2 COXTRIBUTfOXS TO WESTERN BOTANY. 



XYCTAGIXACEAE. --^ 



Iti the Torre}- T'.ullctin tor December, igo2, P. A. Rydbei^ 

 take? lip tlie Xvctapiiaceae in order to make some reprisals on 

 the author tor his criticisms of his very poor work on Astragalus 

 in the "P'lora of Montana." His work includes the usual grist ot 

 spurious sj)ccics and shows Iiow far astray a man can go who has 

 no conception of generic and specific limitation. One wonders how 

 long the Xew York flotanical < iarden will permit this kind of fic- 

 titious botany to go on. 



It is rather amusing for Mr. Kydberg to claim special facili- 

 ties for bibliographical work and then make siKh blunders as to 

 claim that \'ahl never published an "Icones," when, in fact, he 

 published "'Icones lilustrationi Planitarunv' in 1798-9. One would 

 suppose that he would be more modest after having recently and 

 with his bibliographical facilities, made such blunders as Abron/a 

 arenaria and Astragalus Cusickii. both homonyms of well known 

 species. 



Abronia ammophila ( ircene. A. arenana Rydberg Fl. Mont.. 

 137. not A. arenaria Menzies. This species, which occurs alon"- 

 the shores of ^'ellowstone Lake. Montana, has no relation to A. 

 pogonantha nor A. niicraiuha. It belongs to the A. fragraus 

 group. Tt has the general appearance of A. turbinata and the. 

 acute bracts of that species, though a little wider and shorter. The 

 fruit closely resembles the imperfectly developed fruits of that 

 species, but is uniformly without wings or disks at the top, and st:> 

 is fusiform. The variable pubescence has no value. The leaves 

 are rhombic to oblong-oblanceolate and small, the petiole bein<y 

 double the blade and nearly as long as the slender peduncles. Tt 

 seems to be a cnespitose perennial. Collected by Martin also in 

 uyo\. 



Abronia nana yar. Jancifonnis No. 4689 Jones collected 



