424 TRANS. OF THE ACAD. OF SCIENCE. 



A Revision of the North American fipecies of the Genus 

 Juncus, with a Description of new or imperfectly known 

 ISpecies. By Geokge Engklmann, M.D. 



The difficulty 1 found in arranging the species of Juncus 

 of my own herbarium*, the doubts in which the authors left 

 me by incomplete and unsatisfactory descriptions and by 

 confusion in the names and synonyms, the want of confidence 

 which all my correspondents, even such as had paid a good 

 deal of close attention to it, seemed to place in themselves 

 and their own judgment when this genus was under discus- 

 sion — all this induced me to enter upon a critical study of our 

 Junci. I was greatly aided by the most liberal contribution 

 of specimens and of observations from all sides; among 

 those to whom I am thus indebted I mention Prof. Asa 

 Gray, of Cambridge, and Messrs. E. Durand, C. E. Smith, and 

 Prof. Leidy, of Philadelphia, who sent me their own and the 

 herbaria of the institutions under their care; Dr. J. W. Robbing, 

 of Massachusetts ; Rev. O. Brunet, of Quebec ; Dr. H. P. 

 Sartwell, of New York; Prof. T. C. Porter, of Pennsylvania; 

 Mr. M. S. Bebb, of Washington ; Rev. M. A. Curtis, of North 

 Carolina; Mr. W. H. Ravenel, of South Carolina; Dr. A. W. 

 Chapman, of Florida; Mr. E. Hall, of Illinois; and last, but 

 not least, Prof. W. H. Brewer, of the Calafornia State Sur- 

 vey, and my indefatigable and ever obliging friend, Mr. H. 

 N. Bolander, of San Francisco. In Europe I was greatly 

 assisted by Prof. Caspary, of Koenigsberg, who compared 

 E. Meyer's herbarium, and by Prof. A. Braun and Dr. Garcke, 

 of Berlin, who examined Willdenow's and Kunth's herbaria 

 for me. My very particular thanks are due to all of them. 

 Michaux's and Lamarck's plants have, thus far, been inac- 

 cessible to me, and thus some questions of synonymy must 

 remain unsettled for the present. 



A very conscientious examination of over a thousand speci- 

 mens from all parts of the country, with careful dissections 

 of their flowers and fruits, and drawing of these details, has 

 enabled me, I believe, to place the proper value on the 

 characters derived from the different organs of these plants, 

 and to arrive at definite conclusions in regard to their species 

 and varieties and their affinities among themselves. 



These investigations, to be sure, were all made " in the 

 closet" since the end of last summer, but I trust that they 

 are not the less reliable, and that those who have the oppor- 

 tunity will follow them up in the field, and will enable me 

 not only to improve upon this paper, but also to publish, 

 with their aid — which some have already promised me — an 

 Herbarium Juncorum Boreali-Americanorum normale^xhxch. 



