38 DAVENPORT ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES. 



NEW PLANTS FROM SOUTHERN AND LOWER 

 CALIFORNIA. 



BY C. C. PARRY. 



PrescntLil liefore tlic Davenport Academy of Sciences, December iSth, i<SS,^. 



Phacelia Suffrutescens. 



Among the numerous species of Phacelia met with in Southern Cal- 

 ifornia, my attention has been frequently directed to one rather com- 

 mon, whose peculiarities seem to have been overlooked, having been 

 referred, in the various collections made in this district, to Phacelia^ 

 ramosissima, Dougl. 



Having lately had occasion to examine the entire group, including 

 this plant, I have come to the conclusion that its very distinct and per- 

 sistent characters justify its recognition as an undescribed species. 

 Accordingly, from complete material in my hands, I have drawn up 

 the following description, viz. : 



Phacelia suffndescens. Plant decumbent, branching from a peren- 

 nial root, with occasional sufifrutescent stems persistent for several 

 years; hispid pubescent throughout, the setose-hispid hairs intermixed 

 with shorter stalked glands containing an amber-colored, viscid, oily 

 secretion ; lower leaves interruptedly pinnate, pinules five to seven, 

 sessile, ovate, pinnatafid-incised or lobed; flowering branches divaricate 

 from the axils of the upper leaves, rather short, with close spikes ; flow- 

 ers shortly pedunculate, sepals spathulate, about twice the length of the 

 capsule ; corolla inconspicuous, little exceeding the calyx, short, funnel- 

 form, lobes shorter than the tube ; appendages obhmg, obliquely truncate 

 above, nearly as long as the tube, slightly broader, but not auriculate or 

 hooded, below; stamens moderately exserted; style long, divided near- 

 ly to the base ; ovary short-oval, hispid pubescent, quite constantly one- 

 seeded by abortion ; seed dark, oblong, tuberculate in longitudinal 

 lines. 



Habitat : Common on rocky ledges throughout Southern California, 

 in favorable and sheltered locations, with persistent, suftrutescent stems 

 one-fourth of an inch in diameter, with shreddy, brown bark and dis- 

 tinct pith; flowering through the early spring months; its copious, oily 

 vesicles leaving a distinct impression of the whole ]ilant on the press- 

 ing-paper. 



