THK GENUS SAVINIONA. 163 



edges, the sides marked by radiating striae which extend 



■t 



. nearly to the margin. 



i^ Totally distinct from the S. assiirgentiflora of the San 



Francisco region by the excellent characters pointed out, the 

 \ plant is known to me only by an excellent sheet in U. S. 



Herb., collected at San Diego, Calif., in 1889, by Dr. Geo. 



Vasey. The small leaves have an abrupt open rather U-shaped 



sinus. 



S. ASSURGENTiFLORA, what I take to be the species so 

 named by Dr. Kellogg under Lavatera, was based on a plant 

 of the vicinity of San Francisco. I have at hand no fruiting 

 specimens at all from that region ; but what appears to be the 

 same is before me in good fruit from I^os Angeles, collected 

 by Dr. Hasse in 1892. Its carpels make a fruit nearly as 

 large as that of San Miguel 6". dendroidea, but the character 



of the individual carpel is very characteristically different. 

 Its exterior is both smooth and glabrous, its sides divided 

 into two distinct parts, an axial depression which is white and 

 stronglj^ radiate-striate, this being bounded by an elevated 

 almost semicircular corky or cartilaginous smooth and yel- 

 lowish part. There is also a very similar plant, with the 

 same well marked carpel, before me from Tia Juana River, 

 Lower California, collected by Dr. Mearns in 1894. 



The origin of these different things which have been 

 referred all to one species is a problem awaiting some future 

 generation of Californian botanists w^ho, instead of closing their 

 eyes to differences, and dogmatically proclaiming that things 

 are all one, shall have the will and the energy to betake 

 themselves to the field and honestly investigate. 



The following insular species, whose validity no botanist 

 has questioned, are 



S. iNSULARis. Watson, under Lavai 



] S. VKNOSA. 



S. OCCIDENT ALIS, '* 



