16 ERYTHEA. 



The Evening Primrose family, it is safe to say, is poorly 

 understood by botanists in general, being mainly indig- 

 enous to the more westerly parts of North America; and 

 western botanists who may have studied these plants — 

 none at the East seem to have any interest in them — will 

 be specially interested in Liefeeung 96 of Engler & 

 Prantl, lately issued. When it is remembered that no 

 longer ago than 1873, the ruling American authorities held 

 the genera proposed by Spach — even to Godetia and Bois- 

 duvalia — all invalid, and merged the species in CEnoihera, 

 the monograph that has now just appeared will seem replete 

 with new ideas of the limits of the genera; though the ideas 

 are all old, as are also the names of the multiplied genera; 

 for Spach and Nuttall— perhaps the only men who had 

 studied these plants carefully fifty years since— are the men 

 whose work has met with full approval at the hands of Dr. 

 Kaimann. The genera proposed by Spach, in his day, which 

 this new author reinstates are, after Boisduvalla and 

 Godetia, the following: Anogra, Kneiffia Xylopleurum, 



(^noihera 



Meg 



The genera proposed by Nuttall about the same time, but 

 which have for some reason been ignored by his successors, 

 and which Dr. Eaimann reinstates, are Taraxia and 

 Chylismia. Adding to these Salpingia of Torrey & Gray, 



and MerioUx 



an aggregate of ten 



genera which Dr. Kaimann follows the older authors in sub- 

 Btructing from the CEnoihera of the DeCandolIes. And 



CE 



nearest kindred 



remain, as they should, the typical genus of the order, or 

 suborder, we are pleased to see that the recent author follows 

 Spach in maintaining for it, the name Onagra assigned to it 

 by Tourueforfc. 



