The Shrubs of North Carolina 15 



6. Poison Oak. (R. Toxicodendron, Linn.) — A small shrub, 

 1 to 2 feet high, well known by this name from the coast to the 

 lower part of the Upper District. It is less poisonous than No. 5, 

 but is too mischievous to be meddled with by persons who are 

 sensitive to this class of poisons. The juice is an indelible ink 

 upon linen. 



It has been stated very positively in some quarters that the 

 dreaded disease, known in our Mountains and at the West by the 

 name of Milk Sickness, is caused by the cattle eating of this 

 Poison Oak. But our Lower and Middle Districts abound. in this 

 plant, where this disease is not now heard of, while in those 

 portions of the Mountains where cattle are affected with it, and 

 which I have examined with special reference to ascertaining its 

 origin, this plant is not found, nor any other poisonous plant 

 which is not common elsewhere. Besides, it is well known that 

 cattle do not take the disease if kept from those grounds till the 

 dew has evaporated. Its cause is yet a mystery, but I am satis- 

 fied it is telluric. 



The Mountain Tea or Winter green, (Gaultheria procumbens, 

 Linn.) so well known in the Mountains, rarely in the other Dis- 

 tricts, for its aromatic spicy leaves and berries, is an evergreen 

 shrub, but so small that it would not generally be considered 

 such. 



The next two genera have a fleshy fruit, but too large to come 

 under the class of Berries. They are well known by their names. 



1. Papaw. (Asimina triloba, Dunal.) — Not uncommon in 

 rich bottom lands of the Middle District, 10 to 15 feet high, but 

 in the primitive soil of the Western States sometimes 30 feet.. 

 The flowers are dull dark-purple, over an inch wide. The fruit is 

 about 3 inches long by 11/2 thick, yellow, and filled with a soft 

 sweet pulp which is edible, but does not seem to be agreeable to 

 most persons. The bark of the trunk and root exhales a very 

 heavy unpleasant odor. The wood is remarkably light and 

 spongy. 



2. Dwarf Papaw. (A. parviflora, Dunal.) — A small shrub 

 similar to No. 1, but smaller every way, found in waste grounds 

 in the Lower District', and in thin woods of the Middle and lower 

 part of the Upper District. It is from 2 to 5 fet high, the leaves 

 4 to 6 inches long, (about half the size of the preceding,) the 

 greenish-purple flowers V2 i ncn l° n g an d of unpleasant odor. 

 Fruit in clusters, about an inch long. 



1. Spanish Bayonet. (Yucca aloifolia, Linn.) — A native of 

 the coast from North Carolina southward, frequently cultivated 

 in the Lower District, and very showy when capped by its large 



