Cf^e (Dl}XO Tlatnvalist 



PUBLISHED BY 



THE BIOLOGICAL CLUB OF THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY 



Vol. U MAY, I90I No. 7 



VARIATION IN SYNDESMON THALICTR0IDE8. 

 W. A. Kellekman. 



This charming spring flower called in popular language Rue- 

 Anemone, indigenous to eastern North America, has been known 

 from early times, and as in many other equally unfortunate cases 

 has had imposed upon it by botanists a superfluity of scientiflc 

 name?. Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum, 1753, listed it as Ane- 

 mone thalictroides; in 1803 Michaux called it Thalictrum anemo- 

 noides; it was rechristened as Syndesmon thalictroides in 1832 by 

 Hoflmansegg; Anally Spach in 1839 proposed the name Anemonella 

 thalictroides. Botanists to-day consider our plant as more properly 

 placed in Hoffmansegg's genus Syndesmon, and for it the earliest 

 speciflc name, applied by Linnaeus, is very properly retained ; hence 

 the correct designation in botanical language is Syndesmon thalic- 

 troides (L.) Hoflmg. 



The extent of variation in this plant has been but partially noted 

 heretofore. The tabulation given below indicates the results of 

 observations made the latter part of April and the first of May this 

 year in regard to the number of flowers and the variation in the 

 involucral leaves. As to whether these are sessile as given in our 

 Manuals, notes have appeared on previous pages of this Journal by 

 Messrs. Burglehaus, Wetzstein and Schaflner, cf. pp. 72, 104 and 106. 



The number of flowers is normally three and the involucral 

 leaves two. A diagram showing their arrangement is given at A, 

 Fig. 1. The two leaves are not always ternate; they may both be 

 simple, diagrammatically shown at B. A further variation, shown 



O T T ^ N ^TN , O ^, C\ 



Abode f 



Fig. 1. Diagrams showing arrangement of leaves and flowers. 



