BOTANICAL, GAZETTE. 239 



they ripened. I wished to see if it could be propagated. But 

 most of the achenia are withered — apparently blasted. Some 

 heads, however, show from one to three achenia that are plump 

 and look as if they might grow. Heads of A. ptarmicoides and 

 S. Riddellii gathered at the same time are found to have gener- 

 ally perfected their fruit. On comparing the fruit with that of 

 A. ptarmicoides it is seen to be quite identical, smooth, light- 

 colored and of the same size. That of S. Riddellii is slightly 

 roughened under a lens, and is characteristically marked by five 

 to seven dark-colored longitudinal stripes. Some of the achenia 

 of the anomalous plant seem a little striped, but very faintly, so 

 that it can hardly be relied on for a character. The involucre- is 

 smaller and more cylindrical than in A. ptarmicoides. The 

 scales are about the same as in that species. 



The plant has been left where it grew, so that it may be no- 

 ticed another season, and its behavior observed. The interest of 

 the plant to me is whether Aster and Solidago will cross, es- 

 pecially in the wild state, and should the cross be permanent and 

 capable of propagation by seed, what bearing it may have on the 

 origin of species. It can not indeed be proved that it is a hy- 

 brid, but this seems the best explanation now available. Had all 

 the flowers been yellow, or even ochroleucous, it might seem a 

 pure example of one or the other genus, but with flowers of 

 three colors from the same root, and other intermediate charac- 

 ters, it is hard to regard it as such. The flowers, .in color and 

 size, are a mean between A. ptarmicoides and the Solidagos,others, 

 besides S. Riddellii, being near neighbors, as S. nemoralis, 8. Ian- 

 ceolata. It should be added in passing that the prairie here was 

 originally wet, but the opening of streets and railroads, with ac- 

 companying ditches and sewers, has drained it so as to produce a 

 promiscuous mingling of wet land and dry land floras, as far as they 

 are able to accommodate themselves to the change, and hence 

 queer floral neighbors are found. 



It is possible this plant may throw some light on the Aster lu- 

 tescens . of Torrey and Gray's Flora of North America, gathered 

 by Douglas and. assigned the habitat : "Saskatchewan, dry eleva- 

 ted grounds of the Assiniboin River.'' It is stated that Douglas 

 had labeled his specimens " flowers yellow," but that the rays ap- 

 peared to have been at most ochroleucous. " It this be the case/' 

 the authors add, " it is doubtless a distinct species, if not, it may' 

 prove to be only a variety of A. ptarmicoides, as Hooker sup- 

 poses." — E. J. Hill,, Englewood, 111. 



