THE PLANT WORLD 109 



So I decided recently to give up further study of the subject and to 

 turu over my specimens to the National Herbarium. The accompanying 

 illustration was made at Washington from these specimens, which may 

 prove to be not only the first ever found, but the last. There seems to 

 me to be something mysterious about these submerged leaves. Many 

 aquatics have two sets of leaves, but I know of none in which one set is 

 a rarity. The floating leaves of Cabomha would not be noticed by the 

 common observer, but they are always present. The floating leaves of 

 Nuplmr sagitfaefolia are apt to be torn off in summer by rapid currents 

 and drift wood, leaving only the submerged, ulva-like leaves, but it can 

 always be seen that the latter are not the only leaves. If the submerged 

 leaves are of any utility they ought to be i)roduced as regularly as the 

 floating ones. Is there any other example of the occasional or periodical 

 production of a set of leaves distinct and quite different from the ordin- 

 ary foliage of a plant ? 



Jacksonvh,le, Fla. 



HABITS OF THE DEEP-SET BULBS OF ERYTHRONIUM. 



By Grace Stoddard Niles. 



IN that delightful chapter " Among the Wild-Flowers " in Mr. Bur- 

 roughs' "Riverby " (pages 24-26, 1896), are several suggestive obser- 

 vations on the meaninglessness of the name Erythroniuni, as well 

 as upon the habits of this lily's deep-set bulbs. 



He writes : " It is a pity that this graceful and abundant flower has 

 no good and appropriate common name. It is the earliest of the true 

 lilies, and has all the grace and charm that belongs to this order of 

 flowers. 



" Erythromum, its botanical name, is not good, as it is derived from a 

 Greek word that means red, while one species of our flower is yellow 

 and the other is white. 



" How it came to be called adder's tongue I do not know ; probably 

 from the spotted character of the leaf, which might suggest a snake, 

 though it in no wise resembles a snake's tongue. 



"A fawn is spotted, too, and 'fawn-lily' would be better than 

 adder's-tongue. Still better is the name ' trout-lily,' which has recently 

 been proposed for this plant. It blooms along trout streams, and its 

 leaf is as mottled as a trout's back. 



" The name ' dog's-tooth ' may have been suggested by the shape 

 and color of the bud, but how the ' violet ' came to be ad^ed is a puz- 

 zle, as it has not one feature of the violet. 



"It is only another illustration of the haphazard way in which our 

 wild flowers, as well as our birds, have been named." 



