Mentzelia. LOASACEiE. 533 



1. M. oUsospenna (Nutt.) : " roimh witli raullibarhc hairs, difhotomous : 

 leaves lanceolate-ovate, often acuniinatc, on vep>' sliort petioles, euneate at 

 the base, inci-sely toothed or somewhat lohed ; petals cnneate-oljlon/r, cuspi- 

 date, entire, a little longer than the [L*0 or more] stamens ; cajjside very 

 narrow, about 3-secded ; seeds [finely striate with sinuous lines] linear- 

 oblong." Nutt. ! in hot. mnir. I. 1760 ; DC. ! prndr. 3. p. 343. M. aurea, 

 Nutt.! gen. I. p. 300,- Torr.! in ann. lye. NcicYork, '2. p. 109. 



In rocky places, Missouri ! Arkansas ! anil Tex!i.s ! to the Rocky Moun- 

 tains. May-.Iuly. — H Root tul)erous and succulent. Flowers deep golden- 

 yellow, 8-i() lines in diameter, expanding in sinishine, evanescent. Seeds 

 at lenjTth trianirular, elongated. — Five or more of the filaments are usually 

 slightly dilated. 



2. M. rliomhifolia (Nutt. ! mss.) : " somewhat rough with multibarbe 

 hairs, dichotomous ; leaves rhombic-ovate, mostly obtuse, almost sessile, 

 repandly-crenate and angular; petals cuneate-oblong, somewhat pointed; 

 capsule narrow, about 3-seeded ; seeds angular, oblong. 



Plains of Red River, Arkansas. — li Nearly allied to the preceding, but 

 with very diH'erent foliage, the leaves being nearly as broad as long, clothed 

 with short appressed luurs, and with few and slight dcnticulations." Nultall. 

 — We have not seen the flowers. 



3. M. Floridana (Nutt. mss.) : slightly roughened, the hairs mostly multi- 

 barbe, dichotomous; leaves deltoid-ovate, acute, unequally toothed, trun- 

 cate and 2-lobrd at the base, distinctly petioled ; petals cuneate-oval, obtuse, 

 a little longer than the (about 30) stamens ; capsules clavate, about 6-seeded ; 

 seeds oval, flattish, abruptly narrowed towards the base, minutely striate. 



East Florida, Dr. Baldwin and Mr. T. Peak, fide Nuttall. Tampa 

 Bay, Dr. Leavenivorth ! — H Leaves slightly scabrous. Flowers rather 

 small, golden-yellow. Capsules hispid with nmltibarbe hairs. Seed con- 

 formed to the shape of the embryo, with scarcely any albumen. Cotyledons 

 broad and flat, longer than the radicle. The petals, according to Nuttall, are 

 obtuse, with a small bluut point. — Apparently nearly allied to M. hispida. 



§ 2. Seeds 20 or more, in a single series on each placenta, minutely tuhercu- 

 late-scahrous, someivhat cubical : filaments alljUiform, : petals 5, expanding 

 in direct sunshine : root annual. — Trachtphytum, Nutt. mss. 



4. ]\'I. Lindleyi : muricate-hispid ; leaves ovate-lanceolate, sessile or" 

 slightly clasping, deeply pinnatifid ; the lobes lanceolate or linear, often 

 toothed, the terminal one prolonged and mostly acute ; bracteoles at the base of 

 the cal}^ pinnatifid ; flowers (large) solitary or 2-3 together at the extremity 

 of the branches ; petals obovate, pointed with a short acumination, twice the 

 length of the lanceolate acute or acuminate calyx-segments; filaments very 

 numerous, all filiform ; ca))sules hirsute, elongated, somewhat thickened up- 

 wards; seeds numerous. — Baitoma aaiea, Lindl. .' bat. r eg. 1. 1831 ; Hook..' 

 hot. mag. t. 3649. 



California, Douglas ! — Stem 2-3 feet high, branched. Petals 1-li inch 

 in length, deej) golden yellow, expanding in bright sunshine. Capsules 1-2 

 inches long, arcuate-recurved. — The pubescence consists of hispid hairs, 

 bulbous at tlie base, and minutely denticulate ; with much smaller very 

 minutely retrorsely barbate hairs intermixed. — In referring tills species to the 

 genus Mentzelia, we are unwllingly obliged to change the specific name, to 

 prevent confusion between it and the Mentzelia aurea of Nuttall's Genera. 

 We therefore propose that it bear the name of the justly celebrated botanist 

 who first described it. 



