2 University of California Publications. [BOTANY 



dred and thirty new genera. Among these were Gilia and Navar- 

 retia. It is with the North American representatives of these 

 Chilian and Peruvian plants and their near relatives that the 

 difficulty of classification in Polemoniaceae has been the greatest. 

 Not only have authors differed much as to the best way to define 

 the genera, but they have had to revise their own work many 

 times as more material and further study demanded. 



The next important steps in the history of the order were 

 taken in the early part of the nineteeth century, when the western 

 coast of North America became accessable to collectors. Many 

 new genera were described. Among them, Linanthus of Ben- 

 tham (1833) is the only one deserving generic rank. 



To present the complicated synonomy necessary to give a com- 

 plete history of the genus Gilia. using this term in the most com- 

 prehensive sense that it has as yet been used, namely by Asa 

 Gray, in the Supplement to the "Synoptical Flora of North 

 America" would only lead to confusion. Suffice it to say that 

 many of the genera such as Leptodactylon, Fenzlia, Hugelia and 

 Ipomopsis were named by Hooker, Bentham, Michaux and others, 

 from limited material sent to them from the Pacific Coast, but 

 without knowledge of the abundance of related plants still undis- 

 covered, and of the extent of the field. Many of these genera 

 are conveniently used by Bentham in De Candolle's "Prodromus 

 Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis," IX, (1845), also by 

 Bentham and Hooker, in "Genera Plantarum," II, (1876), and 

 by Engler and Prantl, in "Die Natiirlichen Pflanzenfamilien," 

 IV3A, (1897), as subgenera or sections of Gilia. In the last 

 work the Polemoniaceae are worked up by A. Peter. 



The most complete and reliable descriptions of North,Ameri- 

 can Polemoniaceae are those of Asa Gray in the "Synoptical 

 Flora of North America," II, the first edition appearing in 1878 

 and the second in 1886. Since that was published, however, 

 Edward L. Greene has done much work in the way of partial 

 revision. The basis of his division of the order into genera is 

 to be found in "Pittonia," I, (1887), followed by a treatment 

 of Polemonium, Collornia and Navarretia. In "Pittonia," II, 

 (1892), the genus Linanthus is considered. There are two 

 small genera of his own, Langloisia, including three species, 



