92 Rhodora [May 
“blanda. 3. R. germinibus globosis glabris, caulibus adultis pedunculisque 
laevibus inermibus. 
Hudson’s Bay Rose. 
Nat. of Newfoundland and Hudson’s-bay. 
Cult. 1773, by Mr. James Gordon. 
Fl. May—August. : H. h. 
Descr. Caules adulti laeves, inermes; juniores seu primi anni 
aculeis rectis subreflexis tenuibus armati. Rami teretes, inermes, 
nitidi, rubicundi. Folia pinnata: foliola plerumque septem, 
oblonga, argute et subaequaliter serrata, glabra. Petioli glabri, 
plerumque una alterave spinula armati.” ; 
In view of the fact that no wild rose is yet known from Newfound- 
land with the pubescent foliage, connivent sepals (in fruit) and parietal 
achenes which are so characteristic of R. blanda as commonly inter- 
` preted (R. Solandri Tratt.'), the writer supplied Dr. S. F. Blake when 
in London with a series of typical specimens of the various plants 
of eastern America which might have been involved in Aiton’s R. 
blanda. From Dr. Blake’s examination of the original specimens 
and their history it appears that Aiton had before him two entirely 
- different roses: (1) a specimen from Hudson Bay, 1773, which, as 
stated in Dr. Blake’s letter, “is true R. blanda as now generally 
understood, with tomentulose petioles, etc., and perfectly smooth 
calyx-tube”; and (2) a specimen collected by Banks from near St. 
John’s, Newfoundland, a branch with over-ripe fruit bearing glandu- 
lar bristles at the top but with the sepals fallen, which Dr. Blake 
writes “is certainly R. virginiana Miller (Crépin has written on it 
‘verus R. lucida’).” Prior to Aiton’s publication these two specimens 
had been written up, but not published, by Solander as different 
varieties of a manuscript Rosa blanda, the Newfoundland shrub as 
R. blanda a, the Hudson Bay shrub as R. blanda 8. Examination of 
Solander’s manuscript shows that in this, as in many other cases, the 
descriptions in Hortus Kewensis were derived with only minor changes 
from the Solander manuscript; but Aiton in the publication, which 
alone must be considered in settling the nomenclatorial type of R. 
blanda, took the Hudson Bay shrub as the primary portion of the 
species, making the Newfoundland shrub and the description of it 
supplementary. Thus the diagnosis “ R. germinibus globosis, caulibus 
adultis pedunculisque laevibus inermibus” clearly describes the Hudson 
1 Tratt. Ros. Mon. ii. 150 (1823). 
