1910] Wiegand,— Affinities of a boreal Galium 229 
Utah, California, Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, and Saskatchewan. 
The variety was described as being somewhat stouter and with less 
scabrous stems than the typical form; with larger leaves; pedicels 
variable in stoutness, rarely two- or even three-flowered, and nearly 
glabrous; and the following note was added: “This variety approaches 
G. Claytoni and G. Brandeegei." On another page (p. 391) of the same 
paper the following statement was made; "It has affinities on the 
one hand with G. Claytoni, and on the other in its smaller forms with 
G. Brandegeci." 
During the past summer the writer, in company with Prof. M. L. 
Fernald, obtained some interesting material of Galium in Labrador and 
Newfoundland which has led to a rather extended study of the material 
in the Gray Herbarium and the Herbarium of the New England 
Botanical Club of Galium trifidum, G. trifidum, var. subbiflorum, and 
G. Claytoni as well as other closely related species and varieties. 
As a result we both now believe that the var. subbiflorum is much 
more closely related to G. Claytoni than to G. trifidum, and that, 
although the variety is intermediate in appearance between these 
two species, an error in judgment was made in connecting it with 
G. trifidum. In addition, many sheets were found in the Gray Her- 
barium from various portions of northeastern America which were 
labeled G. Claytoni but which it was impossible to distinguish from the 
G. trifidum, var. subbiflorum of the Rocky Mountains. On the other 
hand, all gradations were found in the Northeast between this form and 
the true G. Claytoni. As a result we are both now convinced that un- 
questionably the var. subbiflorum is more closely related to G. Claytoni 
and should be transferred to that species and that the range should be 
extended to include the northeastern specimens mentioned, as fol- 
lows: — 
GALIUM CravroNI Michx., var. subbiflorum, n. comb.— G. trifidum 
L., var. subbiflorum Wiegand, Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, vol. 24, p. 399 
(1897). 
This variety differs from the typical form principally in the ar- 
rangement of the flowers, some of which are borne singly on straight 
or arcuate, axillary, less stout, often very slightly prickly peduncles 
of varying length, while other similar peduncles bear two or even 
three flowers on short ascending pedicels. In the typical G. Claytoni 
the majority of the flowers are borne on stout, straight, glabrous, 
' widely spreading or reflexed occasionally once-forked pedicels in 
three-rayed bracteate umbels. 
As at present understood the range of the var. subbiflorum is from 
