THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 33 



"Rocky Mountain sage" or merely "mountain sage." A. lu- 

 doviciana is often called "wooly sage" and . /. tridcntata is 

 called "black sage" about as often as "sage-brush." Aster 

 iiiultifionis is often called "button Aster." I knew Brauneria 

 f^urpurca as "niggerliead," and Clements gives "golden eye" 

 for C/irysopsis villosa. Centra coccinca is called "butterfly 

 weed" in Montana. Oenothera pallida is generally called 

 "tall white primrose" to distinguish it from the stemless spe- 

 cies which are locally called "rock lily." I believe you, or 

 rather the authors you have at hand, have confused Giitierre- 

 r/a atid Bigelovia. The common name all over the west for 

 the former is "torchweed" or "matchweed," not as one might 

 suppose from the abundance of bright yellow flow^ers but from 

 the readiness with which the dry stems and resinous buds 

 burn in the spring. Sometimes it is called "horseweed" be- 

 cause nothing but horses will eat it. Some authors give 

 "brown weed" but I have never lieard it called that name, am 

 of the opinion that it is a C()rru[)tion of "broom weed." The 

 plant was actually made into coarse brooms by the early pio- 

 neers. "Rabbit-brush" or bush refers in common parlance 

 of the west to the various species of Bigelovia. "Rabbit-weed 

 and "rayless or false golcknrod" are less frequently used. 

 (ilycerrhisa lepidota is said to be called "Deseret weed" very 

 commonly in Utah. And now does anyone know positively 

 what plant Zane Gray meant by "purple sage?" I have half 

 a dozen candidates for the honor, various species of A triplex, 

 Salvia and Artemisia. — Mrs. M. B. Soth. [This note is an 

 excellent illustration of the way in which some common names 

 get into print while others fail. I>otanical authors are likely 

 to give to each species the common names they have heard ap- 

 l)lied to it. At the same time there are often numerous other 

 names in common use of which they are entirely ignorant. 



