1904] Robinson, — Identity of Anychia dichotoma 5 i 



on the other hand prefer the earUest specific name, may continue to 

 call the plant A. canadensis, Britt., Sterns, <!v: Poggenb. 



Concerning the other plant, namely the one with puberulent stems, 

 the difficulty is greater. The only available names found in litera- 

 ture appear to be several of Rafinesque's, who in the Atlantic 

 Journal ' and New Flora "-^ characterized no less than six species of 

 Anychia, prefacing his treatment of the group in the latter publica- 

 tion by the following characteristic remarks: "The plants of this 

 G[enus] and others akin forming a small natural group, have been 

 blended with the G[enera] Queria, Paronychia, Achyranthus &c., 

 their synonymy and sp[ecies] are in utter confusion. Having shown 

 to Torrey 4 sp[ecies] widely different in habit, leaves and flowers ! 

 he pronounced them all varieties of Queria canadensis I They 

 require as yet a monograph, and must be divided into 2 or 3 Genera 

 by the stamens, that must all be examined again, since Michaux and 

 Nuttal[l] differ about them. I regret that I did not examine all 

 mine when met alive. Meantime I w-ill divide them into 3 subgenera 

 or Genera, and add some new species." A. nudiflora, Raf., is 

 described as smooth and may be excluded from consideration 

 on this ground. The other five, namely, A. polygonoides, fastigiata, 

 conferta, lateralis, and dii'aricata, are all said to be puberulent or 

 pubescent. Of these, the first published (if priority of position as 

 well as of time be regarded) was A. polygotioides, which was charac- 

 terized ^ as follows : " Stem dichotomous, lax, erect, puberulent ; 

 leaves patent, linear cuneate, acute, nearly smooth, stipules lanceo- 

 late ; flowers solitary in dichotomy, subpedicellate, erect. From the 

 mountains Alleghany, and estival like the three following \A. fasti- 

 giata, conferta, and lateralis^ six inches high." 



Every part of this description corresponds to the more loosely 

 branched specimens of our puberulent-stemmed plant, and there can 

 be no serious doubt that A. polygonoides , Raf., was what has long 

 passed as A. dichotoma. Further proof, however, is to be found in a 

 subsequent note ^ by Rafinesque, in which he states that his A. poly- 

 gonoides \s ^'' A. canadensis of Nuttall and most of ovir botanists." 

 This is significant, for at that time Nuttall, Torrey, De Candolle, 

 and others had all mistaken the puberulent-stemmed plant for 

 Queria canadensis of L. and A. dichotoma of Michaux., separating 



' Atlantic Journal, i. i6 (1832). ^ New Flora, iv. 41-43 (I'^^jG). 



•* New Flora, iv. 43. 



