of W. chinensis. Their figure is an admirable representation 
of the variety. 
The genus Wistaria, as ‘at present constituted, appears 
to me to want reconsideration, for I feel sure that had 
Bentham, when describing it, either seen fruits of W. 
chinensis, or the figure of that organ in Siebold & Zucca- 
rini’s Flora, he would not have retained it in the same 
genus with the American W. speciosa without remark, if at 
all. Wistaria was founded by Nuttall in 1818 on Glycine 
frutescens, Linn., a plant of which the pods are correctly 
described in the “‘ Genera Plantarum” as elongate, toru- 
lose, with hardly coriaceous convex valves, and reniform 
seeds. On the other hand, the pods of W. chinensis 
are of a totally different character, being oblanceolate, 
flattened, narrowed from the upper third or higher 
to the base, with rigid plane, thinly woody valves, 
densely velvety without and puberulous within; and 
the seeds are orbicular and flattened. On the other 
hand, there is what I regard as a true Wistaria of the . 
American type in Japan, namely, W. japonica, Sieb. & 
Zuce. (|. c. p. 88, t. 43), with cylindric glabrous torulose 
thin-valved pods, and small turgid seeds. This plant, 
however, A. Gray refers to the neighbouring genus 
Millettia (Mem. Amer. Acad. N. S. vol. vi. (1859) p. 
_ 886), and Bentham (Gen. Plant. 1. c.) regards it as inter- 
mediate between Wistaria and Millettia, the latter a badly 
circumscribed genus, to which W. chinensis may possibly 
prove referable. Should, however, it prove advisable to 
refer W. chinensis to a genus independent of both the 
American Wistaria and of Millettia, the choice of names 
for each may give rise. to controversy, for Rafinesque’s” 
Kraunhia frutescens in Med. Repos. N. York, vol. ¥. 
(1808) 852, is ten years earlier than Nuttall’s Wistaria. 
In this case I would suggest, as requiring the smallest 
change, the resumption of Krauwnhia for Nuttall’s plant, 
and adopting Wistaria, DC. non Nutt., for W. chinensis. 
W. chinensis true is apparently a common plant in N. 
China, whence it was brought to this country in about 
1881 by a Captain Welbank, and first figured in this work. 
There are many indigenous specimens in the Kew Her- 
_ barium; from Bunge collected on mountains N. of Pekin; 
from rocks and ruins of the Summer Palace, and from — 
