522 Morris : North American Plantaginaceae 



seeds being placed with typical P, pusilla with entire leaves and 

 4 seeds, these being now in the Academy of Natural Sciences of 



Philadelphia. 



Plantago^ pusilla from the Columbia River and neighboring 

 parts of Washington and Oregon varies somewhat from the eastern 

 forms. It is noteworthy that the earliest record, available at this 

 time, of the species from the Columbia drainage is May, 1887. It 

 seems probable that the plant is here introduced and naturalized. 

 But present data afford no explanation of the method of introduc- 

 tion. Few specimens attain normal dimensions, and the spikes 

 often arc but few-flowered. 



The species has long been known as far east as Long Island 

 and Connecticut, more recently from Rhode Island, and now, by 

 the careful search of Mr. E. B. Chamberlain, from Massachusetts. 



p 



pusilla 



ized as: "much larger and stouter, leaves lanceolate-linear, often 



to 2 lines wide, the larger ones laciniate with few long teeth 

 or lobes ; scapes densely woolly at base, with the elongated spike 

 often 9 inches high ; bracts acute, longer than the sepals ; seeds 

 intermediate m size between the two other forms — Near Atoka, 

 north of Red River in the Indian Territory." The size of these 

 seeds is given in the note quoted above (under P. elongatd) 

 as 1.8 mm. for the " Indian Territory broad-leaved form." Several 



specirrtens belonging here 



pusilla 



woolliness at the base. The extreme form in this respect is 

 Engelmann's own type. So, this character must be considered 

 as relatively unimportant. This woolliness at the base, together 

 with the laciniate toothing of many of the leaves and the exten- 

 sion of the bracts beyond the calyx, superficially confuse this sub- 

 species with some plants of P. heterophylla, but the difference may 

 be at once recognized by the number of seeds and their size and 

 shape, as well as the more rigid habit. This subspecies seems to 

 be limited to Missouri, Arkansas, Indian Territory, and Oklahoma. 

 There is no apparent intergradation with P. elongata Pursh, but 

 there is regular intergradation with P, pusilla in Missouri and 

 Arkansas, and nuestlnnablv in fCrincac 



