■r. r- *^ 



06- CONTRIBUTIONS TO WESTERN BOTANY NO. 15 



w 



id t&e lowers of this genus indicate that though they are normally purple 

 they sometimes are green or white, which I often find in S. cordatus. 

 White or cream color seems th more preTalent color of the hot deserts. 



Another evidence of Greene's lack of precision is shown in his char- 

 acterization of Arabis nardina (Leafl. 2 70), where he says: '*The second 



species 



petaled 



Jones is t}T)ical.'' Then lower down he says: **The label once bore the 

 nam-e, in Sereno Watson*s handwriting, of Arabis platysperma, but the 

 specific name was erased, evidently by Mr. Watson himself, and no other 

 'Uritten in place of it. I'he plant is certainly far removed from the group 

 of A, platysperma; and no one familiar with A. pulchra and with the 

 diverse aspect of things made coi 

 despite its erect pods, this is of that group." This flambuoyant buncomb 

 was calculated to impress the ignorant with his superior knowledge and 

 insidit. Now what are the facts? 



am 



and have in my herbarium more specimens of It and its congeners than 

 anyone else. It is closest related to A. arcuata, and only remotely related 

 to the platysperma group. It is destitute of the conspicuous style and 

 acuminate pod of that group, which is a conspicuous character jn nardina 

 snd its mother species, A. Parishii, of which it is a well marked variety. 

 It also has the peculiar character of wavy sutures which distinguishes 

 platypemia from all others. That platysperma, petiolaris, Parishii, and 

 ^uffrutescens are in a group by themselves is evident. To this also belongs 

 A. Howellii. Greene then goes on to make a spurious connection betv^'een 

 A. pulchra and the Breweri t}T3e, in the same hot air way. If this were 

 the only break of this kind we might forget it, but it was Greene's con- 

 stant device to reinforce a weak position, and he did not disdain to 

 knock anyone who was in the way at the time, as in the case of Arabis 

 gracilenta Greene, where he discredits Heller, who collected the \y^t of 

 gradient.^, and stated tliat it was A. Fendleri from the type localitv. 

 Greene does it in this way, Pitt. 4 194: Nevertheless nothing like the 

 Fendlerian plant on which A. Fendleri should be based is in Mr. Heller's 

 collection." Which is more buncomb. 



Greene's assurance was limited only by .his opportunities, and his 

 assumed superiority in first hand knowledge was sublime to those of us 

 who knew he did not know straight up about what he wa'3 wTiting about 

 In fact it never had its equal except in some of the WTi tings of Rafin- 

 esque and recent pronouncements of Rydberg on Astragalus. 



Sibara Greene Pitt 3 10. I incline to think that"" Greene is right in 

 erecting this genus to include certain Cardamine species. I never could 

 feel like putting them in Cardamine. C. Palmeri is far better a Thely- 

 I)odium than a Cardamine, suggesting a relationship with the deflexum 

 group of Sisymbrium. 



Ranunculus Populago Greene Er}lhea 3 19 1895 is another case of 

 sharp practise on the part of Greene. I had that sheet out and under 

 s^udy and named Ranunculus Cusickit in the winter of 1894-5. Greene 

 comes alon- and finds out uiiat I had done, and gets his name in print 



