294 PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY 



from Wasington Territory to Idaho and N. California (Sierra County, 

 J. G. Lemmon) . There still remains some uncertainty respecting the 

 other tuberous-rooted species which yield the " Biscuit-root " of the 

 Indian tribes of Oregon. There seem to be two, both nearly acaules- 

 cent, with large somewhat fusiform tubers, linear leaflets, and white 

 flowers, — one described by Spalding as " the famous Biscuit-root or 

 ' Kamshit ' (when dried, ' Kanash '), dug in large quantities in May," 

 and the other somewhat taller, distinguished by him as " a large kind 

 of Kamshit, the root not as good " as the other. Ripe fruit is unknown ; 

 the immature ovary indicates an oblong fruit with strong dorsal ribs. 



Asaruji Lemmoni. Slender, somewhat pubescent, with elongated 

 rootstocks : leaves cordate, rounded at the summit, thin and not mottled, 

 glabrous above or nearly so : flowers rather small and mostly glabrous, 

 with the short calyx-lobes (4 to 6 lines long) obtuse or only acute : 

 connective but slightly produced beyond the anther: seeds narrowly 

 ova te. — In the Sierra Nevada ; Plumas and Sierra Counties, Mrs. 

 R. M. Austin and J. G. Lemmon. Resembling A. caudatum of the 

 Coast Ranges ; distinguished especially by the more rounded leaves 

 and short calyx-lobes. 



Abronia nana. Perennial, dwarf and cespitose, with a thick 

 branching caudex : stems very short and leafy : leaves ovate (a half- 

 inch long or less), rough-puberulent, with slender glandular-pubescent 

 petioles an inch long: peduncles 2 or 3 inches long, glandular- 

 pubescent : involucre of 4 or 5 ovate-oblong scarious bracts, reddish 

 at base, 4 or 5 lines long : flowers greenish, 6 or 7 lines long, the 

 reddish limb 4 lines broad : ovary turbinate, with 5 hollow wings : 

 fruit unknown. — Near Beaver City, S. Utah, in dry ravines among 

 junipers ; Dr. E. Palmer (n. 4041, 1877). 



Polygonum (Duravia) Bidwellle. Low (2 to 4 inches 

 high) : leaves and bracts cuspidate, brownish : spikes short, dense : 

 stipules conspicuous, white, scarious and chaff-like, often exceeding 

 the bracts (2 lines long), 2-lobed, the lobes entire or slightly lacerate 

 at the summit : flowers pale rose-color, nearly a line long : akene 

 narrowly ovate, included ; the styles widely divergent. — Near Chico, 

 California; Mrs. John Bidwell, May, 1878. With the following 

 species allied to P. Californicum and confirming the section Duravia, 

 which is to be distinguished from Avicularia chiefly by the linear 

 3-nerved leaves and bracts, not jointed at the base, the solitary sessile 

 spicate flowers, and the persistent styles. The original characters of 

 the section as respects the fruit were drawn from immature specimens 

 and are erroneous, the akene not differing essentially from that of 



