64 Muhlenbergia, Volume 3 
Miss Alice Eastwood while a teacher in the East Denver high 
school became an enthusiastic botanist, did a great deal of col- 
lecting, and in a series of papers published in Zoe, added many 
species to the known flora of Colorado, some of them new to 
- science, but most of them plants newly discovered in the State. 
During this time the work was continued under the ideas 
regarding genera and species as represented by Dr. Asa Gray in 
the Synoptical Flora of North America. But during the past 
ten years the increase both in the number of genera and species 
has been very considerable because of the narrowed concept on 
the part of many of our botanists of what constitutes genus and 
species. Nearly all those plants which were once considered 
varieties have been given the rank of species, and I suppose that 
many which fifteen years ago would scarcely have ranked as 
varieties have been given that rank. In the characterizing cf 
new species Dr. E. L. Greene has led the way, and a large ma- 
jority of the new plants of the Flora of Colorado are of his pub- 
lishing, with many more by Dr. Rydberg and Professor Aven 
Nelson of the University of Wyoming. ‘The result is that the 
new Flora lists 2912 species, under 702 genera, comprised in 
134 families. This is enough to surprise the older students of 
Colorado botany, and Dr. Rydberg, aware of the attitude of 
many toward the radical changes of the past few years, says in 
the introduction that he “belongs to that radical school which 
believes in small genera with closely related species,” and that 
“the division of genera as well as species has gone perhaps a 
little further than many would think advisable, but the author 
has tried to be consistent.” To illustrate the great change in the 
number of genera and species, a few examples may be cited. 
Euphorbia disappears as a genus, and its place is taken by Cham- 
aesyce, Zygophyllidium, Dichrophyllum, Tithymalus, and Poin- 
settta. Astragalus is divided into seventeen genera, and Aent- 
zelia into three. Aster ertcaefolius as in Coulter’s Manual, be- 
comes Leuce/ene with four species. Coulter’s Manual has five 
species of Mertensza all told, while twenty-five are now credited 
