l8 9 1 -] New Grasses. 145 



Bassovia Donnell-Smithii n. sp.— Said to be 24 dm. high, 



more or less softly pubescent or even hirsute, the upper parts 

 of the stem and inflorescence glandular: leaves ample and 

 thin, petioled, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, from 

 almost entire to sharply sinuate-toothed or lobed, 7.5 to 17.5 

 cm. long, minutely pubescent above, more conspicuously pu- 

 bescent below, the midrib and principal veins usually promi- 

 nently bordered by dense whitish pubescencte: flowers on long 

 pedicels in rather dense axillary umbellate clusters: the gland- 

 ular calyx with small but evident te-th: corolla with ovate 

 obtuse or acute glandular lobes 5 or 6 mm. long: anthers 

 whitish-scarious along the lines of dehiscence: "fruit red". — 

 Gautemala, Depart. Guatemala, alt. 5000 ft., February 1890 

 {J. D. S. 2270); Duenas, Depart. Zacatepequez, alt. 5000 

 ft., April 1890 (J. D. S. 2258). 



Bassovia macrophvlla. — Pansamala, Depart. Alta 



Verapaz, alt. 3800 ft., April 1889 (Turckhcim 1438). This 

 plant was at first considered to be a variety of the new B. 

 Mexicana B. L. Robinson, of Pringle's distribution of 1890, 

 and is so reported in Mr. Smith's "Enumeration", Part II. 

 However, Mr. Robinson has since kindly looked into the 

 matter, and the conclusion seems evident that it is the South 

 American Witheringia macrophylla, a plant of puzzling syn- 

 onymy. Bentham and Hooker refer it to Bassovia, and 

 Miers to Brachistus. The disposition made of it by Bentham 

 and Hooker seems to be the most natural one. 



Crawfordsville. hid. 



w 6 * 



ictft 



New Grasses. 



(iEORC.E VASEV. 



The discovery of a second species of Orcuttia makes it 

 necessary to somewhat modify the generic characters. They 

 should now read as follows: 



[Tribe FestUCE^E, sub-tribe Seslerua.] Oiruttia.— Pani- 

 cle somewhat spicate, with short, simple, alternate, sessile 

 pikelets, somewhat distant below, and crowded toward the 

 ummit: spikelets many flowered, compressed: empty and 

 flowering glumes much alike, with many prominent straight 

 nerves, strongly toothed or lobed at the apex: palet equaling 



