90 THE PLANT WORLD 



the spot and "took the photograph which illustrates this paper. 

 Probably at least a hundred specimens were seen in all, scattered 

 over several acres, most of them bearing about a dozen ascending ra- 

 cemes of pure white flowers, but some of them (perhaps younger plants) 

 without any flowers at all. The specimens were mostly about four or 

 five feet tall. In habitat the species seemed to prefer the so-called 

 " oak-ridges " in the pine barrens, which are slight elevations covered 

 with a very dry sandy soil and characterized by a growth of several 

 small species of oaks, principally Quercus Catesbaei and Q. Margaretfa. 



Elliott gives its habitat as " rich soil," and Gray says " wet sandy 

 woods." If these statements are true the habitat is somewhat variable. 



I can add little to the published description of this species, except 

 that the flowers are irregular in much the same manner as those of some 

 species of Azalea, the two upper petals being recurved more than the two 

 lower ones. The buds are drooping, but the open flowers horizontal. 

 The style is long-exserted, and abruptly bent upward at the apex, as 

 noted in some of the descriptions. 



An interesting fact is that the flowers were frequented by large 

 numbers of insects (I did not notice whether more than one species), 

 which seemed to be enjoying the nectar immensely. One would sup- 

 pose that this would ensure fertilization, but apparently it does not, for 

 no fruit of ElUottia racemosa has yet been seen. I went to another part 

 of the state a few days after collecting this species, but I left instnictions 

 wdth Prof. Hendricks to watch it and see if any fruit was formed. A few 

 weeks later he wrote me that he had visited the spot again, and that the 

 flowers were mostly gone, but that the ovaries dropped off without ma- 

 turing. So the mystery of ElUottia remains unsolved. It is barely pos- 

 sible that some insect which formerly carried the pollen from one flower 

 to another is now extinct, and that those which now visit the flowers are 

 not of the right size, or otherwise unadapted to perform this function. 

 To throw some light on this question, if possible, Mr. Cuthbert intends 

 to experiment this year with the specimens on the grounds of Mr. Berck- 

 mans, and fertilize the flowers artificially. 



The existence of ElUottia must be a precarious one, since it no longer 

 produces seed, but probably spreads only from the root, and it is doubt- 

 less only a question of time when the species will be extinct. It must 

 have suffered greatly in some places from the fires which sweep over the 

 pine barrens in winter. These fires are set for the purpose of destroying 

 the dead grass to facilitate grazing, but do more harm than good in de- 

 stroying many of the pine trees, both old and young. 



I have no doubt, however, that our ElUottia will ultimately be found 

 at many more points than those from which it has already been reported, 

 for there are thousands of square miles in Southeast Georgia where no 

 botanist has ever trod, and innumerable places where the conditions 

 seem favorable for it. 



