The Technical Name of the Camas Plant. 63 



265. In this publication, which was a review of Pursh's Flora, 

 Rafinesque renamed Pursh's Phalangium quamash as Quamasia 

 escidenta, thus giving to the camas plant its first name as a dis 

 tinct genus. 



The generic name Cyanotris of Rafinesque has given botanists 

 some trouble from its citation as an equivalent of Camas.sia. It 

 appears that Rafinesque twice published this generic name, ap 

 parently using it each time in a different sense. His first pub 

 lication of it was in 1818 (not 1811 as cited in the Index Kewen- 

 sis), on page 356 of the third volume of the American Monthly 

 Magazine, where he described under the name Cyanotris scilloides 

 a plant which has been referred sometimes to the northwestern, 

 sometimes to the eastern Camassia. On geographic grounds, 

 however, it cannot be the northwestern plant, and if it is the 

 eastern plant Rafinesque's brief description is not altogether cor 

 rect, for the leaves are not oblong-lanceolate nor is the capsule 

 trispermous. In the following year, on page 192 of the fourth 

 volume of the same journal, Rafinesque again published the 

 name Cyanotris, this time basing it upon Michaux's Helonias 

 angustifolia. a plant which is referred by recent authors to Zy- 

 gadenus. 



The citation and synonymy of the genus Quamasia are as 

 follows : 



Quamasia Raf. 



Quamasia Raf., Am. Month. Mag. 2: 265. February, 1818. 

 Cyanotris Raf., Am. Month. Mag. 3: 356. September, 1818. Not Cy 

 anotris Raf. 1819. 



Lemotris Raf., Fl. Tellur. 2 : 26. 1836. 

 Rulbedulis Raf., Fl. Tellur. 2 : 26. 183^6. 

 Camassia Lindl., Bot. Reg. 18: L I486. 1832. 

 Sitocodium Salisb., Gen. PI. Fragm. 27. 1866. 



A rough synopsis of the species, with the principal biblio 

 graphical references, may be useful to students who desire to 

 make a critical study of the group. 



* Perianth more than 18 millimeters in lenqth. 



f Perianth nearly regular, its parts commonly connivent above the ovary when 

 withering, 5 to 9-nerved, usually 7-nerved. 



Quamasia leichtlinii (Baker). 



Chlorogalum leichtlinii Baker, Gard. Chron. new ser. 1: 089. 1874. 

 Camassia esculenta leichtlinii Baker, Bot. Mag. 103 : t. 6287 . 1877. 

 Camassia leichtlinii Wats. Proc. Am. Acad. 20 : 376. 1885. 



