44 Contributions to Western Botany. [zoe 



and as it is often the case that the full development is arrested by 

 the dry weather, doubtless the majority of the carpels are by 

 necessity indehiscent. The fruit is broadly ovate to rhombic 

 and when the seeds occur above the middle of each carpel then 

 it is oval, but never " orbicular " in any specimen from the Great 

 Basin that I ever saw. The peduncles are always short and like 

 the type. The plant is three to six feet high, grows among 

 other brush, is widely branched and closely resembles N. 

 opulifolia in general appearance, but is a little stiflfer. It ranges 

 from 7000 to 9000 feet altitude, and prefers the north side of 

 steep mountain sides as there only can it get enough moisture. It 

 is common in the mountains, and I have it from many localities 

 in all stages of development. 



Comparing my notes with those of Mr. Greene I find no 

 character left to separate it from N. monogyna and only the flattened 

 pod to separate it from A^. opulifolia^ while he gives N. monogyna 

 as having a somewhat inflated pod which destroys the last valid 

 distinction. 



Watson reports the type monogyna as from the East Humboldt 

 Mountains, Nevada, and from Stansbury Island, in Great Salt 

 Lake. I have not seen his specimens, but presume they are the 

 var. aUernans. 



Since writing the above I have found a fine fruiting specimen 

 in my collection from Albuquerque, New Mexico, which belongs 

 to the type of N. monogyna. The calyx is much inflated or little 

 so, lobes often emarginate; carpels two or three in each calyx, 

 tips needle-like and widely divergent, carpels separate to below 

 the middle, fully as inflated for their size as the less inflated 

 form of N. opulifolia from Colorado described above, or perfectly 

 flat and siliquelike, scarcely over half the length of the calyx or 

 one-fourth longer, one to three-seeded, seeds very broadly 

 obovate, scarcely yellow, and angular by being crowded in the 

 carpel, carpels dehiscent and bivalvularly so to the middle. 

 These variances all occur on the one specimen. The only way to 

 uphold N. monogyna seems to be that adopted by Gray to keep up 

 Aster, namely by an aggregation of characters no one of which 

 is permanent, but some of which are always present when the 

 others fail. 



