BORAGE FAMILY 321 



Locs. — Argus sta., Salinaa Valley, Jepson 8437; lower Paloma Canon, near Arroyo Seco, 

 Santa Lucia Mts., Hoover 2970; Jolon, Monterey Co., Plaskett; Paieines, San Benito Co., Hoover 

 2997; Bittervvater Valley, s. San Benito Co., Jepson 16,142; McKay, nw. San Luis Obispo Co., 

 Graham 353; Cholame Valley, e. San Luis Obispo Co., Wiggins 5794; Palo Prieto Canon, e. San 

 Luis Obispo Co., Jepson 16,192; Bitterwater Creek, Temblor Range, Ferris 9075; Wasioja, Cu- 

 yama Valley, n. Santa Barbara Co., Peterson 179. 



Var. elegans (Suksd.) Jepson & Hoover comb. n. Corolla smaller (5 to 6 lines long). — Inner 

 South Coast Range (Kirker Pass, Contra Costa Co., Hoover 317; Carrizo Plain, se. San Luis 

 Obispo Co., Condit) and west to central Monterey Co. 



Refs. — Amsinckia douglasiana A. DC, Prodr. 10:118 (1846), type from Cal., Douglas. 

 A. lemmonii Mcbr., Contrib. Gray Herb. 48:50 (1916), type loe. Lemmon's ranch, Cholame, ne. 

 San Luis Obispo Co., Lemmon 4593, has large corollas but approaches A. tessellata in vegetative 

 character. A. tessellata var. lemmonii Jepson, Man. 844 (1925). A. macrantha Suksd., Werdenda 

 102 (1931), type loc. "Jolon road" (that is, betw. King City and Jolon), Monterey Co., K. Bran- 

 degee. A. gloriosa Eastw. ; Suksd., I.e. 103, type loc. Cuyama White Hills, se. San Luis Obispo Co., 

 Eastwood. A. munzii Suksd., I.e., type loc. 32 mi. e. of Paso Robles, Mum 10,148. Var. elegans 

 Jepson & Hoover. A. elegans Suksd., Werdenda 103 (1931), type from Cal., Fremont. A. pulclira 

 Suksd., I.e., type loc. Los Banos, Eastwood 14,105. A. cuncata Suksd., I.e. 104, type loc. Antioch, 

 Davy 931; by error as "curvata"; cf. 116 (Berichtigungen 2, — 1932). A. ampla Suksd., I.e., type 

 loc. Jolon, Eastwood 4143. 



4. A. tessellata Gray. Devil's Lettuce. Stem stout, coarsely hispid, 1 to 2 

 feet high ; leaves mostly spreading-hispid ; leaf-blades linear to lanceolate or oblong 

 (or ovate), 1 to 2^4 (or 4) inches long, sessile or the lower narrowed to a petiole- 

 like base; spikes at length ^ to 6 inches long, moderately dense or sometimes loose ; 

 calyx very bristly and gray short-hirsute, the hairs usually sparse ; calyx-lobes 3 

 (or 4), usually 2 narrow and 1 broad ; corolla 4 to 6 lines long, 1 to 1% lines wide; 

 nutlets 1^/4 to liA lines long, the back flattish or low and rounded, densely tessellate 

 or papillate, usually with median keel and usually more or less transversely rugose. 



Dry floors of interior valleys, sandhills, sandy desert mesas or rocky slopes, 200 

 to 5700 (or 7300) feet : inner South Coast Range (abundant) and west to the Sali- 

 nas Valley; San Joaquin Valley (infrequent) ; north and east sides of the Sierra 

 Nevada from Siskiyou and Modoc Cos. to Inyo Co.; Mohave and Colorado deserts. 

 East to Arizona, north to Washington. Mar. -May. 



Field note. — Over the main area of the Mohave Desert, Amsinckia tessellata, uniform in 

 aspect and markedly constant in its main characters, is, save exceptionally, the only species of 

 Amsinckia. Desert miners call it Devil's Lettuce by virtue of the bristles on the leaves, but horses, 

 hungry for green forage in arid lands and thus indifferent to the bristles, always seek it in pref- 

 erence to Red-stem FUaree (Erodium cicutarium). The miner's burro also gives it eager attention 

 and refuses to pass it by. The plant is, therefore, valued for forage in the wide wastes of the 

 Mohave. 



Although no two collections are alike in nutlets, the nutlet is, nevertheless, constant in its 

 main features. The dorsal area varies greatly as to the relative proportion of tessellations and 

 rugae; sometimes the rugae are few or none. The rugae also vary greatly in position and in 

 length, the tessellations vary greatly in position and shape or size. Notwithstanding all this, the 

 nutlet as a whole, with the somewhat upturned marginal angles of the dorsal area, keeps closely 

 to one recognizable structure. 



Locs. — South Coast Ranges : Markley Caiion, e. Contra Costa Co., Hoover 2894 ; Puerto Canon, 

 w. Stanislaus Co., Hoover 2852; Willow Creek School, San Benito Co., Jepson 16,130; San Ardo, 

 Monterey Co., Jepson 19,083; Paso Robles, K. Brandegee ; Zapato Chino Creek, Diablo Range, 

 Jepson 15,359 ; upper Cuyama Valley, se. San Luis Obispo Co., Benson 3563. San Joaquin Valley: 

 Antioch, K, Brandegee; Modesto, K. Brandegee ; plain near Gould Hill, Temblor Range, w. Kern 

 Co., Jepson 17,021; Bakersfieid, Davy 1720. Tehachapi Mts.: Tehachapi Valley, Jepson 18,391. 

 Southern Sierra Nevada in Kern Co.: Cottonwood Creek, Greenhorn Mts., Benson 3077. Trans- 

 montane Sierra Nevada: Yreka, Butler 529; Fort Bidwell, ne. Modoc Co., Manning 181; Ame- 

 dee. Honey Lake Valley, Davy; Sugarloaf Peak, n. side of Sierra Valley, Sawyer 102; Black 

 Canon, White Mts., Duran 568; Westgard Pass, J. Grinnell 1039a; Darwin Wash, Inyo Co., 

 Zenner 25; Hanaupah Caiion, Panamint Range, Jepson 7043. Mohave Desert: Bonanza King 

 Mine, Providence Mts., Jepson 18,293; betw. Bristol Mts. and Old Dad Mts., Jepson 20,379; Red 

 Rock Canon, west end El Paso Mts., J. T. Howell 4977; Calico Mts., Jepson 17,228; Barstow 

 Jepson 5834; Kramer, Jepson 5336; Victorville, Jepson 20,291; Lancaster, Jepson 17,045; Rock 

 Creek, n. slope San Gabriel Mts., Parish 1950. Intramontane S. Cal. (infrequent) : Lockwood 

 Valley, near Mt. Pinos, Dudley ^ Lamb 4689; Leonis Valley, n. Los Angeles Co., Davy 2G01 ; 

 San Fernando, Greene. Colorado Desert: Cottonwood Spr., Eagle Mts., Jepson 12,619; Coyote 

 Canon, sw. Santa Rosa Mts., Hall 2840 ; San Felipe, e. San Diego Co., K. Brandegee. 



