The Species of Texas and the Southwest 583 



flowers small, pale violet-blue; segments 7-10 mm. long, the 

 midvein often prominent, tapering-aristulate or slightly refuse ; 

 column about 3 mm. high ; ovary slightly puberulent ; capsule sub- 

 globose to broadly oblong, pale, corrugate, 4-5 mm. high on stiff 

 erect pedicels shorter than or a little surpassing the bracts ; seeds 

 small, 1-1.25 mm. in diameter, obovoid, not umbilicate, finely 

 rugulose to nearly smooth. 



New Mexico and Arizona, extending east to western Kansas ; 

 ascending to at least 6,500 feet and flowering from early June to 

 the end of July. 



^14. Sisyrinchium varians sp. nov. 



Growing in thin or rather scant erect or loosely ascending 

 tufts 15-30 cm. high, light rather dull green and glaucescent, not 

 usually discoloring much when dry ; roots simple and slender. 

 Basal leaves usually over three-quarters the height of the plant, 

 erect, but rather thin and soft or becoming firmer, 1.5-4 mm - wide, 

 tapering acute, the rather pronounced nerves at first close but be- 

 coming well separated, the edges smooth ; stem leaves erect and 

 foliaceous, that from the lower node often surpassing the upper 

 which frequently exceeds the peduncles : stems erect or ascending, 

 mostly longer than the peduncles, 1.5-3 mm. wide, narrowly wing- 

 margined, the edges smooth to denticulate; rtodes 1-2, rarely 3, 

 the internode usually closely erect with its leaf and peduncles or 

 peduncle bearing branch; peduncles 2-3, the outer one often 

 slightly outcurved ; spathes flattish, rather narrow or sometimes 

 broader and more sharply keeled ; outer bract finely many-nerved, 

 straight and narrowly acute or more foliaceous above and some- 

 what incurved, rarely obtuse, 2-3 cm. long or prolonged to a 

 length of 4 cm. the narrowly white-hyaline edges uniting 2-5 mm. 

 above the base; inner bract 15-25 mm. long, straight and nar- 

 rowly acute, broader and slightly incurved ; scales % the length 

 of the inner bract, brownish-tinged ; flowers violet-blue on slender 

 slightly exserted erect or somewhat spreading pedicels ; perianth 

 8-13 mm. long, the segments rounded or slightly emargmatc at 

 apex, short-aristulate ; column 4-5 mm. high, mostly less than 

 half the length of the corolla ; anthers about 1.5 mm. high ; ovary 

 glabrous. 



An extremely variable plant if not including more than one 

 species. Scarcely any two specimens of my series are closely alike. 



Eastern Texas, flowering in March and April. Dallas, April 

 IS, 1900, B. F. Bush, on prairie and in woods ; Columbia, March 

 2 5. 1900, Wm M. Canby ; McLennan county, April, 1888, S. P. 



