138 



Rhodora 



[August 



his genus Eatonia and the description of the s])e('ies which he names 

 as the type — Eafonia piirpiirasren.s- — no one can beheve that Rafin- 

 esque's Eafonia is identical with that of Endhcher. Hafines(|ue says 

 of his genus that it is "intemieihate l)etween IIo/cus, Aim and Pan- 

 irum} He describes the spikeU'ts as l)eing polygamous, with one 

 hermaphrodite and one male flower, the latter enclosed by the third 

 glume, the first glume being "plus petite,"' characters which suggest 

 Panirum. His ty|)e species is described as being 2 to 4 feet high with 

 ciliate sheaths, divaricate, flexuose panicles, ])urple spikelets and its 

 habitat the salt marshes of New York. There is no Eafonia as we 

 have come to understand that genus, with divaricate pur|)le panicles 

 and none, so far as I am aware, which occur upon saline marshes 

 about New York or elsewhere. We must regard the Eafonia of 

 Endlicher, which he clearly describes, as an error in determination 

 and as quite distinct from the Eafonia of Hafinesque published eight- 

 een years earlier. This name as well as Rchoulea and Colohantliiis 

 being thus unavailable our little genus whose species have been shut 

 out from Aira, Tri.s'etum and Koe/eria, is without a name and is appar- 

 ently homeless, for authors differ as to its position in the grass family, 

 earlier botanists having associated it with the Areneae, while tho.se of 

 more recent times have assigned it to the Fesfuceae, following the 

 cla.ssification proposed by Kunth who allied his ReJx)uIea with Phipp.va 

 and Catahrosa. 



The following is a brief summary of the history or develo])ment of 

 the genus: — 



Michaux, in 1S03, described one sjiecies under the name of Aira 

 ohfiimfa, giving as the habitat "in aridis Carolina ad Floridam." 

 His description is very brief and admits of Ijeing either Eatonia nitUa, 



1 Eatonia Rafln. Original descriptioti: "Estonia. (Gramin^p.s.) Fleurs polygaine.s 

 males paniculfe.s. Glume bifloie, tiivalve; valve.s iii^gales, mutiqiie, siir uii rang, 

 I'ext^rieure embrassante, plus petite; Tint^rieure plus grande. 2 fleurs eutre 1' iutgrieure 

 et la mgdiane, uiie hermaphroilite et une mile. Fleur hermaiiiuodite eiivelopi)^e par la 

 grande valve; glumelle & 2 valves 6gales, plus courte que la glume. 3 diamines. 2 

 styles flmbri4.s. Fleur male embrassSe par la glume in^<liane, glumelle a uiie seule valve 

 embrassante. Beau genre intertngdiare eutre les genres Holms. Aim et Panicum. 



Type, E. purimrascetts. Glabre, gatnes cilices, ligules barbues, feuilles 4troites, pani- 

 cule divariqu^e. fle.xueu.-<e; glumes t>v6es sans nervure, acumin^es. I'exterieure carin^e. 

 Glumelles hermaphrodites, ellipiti(iues ol)tuses, li.sses; glumelle male, ovale, aigue, 

 bianguleuse. Belle plaute de 2 a 4 pied de haut. dans les marais maritimes de New- York, 

 etc. Fleurs pouri)rees. C'est I'Hrt/rii.s s^?-)V(/«,9 rle quehiues botanistes americaitis, mais 

 nullement celui de Willdenow, ete. Est-ce aussi le Kovlcru pcDsylranka Dec? et 

 r Airopsis ohhtm de Romer? Mais c'est certainement un genre distinct. 



(Raftnesque in Jouru. d. Phys. 89: 104, 1819.) 



