3 * 



April] BOTANICAL GAZETTE 270 ^ 



produced a wealth of aecidia. From these facts one would infer 

 that aecidia on Rumex should be common, for the teleutosporic 

 condition occurs throughout the United States. Yet I am not 

 aware of a single authentic record of ALcidium rubellum being 

 found in North America. To be sure, it occurs in the earliest 

 published list of American fungi by Schweinitz, who was a 

 notably accurate observer. But his remark that the spots were 

 usually sterile, makes it fairly certain that what he collected 

 were not aecidia, but the spots made by fungi imperfecti. Both 

 Professor Bessey and Dr. Davis at my suggestion made repeated 

 and thorough search about the places where the teleutospores 

 were found in their localities, but saw no aecidia. Improbable 

 as it may seem, there yet appears to be no explanation of the 

 remarkable vigor of this heteroecismal species, but to suppose 

 that the aecidia do occur in America, and that, so far, they have 

 been overlooked. 



2. Puccinia Convolvuli Cast. 

 The teleutospores of this very common species of rust on 

 Co?ivolvulus sepium were sown on the host, before the weather 

 permitted it to start out of doors, and were duly followed by a 

 rich development of spermogonia and subsequently of aecidia. 

 It was thus experimentally shown to be an autcecious species, as 

 has always been tacitly accepted. The dates are as follows : 

 May 8, Teleutospores sown; May 16, spermogonia; June 6, aecidia. 



3. Puccinia Caricis (Sckum.) Red. 



The aecidiospores from ALcidium Urticce were sown May 17 on 

 the young leaves of Carex stricta and in eleven days were fol- 

 lowed by uredospores. A sowing at the same date on Carex 

 ccplialophora gave no infection. This shows that Carex stricta is 

 a host for Puccinia caricis, but there is reason to believe that it 

 also acts as a host for other species of Puccinia. The American 

 rusts on Carex are yet little understood. 



4. Uromyces Euphorbia C. & P. 



There has been an almost uniform opinion among American 

 botanists that the ^Ecidium occurring a'bundantly upon many 



