The Species of Texas and the Southwest 575 



Texas and Louisiana in woodlands or dry pine woods ; flower- 

 ing from early March to April. 



Texas: May i, 1839, Dr. Riddell. 



Louisiana: Hale, Gray herb.; Lake Charles, March 24, 1900, 

 B. F. Bush; Central, March 14, 1900, Biltmore herb. 



Specimens of this species received since the type was described 

 show that the latter represents a small form of the species which, 

 in its fullest development, takes on a notably different appearance. 

 Plants essentially like the type, but even smaller and more narrow 

 leaved and having white flowers, were collected by Mr. B. F. Bush 

 at Lake Charles, Louisiana, March 4, 1900. On April 4th the 

 same year, at Central, Louisiana, the species was collected for the 

 Biltmore Herbarium which has submitted to me a beautiful sheet 

 of specimens. These differ remarkably from the smaller plants 

 referred to in much greater size, more fibrous base, clustered sub- 

 tuberous roots, almost uniformly twin spathes with greatly elon- 

 gated subtending bract and violet flowers. The numerous speci- 

 mens, however, exhibit much variation, and I find among them 

 nothing inconsistent with the view that they represent a robust 

 state of the species hitherto known only from the diminutive type 

 specimen. 



The species appears to fall into a group with S. albidum and 



5. scabrellum. 



/ 5. Sisyrinchium biforme sp. nov. 



Growing in scant, erect tufts 20-40 cm. high, from stout sim- 

 ple roots ; pale green and glaucescent. Leaves slender and very 

 acute, less or more than half the height of the stem, narrow, 1-1.5 

 mm. wide, prominently close-nerved, the edges smooth or nearly 

 so ; stem either scapose, with terminal spathe, or with one to three 

 terminal peduncles, slender but stiff, sinuously erect or straight, 

 1-1.5 mm. wide, smooth and subterete, the margins sometimes 

 almost obsolete ; bracteal leaf slender and erect, shorter than 

 the peduncles ; peduncles usually slightly curved, 5-7 cm. long, 

 two-edged ; spathes narrow, especially the subterete base vari- 

 able in length, from 13 mm. to over 30 mm. long, the still bracts 

 strongly close-nerved and cuspidate-acute, the inner one mostly 

 surpassing the outer and flattened-navicular with incurved apex, 

 the outer one tapering above, tubular-clasping for 5-9 mm. 

 at base ; inner scales crowded, brownish-tinged, but little shorter 

 than the bracts : capsules on erect pedicels 1 5-25 mm. long, usually 



