ROSE—MEXICAN AND CENTRAL AMERICAN PLANTS. 11 
8. Polianthes gracilis Link & Otto, Enum. Pl. Hort. Berl. 1: 331, 1821. 
P. tuberosa gracilis Baker, Handbook Amaryl. 159. 1888, 
Link & Otto, as well as Kunth, say that this species is from Brazil, but Baker and 
others refer it to Mexico. The original illustration suggests a species very near the 
true PP. tuberosa, 
I have not seen this species. It is said to have flowered at Kew in 1880. 
While I question very much the wisdom of retaining gracilis asa good species, I 
have refrained from merging it with fberosa simply because I know searcely any- 
thing of it. Mr. Baker is probably right in thinking it not a distinct species, but I 
should be inclined to go a step farther and treat P. gracilis as the form from which 
P. tuberosa has sprung. 
9, Polianthes montana Rose, sp. nov. 
Bulbs oblong; stems slender, 12 dm. high, erect, glabrous and more or less glau- 
cous; basal leaves several, 2 to 3.dm. long, 5 to 8 mm. broad; stem leaves about. 6, 
distant, much reduced above; flowers about 12 pairs (in my single specimen), all 
more or less pediceled; perianth 16 to 20 mm, long, slightly curved near the base, 
white; lobes small, erect, rounded at apex; stamens inserted much below the 
middle; filaments longer than the anthers, the latter included; ovary free at tip. 
Collected by J. N. Rose in a deep canyon near Santa Teresa, in the Sierra Madre, 
August 11, 1897 (no. 2178). 
10. Polianthes platyphylla Rose, sp. nov. 
Rootstock short and thick, giving off a number of thickened roots; rootstock 
crowned by an oblong bulb about 2.5 em. in diameter; basal leaves 3 or more, lying 
flat upon the ground, oblong, 7.5 to 12.5 em, long, 12 to 30 mm. broad, tapering at 
base into a short petiole, acute, glabrous; stem leaves 2 to 4, small and bract-like; 
peduncle 3 to 4 em. long; inflorescence a very open spike; bracts ovate, acute; flow- 
ers in 4 to7 pairs, whitish or red; perianth tube about 16 mm, long, at first erect, 
but becoming curved or bent near the base; lobes rounded, 2 mm. long, spr sading; 
stamens shorter than the anthers, inserted near the top of the perianth tube, included; 
style tips exserted; fruit nearly orbicular, or somewhat 3-lobed, about 10 mm. in 
diameter, 
Rather common on the northern border of Jalisco, along with P. gramiifolia, but 
much less frequent, and also on the slopes of the Sierra Madre, in the State of 
Durango. 
Specimens exainined: 
Durango: In Sierra Madre, J. N. Rose, August 16, 1897 (no. 2324). 
Jalisco and Zacatecas: On the table-lands, both sides of boundary, J. N. Rose, 
August 26, 1897 (no, 2598, type). 
The few specimens seen in Durango had white flowers, but in other respects did 
not seem to differ from the table-land specimens. 
Bulbs were brought home to Washington in 1897 which flowered in the Botanical 
Garden in 1899. These specimens had the flowers nearly white, tinged with red. 
11. Polianthes graminifolia Kose, sp. nov. 
Bulbs oblong, the coats thin, sparingly nodose; stem slender, 2 to 3 dm. long, 
densely puberulent below, glabrous above; basal leaves elongated, grass-like, 3 to 
6 dm. long, densely puberulent beneath, glabrous above; flowers in 8 to 15 pairs, 
the lower ones often on peduncles 1 em. long; pedicels 3 to 10 mm. long; flowers 
about 2.5 em, long, bent downward near the base, dark red in color; tilaments slen- 
der, attached low down in the tube. 
Near P. geminiflora, but with the leaves and lower part of the stem covered with 
a short, stiff pubescence, with deeper red flowers, ete. 
The plant is very common in meadows on the Mexican table-land along the bound- 
