E. L. EKMAN, WEST INDIAN VERNONIiE. 63 



immersis subtus adspersis, ramulis floriferis erectiusculis 

 subcorymbosis nee divaricatis floribus confertioribus . Spe- 

 cimens of it have been early distributed as V. divaricata 

 Sw. var., and so De Candolle and others were caused to 

 take it as the genuine V. divaricata. Lessing, however, 

 who applied this name to our V. arborescens, the Martinique 

 plant, realized that the variety of Swartz was a new species, 

 and described it as V. acuminata Less. 



The wrong idea, however, of this species being the genuine 

 V. divaricata Sw. continued to flourish. As recently as in 

 1906 Gleason cites V. acuminata Less, as a synonym to V. 

 divaricata Sw. In his Studies he states the two species 

 to be different, but applies, in fact, the name V. divaricata 

 to the genuine V. acuminata, and uses the latter name for a 

 somewhat many-f lowered variety of the same species! I have 

 not seen the specimen cited to his V. acuminata, Wright 

 n. 20, which is said to have 18-f lowered heads, those of V. 

 divaricata sensu Gleason having only 11 13 flowers (com- 

 pare with this the statement of Lessing in the original descrip- 

 tion of V. acuminata: Capitula 15-flora, which is correct., 

 the heads being 14 15-f lowered). But Harris n. 8205 in 

 the Krug-Urban Herbarium, having 16 17-flowered heads, 

 may agree with Gleason's V. acuminata, as it also agrees 

 with typical V. acuminata in all respects, save in the number 

 of flowers. Hence I conclude that, in spite of all, the V. diva- 

 ricata and V. acuminata of Gleason are only one species, 

 namely V. acuminata Less. As I have shown in another 

 passage, V. divaricata Sw. is the species called by Gleason 

 V. arborescens. 



The species varies but little, and is always easily recognized 

 by its nearly glabrous leaves, acuminated towards both ends, 

 by its pale brown heads in leafy cymes, and by its brown 

 pappus. I had wondered long about the statement made 

 bj r Grisebach in his Flora: Pappus straw-coloured , until 

 in the Grisebach Herbarium I saw a specimen of V. acuminata 

 having, in fact, just that colour of the pappus. Otherwise 

 it does not differ fom the genuine V. acuminata; also the struc- 

 ture of the flowers is throughout the same. 



