174 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



specimens. On the other hand he neglected opportunities 

 which would have added immeasurably to the value of his 

 labors; thus he described C. intn'catiis, from the summit 

 of Mount Tamalpais, which he never ascended, though 

 living for months at the time in its immediate vicinity; 

 C . foliostts and C. divcrgois from the flanks of Mt. St. 

 Helena in perfect ignorance of the forms prevailing in 

 the easil}^ accessible upper portion, and he spent a con- 

 siderable time in the Ojai V^alley near Santa Barbara, 

 without attempting to collect in their original locality the 

 five species described from the latter place by Nuttall. 



One of the earliest undertakings of this study of Ceano- 

 thus was the verification of these species from the 

 " bushy hills of St. Barbara." In this investigation the 

 conclusion was soon reached that C. divaricatiis was 

 invalid. It is either a form of C . hirsntiis or one of the 

 abounding hybrids of that plant with C. sfinosus. 

 C . divaricatiis has always been a source of confusion in 

 Californian botany. It is represented in most herbaria 

 by specimens of C . hirsutus ( C. soi'ediatus), C . cordii- 

 latus or C . Palnieri. C . oliganthtis in typical forms is 

 readily recognized, but grades into C . hirsiiUis. Undue 

 importance has been attached to Nuttall's field notes. 

 It was to his advantage to make as many new species 

 as possible, and it may be noticed that his species are 

 apt to run in pairs. In his original descriptions the re- 

 iteration of the phrase " with the preceding which it much 

 resembles" soon becomes wearisome. 



Every botanist who has dealt with the genus has borne 

 convincing testimony to the interlocking relationships of 

 the species and to the difficulty of their discrimination, 

 and no two of them have been able to agree as to the 

 limits of the species. 



The connecting forms of Ceanothus are still very im- 



