1923] Ottley: A Eevision of the Calif ornian Species of Lotus 195 



three or four species of the subgenus Acmispon resemble very closely 

 those of the typical European Loti. Leaves with three leaflets at the 

 apex of the rachis and one at the base near the stem are of common 

 occurrence in Lotus sul)pinnatus Lag. and in L. humistratus Greene, 

 while in L. americanus Bisch. leaves with one terminal leaflet and 

 two lateral ones near the stem are the rule. Moreover, certain Old 

 World species which differ in leaf character from the Lotus type in 

 the restricted sense possess leaves similar to those occurring in certain 

 species of the American representation ; for example, the short petioled 

 subpalmate leaves with gland-like stipules of Dorycnium suffruticosum 

 Villars correspond closely to those of Lotus ivrightii Greene of the 

 American species. 



Therefore, since characters of generic importance are lacking in 

 inflorescence, flower, and fruit, and since the distinctive leaf characters 

 in addition to being merely vegetative are weakened by the presence 

 of exceptions and intergrades, we have remanded the American species 

 to the Old AYorld genus Lotus in its broadest sense. 



Acknowledgments 



Grateful acknowledgments are due those who have assisted me in 

 this work. Dr. Willis Linn Jepson of the University of California, 

 under whose careful direction the work was carried on, has been most 

 helpful in giving suggestions and criticisms and has kindly permitted 

 me to use his research material, his library, and his manuscript notes 

 relating to the types of Hosackia and of North American Loti pre- 

 served in the Kew Herbarium. These notes contain not only descrip- 

 tions of the types but also comparisons of many of the types with 

 specimens in the herbarium at the University of California and have 

 been of invaluable aid to me in determining the specific limits of 

 certain species. Mr. Frank W. Peirson of Pasadena, California, very 

 generously assisted me in making field observations and in collecting 

 specimens of those species of Lotus growing in southern California. 

 For the privilege of examining herbarium material I am indebted to 

 those in charge of the herbaria of the University of California, Leland 

 Stanford Junior University, Pomona College, the California Academy 

 of Sciences, the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University, and the 

 United States National Museum. To these and to all others whose 

 services or interest have contributed toward the preparation of this 

 paper, I wish to express my heartiest thanks. 



