72 



Coville — New Plants from Southern California, 



dry soil under Pinus Jeffrey i in the northeast corner of the en- 

 closure at Soda Springs, on the north fork of Kern River, Sierra 

 Nevada, Tulare ('Ounty, California. 



Gilia setosissima punctata var. nov. 



Flowers and fruit larger than in the type form ; corolla with 

 tube about 10 mm. long, its lobes 7 to 10 mm. long, white, with 

 purple dots sometimes arraiiged in longitudinal lines, and a pair 

 of golden spots at al:)Out the middle; capsule 6 to 9 mm. long, 

 often with 10 seeds in each of the 3 cells. 



The plant differs from the type form in the characters above 

 mentioned. In G. setosissima the corolla tube has about the same 

 length, but the lobes are much smaller (8 to 5 mm. long) and 

 cream-colored, with neither purple nor N^ellow markings, and the 

 capsule is commonly about 5 mm. long with al^out 5 seeds in a cell. 

 This variety holds the same relation tA the type form that G. mat- 

 thewsii does to G. schottii, except that in the case of the latter two 

 species the differentiation appears to l)e complete, while in the 

 former integrades in size and coloration occur. The flowers of G. 

 xefosmima and its variety are regular, erect, and with straight 

 stamens, while those of the other two species are irregulai*, in- 

 serted at an angle or even horizontally, and have ascending 

 stamens. In herbarium specimens this irregnlaritv is often oli- 

 scured, and G. schottiiis frequently confounded with G. setosissima. 

 Both (t. schottii and G. mattheivsii are, however, readily distin- 

 guishable from G. setosissima and its variety by a vegetative char- 

 acter which was originally pointed out* by Watson, but which 

 was afterward lost sight of. In the former the lateral bristles of 

 the leaf arise singly, in the latter in twos (rarely singly or in 

 threes), from each hair tubercle. This character is constant. 



These four plants are very interesting from the standpoint of 

 their genealogical interrelation. The parent form probably was, or 

 was very similar to, G. setosissima; from this G. ■'^rhottii developed ; 

 and then, from both these, plants with larger, strikingly colored 

 corollas differentiated. G. setosissima piincfata and (r. m.attliewsii 

 respectively. The name adopted for the variety is one used on 

 herbarium specimens by Dr. Gray but never ]:)ublished. 



Type specimen in the United States National Herbarium, No. 

 716, Death Valley Expedition; collected April 21, 1891, in Sur- 



* Bot. King Snrv., 187 J, 267. 



