54 THE CONYZAS OF MILLER's DICTIONARY (eD. 8). 



description of the plant in Houstoun's MSS. Miller's plant having 

 been so completely overlooked, it seems worth while to transcribe 

 his description, and that of Houstoun. Miller's is as follows : — 



*'8. CoxVYZA [Viscosa) caule herbaceo, foliis ovatis serratis, 

 villosis, floribns alaribus & terminalibus. Fleabane with an her- 

 baceous stalk, oval, sawed, hairy leaves, and flowers proceeding 

 from the sides, and at the end of the branches. Conyza odorata, 

 BelUdis folio villosa & viscosa Hoiist. MSS. . . . 



"The eighth sort grows naturally at La Vera Cruz, from 

 whence it was sent me by the late Dr. Houstoun ; this is an 

 annual plant, which grows in low moist places, where the water 

 stands in winter ; it bath an herbaceous branching stalk, which 

 rises about one foot high, garnished at each joint with one oval 

 leaf, fitting close to the branches ; these are sawed on their edges, 

 and covered with a white hairy down. The flowers are produced 

 from the side of the branches on slender foot-stalks, each for the 

 most part sustaining three flowers, which are white, and are 

 succeeded by chaffy seeds, crowned with down ; the whole plant is 

 viscous, and will stick to the fingers of those who handle it." 



Houstoun's MS. description runs thus : — 



"Conyza odorata Bellidis folio, villosa, et viscosa. Caules 

 herbacei teretes, erecti, pedales vel bipedales, ramosi. Folia sub- 

 rotunda, Bellidis minoris forma, sed profundius dentata, tenera, 

 sine pediculis, vel certo ordine, caulem ramulosq. cingentia. In 

 summis ramulis et caulibus proveniunt flores multi flosculosi, cali- 

 cibus squamosis contenti, sed flosculis adeo exiguis compositi ut 

 visum fere effugiant. His succedunt semina minutissima pappo 

 instructa. Tota planta moUi tegitur lanugine, viscida quoq. est, 

 et gratum spirat odorem. Solo pingui, qualis circa fimeta est, 

 delectatur. Mense Junio 1730 florem fructumq. ferebat." 



Pluchea odorata Cass. [Conyza odorata L. Systema, ed. x. 1018, 

 1759). Under tbis name two species are included, which were first 

 distinguished by Swartz (Prodr. 112 (1788)), who later (Fl. Ind. 

 Occ. p. 1342 (1806) ) gave a fuller description, pointing out clearly 

 the differences between them. Swartz bases his jmrpurascens on 

 " C. major odorata s. Baccharis floribus purpureis nndis, Sloan. 

 Cat. 124, h. [Hist.] i. t. 152, f. 1, male": a reference to Sloane's 

 herbarium, in which the original drawing is preserved, justifies his 

 criticism of the figure. DeCandolle, in placing the plant under 

 Pluchea, follows Swartz in his determination of Sloane's plant, 

 leaving Linnaeus's plant under Pluchea odorata, 



A reference, however, to the original definition shows that 

 Linnaeus took Sloane's plant as the type of his Conyza odorata : 

 the reference to Sloane's History stands first in his citations, and 

 he describes the leaves as *' serratis subtomentosis acutis " — a 

 character which, as Swartz points out {I.e. p. 1342), distinguishes 

 his purpiirascens from the plant known as odorata. Linnaeus's 

 other citation is "Plum. ic. 97." The plant figured by Plumier 

 does not accord particularly well with purpiirascens, but the deeply 



