96 
the place where the two stems leave the root-stalk they are flat- 
tened in the ratio of about 1:2. In some places the stems are 
grooved, plainly showing the double stem, while in other places 
there is nothing to show the fact except the flat stem. One stem 
is terminated by two heads crowded apart at an angle; the num- 
ber of rays in this double head is twenty-eight. The other stem — 
is terminated by a group of three heads, two barely separated — 
and the third separated at a slight angle; the number of rays in 
this group is forty. The arrangement of the leaves is affected 
much by the abortion—some are alternate, as they should be; 
others are opposite, and many are irregular. In the case of the 
irregular leaves, some spring from the stem almost opposite, some 
beside each other, and still others at various angles to each other, 
according as the buds were situated on the joined stems. In one 
instance two buds seem to have sprung from the same spot, and 
the leaves continue as one for a short distance, and then separate 
into two. ; JoHN K. SMALL. 
Phlox maculata, L., in Waterford, Conn. About four miles 
from New London, in a meadow beside Jordan Brook, is a small 
but flourishing station of the above-mentioned plant. So far as 
observed, it is confined to two patches, the larger of which com- 
prises an area of thirty or thirty-five square yards, the smaller 
less than half as large, lying thirty or forty rods farther down the 
brook. The plant grows very thickly in both these patches, and 
when in bloom fairly illumines the meadow. The interest in this 
station lies in the question whether the plant is or is not indige- 
nous here, Only a little way from the meadow is a farm-house 
which has been occupied by the same family for several genet 
tions. There is no tradition in this family as to its ever having been 
introduced, and no one now living remembers a time when it did 
not grow in its present pesition. Furthermore, it is not found in 
any garden in the neighborhood, and, in fact, I have never seen 
it in cultivation in this vicinity. Al these facts point to its being 
a native. On the other hand must be mentioned its very limited 
distribution, its occurrence so far north and east of its record 
range, and its nearness to human habitatiéns. If introduced it 
must have been at some remote time in the past. At any ed 
