The rough, ill-smelling foliage of the Chili-cojote is a common sight in Southern California, where it may be seen trailing over many a field; but woe to the negligent farmer who allows this pest to get a foothold—for it will cost him a small fortune to eradicate it. It sends down into the earth an enormous root, six feet or so long, and often as broad. When the gourds are ripe, these vines look like the dumping-ground for numerous poor, discarded oranges.
Notwithstanding its unsavory character, the various parts of this vine are put to use—specially among the Spanish-Californians and the Indians. The root is a purgative more powerful than croton-oil. When pounded to a pulp, it is used as soap by the Spanish-Californians, who aver that it cleanses as nothing else can; but rinsing must be very thorough—for any particles remaining in the garments prove very irritating to the skin. The leaves are highly valued for medicinal purposes, and the pulp of the green fruit, mixed with soap, is said to remove stains from clothing. The Indians eat the seed, when ground and made into a mush. The early Californian women used the gourds as darning-balls.
This vine is a near relative of the pumpkins and squashes of our gardens.
The flowers are said to be violet-scented.
WATER-HOLLY. MAHONIA.
Berberis nervosa, Pursh. Barberry Family.
Stem.—Simple; a foot or so high; bearing at summit a crown of large leaves, mixed with many dry, chaffy, persistent bracts. Leaves.—One or two feet long, with from eleven to seventeen ovate, acuminate, prickly, somewhat palmately nerved leaflets. Flowers.—Yellow, in elongated, clustered racemes. Bractlets, sepals, petals, and stamens six, standing in front of one another. Anthers two-celled; opening by uplifting valves. Ovary.—One-celled. Style short or none. Fruit.—Dark-blue, glaucous berries; four lines in diameter. Hab.—Deep coast woods, from Monterey to Vancouver Island.
The water-holly is one of the beautiful plants to be found in our deep coast woods within the cool influence of the sea-fogs. The plants are very symmetrical, with their crown of dark, shining leaves, with numerous prickly leaflets, and in spring, when the long graceful racemes of yellow flowers are produced in abundance, and hang amid and below the leaves, they are very ornamental. The stems are densely clothed with numerous dry, awl-shaped scales, an inch or more long.
Another species—B. repens—the creeping barberry, or Oregon grape, is a low, prostrate shrub, less than a foot high, with from three to seven leaflets. These leaflets are pinnately veined, and have not the beautiful, shining upper surface of those of the water-holly, and the few racemes of yellow flowers which terminate the branches are quite short—only an inch or two long. This is found throughout the State and northward upon rocky hills.