226 Rhodora [December 



with whicli I have come in contact. Trailing on the ground, the 

 plant now covers a space perhaps 30 inches or so in diameter. I took 

 some of it home, but soon gave up the botany, and o[)ene(l (\>ntury 

 Dictionary to the word "Nettle." There 1 found "Chili Nettle," 

 with reference to its order "Loaseae," under which much to my de- 

 light I found a fairly good description of our plant. Next I sent a 

 specimen to Gray Herbarium, getting from there the information that 

 the plant is Blumenhachla ivsigiiLs-, a native of Chili, and probably 

 unknown, outside of cultivation, in North America. Since then we 

 have found it in Gray's School and Field Botany as a native of Chili. 

 Stem round, with fine stripes of darker green, and covered with long, 

 stinging hairs. Leaves opposite, palmately veined and divided (much 

 resembling leaves of the Skeleton Geranium), their upper surface 

 covered with long hairs, the lower pubescent. Flowers single, nod- 

 ding, on long, axillary peduncles. Petals 5, cucullate, white, ending 

 with an acute point. Five scale-like petals inside the others and alter- 

 nate with them, erect, with yellow base and red tips, resembling a 

 corona. Stamens, with slender filaments, in 5 sets, opposite the white 

 petals. Also 10 sterile filaments, in pairs, opposite the inner petals. 

 Style one, long-exserted, stiletto-shaped, pubescent. Sepals 5, short, 

 lanceolate. Ovary inferior, 1-celled, spirally twisted, covered with 



hairs. [ 



Other adventive plants from the mill yard are Amarantus spinom.fi 

 L., A. cris'pufi Braun., Aricmlna annua L., Xanthium ftpino.s'um L., 

 A^ Canadense Mill., Vemonia Baldwinii Torr., Solanum ro.sfratum 

 Dunal, Hcknium tenuijnlium Nutt., and FJeusuie Indica L. 



Some of these have already spread beyond the confines of the Mill 

 yard, showing a disposition to make themselves at home. Other 

 strange plants have started but are not yet sufficiently developed to 

 be identified. 



SouTHBRiDGE, Massachusetts. 



