WESTERN PLANT STUDIES. II 
AVEN NELSON AND J. FRANCIS MACBRIDE 
PENTAMERIS.—As shown by Piper in his Flora of Washington 
(Contrib. Nat. Herb. 11:122), the name Danthonia is not available 
for*the American species that have passed under that name. In 
choosing among the several later names that have been proposed, 
he selects Merathrepta Raf. in Seringe, Bull. Bot. 1:221. 1830, 
apparently because the type species of the genus was M. spicata, 
an American species closely congeneric with ours. But will 
this fact permit our ignoring Pentameris Beauv. Agrost. 92. ?. 18 
1812, the type species of which is accepted as a Danthonia, as that 
genus has until lately been understood? Recent students of this 
genus recognize two sections, but so long as both remain as sections 
merely, all the species must be retained under the oldest available 
name that has had generic rank. This seems to be Pentameris, 
published as shown above, and attested by the many species sub- 
sequently referred to it. The types of the two sections are given 
along with the American species, and one other to show the 
synonomy. : 
PENTAMERIS THUARI Beauv. Agrost. 93. ¢. 18. 1812.—P. 
tortuosa Nees, in Linnaea 7:311. 1832; Danthonia tortuosa Trin. Sp. 
Gram. ¢. 68. 1828-1836; not D. Thuarii Desv. Opusc. 99. 1831. 
Pentameris provincialis, n. comb.—Danthonia provincialis DC. 
Fl. Fr. ed. 3. 3:33. 1809 (?). : 
Pentameris americana, n. comb.—Danthonia americana Scribn. 
U.S. Dept. Agric. Circ. Agrost. 30:5. 1901; D. grandiflora Philipp! 
Anal. Univ. Chile 568, 1873, not Hochst. 1851. 
Pentameris californica, n. comb.—Danthonia californica Boland. 
Proc. Cal. Acad. 2:182. 1863. 
Pentameris compressa, n. comb. 
Bull. Torr. Bot. Club 3:21. 1872. 
Pentameris epilis, n. comb.—Danthonia ep 
Dept. Agric. Circ. Agrost. 30:7. I90l. 
469] 
Danthonia compressa Aust. 
ilis Scribn. U.S. 
(Botanical Gazette, vol. 56 
