1914] Fernald & Long,—Variations of Potentilla palustris — 9 
In his account of Potentilla palustris, var. villosa, Lehmann said 
* villosa, minor";! but as Wolf points out Lehmann's diagnosis 
“ist ungenau und zweideutig" and the var. villosa instead of being 
called “minor” should be described "foliolis magnis."? That the 
leaflets are larger than in other variations of P. palustris is well shown 
by measurements of the 16 sheets of specimens examined. In these 
plants the leaflets are as shown in Plukenet’s figure and as later de- 
scribed by Rafinesque (as Comarum tomentosum), presumably from 
Plukenet’s drawing: “more robust....with broader leaves [leaflets] 
obl[ong-] ellipt[ic] "; ?* and measurements of the terminal leaflets of 
this American series of var. villosa show them to vary from 3.3-9.4 
(av. 5.6) em. long and from 1.4-3.1 (av. 2.2) em. broad, or from 1-4 
as broad as long, thus indicating that the leaflets are relatively con- 
siderably broader than in either the European or the American plants 
which are passing as typical P. palustris. In fact, so many of the 
specimens from eastern America have leaves of which Plukenet's 
figure might easily pass as a tracing that one is led to infer that Leh- 
mann's lack of a clear understanding of the variety was indicated not 
merely by his description of it as “minor” but by his characteriza- 
tion of Plukenet's figure as “mala.” * The occurrence of this variety, 
with glandular-villous peduncles and rather large elliptic-oblong 
villous leaflets, so generally in the comparatively temperate belt of 
southern Canada and the adjacent States together with Lehmann's 
vagueness in describing the plant and Lange's statement that he does 
not know of it in Greenland, indicate that the Greenland record 
(originating with Lehmann and apparently unverified by later stu- 
dents) may wisely be treated with doubt until more clearly vouched for. 
Another variant of Potentilla palustris, somewhat conspicuous in its 
extreme development, is forma subsericea (Becker) Wolf, originally 
proposed by Becker as a variety.) Our own experience accords with 
that recently described by Mr. S. F. Blake,’ and it is probable that the 
form is an ecological state rather than a true geographic variety, for 
the sericeous foliage is most often found in exsiccated spots or as a late 
development in colonies which earlier in the season produced the 
ordinary green leaves. Since this form of P. palustris is sometimes 
1 Lehm, L. c. 3 Raf. Aut. Bot. 170 (1840). 
2 Wolf, 1. c. * Lehm. Mon. Pot. 53 (1820). 
* Wolf, Mon. Pot. 76 (1908). 
6 Becker, Deutsch. Bot. Monatschr. xv. 85 (1897). 
? S. F. Blake, Roopora, xv, 165 (1913). 
