BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
Voi. 138, No. 2 
CampripGr, Massacuusetts, NoveMBER 19, 1947 
COMMENTARIES ON SPIRANTHES, 1 
BY 
OakKES AMES 
I. SPIRANTHES TUBEROSA sensu FERNALD 
In JANuARY 1946', Professor M. L. Fernald resur- 
rected from outdated literature the obscure species Spi- 
ranthes tuberosa Rat. (1888), type specimens of which 
are not known to exist. In seeking some element in our 
flora with which this ambiguous Rafinesquian product, 
interpreted by a twenty-one word description, might be 
specifically identical, Fernald hit on the ‘‘white lipped 
S. Becku Lindl.’’ (1840), stating that there was certainly 
no doubt about it. He failed, however, to explain how 
he discovered that S. tuberosa had a white lip. Rafinesque 
certainly gave no clue, for, in his brief description, he dis- 
missed the lip with just two descriptive terms. He used 
the words ‘‘cuneato acuto,’’ which do not apply to the 
lip of any known species of Spiranthes in the flora of the 
United States. Fernald claimed that S. twberosa not only 
is identical with and antedates S. Beckit Lindl., but is 
also the characteristic species described in 1867 by Asa 
Gray as S. simplex (a homonym of S. simplex Grisebach 
and a synonym of S. Grayi Ames). 
In August 1946’, Fernald discussed the identity of 
Spiranthes tuberosa at greater length. He showed that, 
'Rhodora 48 (1946) 10. ? Rhodora 48 (1946) 189, 
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