215 



as hi^h, iiiimilfly puberulout : j^laiids 4 or 5, yellowish, the pctah»i(l appendn^jje 

 reduced to ;i narrow, iiiiuutely HcaUopod margin; tiie pedicels carrying the 

 yellow anthers on short filaments raised above the cup; ovary raised on an erect 

 pedicel 1 line long, pubernlent wlu'n yonng, becoming glahrate with age; the 

 three slmrt styles slightly bilid; fruit when mature spherical in ontliue, nearly 

 2 linos in diameter, grooved between the carpolts, crowned by the short persist- 

 ent styles, tardily dehiscent; seed ov.al, 1^- lines long, gniyisli-greeu, obscnroly 

 pitted, pointo<l at snuiU end, marked at large end with a circular depressed area. 

 Oldham County, Tex. August. No. 409. 



Explanation of Plate XN'IIl.— Lower and upper part of plant natural size. Fi^'s. a, 

 b, c, d, involucres, laid open, ri'siicotively of A', pulijphylla, discoidalis, strictior Wriglitii, 

 seen fruin IhciiiMidi'. Fig. e cud view, Fig. /side view of seed of E. ttrietior, 'S. 



'riiis ditfers from the type of /i\ U'ri(jhlil in the National Herbarium in being 

 less ditfusely branched, with the branches more erect and nuiro rigid; leaves 

 sliorter, those in tlie inllorescenet; markedly reduced, shorter than the subtended 

 ])odicels; petaloid appendages much narrower than the glands; fruit and seeds 

 larger. E. IVriiihtii is described as having 4 glands; one of the first involucres 

 examined fmni the type spei-inien had 5. 



These two western species of Euphorbia are singularly paialleled by two 

 closely related Florida species, E. diseoidalis Chapman and E. pohfphylla Engiihn. 

 In E, discoitlfilh the leaves of tlui intiorescenco surpass the ultimate pedicels; in 

 E. poljiplii/lla they are shortisr than the pedicels and bract-like. There is no ap- 

 preciable ilili'ereneo in their seeds. 



Dr. Chapman, on a recent visit to the National Herbarium (May, 1892), stated 

 that he consi<lered his own E. dittcoiddlin and Engebnann's E. poli/phi/lhi one and 

 the same spetdfis; that he had had correspondence with Dr. Englenumu on this 

 l)oiut, but was not sure that he bad convinced that gentleman. Subsequent 

 study and comjiarison of these plants by the writer tend to establish the claim 

 of E. jiolyphiflla to a distinct species. The only mention of it in the author's 

 works is on page 535; "Euphorbia poh/phylla Engelm. Patterson, Check List, 

 p. 115 (name only)." Search for the description has proved fruitless. The only 

 publication known is through ('urtiss' plant No. 2498,* acconipanii^dby a printed 

 label, "Euphorbia polt/phi/Ua Eng., n. sj). Dry, sandy soil, liulian Kiver, Flor- 

 ida," fouikd in the herbaria at Columbia College, New York City, at Cambridge, 

 Mass., and at the Department of Agriculture. I therefore give here a descrip- 

 tion of this species: 



Euphorbia polyphylla Eng«dm. in herb. An erect perennial, 6 to 12 inches 

 high, with usually several branches or primary stems from the base, simple for 

 5 to 10 inches; leaves alternate, crowded, numerous (somewhat as in Andepiaa 

 verticil htta), linear, succulent; those of the inilorescence opposite and always 

 shorter than tins subtended pedicels; inHor(^scence bi- or trifurcate, its bran(dios 

 «>longatedat maturity, and spreading; color of glands of the involucre purplish; 

 ovary, fruit, an<l seed not appreciably different from those of E. diseoidalis. 



Thus, while these two Florida plants arc; certainly closely related, E. poh/- 

 phylla difiers in the short bracts of the inflorescence and the numerous, succu- 

 lent leaves of the stem. The glands in both vary faom "5" to 4.' 



' Tliese specieaniay be distinguished as in the siibjoiwd arrangement: 



a. Glands yelloteish 



1. Euphorbia Wrightii Torr. and Gray. Pac. li. K. Kep. ii. 1855, 174. 



Leaves of iiilioreHi-eiice longer than subtended podieelw. 



2. Euphorbia strictior Hoi zinjior. I'efaloid appendage quite naiTOW. 



Leuve.s of ijitloro.seeuce shorter than Hubtenilod jiedieola. 



b. Olands purplish. 



3. Euphorbia diseoidalis Chapni. Fl. S. States, 1865, 401. 



Leaves of intloicsceuee longer than subtended pedicels. Stem leaves relatively broad. 



GG54— No. C a 



