515 



from It. I think there can be no doubt, however, that the two 

 species are distinct and that a comparative study of growing 

 plants would disclose more pronounced differences than dried 

 specimens have revealed. The uniformly small size and simple 

 or nearly simple habit of puuiila and its slender and elongated 

 loosely-flowered raceme are usually sufficient to distinguish it. 

 The pubescence seems to be generally coarser and more hirsute 

 than in mollis, and the much smaller, mostly trifoliate leaves more 

 crowded on the lower part of the stem and apparently of thicker 

 texture. I have not seen satisfactory material in mature fruit. 

 The range of the plant is clearly more restricted northward than 

 that of iiwllis, and more extended southward as far as at pres- 

 ent known. 



I adopt Muhlenberg's name piunila for this species with some 

 hesitation and only to avoid the alternative of conferring a new 

 name. Muhlenberg characterized his plant by the one word "little" 

 and gave its habitat as Mississippi. Applying the rule of exclu- 

 sion it would appear that only this species could have been in- 

 tended. If it should be found that A. mollis extends into Missis- 

 sippi the name would have only a dubious claim to availability. 



4. Agrimonia mollis (T. & G.) Britton. 



Not aromatic and obscurely if at all glandulose, mostly slender 

 and 2°-3° high (i° to over 6°), the branches ascending or some- 

 times spreading, either few and simple or forming a loose panicle 

 which exceptionally attains a spread of as much as 2°-3°. Stem 

 below loosely tomentose-pubescent and weakly villose with spread- 

 ing or subspreading hairs, becoming finely hoary-tomentose or 

 subappressed pubescent above and in tne racemes. Leaves rather 

 dark green, 3'-i2' long, 2'-"]' wide, a common size being 5' or 6' 

 by 3' or 4'. Leaflets commonly 2 or 3 loosely separated pairs 

 (1-4 pairs), mostly obovate-oblong, varying from obovate to ellip- 

 tic, subsessile, rounded or somewhat acute at apex, dentate-serrate 

 to crenate, the odd leaflet mostly obovate, often on a foliolate 

 stalk, reaching an extreme size of 4>^' X 2', the largest lateral leaf- 

 lets becoming 3' X 1^2'; upper surface sparsely hirtellous-pubescent 

 and roughish to glabrate, the margins finely subappressed-ciliate, 

 lower surface paler and minutely downy to velvety-pubescent; 

 leafstalk finely pubescent and somewhat tomentose-villose. Stip- 

 ules varying from small, lanceolate and entire on the lower leaves 

 and in dwarf plants to cordate-clasping with cut-serrate or incised 



