70 Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 



radius than used by botanists in recent years. The general correctness of 

 the determinations is shown by the fact that only 12 of the specifically 

 identified plants of which the modern synonyms are known, in addition to 

 one named only to the genus, are not included in the latest catalog of the 

 Flora of the District. (Vol. 21, Contrib. Nat. Herb. 1919.) 



The quality of collecting done by Dr. Ott and his associates was good, 

 their plants by no means being of the most common sorts. Judged by 

 recent experience the following plants (in the order of the list) must be con- 

 sidered either as local, uncommon, or rare: Triantha racemosa, Myosotis 

 arvensis, Phlox pilosa, Asclepias rubra, Dodecatheon meadia, Sophronanthe 

 pilosa, Anemone quinquefolia, Panax trifolium, Arnica acaulis, Helianthus 

 angustifolius, Baccharis halimifolia, Gaultheria canadensis, Decodon verti- 

 cillatus, Baptisia australis, Blephariglottis ciliaris, Arethusa bulbosa, Salsola 

 kali, Argemone mexicana and Pedicularis canadensis. 



The presence in the collection of the Triantha, Asclepias rubra, Sophron- 

 anthe, Helianthus angustifolius, Blephariglottis ciliaris and Arethusa bul- 

 bosa, shows beyond question, that these collectors had visited one or 

 more of the Magnolia bogs, which harbor, as we now thoroughly realize, 

 some of the rarest and most interesting plants of the region. 



We are most fortunate in having records of plants that the earlier 

 botanists collected and the attempt to rediscover them is a fascinating 

 field of endeavor. The history of one of the bog species, namely, Arethusa 

 bulbosa is very interesting and illuminating in this respect. Listed in the 

 Florula Columbiensis of 1819 it later became one of the 'lost species' and 

 was not rediscovered until 1918. Relating in part to this orchid, the 

 writer, in discussing^ the Magnolia Bogs as a source of species recorded in 

 the older works, but subsequently lost to sight, noted that Polygala lutea, 

 P. cruciata, Rhexia mariana and Xyris caroliniana had been recovered 

 and added "May we not also hope to discover in these bogs other plants 

 mentioned, and with little doubt seen, by the older writers, such as Chamae- 

 daphne calyculata, Trichostema lineare, Arethusa bulbosa, and Pogonia 

 divaricata? " The ink was scarcely dry on the page when the Arethusa was 

 rediscovered in the Suitland Bog. 



Ward in his admirable "Flora" of I88I2 listed 146 species of plants from 

 previous publications on the botany of the District of Columbia region 

 which at that time seemed to have disappeared. However by 1919, 36 

 of those species had been re-collected and were included in the "Flora" of 

 that year. 



These confirmations of their discoveries do credit to the earlier botanists 

 and encourage us to believe that one after another most of the plants 

 recorded by them will again be collected in our region. Turning once more 

 to the list in the Muhlenberg letter (which, be it recalled, has priority in 

 date over any of the published catalogs), we find that of the species assigned 

 with reasonable satisfaction to modern synonyms, 12 are not included in 

 the most recent Flora. Of these, 7 have a range unquestionably covering 

 the District of Columbia and it would seem certain should again be col- 



iBull. Biol. Soc. Wash. No. 1, 1918, p. 86. 

 2Bul. 22, U. S. Nat. Mus. 



