VOL. IV.] Contributions to Western Botany. 45 



Primus demissa Walpers. An examination of all my material 

 shows that the leaves are never less than subcoriaceous and often 

 coriaceous. The flowers are one and one-half to two times larger 

 than those of P. Virgtniana. The pedicels and peduncles are 

 stouter, but longer. The shape of the leaves varies, but, on the 

 whole, they are narrower, the bloom on the under side of the 

 leaves varies from about the same as that of P. Vu-giniatia to almost 

 white in a specimen gathered at Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

 The bark is duller, but otherwise I see little difference. The 

 fruit of both is very astringent. P. demissa is a little stiffer than 

 P. Virginiana in habit. I am very familiar with P. Virginiana as it 

 exists in Iowa, and have abundance of material from there. I 

 am very familiar with P. demissa as it exists in Utah, Nevada, 

 Colorado, and New Mexico. Allof my specimens from Colorado 

 are P. demissa. I distributed them in 1S78 as P. Virginiana, as 

 at that time all those forms were supposed to be P. Virginiana. I 

 doubt that P. Virginiana exists in Colorado. My studies^confirm 

 those of Mr. Greene, except in a few unimportant particulars, as 

 given in Pittonia under the head of Cerasus. 



CYMOPTERUS, SECTIOX COLOPTERA (c. & R.) 



A recent examination of all my material makes it clear that this 

 genus of C. & R. is not well founded. The character given by 

 them in their Revision of the Umbelliferee, p. 49, is substantially 

 as follows. I omit such characters as are not supposed to be 

 peculiar to the genus. 



Coloptera. Involucre none; lateral wings of fruit corky thick- 

 ened, dorsal filiform. All other characters given belong equally 

 to Cymopterus. The whole genus is really founded on the corky- 

 thickened lateral wings, a character that is also found in other 

 species of Cymopterus in varying degree, but is concealed by the 

 prolongation of the wings beyond the thickened part. This is 

 seen in C. viontaniis, and were it not for the greatl}' produced 

 edge of the wing it might be taken for a Coloptera, though there 

 is no thin space between the base of the wing and the seed, as is 

 the case in true Coloptera. In Cymopterus J one sii the thickening 

 of the wing is carried to the utmost limit at the base, and is also 

 contracted a little there at the junction with the seed. In Cymop- 



