OP ARTS AND SCIENCES. 277 



H. Unalaschcensis (Spiranthes Unalaschcensis, Spreng.,and H. Schisch- 

 mareffiana, Cham.) must include H. foetida, Watson (Platant/iera, 

 Geyer), and Gymnadenia longispica, Dunind. Liudley's Platanthera 

 striata is to be referred to H. gracilis (^Platanthera gi-acilis, Lindl.), 

 distinguished by its short saccate spur. 



SiSYRiNCHiUM BELLUM. Stems ancipital, ^ to 2 feet high or more, 

 smooth or scabrous on the narrow margins, of a single node or often 

 with 2 or 3 nodes, each node bearing 1 to 4 (usually 2) peduncles : 

 leaves a line or two wide, shorter than the stem ; peduncles 2 to 4 

 inches long, usually about equalling the nodal bract : spathes of two 

 mostly nearly equal bracts, a half to an inch long, scabrous on the 

 keel, 4— 7 -flowered : segments of perianth about 6 lines long, broad, 

 3-toothed or sometimes mucronate, light purple, darker below and yellow 

 at base, somewhat pubescent, as also the ovary : stamineal column 

 3 lines long, purplish, pubescent at base : capsule depressed-globose 

 or -obovoid, 2 or 3 lines long; cells about 10-seeded: seeds irregularly 

 and obtusely angled, roughened, f line in diameter. — Common through- 

 out California and to the Columbia River ; the western equivalent of 

 S. anceps, Linn., in the Atlantic States. It strongly resembles the 

 latter species, differing in its generally stouter habit, broader foliage, 

 and larger flowers, in its less mucronate petals, and in its twice larger 

 seeds. It occasionally occurs with scapelike stems bearing a single 

 spathe, simulating the eastern S. mucronatum, Michx., which is distin- 

 guished by its low and usually very slender habit, the scape always 

 terminated by a single spathe sessile within the terminal longer bract, 

 the flowers small with segments setosely mucronate, and capsules glo- 

 bose ; the size of the seeds is about the same in both. The two eastern 

 species are distinct from the Linnean *S. Bermudianiun, as plainly ap- 

 pears on comparison with specimens from the Bermudas kindly furnished 

 by Governor Lefroy. These have a very stout broadly winged 

 branching stem, with leaves 3 lines wide, broad spathes, larger flowers 

 (6 to 9 lines long), and obovate capsules 3 lines long. The Texan 

 S. minus, Engelm. & Gray, referred to S. Bermitdianum by Klatt, is 

 even more distinct, with its low slender very branching habit, small red 

 flowers, oblong capsules, and minute round seeds. There are indica- 

 tions of other species to be found in Florida and the western Gulf 

 States. 



Erythronium purpurascens. Leaves undulate, oblong- to narrowly 

 lanceolate, 4 to 6 inches long : scape low, often stout, occasionally di- 

 vided, racemosely or somewhat umbellately 4-8-flowered or more ; 

 pedicels very unequal, the upper becoming 2 to 4 inches long : flowers 



