56 



scribed it as Gilia Hovvardi soon after it was first published 

 by Gray, it having been found by Professor Howard of the 

 Utah State University near Lima, Mont. It has also been 

 found in very loose volcanic soil on Mt. Hood and in the 

 Northwest by several people. It is manifestly a Collomia and 

 has recently been rediscovered by myself in alpine situations 

 in the Wasatch Mts. at 11,200 feet elevation, spreadins;: over 

 quartzite rocks where there was almost no soil and eking out 

 an existence by the little roots running along the crevices in 

 the rocks in flat places. 



Gilia Klickitatensis Suksdorf is G. squarrosa. 



Gilia Columbiana Suksdorf is G. capillaris. 



Mertensia linearis Greene from La Veta Pass, Colorado, 

 appears to be M. brevifoHa. 



Mertensia obtusiloba Rydberg. Rydberg. says of this 

 •'flower clusters several from the axils from the upper leaves." 

 The flowers are young and so they necessarily form a dense 

 terminal head, and therefore the lower clusters are leafy- 

 bracted. He says, "Sepals obtuse," but they are often acute. 

 He says the sepals are "scarcely more than half as long as the 

 lube of the corolla." The sepals are but a trifle shorter than 

 the corolla tube. He says the "stem is not depressed nor pros- 

 trate." while it is both. There is no difference between M. 

 Tweedvi. obtusiloba and brevistyla, none of Rydberg's char- 

 acters bemg of any separating value, while the original M. 

 brevistyla of Watson I have collected in its type locality and 

 know ihat it usuallv has ovate upper leaves; therefore the 

 only character left lies in the short stvie to separate it from 

 M^alpina; my specimens of M. obtusiloba have a short style, 

 other specimens from the Argentine Pass of my No. 54 cited 

 ■js part of the type have linear-lanceolate, acute and rough 

 leaves and very small corolla; these erow in eravelly soil, 

 more exposed to the weather, and therefore were smaller. 

 >vhM ^\ ^'' h"^^ '■°"^^^J and with smaller and sharper leaves, 

 r^)J^ I '"^ i!,u'^ '^-"^^^^'^^^^ ^^ ^^^ Mertensias growing in open 

 places. The inflorescence is also much contacted in that 

 case. I can see no valid character to separate M. alpina into 

 this tn.H '""''^T''- ''"?■ ^^'-'•^^'^^ter common to all forms of 

 ims specic.s !s the peculiar rougrh whiteness of leaves and 



nr-s in nMi t"" W^f^^ ^''"^ ^^"^ ^^^ ^^'^ ^"^ ^"-''^^' ^^">'^^" 

 var" Vr..^ct,^io";\v '^^^^;^^^y^a may be kept up as M. alpina 

 ^ar. .revistyia (Watson Bot. King. 239 (1871) as species) 



