SOME SPECIES OF DODECATHEON. 211 
fibro-fleshy roots; but the tubers become new plants, each 
with a single leaf only, for this first season of its existence. 
In another species, and that the commonest one in my 
vicinity, ali or nearly all the roots, at the end of the flowering 
period decay entirely, while about the crown above where 
they were attached there are formed independently a number 
of small granular bodies which, like the tubers from the 
metamorphosed roots of D Hendersoni, are destined to de- 
velop as young plants at the return of the growing season. 
These and other characteristics of several species which do 
not appear to have been described may best be given diag- 
nostically ; and, since the existing confusion of the synonymy 
would only become worse confounded by describing even 
probable new species under old names which are already of 
varied and dubious applieation, I propose a new one for the 
first which I describe, although I consider that it may possi- 
bly be identical with the D. ellipticum of the Plante Pratte- 
nians. There is no description extant which applies to the 
plant, however, although there are specimens, I think, in 
several herbaria; and this I call, provisionally, 
DopECATHEON PATULUM. Low and stoutish, pale green and 
very glandular throughout: roots detaching and changing to 
tubers at flowering time: leaves a little fleshy, rosulate- 
depressed, an inch or two long, elliptical, entire, attenuate to 
a short petiole: flower very large for the plant, usually 5- but 
frequently 6- never 4- merous ; segments of the corolla mainly 
of a pale eream-color, the base of a dark velvety purple with 
an outer circle of yellow: andreecium very short, less than 2 
connate into a tube, but exteriorly 
lines long; filaments 
nd ornamented with 
‘appearing distinct and triangular a 
crowded and undulate transverse folds, the broad basal part. 
and the acute apex of the triangle dark velvety purple, 
median part yellow; anthers deep blue-purple, scarcely a line 
long, linear-oblong, with a broad retuse apex, spreading away 
from the elongated and much exserted style: capsule oblong, 
