III. — The American Species of the Genus Anemone and the 

 Genera which have been referred to it. 



BY N. L. BRITTON. 

 Read October 12, 1891. 



The genus Anemone as recognized by Bentham and Hooker in 

 1862 (Gen. PI., i, 4), contained on their estimate about 70 species; 

 Durand (Index. Gen. Phanerog. 1 (1888) estimated that the num- 

 ber then known was about 85, while Prantl (in Engler and PrantI, 

 Naturl. Pflanzenfamilien, Lieferung 19, p. 61, 1888), placed the 

 number at 90, including in this estimate the 5 known species of 

 Knowttonia; so we may take Durand's estimate as the last one 

 made. It was monographed by Pritzel (Linn^ea, xv, 561-698, 

 1841). The species are widely distributed in temperate and sub- 

 arctic or alpine regions of both hemispheres. A few occur in warm 

 temperate and tropical regions, but the group is essentially one of 

 temperate climates ; 13 occur in Europe, 15 in British India, espe- 

 cially in the Himalayas (Hooker, Fl. Brit. Ind., i, 7), 16 in China 

 (Forbes and Hemsley, Journ, Linn. Soc, xxiii, 10), 2 in South 

 Africa (Harvey and Sonder, Fl. Cap., i, 3), 1 in Australia (Ben- 

 tham, FI. Austral., i, 8). In the following pages 39 species are 

 recognized as American, placed in six genera, all of which are kept in 

 Anemone by Bentham and Hooker, Baiilon, and Engler and Prantl. 



There has been no agreement among authors as to the limits of 

 the genus, Tournefort recognized Anemone and Pulsatilla. Lin- 

 meus in the earlier editions of his Genera Plantarum had Hepatica, 

 Pulsatilla, and Anemone, but united them all in the first edition of 

 his Species Plantarum. Adanson maintained Anemone and Pulsa- 

 tilla. Jussiseu united all three. Among more recent authors there 

 has been equal difference of opinion. Ledebour (Fl. Ross., i, 13-23) 

 maintained the three as distinct, and this view is accepted by Nyman 

 (Consp. Fl. Europ., 2-4). Gray has recognized Anemone, Pulsatilla 

 and Hepatica in the first four editions of his Manual and in his 

 Genera lUustrata, but united Pulsatilla with Anemone in the fifth 

 Annals N. Y. Acad. Sci., VI, Dec. 1891.— 15 



