18a^.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 513 



Vol. VIII, T¥o. 33. Washington, D. C. Sept. 30, 1885. 



frost, but new shoots spring forth which during the first summer reach 

 the altitude of 12 to 15 feet. 



The large, glaucous, thickish leaves are used as healing and anodine 

 poultices. 



Nicotiana repanda, Willd., and N. trigonophylla, Dunal. (Wild Tobacco.) 



Herbs common, the first at San Antonio and westward to DeviFs River, 

 the second west of this stream ; the nearest Texan relatives of smoking 

 tobacco. Although not entirely devoid of aroma they do not seem of 

 much account for smoking. 



Capsicum baccatum, L. (Bird Pepper; the Chiltapin of Mexicans.) 



Very small, slender shrub, sparsely found in Southwestern Texas. 

 Its red, oval berries are exceedingly pungent and highly prized as con- 

 diment. 



EUPHORBIACE^G. 



Euphorbia albomarginata, T. & G., E. stictospora, Engelm., E. cinerascens, En- 

 gelm., &c. 



Small, prostrate herbs, common in Western Texas where, as in Chi- 

 huahua and Sonora, they are known as Golondrina and reputed ef- 

 fective antidotes against the poison of rattlesnake. The var. appendi- 

 culata of the last-named species, according to Mr. Thurber, is regarded 

 by the Mexicans of Sonora as a certain cure for the bite of rattlesnake 

 and other venomous animals : u The bruised fresh plant, or the dried, 

 steeped in wine, is applied to the wound. A tincture of the plant is 

 sometimes kept in the apothecary's shops of that country." 



Euphorbia antisyphilitica, Zucc. 



On the gravelly and limestone hills of the Eio Grande; " remarkable 

 for its long, terete, nearly leafless branches, which resemble an Equise- 

 turn." Whether this herb is endowed with such properties as its name 

 indicates, I have been unable to ascertain. 



Mozinna spathulata, Orteg. (Sangre de Drago, or simply Drago.) 



Erect, shrubby plant, with simple, flexible, biownish stems, bearing 

 wart-like spurs from which grow linear spatulate, or 3-lobed, leaves. 

 Common on the gravelly bluffs of the Rio Grande. 



The stems, from their flexibility and toughness, can be used as withes 

 and whips. They, as well as the roots, contain a reddish, astringent 

 juice which becoms quite frothy when rubbed, and are employed by the 

 natives as a remedy to cleanse the teeth and harden the gums. The 

 juice can also be used to make indelible marks on linen. 



Jatropha macrorhiza, Benth. J. multifida. 



Species of Spurge Nettle, with slender, reclining stems and pretty foli- 

 age, growing from a large, globular rhizoma. Common on the Lower 

 Proc. Nat. Mus. 85 33 



