486 COMPOSITiE. Malacothrix. 



length somewhat glabrous ; leaves all radical, clustered, linear-filiform, en- 

 tire, or mostly sparingly pinnately-parted, much shorter than the naked sim- 

 ple scapes; heads solitary ; immature achenia crowned with a minute pec- 

 tinate border simulating an obscure setulose exterior pappus. 



California, Douglas ! — Scapes several from the slender and simple per- 

 pendicular root, fistulous, perfectly leafless, a span or more in height, termi- 

 nated by a rather large head. Leaves very slender. Mature achenia un- 

 known ; the immature linear-oblong (certainly not obovate), obscurely striate. 

 Pappus long, separating somewhat in a ring. 



§2. Suffruticose and perennial ? subcaulescent : scales of the involucre linear, 

 in about 2 rather unequal series, and with several calyculate bracteoles : 

 flowers yellow. — Malacomeris, Nutt. 



2. M.incana: canescently tomentose with a somewhat deciduous wool ; 

 leaves chiefly radical, clustered, irregularly pinnatifid ; the lobes (3-7) re- 

 mote, short, oblong-linear ; stem scapoid, bracteate, usually somewhat 

 branched, and bearing 2 or 3 heads; achenia angled, many-striate, the bor- 

 der obsolete. — Malacomeris incana, Nutt. ! in trans. Amer. phil. soc. {n. ser.) 

 7. p. 435. 



St. Diego, California, on an island in the bay, Nuttall ! — Low, decumbent, 

 nearly a span high ; the radical leaves in close clusters, shorter than the 

 flowering stems. Heads smaller than in the preceding. Achenia small, 

 brownish. Pappus exactly as in M. Californica, but more copious. 



§ 3. Annual, subcaulescent {heads only 30-iO-flowered) : scales of the involu- 

 cre in 2 series; the inner linear-lanceolate, 12-15, equal ; the outer short 

 and unequal, calyculate, appressed : flowers yelloiv. — Leptoseris, Nutt. 



3. M. sonchoides : dwarf, glabrous ; stems branching, somewhat corym- 

 bose ; leaves linear-oblong, runcinate ; the cauline small and scattered ; the 

 radical with short approximate lobes, spinulose-denticulate ; achenia some- 

 what angled, striate-ribbed, crowned with a very minute and denticulate bor- 

 der, simulating an exterior obscure coroniform pappus. — Leptoseris son- 

 choides, Nutt.! in trans. Amer. phil. soc. I. c. p. 438. 



Plains of the River Platte, Nuttall ! June. — Plant 4-5 inches high, with 

 several stems springing from a slender tap-root, bearing small heads, which 

 resemble those of a Crepis. Exterior scales of the involucre erose-denticu- 

 late. Pappus exactly as in the preceding, but shorter, deciduous in a ring. 

 Achenia pale. 



§ 4. Perennial, caulescent, leafy : scales of the involucre numerous ; the inner 

 linear, equal, appressed, in about 2 series ; the outer short and calyculate, 

 subulate, spreading, copious: flowers white. — Leucoseris, Nutt. 



4. M. saxatUis : somewhat pubescent when young; stems diffuse or de- 

 cumbent, leafy, branching ; leaves fleshy, linear-oblong, obtuse, mostly en- 

 tire ; the lower occasionally somewhat serrate or pinnatifid towards the base ; 

 heads few, somewhat fastigiate ; peduncles with minute subulate bracteoles; 

 calyculate scales subulate- lanceolate, very numerous, imbricated; achenia 

 somewhat angled, strongly ribbed, crowned wuh a minute denticulate bor- 

 der. — Leucoseris saxatilis, Nutt.! in trans. Amer. phil. soc. I. c. p. 440. 



St. Barbara, California, on shelving rocks near the sea, Nuttall ! April. — 

 Stems 1-2 feet long. Leaves 2-3 inches in length, half an inch wide, often 

 auriculate at the base, and partly clasping. Heads as large as those of the 



