Studies in Sisyrinchium. — VI! : The Species of British America 



By Eugene P. Bicknell 



The examination of our larger collections of blue-eyed grasses 

 has disclosed few specimens from north of the United States other 

 than those contributed by Prof. John Macoun. For this reason it 

 was a matter of the greatest interest to receive recently from Pro- 

 fessor Macoun his entire British American collection or, more ex- 

 actly, some thirty-three sheets representing the general result of 

 many years of field-work covering the wide range of British 

 American territory from Newfoundland to Vancouver. This col- 

 lection, supplemented by such other material as has been brought 

 together, presents so much that is new, especially in regard to the 

 range of our species, that it has seemed well to make it the sub- 

 ject of a separate paper. 



It should be said that the genus Sisyrinchium is here taken in 

 a somewhat restricted sense to embrace only the homogeneous and 

 very natural group of the blue-eyed grasses proper, thus ex- 

 cluding Sisyrinchium grandiflorum Douglas, which is clearly the 

 type of a distinct genus, as recognized by Rafinesque, and should 

 • stand as Olsynium Douglasii (A. Dietr.), and omitting further the 

 more closely allied yellow-flowered genus Hydastylus Salisbury, 

 typified by Sisyrinchium Californicuni Aiton. 



As thus limited it appears that eight species of Sisyrinclmun 

 may be ascribed to British America and there is no doubt that this 

 number may be increased. Certain more or less distinct forms of 



several of the species might, even now, be recognized but are 

 passed over. It is further altogether probable that several north- 

 wardly ranging species of the United States cross over into Cana- 

 dian territory and there is also evidence that new species yet re- 

 main to be discriminated. 



The species which may be recognized at the present time as 

 British American are the following, noting them from east to west : 



S. graminoides Bicknell. 5. septcntrionale Bicknell. 



S. angustifolium Miller. 6*. Idahoense Bicknell. 



S. albidum Raf. 5. littorale Greene. 



S. mucronatum Michx. 5. Macouni sp. nov. 



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