26 Rhodora [FEBRUARY 
specific rank ; but in intermediate stations it seems to grade into the 
species," i. e., A. nigrobaccus. 
RuBUs ARGUTUS, Link, is the oldest name of the plant described 
under Rudus villosus, var. frondosus in the Gray Manual and in Brit- 
ton & Brown's Ill. Flora. As ordinarily found in western Vermont it 
is quite distinct from A, zzgro^accus, and though not so common it is 
of wider range, ascending to higher altitudes. But along the seaboard 
‘it passes by imperceptible degrees into that species. 
RUBUS ARGUTUS, var. Ranpi, Bailey. This distinct blackberry, de- 
tected first by Mr. Edward L. Rand in 1894, at Mt. Desert, Maine, 
proves to be common in New England. In habit it differs markedly 
from Æ. argutus. It affects shady thickets rather than the open; the 
canes are short, recurving, with few weak prickles or none; not stiff, 
strict and thorny as in the species. Last summer, in the mountain 
town of Woodbury, Vt., the fruit was abundant enough to be served at 
the hotel tables, and though small surely disproved the charge of being 
* dry and seedy.” At lower altitudes the inflorescence, leaf-stalks and 
leaves beneath are softly pubescent; the glabrous form of the moun- 
tain seems nearer to A. canadensis than to R. argutus. 
RuBUS CANADENSIS, L. This plant was the first among American 
species to obtain scientific recognition. Linnzeus, in his Species Plan- 
tarum of 1753 so christened a specimen collected by the Swedish trav- 
eller, Kalm, who several years before had made an extended visit to 
the French settlements of Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence. 
The name, however, was misapplied by American botanists, and the 
species remained unrecognized until rediscovered in 18390, in the 
mountains of western Virginia, at an altitude of 3500 feet, and named 
R. Millspaughit, by Dr. Britton, in honor of the collector. It turns 
out to be a common species in the highlands of New England. In its 
best estate the canes are ten feet long and an inch in diameter at the 
base. With its thornless stems, large flowers and juicy fruit, it is by 
far the most stately and amiable of all our blackberries. 
Rubus sativus. This is Rudus nigrobaccus, var. sativus, Bailey, 
which we are confident should be regarded as a distinct species. As 
we find it in western Vermont it is farther removed from A. nigrobac- 
cus than any of the four forms last mentioned. In pubescence it is 
quite like Æ. argutus; it has almost the smoothness of A, canadensis, 
and is even more dwarf than var. Randi. It is peculiar in its reduced, 
leafy flower-cluster, and very broad leaflets. The name chosen by 
