44° The Ohio Naturalist. [Vol. IX, No. 4, 



SOME NEW OR OTHERWISE NOTEWORTHY PLANTS FROM 



OHIO.* 



Otto E. Jennings. 



During the latter part of March, 1907, the ^vriter received 

 from Mr. Roscoe J. Webb, a specimen of Cerastium in flower, 

 collected near the top of the deep gorge of the Rocky River, 

 about one-fourth mile from Lake Erie, June 23, 1907. 



At first the plant, in the absence of mature fruit, was regarded 

 as an Alsine and was laid aside in the hope that fruiting material 

 might be secured the following season. However, this result was 

 not realized and a further study of the specimen together w-ith 

 another from the same collection sent later by Mr. Webb has 

 enabled us to decide definitely upon the taxonomic status of the 

 plants. This opportunity is taken to present the results of our 

 studies in the hope that other Ohio botanists may add further 

 records to the distribution and more complete details to our 

 description. 



The plants in question belong to Cerastium arvense L., a 

 species occurring in northern Eurasia and in dry or rocky places 

 throughout the northern part of North America from Alaska to 

 Labrador and south to Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, 

 Pennsylvania, and in the mountains to Georgia. According to our 

 manuals this is a perennial with ascending to erect stems usually 

 tufted, glabrous to somewhat downy, slender, 1 to 2 cm. high, 

 naked and few to several flowered at the summit. Leaves linear 

 to narrowly lanceolate. Petals obcordate and more than twice as 

 long as the calyx. ' Pods about 1 cm. long, curved, one-third to 

 two-thirds longer than the calyx. 



For the northern part of Northern America the typical species 

 appears to be the common form of the plant but in the southern 

 part of its geographical range it breaks up into several "varie- 

 ties." Of these varieties there are two recognized in the north- 

 eastern United States and we must consider the Rocky River 

 specimens as representing a third and hitherto undescribed 

 "variety." 



Cerastium arvense oblongifolium (Torr.) Hollick & Britton as 

 represented in the Herbarium of the Carnegie Museum is taller 

 than the typical species, reaching about 4 dm. ; pubescent, usually 

 somewhat viscid-pubescent; leaves oblong to lanceolate, rather 

 obtuse, larger than in the species; pods about twice as long as the 

 calyx. Chiefly on serpentine rocks, Nova Scotia to Virginia, 

 New York to Minnesota, Colorado. In the Carnegie Museum 

 Herbarium there is a specimen from Put-in-Bav, H. N. Mertz, 

 No. 323, July 1, 1881. 



♦Presented at the meetins/ of the Ohio Acaclemv of Science. 



