THE PHILIPPINE PLANTS COLLECTED BY THE WILKES 
UNITED STATES EXPLORING EXPEDITION. 
\ 
By Elmer D, Webrill. 
{From the liotanival HeciioHy Bioloykal Lahoratonj, Uunnu of Science, 
Manilay P. /. ) 
Volllnu^s 15, IG, and 17 nf the reports of the Wirkes United States 
Exploring Expedition deal with botany, the two first published in 
1854 and the last from 1859 to 1874. The first of these by Asa Gray, 
entitled "Botany, riianerogainia, Vol. 1" (volume 15 of the whole), 
consisting of 717 pages of text, quarto, and a folio atlas of 100 plates, 
and considering the flowering plants from Ranuncdacew to Loranlhacra', 
is the one treated of in detail in the following paper, although in this in- 
troduction it has been considered advisable to include some notice of the 
other two volumes dealing with the vascular and cellular cryptogams, so 
far as they apply to the Philippines. 
Volume IG, entitled "Botany, Cryptogamia, Filices including Lycopo- 
diaceae and Hydropterides," by William D. Brackenridge, was published 
in 1854, consisting of viii + 357 pages, qixarto, and a folio atlas of 46 
plates. In this work seventy-seven species of Thilippine ferns are 
enumerated, of which fifteen were described as nc\v. Mo^^t of the speci- 
mens on which this list was based are to be found in the United States 
National Herbarium. From the "Letters of Asa Gray" published m 
1893, some information is obtainable regarding this very rare work. On 
pages 404 and 405 we learn that Dr. Gray -edited Brackenridge's 
ma°nuscript, and read the proofs of the work, and on page 433 we further 
■ learn that "a fire in Philadelphia consumed all the edition except ten 
copies which has been sold mostly in Europe" and that "the Government 
lost a part of their small impression." As a consequence of this disaster 
the work is very rare, but Mr. W. P. Maxon of the United States National 
Herbarium informs me that partial or complete copies of the work are 
to be found in many of the State libraries in the United States, these 
presumably originating from the distribution of that part of the Gov- 
ernment's quota which escaped the fire. 
Volume 17 consists of several papers publii^hed at various times, the 
first few consider the ^ascvl^ar cryptogams, while the last by John 
Torrey, entitled "Phanerognmia of the Pacific Coast of North America, 
69054 ^3 
