FLORA OF THE KURILE ISLANDS. 227 



74. ?Prunus sp., Ledeb. Fl. Koss. ir, p. 9. 

 Hah. Urtq) and JStorofu (Pallas). 



In his "jS^eiie nordische Beitriige," iv, pp. 131, 133, Pallas mentions a tree from the 

 southern Kuriles, which has the appearance of a bii'cli with l)ii'ch-like leaves, but with the 

 tlowers o? Prunas Padus (Traubenkirschen), and having hard Avood. From this simple 

 description, though graphic, it is rather hard to conjecture what species of Prnnus or 

 other plant is here meant. To me it seems to apply vei-y well to Primus Ssiori, which 

 I have found in Etorof'u. The latter plant has flowers very much like those of P. Padtis. 

 Its bark looks like that of a birch, and can be peeled off" like that in large pieces. Its 

 wood, Avhich is very hard and tough, is used in Yezo for oars, sledges and similar pur- 

 poses. But its leaves can hardly be called birch-like. 



Professor Maximowicz takes the plant referred to by Pallas to be Sorhus alnifolla, 

 C. Koch (Mel. Biol, ix, p. 659, in a foot-note, and also in his letter). As its name 

 suggests, the venation of the leaves of 8. alnifolla is very mnch like that of JLlmts. 

 Its wood is very strong and hard, but its inflorescence is diflerent from that of P. 

 Padus. 8. alnifolia has been found in Manchuria and also in the subalpine woods of 

 middle Japan, extending northward to Yezo, whei'e I have collected it even as far north 

 as at Aliashiri on the Ochotsk coast. Though no one has ever yet seen or collected 

 8. alnifolia in the Kurile islands, it is not at all improbable, judging from its range of 

 distribution, that it does occur there. 



75. Aruncus Sylvester, Kost'el.; Max. Act. Hort. Petrop. vi, p. 169. 8pircea Aruncus, L. ; 



Ledeb. Fl. Ross, n, p. 16. — Var. kamtschatica, Max. I. c. '\>. 170. 



Hal). Kurile islands (_/?fZe Max.). 



I have adopted in this and the following species the nomonclature set forth by Pro- 

 fessor Maximowicz in his revision of the 8piraiace. According to him, this variety has 

 a limited range of distribution in extreme Eastern Siberia, Kamtschatka and the northern 

 Kuriles. The species has a ver}'^ wide range of distribution in the temperate and sub- 

 arctic regions of Europe, Asia and Xorth America. 



76. Spiraea betulifolia. Pall. Fl. Ross, i, p. 33, t. 16; Ledeb. Fl. Ross, ii, p. 14; Torr. & 



Gra}^ Fl. X. Am. i, p. 414; Max. Act. Hort. Petrop. vi, p. 207. 



Hal). Shikotan. 



My Kurile ])lant belongs to vai-. tijjiica, fl. ochroleuco, Max., which has been found in 

 British Columbia and Alaska, and also in Eastern Siberia, Kamtschatka, Manchuria, Sag- 

 halin and northern Japan. In N^orth America the species is more widely distributed, oc- 

 curring in two or more well definable forms. As var. corymbosa, it is found from the 

 Atlantic to the Pacific coasts. As var. typica, fl. roseo, it occurs in the Pacific regions of 

 ]S^orth America, in the Rocky Mts. and Sierra N^evada. The same form has been also 

 found in the southeastern part of Manchuria. 



77. Sorbaria sorbifolia, A. Br. in Aschers. Fl. Brandenb. p. 177; Max. in Act. Hort. 



Petrop. vr, p. 223. 8p)lra'a sorhifoUa, L.; Ledeb. Fl. Ross, ii, p. 15; F. Schm. 

 Fl. Sach. ]>. 126. — Yar. steUipila, Max., I. c. 

 Hah. 8Jiikotan. 



MEMOIRS BOSTON SOC. NAT. HIST., VOL IV. 32 



