152 Ex Doc No. 41. 



CONIFERS. 



.ft 



Mexico 



Ephedra occidentalis, Willd.l From the region between the Del 

 Norte and the Gila, and the hills bordering the latter river to the 

 desert west of the Colorado, A shrub 3 — 4 fget high, with numer- 

 ous slender branches; its appearance being that of Scotch broom. 

 (Spartium scoparium.) The sheaths are very long, S-parted, with 

 subulate-acuminate segments. This can hardly be the .E. America' 

 na of Quito, w^hich is described as having 2-parted sheaths. The 

 specimens are "without either flowers or fruit. If the species should 

 prove to be new, it may be called E. trifurcus. There seems to be 

 still another species, growing on the table lands of N^w 

 differing from the preceding in its very short sheaths. 



Juniperus. Two undetermined species were found in crossing 

 the country from the Del Norte to the Gila. Both of them have 

 the general character of J. Virginiana, One is a large tree, with 

 acerose leaves, and a bark like that of apinus; the other has short 

 closely appressed leaves and berries larger than a buck shot. 



AMARYLLIDACE^. ' 



. Agave Americana, Linn. Found in descending the western slope 

 of the Cordilleras of California, This is the maguey of the Mexi- 

 cans- It shoots up a flowering stalk 10 or 15 feet high. Thejuice 

 of the plant affords an intoxicating drink called ))w/gwe. 



Another species of agave, or a very remarkable variety of the 

 preceding was found in New Mexico, west of the Del Norte. 1^ 

 differs from A. Americana in its much shorter and broader leaves, 

 which are furnished with smaller marginal spines. ' 



LILIACEiE. 



'of 



Yucca. The leaves only, of what appear to be four species oi 

 this genus, occur in the collection, but we cannot identify them lor 

 want of the inflorescence. 



. ORCHIDACE^. 



+ 



Spiranthes cernua^ Rich. Low grounds in the valley of the 



Del 



Norte. 



CYPERACE.^. 



Eleocharis quadrangulata, R. Brown. Valley of the Gila. . 

 Cyperus Michauxianus, Schultes. Valley of the Gila. 



w 



L 



Chloris alba, Presl. Spikes umbellate-fasciculate; numerous, 

 (8 — 12j) the peduncle inclosed in a broad compressed sheatn; 

 spikelets 2-flowered; upper glume nearly as long as the flowerSj 



