1874.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
101 
Butterfly-W eed—Pleurisy-Root. 
There are few of our native plants more 
brilliant in flower than the Asclepias tuberosa, 
which is showy enough to have two common 
names, Butterfly-weed and 
Pleurisy-root. We do not 
know whether it received 
the first-mentioned name 
because it is “ as beautiful 
as a butterfly” or for the 
reason that it is attractive 
to those insects; it was 
called Pleurisy-root from 
the fact that it has long 
been used in domestic me¬ 
dicine, and it has received 
some attention from physi¬ 
cians. It belongs to the 
genus Asclepias , or Milk¬ 
weeds, but, unlike the rest 
of them, it has no milky 
juice. The large, fleshy, 
and branching root throws 
up several stems one to 
two feet high, which; as 
well as the scattered or op¬ 
posite leaves, are hairy. 
The stem usually branches 
above, each division bearing 
an umbel of brilliant orange 
flowers. The flowers of 
this genus of plants are 
difficult to describe in a 
popular manner; indeed, 
their structure is so intricate 
as only to be understood 
by those who are well 
versed in botany. Our ob¬ 
ject is, however, to call at¬ 
tention to the plant as 
an ornamental one. Here is a plant that 
is not rare “from Maine to Georgia” and 
further south, that is highly prized in Europe, 
and olr:red at a good price by the European 
florists, that is very rarely seen in cultivation. 
Its native localities are dry fields, and we have 
DOOBLE CAROLINA JESSAMINE. 
seen it at the South remaining as a weed in 
cultivated grounds. It does well in ordinary 
garden soil. We have a clump which throws 
up an annually increasing number of flowering 
stems, and is one of the prized plants in our 
collection. There are several other of our 
native species of Asclepias, which find a place 
in European catalogues; these are taller and 
have flowers from flesh-colored to dark purple, 
BUTTERFLY-WEED—PLEURISY-ROOT.— (AsdtpiaS tubcrOSU.) 
and though not so brilliant as this one, are 
interesting plants and worthy of cultivation. 
A Double Carolina Jessamine. 
In April of last year we described and fig¬ 
ured Gelsemirmm sempervirens, the Carolina or 
Yellow Jessamine, that is so conspicuous during 
the spring months all through the Southern 
States. This winter we have flowered in the 
greenhouse a double variety of this charming 
plant. We give an engraving which shows 
that it is quite like the other, only double. As 
the history of this plant is interesting, as show¬ 
ing how near a variety may come to being lost, 
we give it. Last spring, our friend P. J.Berck- 
mans, of Fruitland Nurseries, Augusta, Ga., 
sent us a specimen, one of several that he had 
received from a lady in Louisiana, which was 
planted out in a bed with several other south¬ 
ern plants. When Mr. Berckmans was at our 
place last fall he asked about the Double Jessa¬ 
mine, and as it coukl not be found we supposed 
that, like many other things in the bed, it had 
been killed by the early drouth. Upon taking 
up our plants for the winter we found that it 
had been hidden by some quick-growing thing, 
but was in good condition. We wrote Mr. B. 
that the missing plant had been found, and he 
at once replied that he was rejoiced to hear it, 
as his plants had failed, and that the lady who 
sent it had died, so that he could get no more 
from the original source, and that we had, so 
far as known, the only plant in cultivation. 
The moral of this bit of experience is that 
those who have rare plants of any kind can 
best save them by sending a specimen to us. 
The Fragrant Olive. 
There are persons who expect to find every 
admirable quality in one plant. Such are not 
satisfied with the Camellia because it is not 
fragrant, and they would 
not be pleased with the 
Fragrant Olive, which, 
though fragrant enough, is 
not showy. But to those 
who are content with a 
plant as nature made it we 
can commend the Fragrant 
Olive. It is a native of 
China and Japan, where it 
forms a large shrub or small 
tree; it is an evergreen, 
with thick, ovate, pointed 
leaves, which are irregularly 
serrate on the margin; it 
bears clusters of very small 
yellowish white flowers, as 
shown in the engraving. 
The fragrance of the flow¬ 
ers is something remark¬ 
able; it is pervading with¬ 
out being powerful, and is 
not oppressive like some 
odors. We know of no 
other odor with which it 
fairly can be compared, as 
it stands alone in its refined 
excellence. The Chinese are 
said to mix the flowers with 
the choicer kinds of tea for 
the purpose of flavoring 
them. The plant succeeds 
well in the Southern States. 
Mr. P. J. Berckmans, at 
Augusta, Ga., has a par¬ 
ticularly fine specimen 
growing near his house which is eight feet 
or more high. We have a couple of small 
plants in the greenhouse neither of which 
is over a foot high, which have been covered 
with flowers for weeks. We have not tried it 
as a window plant, but from its behavior else- 
FRAGRANT OLIVE. 
where do not doubt it would answer admirably. 
We call the plant Fragrant Olive, as that is the 
translation of one of its botanical names, Olea 
fragrans. Some botanists put it in another 
