G8 THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



formation of seeds. Nobody at present pretends to say how 

 such changes are effected, but it is probably due to some enzyme 

 that, originating in one part of the plant, produces effects in 

 another. 



Anemone Nomenclature. — One might infer from 

 Mrs. Soth's very interesting article that the Western "pasque 

 flower" (which is commonly called "crocus" in north- 

 western Iowa) is typical Anemone patens L. Is not the 

 Western plant to be referred to the var. Wolfgangiana 

 (Bess.) Koch? I am not enough of a classical scholar to be 

 sure about this, but did the "Anemone" fabled by the poets to 

 have sprung from the blood of Adonis really belong to that 

 genus? Linnaeus, following Dillenius, established the genus 

 Adonis in commemoration of the fable, and evidently con- 

 sidered A. uutitmnalis, the "cornadonis" or "pheasant's eye", 

 with its bright scarlet petals, to be emblematical of the blood 

 of the ill-fated youth. Surely none of our American species 

 of Anemone are so brilliantly colored as to suggest the 

 legend. — /. C. Nelson, Salem, Oregon. [As to the scientific 

 name of the pasque flower, Prof. Nelson is technically right, 

 but those who are disinclined to give either support or comfort 

 to the name-tinkers find an opportunity here to treat their 

 labors with contempt, for while some authorities use Wolf- 

 gangiana, Britton and Brown do not, though the latter admit 

 that the European Anemone patens has the lobes of the leaves 

 somewhat broader than in the American plant. The decision 

 hinges on whether this characteristic is sufficient to make a 

 variety and allow us to christen it with a name that is sus- 

 piciously germanesque. The differences of opinion regarding 

 this plant do not stop here. Not only is there a question as to 

 whether it is the anemone of the poets, but there is no agree- 

 ment as to the origin of the generic name or the pronunciation 

 of the common one. Almost anybody will say offhand that 

 Anemone comes from the Greek anemos, the wind, thus in- 



