C. NAU6EOSUS. 227 



"The distribution of this variety was originally stated by Greene to be 'In the Coast Range, from Humboldt 

 County (California) southward.' Lat*r, this same author stated it as 'Kern and Santa Barbara counties' 

 (Fl. Francisc. 369, 1897). This restriction in the adopted range was perhaps due to the fact that certain speci- 

 mens from Humboldt and other northern counties do not meet the requirements of the dej!cription a.s well as 

 those from farther south. The cuspidate bracts and long corolla-lobes, together with the habit (especially the 

 small compact rounded inflorescence), are here taken as the most satisfactory characters for the variety. Accept- 

 ing this definition, we find fairly typical collections from the dry inner north Coast Ranges and from the southern 

 Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino Mountains. North and east of Trinity County it apparently passes into 

 speciosiix, from which it scarcely differs save in the more nearly glabrous and abruptly pointed bracts. At its 

 southernmost stations it meets and perhaps merges into bemardinns." 



A specimen in the Greene Herbarium collected by Miss Eastwood, September, 1894, and 

 marked by Greene "C. occidentalis, type! in Fl. Fr.," may be considered the type. This 

 is the narrow-leaved form of his later concept. There is here also a specimen labeled 

 as "C. calif ornicus var. occidentalis, Eryth. 3:112" (Siskiyou Mountains, September, 

 1889, Greene), but this is the broad-leaved plant now included in subspecies speciosus 

 (minor variation 58). Its bracts are not especially acute, while abruptly acute bracts, 

 united with narrow leaves and small compact cymes are characteristic of subspecies 

 occidentalis as here defined. 



Subspecies bernardinus is so distinct from the other members of the lypicus branch that 

 it is placed (in the diagram) in a special extruded circle. Because of the essentially 

 glabrous involucre, this circle has also a tentative connection with the graveolens group, 

 although it is extremely doubtful if these two are of common origin. On the other hand, 

 bernardinus resembles certain Rocky Mountain forms of speciosus (once distinguished as 

 pulcherrimus) both in general appearance and in technical characters, but the involucre 

 is longer and the more strongly keeled bracts are acuminate instead of merely acute. Its 

 wide geographic separation casts considerable doubt on the theory of its origin from such 

 forms. It is more likely a descendant from speciosus as it occurs in northern California, 

 the modifications being associated with its habitat on the mountains of the southern part 

 of the State, and it is not at all impossible that the connection has been through 

 occidentalis. 



As previously indicated, the subspecies graveolens is considered as the beginning of the 

 graveolens branch, all of the members of which are inhabitants of alkaline soil. The 

 steps between it and the others are so gradual that except in a detailed monograph the 

 whole group might be taken as constituting a single subspecies. The original graveolens 

 is a plant with linear, partly 3-nerved, smooth leaves, as described by Nuttall and as 

 indicated by the type at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. The leaves 

 in the type are 1.5 to 2 mm. wide and the cymes 4 cm. across. This is the robust, green 

 form with large rounded inflorescences that is so common in the easterly part of the range 

 of the genus, especially in Wyoming, Colorado, and northern New Mexico. It presents 

 many minor variations as to size and direction of leaf, height of involucre, etc. Similar 

 variations occur in the other member of the group, and they are so numerous and so often 

 intangible that their recognition as taxonomic units is not feasible. The several supposed 

 species {anguslus, confinis, falcatus, laetevirens, oreophilris, patens, virens) based upon 

 such characters are included in the list of minor variations (p. 218), where they are briefly 

 discussed. A majority of these have been studied at their type localities and in the her- 

 baria where the type specimens are deposited. It is believed that most if not all of them 

 are either ecologic or seasonal forms. 



The three subspecies, pinif alius, consimilis, and tdridulus, are of much more importance 

 than the forms just mentioned. This is because they represent certain well-defined 

 and fairly consistent tendencies, especially in floral structure, and also because each 

 belongs to its own geographic area. There are, however, frequent intergradations in 

 all of the characters, especially where the geographic boundaries meet, so that some 



