60 Rhodora [APRIL 
and the fruit such a diagnostic character. The records at least show 
where fruiting specimens are to be found. 
I will quote from a few replies received, to show how diligently and 
yet unsuccessfully the fruit has been sought for by keen-eyed botanists. 
Mr. C. H. Bissell of Southington, Conn., says, “Have looked for years 
for fruit of Euphorbia Cyparissias, but have never found any. Can- 
not say that it never fruits, but it certainly does not do so usually." 
Dr. E. H. Eames of Bridgeport, Conn., writes, I have never seen any 
fruit of Euphorbia Cyparissias, although constantly on the lookout for 
it. It seems to be one of those instances where fruit is of little conse- 
quence for propagation, the root-system | sufficing." Miss Anna 
Shepard writes from Burlington, Vt., “We have no specimens of 
Euphorbia Cyparissias with ripe seeds either in the University Herba- 
rium or in the Pringle Herbarium. Dr. Pringle says he has never seen 
it in fruit, and he finds that his European specimens have no seeds." 
Dr. J. N. Rose writes from the National Museum, Washington, D. C., 
“We have about 25 specimens of Euphorbia cyparissias L., but none 
of them are in fruit." Prof. C. F. Millspaugh of the Field Museum of 
Natural History, Chicago, Ill., says, “Of the 50 or more sheets in my 
private Euphorbia herbarium and the sheets in the herbarium of this 
Museum there is none upon which the capsules are at all developed. 
‘These sheets are both from America and from Europe.... I have 
searched upon hands and knees through many patches of this species 
in various parts of this country in the hope of finding a capsule, having 
needed the same for a number of years in my work on the genus. I 
have, however, never seen a developed capsule on the plants in the 
United States. The plant appears, without doubt, to distribute itself 
entirely through the root system (in regard to its life in America). 
How frequent capsular development may be in Europe I am unable 
at this time to state.’ Mr. J. M. Macoun of the Geological Survey 
of Canada writes from Ottawa as follows, “I have looked over all our 
specimens of Euphorbia Cyparissias, both from Canada and the 
United States and find no specimens with ripe seeds, although we have 
quite a number collected late in the summer." 
These replies are quite significant and they indicate very clearly, to 
my mind, that fruit is lacking in almost all our herbaria not because 
the collectors have not happened to look for it in most cases, and 
were content with flowering specimens only, but because fruit is very 
scarce, in this country primarily, and doubtless to a certain degree in 
