BOTANICAL GAZETTE. 119 



always easily distiuguished. lu the old garden, a liuudred yards from the spring, I 

 found a sort of hybrid, larger flowers than Nepeta Shriceri of Wythe Co., and apparent- 

 ly abortive etl'orts to make bad crosses. But in all other localities (except Mr. Draper's 

 yard) tiie Wythe County type is through the year scrupulously adherent to its charac- 

 ter in respect to having flowers hulf tJie size, dark purplish blue color, necer a crogs, 

 inconspicuous and loidely separated or no anthers; which I have nothing m.ire to say of 

 than that I shall for the present claim the variety, reverting to the opinion of Prof. 

 Wood some twenty years ago, that the decided and invariable absence of crosses indi- 

 cated a new flower. No one who compares the two flowers will fail to see the resemb- 

 lance and the distinctness. I wish those Hyperborean Botanists would designate their 

 chameleon JVe^jeto, sporticus instead of Gleclw>na\ and our Wythe plant, Old Ironsides, 

 as its face is as unchangeable as the laws of the Medes and Persians. 



I have found a fourth plant of Hydrastis, so they belong to our Flora, though I 

 fear they are very recently naturalized. 



About three years ago, I detected a dissepiment of Draba verna. Next spriug at 

 the same spot I collected nice specimens from an area of a few yards. This spring the 

 woods was carpeted in every direction and the plant appeared on the top of Piney 

 Ridge, about Boyd's Depot, at Rich's Mill, on Caldwell's Hill, and, for aught I know, 

 elsewhere. Mr. Forney's eye never detected it, though he was used to it in North 

 Carolina, and luul searched over all these grounds. It is my impression that these 

 sixty-five millions — or more — plants came from that small beginning. I regret to say 

 that the same may be predicated of Andropogoii, which is marching upon us from 

 Tennessee or the West, and raising its plumes to tlie dismay of many a farmer. I found 

 Gedroaellu corditta in Pulaski County (Rich Hill) during my last visit, making the 

 third spot in which I have seen it. Uoularia (jrandiflora exists, along with U. perfoliate 

 in greatly varied luxuriance, around Wytheville as well as in Pulaski County. — 

 Howard Shriveh, Wytheville, Va. 



Inrs- — Sereno Watson calls the attention of all botanists during this season to the 

 various species of Iris, and specimens of flowers, fruit and roots, fresh or dried, from 

 any part of the country, may be sent to the Botanic Garden, Cambridge, and will be of 

 service. The eastern species of the genus need a thorough revision and all botanists 

 siiould contribute whatever information they can obtain so that the revision can be 

 made thorough and decisive. — J. M. C. 



Recent Puui.ications. Algoi Exsiccatie America Borealis: curaiitibus W. G- 



Farlow, C. L. Anderson, D. C. Eaton editm. Ease. I. Under this title is published a 

 set of 50 autiientically named North American Seaweeds, many of them rare species 

 from the California collections of Dr. Anderson, and the Key-West collections of Mr. 

 Hooper. Other fasciculi are to follow, until tlie greater part of our marine Algtc are 

 thus distributed. The edition consists of only thirty copies, of which only ten are for 

 sale. The present selection is made up of red and green seaweeds, in small quarto 

 sheets, and its price is $8. The black and olive-colored AlgiC will be on folio paper, 

 and the pric-,e will be $12:. Address Prof. Wm. G. Farlow, Harvard University, Cam- 

 bridge, Mass. 



Botanical Contributions, by Asa Gray. Characters of some little-known or new 

 genera (f plants fro in the Pmr. Amer. Arad. Vol. XII., issued, Afay, 1877. — Dr. Gray, 

 after having examined for the first time the flowers of Canotia holacantJut Torr., has 

 placed it in the family of T^wtor^c^e, owing to the structure of the disk, or gynobase. 

 Bentham and Hooker had included it among Bosacem, and afterwards Baillon put it 

 among the Cclaslra'Ud'. The plant is from Arizona and is one of the four "spartioid 

 green barked and mainly leafless slirubs" in tliat ilry region; ''T/utnuiosnta montanum, 



