1232 PITTONIA. 
(D. Californica, Nutt.) has spreading petal-blades, and the 
other (D. integrifolie, Nutt.) the other kind of petals. 
I have not been able to read up the history of these genera 
closely enough to ascertain to whom it is that the discovery 
of unequal cotyledons as a character for Dentaria is due; 
but I suspect that this may prove the most important of 
suggestions in relation to a diagnostic character for the two 
genera. Ifthe character hold out, it will easily place those 
otherwise ambiguous tuberous-rooted perennials in the Den- 
taria series quite unequivocally ; for their cotyledons are so 
extremely unequal that they will rival the best and most 
typical Dentarias in the possession of such a character. The 
seedling plants, at least in the Californian species, so far as 
they have been studied, appear as if actually monocotyledo- 
nous from the moment that the plantlets emerge from the 
ground, so extremely reduced, if not completely abortive, is 
one of those organs. Upon this point I remark, in the first 
place, what is certainly an error in Mr. Robinson's descrip- 
tion of his Dentaria cardiophylla} unless his plant be some- 
thing quite distinct from my Cardamine cardiophylla. Soon 
after I had published a diagnosis of that plant, I induced it$ 
discoverer, Mr. Jepson, to explore the original locality in 
quest of roots of it, in order that I might if possible study 
it undereultivation. The result was, that by the beginning 
of the next rainy season, we had a fine growth of it in the 
botanic garden at Berkeley. The plants matured seed 
copiously, and the seed was self-sown, so that by the second 
rainy season, almost before I was aware of the existence of 
the seedlings, they had become conspicuous all over the 
ground in the vicinity of the parent plants. On my first 
observing them they stood displaying each what seemed a 
solitary leaf more than a half-inch in length and breadth. 
The first glance at these organs suggested to me the suppo- 
sition that they were true leaves, and that the cotyledons 
were hypogzeous. But an examination made it clear at 
MÀ E concep esas eens OE 
! See Gray’s Syn. Fl. i. 155, as to description of cotyledons in this species 
