<<' 



y. 



Rhodora [Jaotaby 



tion of plants Ruprecht included it, as Trinius ' had previously done, 

 under Poa, indicating Atropis 2 as well as Phippsia, Catabrosa, Arrto- 

 phila and Dupontia as sections or subgenera, thus: 



"311. Poa (Phippsia) algida (R. Br.)." 



"312. Poa (Catabrosa) airoidea Koel." 



"313. Poa (Atropia) diatana I.." 



"314. Poa arctica R. Br." 



"315. Poa alpina L," 



";jl(i. Poa pratenaia L." 



"317. Poa (Arctophila) deflexaV 



"326. Poa (Dupontia!) psiloaanthaV 



On a succeeding page, in a note under Poa (Dupontia) prlligrra, 

 Ruprecht made the observation that these various sections differed 

 from one another in certain characters: "Atropis Trim (P. distans) 

 Catahrosae quoad glumas proxima, spieulas hahet (saltern m statu 

 virgineo) lineares, fere teretes;"' and "From the condition of the 

 glumes perhaps a series of genera as follows: Dupontia, Arctophila, 

 Poa, Atropis, Catabrosa, Phippsia, Coleanthus." The enumeration 

 of these plants as species of Poa, Poa (Atropis) distant, etc. by 

 Ruprecht (or Trinius through Ruprecht) and then the giving on a 

 subsequent page of brief, Inadequate characterisations with the 

 suggestion that these sections of Poa arc "perhaps" genera, does not, 

 it seems to us, clearly establish Atropis and others so treated as well 

 published genera dating from 1845. And it is noteworthy that most 

 authors who take up Atropis cite not only the Ruprecht reference but 

 the later reference to Grisebach in Ledebour (1853) 4 as validating 

 the genus. Grisebach, in Ledebour, certainly gave a clear generic 

 characterization and treated the species unequivocally as species of 

 Atropis, so that Atropis as a well published genus should date from 

 Grisebach's treatment in L853. In ISIS, however, Parlatorc, with 

 equal clarity and completeness had characterized Piircincllia as a 

 genus to include some of the species, P. distant and P. nuiritima, 

 later placed by Grisebach under Atropis: and it seems to us that 

 the cause of sound nomenclature is best served by maintaining the 

 fully and definitely published Piurinrllia Parlatorc (1S4S) rather 

 than the inadequately and uncertainly published Atropis Trinius in 

 Ruprecht (1S45, validated by Grisebach in L853). 



' Triii. (Irani. Suppl. OS (1838), 



I Rupr. 1. c <>1 (1845). 

 • Rupr. 1. C. 64 (1848). 

 < (irisrl). in I.oclrb. Fl. [loss. iv. 388 (1853) 



