1904] Fernakl, — Michaux's Lycopiis uniflorus 1 35 



a larger thin-leaved plant of " wet woods." With the exception of a 

 corolla-distinction which proves very inconstant in material exam- 

 ined, the characters by which these two narrow-leaved tuberous-based 

 plants are separated are such that it would seem quite impossible to 

 distinguish from /. 7nc7)ibranacea large shade states of Z. communis, 

 while on the other hand it would appear equally difficult to distin- 

 guish from L. cotnmitnis open-soil states of L. membranacea. 



This attempt, however, to distinguish the shade state of the north- 

 ern plant from the smaller firmer-leaved plant of open moist soil was 

 made more than seventy years ago, while Michaux, more than a cen- 

 tury since, recognized that the northern tuberous plant was specific- 

 ally separable from the rarely tuberous L. viiginicns of the South. 



Michaux's material of Lycopus u/iijlorus,^ as represented in his 

 herbarium at the Jardin des Planles in Paris, consists of four small 

 specimens with the characteristic tuberous bases, but all very imma- 

 ture, only one of the plants beginning to show young fiowers — hence 

 the specific name. The specimens came from near Lake St. John 

 in (Quebec and except that they are very immature they are closely 

 matched by specimens of the common northern plant collected in 

 Cape Breton by John Macoun and distributed as no. 20,023 f^om t^^ 

 Herbarium of the (ieological Survey of Canada. 



Immediately after the puljlication of Michaux's Flora, Vahl 

 described I.ycopns pumilus:'- This was based alone upon Michaux's 

 material in the herbarium of Jussieu (Jardin des Plantes) and 

 Michaux's description of L. uniflorus was quoted. The only supple- 

 mentary information furnished by Vahl was that the plant had 

 lanceolate (rather than oval), subserrate (rather than dentate) leaves, 

 and procumbent small stolons. 



In 1833 Bentham, likewise, recognized the Michaux plant, as 

 Lvi'opus vi/xinii-us, ft pauri/Zorus,^ citing both L. uniflorus and L. 

 pumilus as absolute synonyms ; and an interesting sheet from the 

 herbarium of the late Jactpies Cay, now preserved in the herbarium 

 of the Royal Gardens at Kew, shows that Gay appreciated the dis- 

 tinctions between the northern and the southern plants which have 

 passed in America as I.ycopus virginicus. The original label in 

 Gay's handwriting reads: — 



' L. "uniflorus. I., pusillus, radice tuberosa : caulibus simplicilnis : foliis ovali- 

 bus, obtusis, obsolete dentatis : axillis unifloris. Hab. ad Lacus S-Joannis 

 et Mistixssins.'''^ — Michx. Kl. i (1803) 14. 

 ■^ Vahl. Enum. i (1804) 211. ^ Kenth. Lab. (1833) (85. 



