Tas. 5939, 
GILIA acHILLesronra. 
Native of California. 
Nat. Ord. PoLEmonrace. 
Genus Gitta, Ruiz and Pav. (A. Gray in Proc. Amer. Acad., 1870, p. 261). 
GixtA achilleefolia ; erecta, caule glabriusculo ad nodos sublanato, foliis bi- 
tri-pinnatisectis segmentis anguste linearibus patenti-recurvis acumi- 
natis, cymis in globum longissime pedunculatum densissime congestis, 
corolla calyce lanato unicolore Jongiore, calycis Jobis triangularibus 
acutis tubo multo brevioribus. 
Gita achillesefolia, Benth. in Bot. Reg, sub. tab. 1662, et in DC. Prod., vol. 
ix. p. 811; A. Gray in Proc, Amer. Acad., June, 1870, p. 277. 
A native of California, where it was discovered by David 
Douglas in 1833, and where it has been since collected by 
many travellers and botanists. As a species it comes very 
near to 4. capitata (Tab. nost. 2698), having the same 
Scabious-like ; habit but this isa much handsomer plant, with 
brighter blue flowers of a larger size, and collected into per- 
fectly spherical heads. These and their immediate allies are 
considered by Asa Gray, as together forming the type-section 
(Zugilia) of the genus, which he divides into twelve such sec- 
tions, including sixty-five species, of which all but two are 
natives of North America, West of the Rocky Mountains. 
G. achilleefolia is a hardy annual, introduced by Messrs. 
Veitch, of the Royal Exotic Nurseries, King’s Road, Chelsea, to 
whom I am indebted for the fine specimens now figured, 
which flowered in August of the present year. It must not 
be confounded with the plant figured under the same name 
in Tab. 3440 of this work, as also in the Botanical Register 
(Tab. 1681), and Sweet's British Fl. Garden (iii. t. 180), 
which is G. multicaulis, Benth., a totally different species. 
DECEMBER Ist, 1871. 
