1923] Fernald,— Distribution of Najas in northeastern America 109 
is too far north for successful fruiting but, having reached the Great 
Lakes by way of the Mississippi Valley, it has been able to spread 
northeastward into the Province of Quebec by virtue of its freely 
rooting stems and branches. 
N. GRACILLIMA (A. Br.) Morong is one of the most distinct species 
of the genus on account of its straight linear-setaceous leaf-blades 
strongly divergent from the conspicuously auricled and scarious 
sheathing base and its commonly subfaleate, very slender fruits 
with about 24 rows of longitudinal elongate areolae. Ever since the 
publication of Morong's Najadaceae of North America it has been 
customary to include “Missouri (Engelmann).”” in the range of the 
species. Considerable search has failed to reveal any statement . 
by Engelmann that the plant is found in Missouri and in 
order further to check the matter the Engelmann material of Najas was 
borrowed, through the kindness of Dr. J. M. Greenman, and search 
through this abundant material fails to reveal any specimens from 
west of eastern New York, New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. 
The error may easily have arisen through one of those endlessly 
misleading labels which bear at the top in clear print the name of 
the owner and his address, while the really important data is written 
below in an obscure hand. Thus material in Engelman's herbarium 
has a label like this: In print at the top, “ HERB. G. ENGELMANN, 
Sr. Lours Mo.” and below written in Engelmann's most Germanic 
hand “Najas Indica var. gracillima. Lake Quinsigamond, Wor- 
cester, Mass., Aug. 11, 1880. Ex Hb. Gray, 1883." It was ap- 
parently this or a similar label which led to the now almost traditional 
statement that N. gracillima (N. indica, var. gracillima A. Br. in 
Engelm. in Gray, Man. ed. 5, 681) occurs in Missouri. As a matter 
of fact the species is peculiarly localized: in muddy. peaty or sandy 
ponds or pools from southern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania 
northeastward near the coast to Knox Co., Maine, and locally 
inland to Saratoga Co., New York, (shallow water of the Hudson, 
above Waterford, October 21, 1922, H. K. Svenson), southern Litch- 
field and Tolland Cos., Connecticut, Worcester, Middlesex and 
Essex Cos., Massachusetts and Kennebec Co., Maine (Cobossee 
Contee Lake, August, 1898, T. J. Battey in herb. N. E. Bot. Cl.). 
Gray HERBARIUM. 
1 Morong, Mem. Torr. Bot. Cl. iii. No.2: 61 (1893). 
