A Revision of the Species of Plantago commonly referred to Plantago 



Patagonica Jacquin 



1 



By E. L. Morris 



Early in September, 1898, the writer received a labelled speci- 

 men of Plantago from Arizona. The characters of the specimen 

 and the description in literature of the species, whose name was 

 attached to the specimen, did not agree. Careful verification at the 

 U. S. National Herbarium identified the specimen from Arizona as 

 an undescribed species, but did not identify wholly the specimens 

 of the species quoted. This circumstance suggested further 

 study of the related species and their literature. With few ex- 

 ceptions in all American literature on the Plantaginaceae, the 

 species here considered, when recognized, have been referred to 

 P. Patagonica Jacq. or made varieties of the same. . This fact led 

 to the study of the original description and plate of Jacquin's P. 

 Patagonica (Jacq. Coll. 5 : 1796; and Jacq. Ic. Rar. pL 306. 

 1781-93). As has been already recognized by many botanists, 



j 



green, spreading plant, with its 



dark green, decurved, then upcurved scapes, and erect spikes, 

 does not occur in North America. 



The most recent study of the Plantaginaceae (Alida M. Cun- 

 ningham, Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci. 1896: 190-207. 1897) was 

 based mostly on observed seed characters, from herbarium ma- 

 terial. But these seem to have been accommodated largely to 

 the treatment of the order in Gray's Synoptical Flora" ; for the 

 writer, in trying to verify the seed characters recorded by Miss 

 Cunningham, has found said characters except color of each of 

 her recorded species all occurring in mature pyxes of numerous 

 herbarium specimens of P. Purshii alone, as well as several of 

 them in other individual species. 



It is a pleasure to acknowledge the kindness of the Curators 

 of the U. S. National Herbarium, The Gray Herbarium, The 

 Herbarium of the Missouri Botanical Garden, The Columbia Uni- 

 versity Herbarium, The Herbarium of the Field Columbian 



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