WOOTON AND STANDLEY FLOEA OF NEW MEXICO. 333 



1. Hoffmanseggia densiflora Benth.; A. Gray, PI. Wright. 1: 55. 1852. 



Camote de rat6n. 



Hoffmanseggia stricta Benth.; A. Gray, op. cit. 56. 1852. 



Hoffinanseggia stricta demissa Benth.; A. Gray, loc. cit. 



Hoffmanseggia stricta nisbiji Fisher, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 1: 144. 1892. 



Type locality: Valley of the Pecos, Texas. Type, Wright's no. 148. 



Range: Southwestern Texas, southern New Mexico and Arizona, and adjacent 

 Mexico. 



New Mexico: Tucumcari; Los Lunas; Socorro; Doming; Tularosa; Alamogordo; 

 Hillsboro; Roswell; Carlsbad; Mangas Springs; Animas Valley; Hachita; Mesilla Val- 

 ley; Nogal. Plains and river valleys, in the Lower and Upper Sonoran zones. 



This species is common in hard alkaline soils in the lower valleys, especially in 

 locations which are flooded occasionally. The small, ellipsoidal or spheroidal 

 tuberous roots 2 to 4 cm. long, which give it its common name, are produced 15 to 30 

 cm. below the surface, on slender tough roots. They are rather sweet and of not 

 impleasant flavor, although tough. They are commonly eaten by the Indians. 



The various subspecies which have been proposed are probably forms caused by 

 varying quantities of water received by the plants at different times of the year. 

 They can all be found in a small patch of the species by careful search. Bentham 

 himself observed that H. densiflora was perhaps too near H. demissa, and Doctor Gray in 

 publishing it reduced H. demissa of Bentham's manuscript to U. stricta demissa. It 

 is unfortunate that he should have published these two forms before the II. stricta, 

 which is really the typical form of the plant, whose name is distinctive of its most 

 characteristic difference from Il.falcaria Cav. But according to the rules of priority 

 the name densiflora must stand. The type of H. falcaria rusbyi was collected by 

 Rusby at Mangas Springs. 



2. Hoffmanseggia drepanocarpa A. Gray, PI. Wright. 1: 58. 1852. 

 Type locality: "New Mexico, or between Texas and El Paso." 

 Range: New Mexico to southern California. 



New Mexico: Acoma; Socorro; Mangas Springs; Organ Mountains; Guadalupe 

 Mountains; Lake Valley; Knowles. Dry hills, in the Upper and Lower Sonoran zones. 



3. Hoffmanseggia brachycarpa A. Gray, PI. Wright. 1: 55. 1852. 

 Type locality: "New Mexico." Type collected by Wright in 1851. 



Range: Southern New Mexico, southwestern Texas, and probably adjacent 

 Mexico . 



We have seen no specimens from New Mexico, but it is included here on the strength 

 of the citation of the type, for which no number is given. Wright's later collections 

 of the same species are from Texas east of the Pecos. It is possible that the original 

 citation is incorrect, as Doctor Gray was indefinite in this citation, while he was 

 usually very particular about this point. 



4. Hoffmanseggia jamesii Torr. & Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 393. 1840. 

 Pomaria glandulosa Cav. err. det. Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 2: 193. 1828. 



Type locality: "Sources of the Canadian River," probably in New Mexico. 

 Type collected by James. 



Range: Colorado to Texas, Arizona, and Mexico. 



New Mexico: Farmington; Zuni Reservation; Kennedy; Tijeras Canyon; Sabinal; 

 mesa near Las Cruces; Gage; Clayton; Buchanan; Redlands. Sandy hills and plains, 

 in the Upper and Lower Sonoran zones. 



This is the common black-glandular species, occurring mostly in sandy soil, the 

 branching leafy stems arising from a thickened woody root often 10 to 20 cm. long and 

 3 cm. thick. The dull yellow flowers and sub lunate pods are distinctive. 



