174 A. E. Verrill— The Benda Islands. 586 
which may be a foot or more in diameter, but seldom more than 
15 to 20 feet high. It yields the astringent drug, “ kino.” 
Its leaves are thick, leathery, rounded or heart-shaped, and often 5 
to 6 inches across. Its berries are purple and grow in clusters ; pro- 
bably their appearance gave rise to the English name. Matthew— 
Jones stated that the berries were eaten raw by school children. 
They are sometimes used for preserves, but do not seem to be much 
valued. Widely distributed from Florida to Brazil. 
Euphorbia buxifolia Lam. 
Jommon in crevices of the cliffs and in rocky places along the 
shores. Leaves oval, pointed, crowded and overlapping on the stems. 
It ranges from Florida to Venezuela and the West Indies. 
Croton maritimus Walt. 
A grayish or hoary herb, 2 to 3 feet high, with thick, ovate, 
roundish, or slightly cordate leaves, on long petioles ; flowers small, 
in spikes. Common on the sand-hills near the shore. Ranges from 
North Carolina to Venezuela and the West Indies. 
KelGrass; Turtle Grass. (Ruppia maritima L. and Zostera marina L.) 
Both grow in shallow sea water. (See p. 448.) 
Crab-grass. (Stenotaphrum Americanum Schr.= 8S. glabrum in 
Lefroy.) 
The most abundant native grass; it grows in all dry and rocky 
places by the sea-side and on the cliffs, and also in the interior. It 
forms depressed or flattened rosettes of leaves close to the ground, 
and sends out rooting stolons, often several feet long, in every direc- 
tion. These may often be seen hanging down over the edges of 
cliffs and of rock cuttings along the roads, swinging with the wind 
and ready to take root in any crevice. 
Burr Grass. (Cenchrus tribuloides 1.) 
A common grass on the sand-dunes and one of the most useful of 
the plants for binding the sand. 
Sea Grass. (Spartina juncea Willd.) 
Ireland Island, in the edge of the sea. <A tall grass which grows 
in similar places, from Canada to Florida. 
