A. ALASKANA — A. FRANSERIOIDES. 69 



between the two is so close that future collections in the intervening territory will probably 

 demonstrate the presence of intermediate forms. The chief differences, as far as indicated 

 by the scant material at hand, are the following : 



Artemisia turczaninoviana. 

 Leaves of the inflorescence reduced, 1 cm. or less long. 



Peduncles less than 1 cm. long, all simple. 

 Involucre 3 ram. or less high. 



Arternisia alaskana. 

 Leaves of the inflorescence elongated, mostly 2 to 6 



cm. long. 

 Peduncles 1 to 7 cm. long, the lower ones branched. 

 Involucre about .5 mm. high. 



While the differences here indicated will serve to distinguish the two forms as now 

 represented in herbaria, it will be noticed that they are all based upon characters which 

 in other groups are found to undergo a wide range of variation when a large series of 

 specimens is available for study. There are no constant differences in size or number 

 of flowers in the head. A serious objection to the reduction of alaskana to a subspecies 

 of turczaninoviana is the relation of the latter to the still older A. rutaefolia Stephani and 

 its variation A. kruhsiana Besser, both natives of Siberia. These are supposed to differ 

 in their ternate instead of pinnatifid leaves, but this is a variable feature. Besser's 

 plate of turczaninoviana (Besser, Nouv. Mem. Soc. Imp. Nat. Mosc. 3:plate 1, 1834), 

 as also nearly all authentic specimens at hand, has some leaves which are once or twice 

 ternate, while on the same stems some are first pinnate and with the primary divisions 

 with 2 or 3 lobes. Probably more important are the circumscription of the entire leaf 

 and the shape of the segments. The ultimate divisions are obovate-lanceolate in 

 rutaefolia, cuneate in kruhsiana, narrowly oblong to linear in turczaninoviana and alaskana. 

 It is probable that a complete series will ultimately be found. In the meantime, it 

 seems less likely to lead to confusion to retain alaskana as a distinct species, while indicat- 

 ing its close relationship to these Siberian forms. It is not directly connected with any 

 other American Artemisia. 



ECOLOGY AND USES. 



Nothing is known of the ecology or uses of this rare species. 



10. ARTEMISIA FRANSERIOIDES Greene, Bull. Terr. Club 10:42, 188,3. Plate 6. 



Forest Sagewort. 



A perennial herb from short creeping rootstocks, 3 to 10 dm. high, pleasantly fragrant 

 with a sweet heavy odor; stems clustered, erect, simple up to the inflorescence, conspic- 

 uously grooved, tomentulose when young but glabrate except towards the summit, 

 reddish tinged at maturity; basal leaves at first forming rosettes but not crowded, 

 petioled (the petioles 1 to 5 cm. long), the blade 4 to 7 cm. long, 3 to 6 cm. wide, subor- 

 bicular or ovate in outline, pinnately divided into 5 to 9 elliptic or oblanceolate divisions 

 which are again cleft or divided into oblong or oblanceolate entire or toothed obtuse 

 divisions, glabrous or minutely puberulent above, finely but densely gray-tomentulose 

 beneath; principal and upper leaves like the lower, but becoming gradually smaller, 

 less dissected, and shorter petioled; inflorescence a lax narrow panicle, 15 to 40 cm. long, 

 1 to 4 cm. broad, the heads notably secund on the branches, rarely reduced and raceme- 

 like; heads heterogamous, nodding, on peduncles 1 to 4 mm. long; involucre hemispheric, 

 2.5 to 3 mm. high, about 5 mm. broad; bracts 9 to 15, nearly equal, narrowly to broadly 

 elliptic or oblong, very obtuse, brownish or greenish yellow, with a narrow erose scarious 

 border, finely tomentulose, sometimes glabrate ; ray-flowers 6 to 13, fertile, corolla nar- 

 rowly tubular, about 1.5 mm. long, the orifice contracted and scarcely toothed, granu- 

 Uferous; disk-flowers 45 to 90, fertile, corolla narrowly campanulate, 1.5 to 2 mm. long, 

 5-toothed, resinous-granulif erous ; style-branches truncate, erose at the summit; achenes 

 nearly cyUndric, truncate and with a raised border at the broad summit, faintly nerved, 

 glabrous. 



