RYDBERG: Rocky MOUNTAIN FLORA old 
as I received the New Manual was a curious coincidence. There 
is scarcely a genus, in which I, from my standpoint, could pick out 
so many flaws of treatment in the New Manual. This paper, 
therefore, has become an adverse criticism of the New Manual, 
more so than I had intended or wished. 
The way in which the authors of the New Manual have deter- 
mined what species should be regarded as good and which names 
should be reduced to synonymy, is rather interesting. Many of 
Dr. Greene’s species and my own have been reduced, while others 
of older authors and of Nelson’s have been kept up. The uneven 
treatment, as I have said before, is due in some cases to the fact 
that the authors had not seen the types. Evigeron lapiluteus A. 
Nels. (£. yellowstonensis A. Nels.) is regarded as distinct from the 
exceedingly close E. droebachensis, and E. trifidus from E. com- 
positus; while E. jucundus Greene is made a variety of the little 
related E. acris L., E. multifidus Rydb. is made a synonym of 
E. compositus, and E. flabellifolius Rydb. one of E. trifidus. The 
fact is that Erigeron multifidus Rydb. is much closer to E. trifidus 
than to E. compositus and grades directly into it. The typical 
E. compositus is rare and more distinct. I think, though, that 
they are all three forms of one species, while E. flabellifolius has 
nothing to do with either. It has a stoloniferous rootstock in- 
stead of a cespitose caudex and the leaves do not at all suggest E. 
trifidus but are more like those of Ranunculus Eschscholtzit in 
outline. 
Erigeron conspicuus Rydb. is made a synonym of E. specio- 
sus DC. In the herbarium of Columbia University there is 
a duplicate of the type of E. speciosus DC., collected by Douglas. 
In this the stem and leaves are perfectly glabrous except the 
ciliate margins of the latter and the plant is closely related to E. 
macranthus Nutt., perhaps not distinct. E. conspicuus Rydb. is 
considerably hairy on both the stem and the leaves, and if reduced 
should be included in E. subtrinervis Rydb. rather than in £. 
speciosus. If the type of E. conspicuus were placed before a student 
and he used the key of the New Manual, it would be named £. 
subtrinervis. 
Both Erigeron salicinus Rydb. and £. platyphyllus Greene 
are made synonyms of E. macranthus Nutt. While the first is 
