﻿340 Eaton : Two new Species 



sembling it just coming into flower. I subsequently found it at 

 Byfield, Mass., North Hampton, Hampton Falls, Seabrook, 

 Nottingham, N. H., and several other localities, rangine in time 

 from June 29th, when, as said, it was just developing, to August 

 10th, when its seed was all shed. 



A reference to the fifth edition of Gray's Manual showed it 

 was /:. gracile van paucinervium Eng. The sixth edition ignores it 

 entirely or combines it with the type, and Britton & Brown, I., 

 273, figure and describe it as E. gracile. 



Mr. M. L. Fernald of Harvard, to whom I referred the matter, 

 kindly furnished the important literature on the species and variety, 

 as well as a list of localities as represented by specimens in the 

 Harvard Herbarium. From this it appears that E. gracile is spread 

 from Newfoundland to Washington, south to about the 40th par- 

 allel, while the other reaches from New Brunswick to Illinois, no 

 account of its being found farther west being at hand ; while Wat- 

 son (Bot. Cal. 2 : 220) certainly describes E. gracile, and Coulter 

 (Text-book Western Bot. 368) may or may not include both. A 

 careful study of an abundance of material from several localities 

 shows this is entitled to specific rank. 



Inasmuch as confusion exists as to the characters of E. gracih- 

 which is certainly comparatively rare, it is best to give descriptions 

 of both. 



Eriophorum gracile Koch. Roth. Catal. II (1799) addend 2>9- 



Culms 3-6 dm., slender, terete or nearly so, smooth throughout, 

 sending off from base lateral rhizomes, which become established 

 as new plants and then send up 2-4 very slender channeled tri- 

 quetrous solid leaves, 1.5-4.5 dm. long, from rather tight nodulose 

 sheaths. The next year the culm is pushed up from within this 

 crown of dead leaves, without any new radical leaves appearing ; 

 culm leaves mostly but one, never more than two, I. $-2. 5 cro * 

 long, solid, bayonet-shaped; involucral scales 1-2, dull lead col- 

 ored, the lower usually with a very short triangular-bayonet -shaped 



point, strongly several -nerved ; spikes 3-4, one usually raised on 

 slender smoothish pedicel, 0.5-5 cm. ; outer scales broadly ovate, 

 narrowing within to lanceolate, obtuse, dull lead or slate colored 

 bristles numerous, 1.2— 1. 5 cm. long. 



May 25— June 10. 



