THREE NEW PLANTS FROM ALBERTA' 



By PAUL C STANDLEY 



During the summer of 191 1 Mr. N. Hollister and Mr. J. H. Riley 

 made an extended reconnaissance of the animal life of the mountains 

 of eastern British Columbia and western Alberta.' At the same 

 time they secured representatives of many of the plants of this little 

 explored region, their collections consisting of over two hundred 

 numbers. Coming from a territory where little or no botanical 

 collecting had been done previously, these have proved to be of more 

 than passing interest. In the course of identifying the plants secured 

 by the two collectors three were found which seem to be undescribed. 

 It is expected later to publish an annotated list of the species repre- 

 sented in the series of specimens, but it seems advisable to publish 

 here the descriptions of the new ones in advance of the complete 

 report. 



VAGNERA PUMILA Standley, sp. nov. 



Low perennial 10 cm. high or less ; leaves few, usually only 2, 

 with one or 2 very small bract-like leaves just below the inflorescence, 

 elliptic or elliptic-oval, 20 to 50 mm. long and 8 to 14 mm. wide, 

 abruptly acute, sessile by a clasping base, finely parallel-veined, 

 glabrous ; inflorescence a stout raceme about 5 cm. long, well ex- 

 serted beyond the leaves, the flowers rather widely spaced ; pedicels 

 stout, ascending, 6 to 8 mm. long, glabrous, subtended by minute, 

 scarious, obtuse, purple-dotted bracts ; perianth segments 3 mm. 

 long, oblong, obtuse, white conspicuously blotched with purple ; fila- 

 ments stout, slightly thickened towards the base ; anthers purple ; 

 stigma very short and thick, not longer than wide, the styles often 

 nearly sessile ; mature fruit not seen. 



Type in the U. S. National Herbarium, no 6,22636, collected on 

 Prairie Creek, western Alberta, July 3, 191 1, by J. H. Riley (no, 

 100) . 



' Some new species of birds collected by this expedition are described by 

 J. H. Riley in Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, Vol. 24, pp. 233-236, 191 1; and 

 four new mammals are described by N. Hollister in Smithsonian Misc. Coll., 

 Vol. 56, No. 26, December 5, 191 1. 



Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 56, No. 33 



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