64 
T!{H AMERICAN BOTANIST. 
St : iiMke it a desirable plant for lawns in 
Ar ; .. oially iiood where a low hedge is 
height and new stems si)ring from their bases, the plant 
thus requiring no pruning. In other days it was often 
called red root from the eolor of the liark of the roots. In 
the absence of other dye-stufis this bark was boiled with 
alum and yielded a cinnamon color. It was also used 
medicinally as an astringent and it may be added in pass- 
ing that it comes of a medicinal family, Cascara segrada, 
the base of a well known patent medicine, being an illus- 
trious member, while several others are nearly as fomous. 
of Ceanothus most ot them beautiful plants when in 
flower. One— Ceanothus divaricatiis—is known as the 
California lilac. This, as well as several other species, is 
also known as '^oap-hush from ihe fact that a good lather 
suitable for washing may be obtained from the flowers. 
The lather has an odor of birch or wintergreen and the 
plant is said to be an excellent subsiitute for soap. Bot- 
anists will recall the fact that the whole genus is allied to 
the Sapindacea or Indian soapwort family and so comes 
naturally by its saponaceous qualities. Our own plant, 
it may be said, is also faintl_v soapy, but in this case 1 
have obtained a better lather from the young fruit than I 
have been able to obtain from the flowers, though they, 
too, possess the quality. 
The best known appellation of our plant is derived 
from the tact that during the Revolutitmary War. the 
dried leaves were uscil for tea. It mny be tU)ui)tcd 
whethf r its use v.-as confined to New Jersey at that time, 
but in some wav the State and the plant h;)ve been joined 
in the name. .Uxonling to Willis* Practical Flora" the 
y. -.K' - . ^ . , ;Vjtui and dried in the shade, furnish a 
drill leaves have since ix'conje an 
..crce in parts (^r Pennsylvania. The 
said to be on the increabc. 
