Comparison of the Old and New Species. 459 



At Fig. 105, p. 460 will be seen a group of stem 

 leaves for comparison with the corresponding ones in 

 Fig. 54 on page 295. The differences are obviously of 

 the same order. In the case of O. cruciata and 0. nniri- 

 cata (Fig. 105, p and in) they are most pronounced; 

 and still more so in O. elliptica and O. sublinearis, which 

 are not included in Fig. 54. 



With regard to ''habit" the majority of the older 

 species do not differ much from one another. 0. nniri- 

 cata has usually stronger lateral branches than 0. biennis; 

 O. Lamar ckiana has a longer spike than either. 0. cru- 

 ciata is shorter than O. biennis, which, however, 0. 

 siiaveolens and O. hirsutissima very much resemble, 

 though they are less robust. All these comparisons are 

 of course made between plants under similar conditions 

 of cultivation. Under such conditions O. rubrinervis, 0. 

 gig as, O. laevi folia and 0. brevistylis do not differ so 

 much from Lamar ckiana as do the shorter forms which 

 have an entirely different habit. Amongst these O. lata 

 is broad, close and compact whilst O. oblonga and 0. 

 scintillans with their narrow leaves have a rigid and 

 thin stem which branches only slightly or not at all. 



The glaucous color of O. mtiricata is characteristic 

 of this species; the green of 0. albida is paler than, and 

 that of 0. rubrinerms about the same as that of O. siia- 

 veolens and O. hirsutissima. These four forms are very 

 much alike, apart from their flowers and fruits. 



With regard to the flowers the differences are much 

 greater between the older species than they are between 

 the new ones. The flowers are small in O. miiricata, 

 0. parviflora and 0. cruciata: medium in O. bienjiis, O. 

 snaveolens and O. hirsutissima, and very large in O. 

 Lamarckiana. In the first group they are erect, and their 



