170 
“Paris foliis ternatis, flore sessile erecto. Gron. virg. 44. 
Solanum virginianum triphyllum, flore tripetalo atropurpureo in 
foliorum sinu, absque pediculo, sessile. Pluk. alm. 352. t. 111. f. 6. 
Solanum triphyllum, flore hexapetalo: tribus petalis purpureis, 
caeteris viridibus reflexis. Catesb. car. 1. p. 50. t. 50.” 
The habitat given is ‘‘ Virginia, Carolina.” The first of these 
three descriptions throws little or no light on the subject, but the 
second and third quotations each refer toa plate. A comparison of 
these two plates indicates a great discrepancy, the figure of Plukenet 
representing a small plant with oval leaves, while the Catesby 
drawing illustrates a large robust plant with ovate-lanceolate leaves. 
If only these two plates had to be considered, there would be no 
doubt not only as to there being two distinct species involved, 
but we should have no trouble in deciding to which plant the 
name 7rilium sessile must be applied. The first quoted description 
being wholly indefinite, left this important question in doubt. In 
order to settle this point definitely, Dr. Britton sent specimens of 
both the small and large plants to Mr. Edmund G. Baker, at the 
British Museum, and I can not do better than print his reply: 
“ * = * hg We have the Gronovian plant and 
also a plant in the Plukenet Herbarium, written up by Plukenet, 
but not the one apparently the figure was done from, as you will see 
from the tracing I enclose. The Gronovian and Plukenet plants 
are fairly similar and more like no. 2 (the small plant with oval 
leaves) than the much larger no. 1 (the large plant with ovate- 
lanceolate leaves). Neither of the specimens are particularly 
good ones, but I have tried to make tracings of them, such as 
they are, these will show the outline of the leaf if they do 
nothing else. You may like to have exact measurements of the. 
Plukenet plant: Leaves broadly oval, 2 in. long, breadth 1,7, in., 
pe i 
sepals 3 in., petals 14 in. * * * % » 
Thus we see that the first and second quoted descriptions in 
the Species Plantarum are represented by specimens which agree - 
with each other in all essential particulars, while the third quota- 
tion is founded wholly on a plate, which represents a species totally 
distinct from that on which the first and second descriptions were — 
founded. Therefore the name 77i//ium sessile must be associated — 
with the small oval-leaved plant, and the large plant must receive | 
aname, which will appear in the appended dees The solution 
