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over the weedy downs near the sea. . Upon visiting York Harbor 
some years ago my attention was at once arrested by this plant, 
which was obviously neither Lechea intermedia nor Lechea maritima, 
the only eastern pinweeds which could be considered at all in 
connection with it. Subsequent investigation discovered that the 
plant, though it had never been discussed in print, had not been 
overlooked by botanists, but had been a long-standing puzzle vari- 
ously solved, it appeared, in terms of one or the other of the 
Species named above. Material from different collectors which 
had formed part of Mr. Leggett’s collection and bore his penciled 
memoranda showed that the plant had perplexed that careful stu- 
dent of the genus, who had at different times referred it doubtfully 
both to Lechea intermedia and to Lechea maritima and had at least 
entertained the idea that it might be referable to the more western 
Lechea stricta. It may be said here that Mr. Leggett’s material 
was not fairly representative of the plant and was quite insufficient 
to form a basis for any safe conclusions. For this reason the 
Same material was passed over by Dr. Britton in his revision of the 
genus ( Bull. Torr. Club, 21: 244~253, 1894), which therefore 
affords no help in the present case. In Dr. Robinson’s re- 
cent critical treatment of the genus (Syn. Fl. 1: Part 1, 192-194, 
1895) we find the first published notice of the Maine plant. It is 
there mentioned under Zechea stricta as being nearly related to 
that species, but as probably to be referred to Lechea intermedia. 
The case, therefore, stands to-day just as it was left by Mr. Leg- 
gett over fifteen years ago. 
During several visits to York Harbor in August this pinweed 
has claimed my particular attention, and I have realized in the 
field that the problem it presented was indeed a perplexing one. 
The main facts in the case seem to be these: The plant has much 
the aspect of Lechea stricta, and is hence frankly distinguished in 
appearance from Lechea intermedia; nevertheless, though closely 
allied to the former it is not that species, but is a more or less 
immediate derivative of the latter, as is shown by the occurrence 
of forms not satisfactorily referable to either plant. 
Technically, therefore, on the evidence, the plant is a variety 
of intermedia—an incompletely detached derivative of that species. 
Actually it has reached a degree of differentiation which, measured 
