Rydberg : Rocky Mountain flora 689 



I had some correspondence with Professor A. Nelson in 1898, 

 when the latter segregated Pentstemon similis from P. Jamesii. 

 I think that I then led Professor Nelson astray. At least, I had 

 made a rather serious mistake. Professor Nelson made the fol- 

 lowing statement in his article in the Bulletin cited above : 



" Before I began work upon these collections Dr. Rydberg had 

 satisfied himself that his Dakota plant closely duplicated the type 

 of P. Jamesii which is preserved in the Torrey Herbarium at 

 Columbia University, and with which he has done me the favor of 

 comparing my specimens." 



A more thorough investigation of the South Dakota plant 

 shows that the sterile stamens are but slightly bearded and of a dif- 

 ferent shape and the specimens must be referred to a form of P. 

 albidus. The type of/ 7 . Jamesii consists of two scraps, only the 

 tops of the plant. The bracts, the calyx, and corolla of these 

 scraps resemble closely those of Nelson's plants from Wyoming. 

 The basal leaves of P. Jamesii are, however, entirely different from 

 those of Nelson's plant. At the time, there were no good specimens 

 of P. Jamesii in the herbaria here in New York, but I have myself 

 collected good specimens near the type locality, which was some- 

 where on the upper Arkansas River. These show that P. Jamesii 

 is much closer to P. similis A. Nels., differing in the smaller corolla, 

 the less secund inflorescence, the longer bracts and narrower basal 

 leaves. Typical P. Jamesii is represented by Rydberg & Vreeland 

 5637, 5636, 66 1 o, j6jj and j6jj ; also by Baker 6 of 1901 and 

 Osterhont 2084. of 1900. 



As the plant described by Professor Nelson at the place cited 

 above is very distinct I adopt the name under which Professor 

 Nelson had distributed the plant, viz., Pentstemon auricomus, espe- 

 cially as I, at least indirectly, was the cause of its being suppressed. 



Pentstemon suffrutescens Rydb. Bull. Torrey 

 Club 28 : 503. 30 S 1901 

 P. caespitosns suffruticosus A. Gray, Syn. Fl. 2 1 : 270. 1878. 

 P. proenmbens Greene, PI. Baker. 3: 23. 18N1901. 

 Professor A. Nelson, in describing Pentstemon Xylus* expressed 

 his opinion that the latter was the same as P. caespitosns snffrnti- 

 * Bot. Gaz. 34: 31. 1902. 



