BICKNELL: FERNS AND FLOWERING PLANTS OF NANTUCKET 133 
prickles; trifoliolate leaves often subtending long-pediceled axillary 
flowers and succeeded above by one or more conspicuous unifoli- 
ate leaves; leaflets commonly broad and rather coarsely and ir- 
regularly dentate or dentate-serrate; inflorescence cymose-race- 
mose; flowers mostly 3-6, on slender erect pedicels 2-8 cm. in 
length; pedicels loosely pubescent, either unarmed or setulose 
even on the same plant, often bearing minute scattered, sessile 
or even stipitate glands; calyx lobes broad, usually merely apicu- 
late, glabrate to tomentulose on the outer surface, cottony-pubes- 
cent within; flowers often large, spreading 3-5 cm.; petals mostly 
broadly oblong; young fruit arachnoid-pubescent. 
Frequent in open sandy ground. First flowers June 5, 1910, 
June 9, 1909, June 11, 1908; mostly out of bloom June 20, 1908. 
The plants assembled under this head are a variable series, 
which agree in showing characters of both the assigned parents. 
Their actual origin is, of course, exceedingly problematical, especi- 
ally since certain specimens suggest beside the imputed parents 
others of the associated and closely related species. It would 
appear, however, in reviewing the allied crosses, that all other 
possible hybrids in the group are better accounted for by other 
plants herein described. The intricacy of the entire problem, 
which is illustrated no more definitely in this case than in others, 
well shows the obscurity which must continue to invest it in the 
absence of that exact knowledge which ss eae cross 
breeding alone can supply. 
