In Missouri, and as far as the confines of Mississippi, we also fall in with very productive sandy plains alternating with wooded uplands. This country recalls, on the whole, the aspect of that which we have just described, and the plants which thrive therein are almost the same. On the hills and woody slopes in the neighbourhood of the Iron Mountain, we likewise meet with sufficiently verdurous prairies. M. Trécul collected there numerous Gramineæ, some species of Carex, Plantains, Euphorbias, Polygalas, and Vervains; many genera, in fact, which in France, and similar soils elsewhere, have numerous representatives. It is in the grassy tracts of the wooded districts that the larger species of _Phlox_ flourish, while the smaller varieties of the same genus vegetate upon the hills. The low humid meadows enchant us with their gorgeous scarlet _Actæas_,[111] their yellow Balsams their _Echinacea purpureas_, and their superb Lilies; those which are dry and rather stony are covered with the broad golden flowers of the gay _OEnothera macrocarpa_.[112] [Illustration: VEGETABLE LIFE IN THE AMERICAN PRAIRIES. 1. Liatris squarrosa. 3. Asclepias Cornuti. 2. Calliopsis tinctoria. 4. Tripsacum dactyloides. 5. Gaura Lindheimeri.] Among the shrubs which people the marshy tracts of this same region, I must point out the _Sassafras_, a kind of laurel with deciduous leaves, yellow flowers, which precede the foliage, and small dark-blue fruit. It is found from Canada to Florida; a mere bush in the north, but a tree fifty feet high in the south. The wood is soft, light, of a coarse fibre, with a pungent aromatic taste, and a strong agreeable odour. The wood is brought to market in the shape of chips, but for medicinal purposes the thick spongy bark of the root is prepared, and it is found extremely valuable as a powerful stimulant, sodorific, and diuretic. The mucilaginous leaves are employed in thickening soup. An infusion of the bark or wood makes a pleasant beverage, formerly known as _Saloop_; and the wood also yields an oil which is used medicinally.