ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



287 



Many of the Ranunculacre arc used in medi- 

 ciue, having acrid and stimulating properties. 

 This species has but little of these acrid qualities. 

 The root has a very slight pungent taste— a taste 

 peculiar to all of this genus— which the leaves 

 do not possess at all, but are succulent and 

 rather pleasant. The seeds are, however, quite 

 pungent, or "peppery," when chewed. It is 

 not probable, however, that this plant will ever 

 be used iu medicine. 



The most interesting thing relating to this 

 pretty little plant is its habitat. Prof. Gray 

 says it is found on the sea shore from Maine to 

 New Jersey, and adds that it is also found at 

 the Salt Springs, Saliua, New York, to Illinois 

 and westward. The question arises in the mind 

 of the botanist, Why is it found away from the 

 sea shore, if it is a marine plant? The fact of its 

 being found near the Salt Springs in New York 

 would seem to show that it lias a liking for 

 saline earth. Why should it be found on the 

 shores of the great Lakes? I do not know that 

 it is found an the shores of Ontario, Erie, Huron 

 or Superior; Foster and AVhitney, in their re- 

 port on the Lake Superior region (Geological), 

 do not enumerate it among the plants found 

 there. 



When I came to Chicago, in 1860, I found it 

 growing all over the city, even to Twelfth street 

 on the south, or as near to the river as was pos- 

 sible on account of the population. From the 

 mouth of the Chicago river, its habitat extended 

 on the north, west, and south sides to a distance 

 of two or three miles. Beyond that area it can 

 not be found; at least I have not observed it in 

 other localities. 



Why has it selected this locality? If it was 

 once a marine plant, and has become accustomed 

 to inland soils, why is it not found more exten- 

 sively distributed all over the country? We 

 know that there are several species of plants, 

 supposed to be marine, which have apparently 

 become accustomed to a different soil, and 

 flourish in inland localities. Would it seem too 

 fanciful to suppose the theory taught by some 

 geologists, that the great Lakes, now fresh, 

 were once salt, or that a sea once existed iu the 

 same location? If such was the case, we may 

 suppose that, when the change occurred, it was 

 so gradual that the flora on its shores was not 

 subjected to such a sudden transition as to 

 destroy it, but gave it, or a few species of it, 

 sufllicient time to become accustomed to its new 

 soil and atmosphere. We must either accept 

 this theory, or another, namely, that the seeds 

 of this species and others have been transported 

 from the ocean, or salt water, to this locality. 



I would like to inquire of the readers of this 

 journal, if they have found the R. Cymbalaria 

 on the banks of the Mississippi, or on the shores 

 of the smaller lakes of the Northwest; and I 

 hope this brief paper will call out some discus- 

 sion on the subject broached herein. 



[The E. cymbalaria occurs on the sandy and 

 muddy banks of many Western rivers, as on the 

 Platte at Denver, and on the west side of the 

 Mountains in Middle Park, and still farther west 

 on the Green river. We do not see that it has 

 any claim to be considered a saline plant.— Ed.] 



Corrections.- In an article on "Our Woody 

 Compositie," in the May number, it was stated 

 that, east of the Mississippi river, we had no 

 woody Compositai. This statement was based 

 on a hasty review of the Composite of the 

 Northern States. Our attention has been called 

 to the fact that in the Southern States there are 

 several shrubby members of the family in ques- 

 tion, for instance, several species of Bacckaris, 

 one species of Iva, and a Borrichia. We make 

 the correction with pleasure. 



In our June number we gave, under the head 

 of " Plants to Name," a list of specimens from 

 Mr. S. A. Forbes, in which we unintentionally 

 did him injustice ; as really the larger portion 

 of the specimens were correctly named by him, 

 and were contributions to the cabinet of the 

 editor. 



In the Natural Order Legmainosw there ai-e 

 no doubly-piunate leaves belonging to the sub- 

 order Papillionaceoi; but in the sub-orders 

 C'esa/pinim and JIfimoscB the pinnate form of leaf 

 is found. No pinnate leaves are known in Gen- 

 tianaceoi and Jiubiacem. Simple and compound 

 leaves frequently occur, not only in the same 

 family, but in the same genus. 



" It is singular that no mention of the beauti- 

 ful arborescent ferns is to be found in the classic 

 authors of antiquity ; while reference is made to 

 Bamboos, to the IJanyan, or Indian Fig tree, 

 and to Palms. The first mention of arborescent 

 ferns is by Oviedo, a Spanish writer, in 1.5;3.5, 

 in describing the vegetation of Hayli. 'Among 

 ferns,' says this traveler, 'there are some which 

 I class with trees, because they are as thick and 

 high as pine trees. They mostly grow among 

 the mouutains, and where there is much water.' 

 Between the tropics, on the declivities of the 

 Cordilleras, the true region of arborescent ferns 

 lies between about 3,200 and 5,350 feet above 

 the level of the sea. They seldom descend lower 

 toward the plains than" 1,280 feet. The mean 

 temperature of this region is between 64° and 

 70° Fahr." 



