1891.J Two Un described Species of Apodanthes. 83 



beri has until lately been its only known North American 

 species. Among the many discoveries made by Mr. C. G. 

 Pringle, however, two new members from northern Mexico 

 have been added to the genus ; and specimens of these inter- 

 esting plants (nos. 1949, and 1950 of Pringle's Plantac Mcxi- 

 canae) have recently been distributed as Apodanthes Pringlei 

 Watson, and A. globosa Watson. Owing to the diminutive 

 size of the plants in question, their study entailed methods 

 not generally necessary in the systematic examination of pha- 

 nerogams, and the publication of descriptions of the new spe- 

 cies has been much delayed. At the suggestion of Dr. Watson, 

 however, the writer has lately made a microscopic examina- 

 tion of the material in the Gray Herbarium, and presents, as 

 a result, the following descriptions, which are as full as the 

 limited stages of development represented permit. 



Apodanthes Pringlei Watson. — Flowers densely crowded 

 cylindric, becoming ovoid, one and one-half lines long, 

 aromatic ; bracts and divisions of the floral envelope twelve 

 to fifteen, erect, very unequal in length, imbricated in 

 three (or four) obscurely defined series, ovate to oblong, ob- 

 tuse, entire or minutely erose, dull brown, the innermost 

 yellowish at the ends: ovary inferior or nearly so, usually 

 quadrangular in cross-section, and with four distinct though 

 rather broad placentae; style well developed, full}' half as long 

 as the ovary; stigiru ovoid, umbonate on the slightly pro- 

 duced non-stigmatic apex; fruit broadly ovoid, two lines long, 

 one and one-half lines in diameter, covered with the closely 

 appressed bracts: staminate flowers unknown.— Occurs upon 

 small woody branches of Dale a frutescens Gray; collected by 



C. G. Pringle in the Sierra Mad re near Monterey, June 27, 



1888. 



The placentation of this species shows more or less varia- 

 bility, not only in different flowers, but even at different heights 

 in the same ovary. In most cases a cross-section directed 

 through the middle of the ovary shows (as in fig. 4) the pla- 

 centae in a regular relation to the surrounding bracts. In 

 other instances, however, no such correspondence is apparent, 

 and the placentae are not even symmetrical in relation to each 

 other. 



Apodanthes globosa Watson. — Expanded flowers and fruit 

 unknown: buds scattered, globose, two-thirds to one line in 

 diameter; bracts and divisions of the floral envelope eleven to 



