeable balsamic odor of the 

 genus, which in our plant is much less powerful than in C. 

 triphyllei. We saw plenty of Cimicifuga Americana, but 

 the flowers were still unexpanded. Our endeavors to obtain 

 the fruit of Cimicifuga cordifolia (common in this region) 

 were likewise unsuccessful ; without which it is not always 

 easy to distinguish this species from C. racemosa. The leaf- 

 lets of the former are frequently very large, the terminal ones 

 resembling the leaves of the Vine in size and shape, as re- 

 marked by De Candolle ; in one instance we found them ten 

 inches in diameter ; but they are generally much smaller and 

 more divided, apparently passing into the former species. 

 The number of the ovaries does not afford marked characters, 

 since the lowest flowers of C. racemosa sometimes present 

 two, while the upper ones of (7. cordifolia are almost always 

 monogynous. 



We were too early in the season for several interesting 

 plants, especially Composites, and did not extend our re- 

 searches far enough south to obtain many others ; such as 

 Hudsonia montana, which appears to be confined to Table 

 Mountain, Rhododendron punctatum, Stuartia pentagyna, 

 Philadelphus hirsutus, Silene ovata (which Mr. Curtis found 



