14 PLANT.E WRIGHTIAN^E. VI. 



V. PURPUREA (sp. nov.) : multicaulis e radice crassa perenni ; foliis canescen- 

 tibus, radicalibus rosulatis obovatis oblongisve nunc siniiato-panduratis in petiolum 

 attenuatis, caulinis paucis parvis sessilibus ; racemis multifloris, fructiferis elongatis ; 

 petalis roseo-purpureis ; siliculis ovoideo-globosis stylo gracili longioribus. — Stony 

 hills near El Paso; March, April. (1320.) — Flowering stems numerous from 

 a thickened root, scape-like and simple, erect, a span, or in fruit a foot, high, 

 including the raceme. Radical leaves one to two inches long, half an inch or more 

 in width, contracted into a petiole of nearly the same length, canescent and slightly 

 scabrous with a very fine and close stellate pubescence, entire, or some of them sin- 

 uate and fiddle-shaped. Cauline leaves sparse, mostly bract-like, only from 2 to 4 

 lines in length, obovate, spatulate, or oblanceolate. Raceme strict, in fruit 3 to 6 

 inches long, with the spreading or at length recurved pedicels 3 to 6 lines long. 

 Petals spatulate-obovate, 3 lines long, light purple (destitute of any tinge of yel- 

 low); the calyx sometimes tinged with purple. Filaments enlarged at the base. 

 Ovary ovoid, glabrous, about the length of the style: ovules 5 or 6 in each- cell. 

 Silicle ly to 2 lines in diameter, not stipitate ; the valves hemispherical, membrana- 

 ceous. Immature seeds orbicular, wingless ; the funiculi free. Embryo not seen ; 

 but from the flatness of the seed the cotyledons are undoubtedly accumbent. — A 

 genuine Vesicaria, of the section Vesicariana, with purple flowers ! 



DiTHTREA WiSLizENi, Engelm. ; Gray, PI. Wright, p. 10. Valley of the Rio 

 Grande, near El Paso, and above Doila Ana, common. (1321.) — D. Californica, 

 Harvey, which I have seen in the herbarium of Trinity College, Dublin, has much 

 smaller silicles than D. Wislizeni ; they are also more deeply emarginate, the cells 

 being nearly orbicular, and their thickened edge is tomentose. 



Thlaspi Fendleri : foliis carnosulis subintegerrimis, radicalibus petiolatis ovali- 

 bus, caulinis sagittato-oblongis araplexicaulibus ; racemo etiam fructifero brevi con- 

 ferto ; floribus majusculis ; petalis calyce triplo longioribus ; siliculis lato-obovatis 

 subalatis basi acutis apice immaturis sinu aperto leviter obcordatis maturis truncato- 

 subintegris, loculis 3 - 4-ovulatis ; stylo filiformi fructu dimidio breviore. — T. coch- 

 leariforme. Gray, PI. Fendl. p. 10, non DC, nee Hook. — On the Organ Mountains, 

 northeast of El Paso; May: mostly in fruit. (1322.) — Plant a span high, or 

 lower ; the raceme an inch, or, even in full fruit, not over 2 inches, in length ; the 

 pedicels closely approximate, spreading, in fruit 5 or 6 lines long. Petals (in Fend- 

 ler's specimens) 4 lines long. Ovary obcordate by a broad and shallow sinus ; the 

 cells 3 - 4-ovulate. Ripe silicles 4 lines long, with sharp but slightly winged edges, 

 obscurely emarginate or even truncate at the broad summit ; the style a line and a 

 half or two lines long. — The specimens of Fendler were mostly in flower only : 

 mine with young fruit have the raceme more loose than in those gathered this 

 spring by Mr. Wright ; which, being in fruit, plainly show that I was wrong in 

 referring the New Mexican plant to T. cochleariforme. The latter has the fructif- 

 erous raceme long and loose, and has likewise smaller flowers, narrower pods, with 

 a deep and narrow apical sinus, and a short style. Our plant is more like T. prsecox ; 

 which also has smaller flowers, and winged pods, with a very deep notch. 



Hymenolobus pubens, Gray, PL Wright, p. 9. On Rainwater Creek, between 



