100 



THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



lily tribe called in botanical parlance Chlorogahiin poincridi- 

 ammi, whose small lily bells of bloom gleam like stars in the 

 brown tangle of California waysides in early summer. The 

 white onion-like bulbs wrapped by Mother Nature each in a 

 coarse fibrous coat which slips off easily, may be crushed in the 

 hand and agitated in water, producing a delightful lather which 

 is both pleasant to feel and effective in remoA-ing dirt. 



Less known as possessing saponaceous qualities but more 

 poetic, are the delicate blossoms of several species of Califor- 

 nian Ceanothiis, called on the Pacific Coast "wild lilacs." 

 Among my pleasant memories of wayfaring in Southern Cali- 

 fornia is the gathering of handfuls of these blossoms and rub- 

 bing them up in some cjuiet pool of a canyon's rill. After such 

 an ablution the skin is left delightfully soft and clean, and in the 

 case of at least one species, fragrant with a faint perfume as of 

 almonds. 



Remembering this property of the Calif ornian Ccanothi, 

 I have recently experimented in a similar way with the flowers 

 of our common Eastern species (C. Arnericaniis) familiarly 

 called New Jersey tea or redroot. While not so freely pro- 

 ductive of lather as their Western cousins, they are yet very 

 satisfactory and impart to the skin for a few moments an 

 agreeable spicy perfume. The best results are obtained by 

 using the blossoms unmixed with leaves or stems. A less 

 desirable lather can be raised from the green seed-vessels. Tlif^ 

 plant is frequent in clearings and at the edge of dry woods 

 throughout the region east of the Mississippi and flowers 

 abundantly in June and July. Picnickers and campers will do 

 well to bear in mind the useful part it may be made to play in 

 a toilet al fresco. 



