NOTES ON THE NATURALIZED PLANTS OF SOUTH- 
ERN CALIFORNIA. VI. 
BY S. B. PARISH. 
THE CALIFORNIAN MESEMBRIANTHEMUMS. The genus Mesem- 
brianthemum consists of some 300 species, mostly of Southern Af- 
rica, but a few outlying members, for the most part littoral; inhabit 
Australia, the Canary Islands, Arabia, and the borders of the Med- 
iterranean.* In the New World the genus is wholly unknown, ex- 
cept along two stretches of the Pacific Coast, the one in North, and 
the other in the corresponding latitudes of South America. In the 
latter a single species occupies the Peruvo-Chilian region, and in 
the former four species have been found in California. 
The Chilian species was at first taken to be endemic, and the 
name JZ, Chilense Mol., was given to it,f but it was subsequently 
reduced by Haworth] to a variety of his AZ, egutlaierale, a species. 
founded upon Australian and Tasmanian plants. 
The four species which have been collected in California have 
been considered to be introduced plants. That such is the charac- 
ter of AZ. coccineum there can be no doubt. This is known only 
from the collection of Mrs. J. G. Lemmon, made fifteen years ago at 
Moore’s Landing and Carpenteria, near Santa Barbara. According 
to Mrs. Lemmon’s remembrance, the plant was not abundant, and 
had probably escaped from cultivation. It has not since been met 
with, and is not known to resident botanists of Santa Barbara. Dr. 
L. G. Yates during the present season has kindly examined the 
original locality without rediscovering the plant. It may therefore 
be dismissed as probebiy a transient fugitive which failed to become 
established. 
The three remaining species, however, occupy a very different 
position, and whatever may have been their origin, are both numer- 
ically abundant, and as regards at least two of them, widely distrib- 
uted. pee 8 
The earliest noticed of these is found as far north as San Fran-_ 
cisco. It was at first referred by Dr. Torrey, with some doubt, 
i 
_*Benth. & Hook. Genera Plant, 1, 854. 
tay Fi. Chili, iii, 7. Philippi. Cat. ‘Piz Vasc. Chili, ot. 
a Prod., a sane 
