386 Bicknell : Species of the Genus Hydastylus 



cate and fibrillate nearly simple roots, rather bright transparent 

 green, discoloring but little when carefully dried. Leaves acuminate 

 to an acutish point, 2-5 mm. wide, thin and somewhat translucent, 

 very delicately nerved, the main nerves rather distant with 1-3 

 fainter nerves in the intervals, rather distantly reticulated with 

 minute cross-veinlets, the edges sharply fine-serrulate : stems 2—5 

 mm. wide, the stem proper very narrow, the wings very broad and 

 thin, nerved and semi-transparent like the leaves and with serru- 

 late edges : spathes mostly narrower* than the stem : outer bract 

 lanceolate-attenuate, 25-37 mm. long, surpassing the inner one 

 3-12 mm., united clasping 6-8 mm. at the flattened and sharply 

 two-edged base : inner bract attenuate and acutish, 20—25 mm. 

 long : interior scales more than three-quarters the length of 

 the inner bract : capsules 3—6, large, pyriform, narrowed to 

 an almost substipitate base, 8-10 mm. long, on slender, somewhat 

 flexuously spreading pedicels about 25 mm. long: seeds black, 

 subglobose, about 1.5 mm. in diameter, strongly pitted, excavated- 

 umbilicate. 



A species very distinct from any of the others here described, 

 characterized especially by the very thin and reticulated semi- 

 transparent leaves, broadly-winged stem and large pyriform cap- 

 sules. 



Mexico: Orizaba, "in the mountains/' Botteri, no. 1856. 

 Type in Herb. Dr. Charles Mohr ; Michoacan, 1857, Dr. Carlos 

 Sartorius, Herb. Dr. Charles Mohr. . 



1 



Hydastylus translucens sp. nov. 



Very similar to H. semilatus : glaucescent, the spathes often 

 purplish tinged, 15-25 cm. high, showing more or less dis- 

 coloration from drying, leaves equaling the stems or nearly so, 

 2-3.5 mm - wide : as compared with those of H. semilatus longer 

 and narrower, much more slenderly attenuate and even thinner and 

 more translucent, with fewer cross-veinlets, the edges not dis- 

 tinctly serrulate, but wholly smooth except near the apex, or 

 with some very minute or obscure denticulations : stem 1-1.25 

 mm. wide, the very thin translucent wings much narrower than 

 in H. semilatus and smooth-edged or nearly so : spathes not 

 narrower than the stems, usually somewhat broader, the outer 

 bract usually foliaceously prolonged, 30-47 mm. long, surpassing 

 the inner one 10-25 mm., united-clasping 8-10 mm. above the 

 sharply two-edged base: inner bract 17-22 mm. long, narrow, 

 obtuse or emarginate : interior scales longer than in H. semi- 

 latus, equaling the inner bract or nearly so : pedicels very 



