COMPOSITAE OF rEKAUSTRAL A^klERICA. 185 



The species of Perezia, with large pink-purplish heads, are 

 vegetable gems, as is our plate xxix, which the lamented van 

 Iterson, and J. Xugent Fitch unitedly prepared to represent the 

 habit and structure of P. recurvata (Vahl) Less. Sir J. D. 

 Hooker calls this plant "one of the most interesting of the Falk- 

 land Isles, from the sweet smell of its large, pale blue flowers ;'' 

 and of another, P. lactucoides Less., he confesses that ''two plants 

 of different size are included in this ; except, however, in size, I 

 am unable to distinguish them." 



Nassauvia seems to be the climax of Composite structure, 

 having glomerules, or heads of heads, and often the particular 

 involucre of the individual heads is reinforced by a general 

 quasi-involucre for the community. Such will be seen in the 

 new species, N. dusenii O. Hoff., described by Professor Hoff- 

 mann, dedicated to our Swedish friend, and figured by the cour- 

 tesy of its author in our plate xxx. Its sessile, revolute, striated 

 leaves, crowded on each other, and surmounted by its glomeru- 

 late inflorescence, makes up a graceful column which may serve 

 as the model of a new order of architecture. Most extraordinary 

 is the N. serpens d'Urv., because of its underground brittle stems, 

 which make their way for fathoms down througli the '"'streams of 

 stones" of the Falkland Isles till they reach the underlying soil. 



The Cichoricfe, or Dandelion tribe, having their headquar- 

 ters along the Mediterranean, are poorly rej)resentcd in SiMitli 

 America. A few of the widely distributed species are in Pata- 

 gonia, as the Dandelion itself, and Hypochoeris, SoncJnis and 

 Hieraciurn. Also the American Agoseris (also called Troximon, 

 and Macrorhynchus), which haunts the Andes, connecting Pat- 

 agonia with Mexico and California. Hieraciurn pUosella L. of 

 Europe, as it has come to ISTorth x\merica, is also at home in ]\la- 

 gellan-land. Another species, H. triste W., which differs from 

 its congeners by having neither glands nor stellate hairs, belongs 

 to the Aleutian-Behring district, and was found by Hatcher in 

 the Cordilleras of Patagonia. Hypoclioens coronopifoJia Sch. 

 Bip. was found by Hatclier in ^Fagollan and also on the Poagle 



