1912] Goodspccd: Nicotiana Hijhrids 121 



2 and figure 3 are normal flowers of variety II and figures 4 

 and 5 are views of half mature seed capsules. Figure 6 shows 

 a typical radical leaf, most of which by the end of the season 

 are much torn or dried and obscured by the soil about the base 

 of the main axis of the plant. The leaf shown in figure 7 nor- 

 mally occurs along the main axis up to one-third of the distance 

 from the roots to the top of the plant and along the basal 

 portions of the larger laterals. 



Quite recently a considerable collection of wild plants, iden- 

 tified as N. acuminata, has been made in Niles, California. Th^ 

 plants were growing in, and on the sides of, a dry, sandy, 

 river-bed in about equal numbers with N. Bigelovii. Ap- 

 proximately 75 measurements of corolla diameters of the flowers 

 on these wild plants were made in the field. The fluctua- 

 tions of corolla diameter in flowers on the same plant were usually 

 less than 5 mm., but between different plants standing side by 

 side the mean of the corolla diameters of their flowers varied 

 over 6 mm. Thus one of the wild specimens bore flowers the 

 corolla diameters of which varied between 12 mm. and 16 mm., 

 with an average diameter of 13 mm., and on another plant in 

 a slightly different situation the corolla diameters of the flowers 

 varied between 15 mm. and 20 mm., wdth the average at ap- 

 proximately 19 mm. In other words, the wild varieties of N. 

 acuminata, at least as we have found them in California, exhibit 

 a wide range of fluctuation in corolla diameter of flowers on 

 individual groups of plants and a relatively small degree of 

 fluctuation in the size of flowers borne by the individual plants 

 themselves. The largest flower found on the plants at Niles 

 was one measuring 22 mm. in diameter and the size of flower 

 most usually occurring, together with the general habit of the 

 wild plants, duplicated rather closely the appearance of variety 

 II of our experimental material. 



Plate 30 was drawn from fresh material obtained in the 

 above mentioned collection of the wild X. acuminata variety made 

 at Niles during November, 1911. On comparing this plate with 

 plate 29, in which variety II of our experimental material is 

 shown, the resemblance between the wild and the cultivated 

 varieties is evident. Figure 1 of plate 30 shows an entire young 



