290 E. L. Greene versus Asa Gray. [zoe 



plant, it may be said, cannot belong to Hedeoma for the throat of 

 the calyx is not bearded. * * * In the new genus Poliomintha 

 Gray, the calyx still has the villous ring — this, none." Dr. Gray 

 says "naked in the throat."* Possibly Mr. Greene in spite of 

 the unnecessary sneer about Dr. Kellogg leading the way, will 

 admit that the latter' s testimony as to easily observable matters 

 of fact coming under his eyes, is trustworthy. Dr. Gray's state- 

 ment is, of course, of no sort of consequence in the estimation of 

 Mr. Greene, neither is that of the writer who examined the 

 type two years ago in the Gray Herbarium at Harvard. 



Mr. Greene says, ' ' A dozen years ago I found by the way- 

 side in Berkelej^ a Cichoriacea new to me, and of which no 

 account was given in the State Survey volumes or in any other 

 American book," while as a matter of fact Crepis Cooperi is 

 given with its synonym in Bot. Calif, i, 436, published in 1876, 

 and the full descriptions therein indicated are both in older 

 American books. The only knowledge Mr. Greene has of these 

 matters is evidently Dr. Gray's own statement in the Synoptical 

 Flora, for in his usual second-hand fashion he copies the incor- 

 rect reference given there to the Pacific Railroad Reports. 



The concluding short paragraph of Mr. Greene's article con- 

 tains three distinct misstatements: (i.) Herniaria cinerea is 

 not an "obscure weed," but quite the contrary. (2.) It is not 

 the only instance in which Mr. Greene has "honored"! an old 

 weed with a new name. He conveniently forgets Ranunculus 

 Biolettii, Alsinella ci/iata, various species of "Tissa," Ly thrum 

 adstirgens, LytJirum Sanfordi and Biolettia riparia though the last, 

 to be sure, only immigrated from Texas. (3.) Mr. Greene may 

 have " worked upon the Californian Flora nearly as many years as 

 Asa Gray did," but if so he furnishes the world with its first 

 example of a sucking botanist. Gray's active work on our 

 Western botany began with The Flora of North America, 1838, 

 and ceased only with his death in 1888. Mr. Greene was born 

 in 1843, and made his first Californian collection at Yreka in 1876, 

 where he was the minister of a small Episcopal congregation. 

 His incumbency lasted for but a few months, and he soon after 



*Bot. Calif, i, 595; Syn Fl. ii part i, 359. 



