92 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [august 



namely, the curved or twisted achenes. He worded his descrip- 

 tion to read "sometimes curved or contorted," and for one species 

 (B. mulica) he definitely described the achenes as "straight." 

 Since Nuttall's time, we may add, many other closely affiliated 

 species have been discovered, including forms of Bidens micrantha 

 itself, which have straight achenes, thus bringing the curved-achene 

 character into discredit. In 1856 Schultz Bipontinus undertook 

 the determination of various specimens collected on Nukahiva by 

 Edward Jardin. Finding four new species native to this single 

 small island, Schultz Bipontinus appears to have entered upon a 

 very careful and painstaking research into the subject of their 

 generic affinities, finally publishing his results 1 (Flora 39:357. 

 1856). As regards the maintenance of a genus Campylotheca apart 

 from Bidens, he was unreservedly against such a course. His 

 four new species from Nukahiva and all of the Hawaiian species 

 he referred to Bidens. 



In my own attempts accurately to evaluate Schultz Bipon- 

 tinus' opinion, I sought four years ago to repeat his studies upon 

 the Nukahiva species. Through the generous assistance of M. St. 

 Ahnne, President of the Chamber of Agriculture of Tahiti, and the 

 careful, persistent search by his friend, M. Henry, President of 

 the French Alliance of Nukahiva, 2 I have been able to secure many 

 mature achenes and herbarium specimens from the same island 

 where Jardin originally collected. Achenes of each kind were 

 planted, and thus, during a period of three years, several hundred 

 live plants have been obtained for observation. Having supple- 

 mented in this way my examination of the few herbarium specimens 

 available, I have been able to match all of Schultz Bipontinus' 

 four descriptions very well. The four species {Bidens cordifolia, 

 B. polycephala, B. serrulata, B. Jardinii) are clearly distinct in 

 leaf characters of the older plants and in fruit characters. More- 



I For a personal estimate, apparently unbiased and accurate, of the taxonomic 

 ability and sagacity that Schultz Bipontinus displayed at times, see Bentham, 

 Jour. Linn. Soc. 13:340. 1873. 



I I cannot too gratefully thank M. St. Ahnne and M. Henry for their great kind- 

 ness shown to me during the progress of my work. Repeatedly they have assisted 

 in procuring for me the very materials that were essential for a correct understanding 

 of the far away Pacific Island flora. 



