1878. } Rambles of a Botanist in New Mexico. 175 
myself for a day or two for the purpose of studying somewhat 
‘carefully the flora of the vicinity. In the early morning I wan- 
dered out among the picturesque rocky hills to find their sunny 
southward slopes covered with purple Phacelias (P. crenulata 
Torr.), scarlet Indian-pinks (Castilleia integra Gray) and many 
other plants less showy but more interesting to the botanist. 
Hemispherical masses of a low-growing cactus with light scar- 
let flowers (Cereus phaniceus Engelm.) adorned the otherwise 
barren rocks away towards the summits, and here also in the shade 
of a lofty overhanging precipice, I detected, to my great delight, 
the handsome saxifragaceous shrub Fendlera (F. rupicola Eng. 
and Gray). It was hardly yet in flower; but a few weeks later in 
the more immediate vicinity of Santa Rita I saw it in perfection, 
its gracefully recurved branches resembling wreaths of large rose- 
colored, or sometimes nearly white flowers, interspersed with nar- 
row green leaves. It is a beautiful bush, and one which from its 
home in the secluded mountain dells of the far south-west ought 
to be introduced to our gardens and made the associate of its 
much admired kindred, the Deutzia and the mock orange. I re- 
turned from this day’s ramble bringing a port-folio well filled 
with rare plants, and in my hand a bundle of the thick leaf-stems _ 
of a stout-growing species of dock (Rumex hymenosepalus Torr.). 
The latter I handed to my good-natured, obliging host, with the 
request that he would have them made into a pie for my dinner. 
He looked at the stems suspiciously, at me enquiringly, and said 
he would have the pie made if I wanted to eat it and run all risks. 
This I agreed to. On the previous day, after having traveled from 
early morning until long past mid-day without water, I had 
pulled the root leaves of this fine-looking dock, eaten a consider- 
able quantity of the thick, juicy and pleasantly tart petioles; and 
found them refreshing. I thought it worth while to try to demon- 
strate to these dwellers in a wilderness where there are no fruits, 
that in this common plant of the valleys around them they had a 
very tolerable substitute for rhubarb at least. Carson remarked 
that when the pie was taken from the oven it smelled nicely, but 
i could in no wise prevail on him to taste it. He was afraid the 
“weed” was “something poison.” 
As a Rumex or dock, this species is remarkable as growing 
not in wet places after the habit of most species of its genus, but 
often « on Sy ee far from Spee? and streams, just where its © 
