%l°yUi,'iP872BM'}  Pharmacognostical  Notes.  195 
spectabile,  Swartz,  both  with  white-lipped  flowers,  occur  mainly  in  the 
Alleghanies  and  west  thereof,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  they  may 
furnish  a  portion  of  the  commercial  root,  while  0.  arietinum,  R.  Brown, 
the  smallest  species,  occurring  in  Canada  and  the  northern  border 
States,  is  probably  not  collected. 
For  a  number  of  years  past  I  have  been  endeavoring  to  procure  the 
four  species  first  mentioned,  with  root  and  flowers,  but  have  been  un- 
successful. Mr.  F.  C.  Weber,  while  at  New  Albany,  Ind.,  last  year, 
tried  to  aid  me  in  my  endeavors,  and  obtained  from  an  old  herbalist 
there  the  information  that  C.  pubescens  and  parviflorum,  both  of  which 
plants  he  described  correctly,  are  collected  there  indiscriminately.  At 
Mr.  Weber's  request,  he  collected  one  plant  with  the  roots  and  the 
green  fruit,  the  only  one,  he  stated,  he  could  find,  which  he  palmed  off 
as  the  first-named  species,  but  which  was  promptly  recognized  by  me 
as  Uvularia  yerfoliata^  Lin.  This  deception  was  doubtless  purposely 
attempted. 
No  better  success  attended  my  inquiries  of  dealers  in  indigenous 
drugs,  who  appear  to  sell  these  goods  without  questioning  their  iden- 
tity, relying  upon  the  statements  of  the  Western  collectors.  The 
only  way  to  arrive  at  correct  results  is  to  have  complete  specimens  of 
the  different  species  collected,  so  that  their  roots  may  be  compared 
with  the  commercial  article.  The  writer  would  feel  indebted  to  any 
reader  of  the  "Journal"  who  would  procure  for  him  one  or  more  of 
the  species  in  question. 
Cephalanthus  occidentalism  Lin.,  Rubiacece,  button-bush,  or  pond- 
dogwood,  is  a  shrub  5  to  10  feet  high,  common  throughout  Canada  and 
the  United  States  in  swamps  and  on  the  margin  of  ponds  and  brooks. 
The  bark  has  been  repeatedly  recommended  as  an  expectorant  useful 
in  consumption,  but  I  believe  has  been  abandoned,  though  it  may  be 
used  yet  as  a  domestic  remedy.  Last  fall  a  sample  of  the  bark,  with 
a  flowering  branch,  was  received  from  Texas,  where  a  gentleman 
claimed  that  the  bark  had  wonderful  curative  properties ;  of  what 
character  was  not  stated.  If  we  ma}'  judge  from  the  slight  bitter 
taste,  which  is  destitute  of  acrimony,  it  may  probably  possess  tonic 
properties. 
Ilex  Cassine,  Lin.,  Aquifoliacece,  grows  near  the  coast  from  Virgi- 
nia southward,  and  is  known  there  under  the  names  of  cassena,  yeo- 
pon,  yupon  or  yaupon.    It  appears  to  have  been  held  in  high  repute 
