328  Cicuta  Maculata.  {Am-ju°iy%hiarm- 
English  name  of  deer 's-tongue,  Trilisa  (Liatris)  odoratissima,  Cassini, 
now  also  called  vanilla  plant,  on  account  of  its  fragrant  odor,  due 
to  coumarin.  This  species  grows  only  in  the  Southern  States,  and 
from  the  experience  in  the  present  case,  appears  to  be  replaced  in  some 
localities,  probably  for  use  as  a  tobacco  flavor,  by  another  more 
common  plant,  which  also  contains  coumarin  ;  for  the  article  sup- 
plied as  Hirschzunge,  was  Galium  triflorum,  Michaux,  the  so-called 
sweet-scented  bedstraw,  which  is  indigenous  throughout  North 
America.  The  package  having  been  labelled  deer's-tongue  leaves, 
it  seems  that  this  name  is  now,  in  some  localities  at  least,  given  to 
the  substitute  for  that  plant  for  which  it  was  formerly  exclusively 
used.  In  this  connection  it  may  be  mentioned  that  the  same  species 
of  Galium  is  collected  by  German  inhabitants  as  Waldmeister,  and 
used  in  the  preparation  of  "  may-wine,"  in  place  of,  and  as  a  substi- 
tute for,  the  closely  allied  Asperula  odorata,  Linne,  which  does  not 
grow  in  the  United  States. 
Tillandsia  usneoides,  Linne,  known  in  our  Southern  States  as  long, 
black,  or  Spanish  moss,  has  been  found  very  useful  by  Dr.  L.  M. 
Tiffany,  of  Baltimore  (Med.  News,  Dcbr.,  1890),  as  a  soft  and  elastic 
dressing  for  wounds.  This  so-called  moss  is  botanically  related  to 
the  pineapple,  and  is  classed  with  the  order  of  Bromeliaceae.  It  is 
a  true  epiphyte,  and  is  met  with  only  in  humid  situations  where  it 
hangs  in  long  tufts  from  the  branches  of  trees.  After  it  has  been 
deprived  of  the  softer  .portions  of  the  tissue,  the  nearly  black  fibres 
are  used  for  upholstering,  and  are  now  recommended  as  stated. 
The  living  plant  is  of  a  grayish-green  color. 
CICUTA  MACULATA,  LINNE. 
By  Robert  Glenk,  Ph.G. 
From  an  Inaugural  Essay  presented  to  the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy. 
This  species  is  popularly  known  as  water  hemlock,  musquash 
root,  beaver  poison,  or  spotted  cowbane,  and  grows  on  the  borders 
of  swamps  and  on  the  banks  of  streams,  flowering  during  July  and 
August.  After  fruiting,  the  stem  dies  off  to  the  ground,  but  a  bud 
survives,  and  from  this  the  shoots  of  the  following  spring  appear. 
The  flowers  grow  in  umbels  of  2  to  4  inches  in  diameter,  without  a 
general  involucre.  Calyx  consists  of  5  minute  sepals  adhering  to 
the  2-celled  and  2-ovuled  ovary ;  the  5  inflected  white  petals  alter- 
nate with  the  5  stamens  and  are  inserted  on  the  disk  which  crowns 
