92 Fremont's Expedition 



souri and Mississippi Rivers, more than half of his speci- 

 mens were ruined before he reached the borders of civihza- 

 tion. Even the portion saved was greatly damaged ; so 

 that, in many instances, it has been extremely difficult to de- 

 termine the plants. As there was not sufficient time before 

 the publication of Captain Fremont's Report, for the proper 

 study of the remains of his collection, it has been deemed 

 advisable to reserve the greater part of them, to incorporate 

 with the plants, which we expect he will bring with him, on 

 returning from his third expedition, upon which he has just 

 set out. 



" The loss sustained by Captain Fremont, and, I may say, 

 by the botanical world, will, we trust, be partly made up by 

 the present and next seasons, as much of the same country 

 will be passed over again, and some new regions explored. 

 Arrangements have also been made, by which the botanical 

 collections will be preserved, at least from the destructive ef- 

 fects of water, and a person accompanies the expedition, who 

 is to make drawings of all the most interesting plants. Par- 

 ticular attention will be given to the forest trees, and the veg- 

 etable productions, that are useful in the arts, or that are em- 

 ployed for food or medicine." Appendix. C. p. 311. 



Descriptions of some new genera and species are given, of 

 which we mention Arctomecon californicum Torr. 6f F?'em., 

 " found in only a single station in the California mountains, 

 on the banks of a creek, flowering early in May."' A peren- 

 nial herb, with a woody, thick root : leaves numerous, mostly 

 radical : stem scapelike : flowers in a loose panicle : pedun- 

 cles elongated, erect: petals about an inch long, yellow. A 

 remarkable plant, very near to Papaver, but distinct enough 

 in habit, seed, and other characters, to form a new genus, p. 

 312, plate 2. 



Prosopis odorata Torr. 6^ Frem. ''A tree about 20 feet 

 high, with a very broad full head, and the lower branches 

 declining to ihc ground ; the thorns sometimes more than an 

 inch long. Leaves smooth ; leaflets from half an inch to an 

 inch long, and 1 — 2 lines broad: spikes 2 — 4 inches long, 

 and about a third of an inch in diameter. Flowers yellow, 

 very fragrant, nearly sessile on the ractis * * A 



characteristic tree, in the mountainous parts of iNorthern Cal- 

 ifornia; flowering the latter part of April.'" Plate 1. 



