Elliott, Stephen, 1771-1830. Stephen Elliott papers, 1791-approximately 1947. Letters from James MacBride to Stephen Elliott, 1811-1812 September 3. gra00020. Archives of the Gray Herbarium, Botany Libraries, Harvard University.

27. May 1812

[postmark] CHARLN SCA JUN 12 1/2 1

Mr. {Mister} Stephen Elliot Beaufort Mail

Quercus. x 1 Alba. palustris x 2 striatus x 3 alba x 4 falcata x 5. alba. adversum. Nn. x x 6. spinosa erent : aff x 7. palustris x 8. obtusiloba x 9. prinos. x 10. nigra x 11. palustris pumila x 12. Valentina. Nn. x 13. falcata. pumila x 14. acerfolia nn. x 15. rubra x 16. aquatica. x 17. angustifolia. Phell: aff 18. bicolor 19. castanea nn. x 20. cuculatum. [cucullatum] palust: aff nn 21. prinos aff N.S nn x 22. acuminata nn. x 23. fimbriata. nn x 24. barbata. nn. 25. macrocarpa . 26. prinoides nn. 27. tinctoria. 28. imbricaria x 29. rubra aquatica. 30. coccinea. 31. N.S. nn. x 32. triloba N.N. x 33. suberoides nn. x 34. banisteri. n.n. x 35. filiforme? nn. [Siveus?] - Cinerea catesbaei - pagodifolia Phellos - Lyrata maritima - pumila puna aquatica

Vaccinium x 36. fuscatum nn x 37. [senosum?] aboreum x 38. nigrum [disomor?] folium 39. frondosum tenellum? Stamineus x 40. hispidulum . myrsinites x 41. buxifolium 42. ovale x 43. ligustrinum. x 44. hirsutum x 45. myrtifolium. Beck? x 46. virgatum. Magnolia 47. tripetala. 48. macrophylla 49. pyramidata 50. auriculata 51. acuminata 52. cordata. Trillium 53. undulatum 54. erectum. 55. pupureum. 56. coccineum 57. cernuum 58. pendulum 59. grandiflorum ——— x 60. Andromeda polifolia x 61. Erythrorhiza rotundifolia 62. Mancisca? x 63 Panax quinquefolium x 64 Aralia hispida. 65 Cornus canadensis x Prunus canadensis x — montana. x Hydrophyllum histum — virginianum x 70. Actoa [Actaea] alba x Spirea montana x Amsonia montana Delphinium tricorne Pyrularia ?

73 Lonicera notha.. Napaea laevis Ackelea canadensis Oenthera? Hibiscus philadelphica. Onoclea. x 84 Streptopus rosea x — montana x Tilia canadensis 83. Henckelia viscida

St. Stephen's June 14th 1812

Dear Sir,

You may perceive I don't stand upon etiquette for tho' I have recd. no reply to my last I again address you, not that I have any thing important to communicate but because I am at leisure this evening & may not be so again for months.

Since my last I paid a professional visit to Clarendon but as my stay was very short, & my time much employed by the object of my visit I made but limited researches.

Kalmia angustifolia I found growing plentifully about the margins of the boggy rivulets running thro' the sand hills about 50 miles N. of this place & 3 miles east of the Santee river swamp. It was in bloom on the 18th of May & had been so since the last of April. W.C. Richardson who bestows much pains on the culture of our indigenous ornamental shrubs & plants, assured me that the K. latifolia grows abundantly on the high bluff lands just below Man =chester. I know it grows plentifully on the Sampit just above Georgetown. W. Richardson confidently asserted that in the same situation with the K. latifol. there grows tho' thinly a "larger species of Kalmia" bearing pink flowers. I suspect this to be a Rhododendron. K. cuneata grows abundantly on high ground in "large bays" in the middle grounds between Santee & Black river whence the Sampit takes it rise —

In Clarendon I saw for the first time in my life the Allium mutabile of Michaux. It is to be found in all the rich low lands from Nelson's ferry to Jack's creek. Michaux's description of it is extremely good.

Verbascum claytoni? I met with also. It was in bloom on the 18th of May. It grew near habitations & had the appearance of an adrena. Being on horse back I brought but a poor specimen along.

Lysimachia hybrida I found in bloom on the 1st of June in the rich swamps which are the sources of Cooper river. I have since seen it in Santee swamp. Its favorite soil is not often inundated nor miry.

Lythrum lineare bloomed about the 10th inst. I have only seen this species which is hexandrous & should have been puzzled to have made it out in Michaux who classes it 12dria, had Walter not classed it 6andria.

Anemone virginiana has bloomed, so has Heritiera gmelini. The beautifully red roots of the latter might furnish a good dye. I omitted to mention in my last that Planera gmelinii was Anonymos 363 Walter.

I attempted hastily a fortnight since to sketch to you an unknown plant, but I suspect I must have puzzled you for my description is both inapplicable & unintelligible. I wrote in the greatest haste. Instead of an acinose fruit which belongs not to polyandrous plants the seeds I have since discovered are enclosed each in an inflated capsule which bursts with some noise on pressure being made. The fissure is lateral. Capsules are certainly monospermous, the seed globular, they are collected into a capitulum as in most of the Ranunculaceae. Another mistake I must correct, the flowers are for me in planicles rather than corymbs. This plant I suppose is the Cimicifuga palmata (Mich) & very probably the Actaea pentagyna & diocea of Walter.

Have you ever seen a dwarf Ilex growing in high pine woods seldom rising above 2 feet, with leaves oval, acuminate, finely serrated, rather smooth above, but quite villose underneath? The fruit is a red berry larger than that borne by I. opaca [Ilex opaca]. It blooms about the middle of May. I am not positive in designating it an Ilex, but it is certainly diocea tetrandra & the berries 4 spermous — In the medical department I hope I am making some acquisitions. I have lately had some satisfactory proof of the virtues of Stillingia, Iris, & Eryngium in nephrotic & dropsical cases. Did I mention Vernonia angustifolia to you?

Delphinium azureum began to bloom early in June. I have preserved some good specimens. Trichodi =um decumbens was was literally parched up even in its favorite soils by the late heats & drought. This is not "sustinens aestatem"! The freshets have kept me out of Santee swamp now the waters are subsiding & at the same time drawing my attention elsewhere. This has been peculiarly unfortunate for I expected to have culled something rare for you from these ample field domains of Flora.

Anemone virginiana has bloomed, so has Heritiera gmelini. The beautifully red roots of the latter might furnish a good dye. I omitted to mention in my last that Planera gmelini was Anonymos 363 Walter.

I attempted hastily a fortnight since to sketch to you an unknown plant, but I suspect I must have puzzled you for my description is both inapplicable and unintelligible. I wrote in the greatest haste. Instead of an acinose fruit which belongs not to polyandrous plants the seeds I have since discovered are enclosed each in an inflated capsule which bursts with some noise on pressure being made. The fissure is lateral. Capsules are certainly monospermous, the seed globular, they are collected into a capitulum as in most of the Ranunculaceae. Another mistake I must correct, the flowers are borne in panicles rather than corymbs. This plant I suppose is the Cimicifuga palmata (Mich) & very probably the Actaea pentagyna & dioica of Walter.

Have you ever seen a dwarf Ilex growing in high pine woods seldom rising above 2 feet, with leaves oval, acuminate, finely serrated, rather smooth above, but quite villose underneath? The fruit is a red berry larger than that borne by I. opaca. It blooms about the middle of May. I am not positive in designating it an Ilex, but it is certainly dioecia tetrandria & the berries [4 spermous?] — In the medical department I hope I am making some acquisitions. I have lately had some satisfactory proofs of the virtues of Stillingia, Iris, & Eryngium in nephritic & dropsical cases. Did I mention Vernonia angustifolia to you?

Delphinium azureum began to bloom early in June. I have preserved some good specimens. Trichodi - -um decumbens was literally parched up even tho its most favorite soils by the late heats & drought]. This is not "sustinens astutem". The freshets have kept me out of Santee swamp, now the waters are subsiding & at the same time drawing my attention elsewhere. This has been peculiarly unfortunate for I expect to have culled something rare for you from these ample fields domains of Flora.

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I am very happy to find your work is in such forward=ness. I don't presume to give my opinion as to the propo= sed modes of publication, but could wish to see you come entire from the press — You doubtless see the great necessity of giving the generic characters fully & thus pre=venting the necessity of continual reference to the Genera & species plantarum works not to be procured at any rate, at least I have found them so. I think a taste for Botany is widely diffusing it self through= =out the U.S.A. & especially in the southern department. I find many willing to take up the study but botanical latin opposes too great a barrier. A work on the plan of Curtis's Flora would be eagerly sought after by men of leisure in this country — Dr. Barton did attempt such a work some years ago & I saw a quarto vol unpubv =lished in his hands, but it has been laid aside I believe.

I could wish to know the nature & extent of [?] your entomological notices. I have made [?] [?] [obs?]ervations only which may be useful to you [?] [?] so detached that I am in some [mea[sure?] [?] a loss how to detail them.

I am, Dear Sir,

Yours with great esteem

J Macbride

14 June 1812

[faded postmark] CHARLN S CA JUN 17

Stephen Elliot Esq. {Esquire} Beaufort. S.C. {South Carolina} Mail —