BOTANY. 



319 



marks ou the protballus of Sahnnia natans. Goebel, in the Botanische 

 Zeitung, mentions a peculiar formation of slioots on leaves of I.soetes. 



In Chaniccw we have to notice the appearance of Characecc Aniericame 

 in two fasciculi by Dr. T. F. Allen, including Chara (jymnopus var. ele- 

 gans, A. Br. and C. crinita var. americana, of which des(;riptions and 

 colored plates are given. The proceedings of the Boston Society of 

 Natural History contain a paper by B. D. Halsted on the Classification 

 and Description of the American Species of Characecc. The systematic 

 position of the Characew w^as discussed by S. H. Vines in a paper in the 

 Journal of Botany entitled The Pro-embryo of Chara, and he considers 

 that the order forms an independent group intermediate between the 

 Carposporecc and the Muscinew. 



PH^NOGAMS. 



Among the descriptive works on North American plants may be men, 

 tioned Reports upon the Botanical Collections made in portions of JSfevada, 

 Colorado, JSFew Mexico, and Arizona during the years 1871-'75, by J. T. 

 Eothrock. The work forms a part of the reports on the geological sur- 

 veys west of the 100th meridian made under the charge of Lieut. G. M. 

 Wheeler, and is a large quarto, with finely executed i^lates by Sprague. 

 In the elaboration of special orders and genera, Professor Eothrock was 

 assisted by the following gentlemen: S. Watson, George Engelmaun, 

 T. C. Porter, M. S. Bebb, William Boott, George Vasey, D. C. Eaton, 

 T. P. James, and Edward Tuckermann. The descrii^tive i)ortion of the 

 work is preceded by notes on the general character of the^vegetation of 

 Colorado and New Mexico and notes on the economical properties of a 

 number of species. The botanical contributions of Prof. A. Gray consist 

 of two i)apers i^ublished in the Proceedings of the American Academy 

 of Arts and Sciences; Characters of some new species of Composite in the 

 Mexican collection made by 0. C. Parry and Edward Palmer, chiefly in 

 the Province of San Luis Potosi in 1878 ; and Some new Xorth American 

 genera, species, &c. The new genera are Sul'sdorfia, from the Columbia 

 Eiver, and Rowellia, from Oregon. In the same Proceedings are two 

 pai)ers by Mr. Sereno Watson : Revision of the North American Liliacecc 

 and Description of some Neto Species of North American Plants. In the 

 last-named paper, which includes the new genus Hollistcria, the species 

 described are princii)ally from the west coast and from Florida, the 

 greater part having been collected by Dr. E. Palmer. Besides the 

 pajjers above named, there has appeared a number of shorter papers 

 and notes in the different journals, among which may be enumerated 

 Notes on Baptisia, by W. M. Canby, in the Botanical Gazette ; Notes on 

 Yitis, by Dr. George Engelmann, and Ballast Plants in Neic YorJc City, by 

 Addison Brown, in the Bulletin of the Torrey Club; Colorado Plants, 

 by I. C. Martindale, in the American Naturalist ; and Catalogue of the 

 Phwnogamous and vascular Cryptogamons Plants collected in Dakota and 



