74^ PATAGONIAN EXPEDITIONS I BOTANY. 



Phyllactis Pers. as a genus is polymorphous, with or without stems, 

 leaves entire or variously dissected, and with dense or lax cymes with 

 spreading corolla-limb; stamens 3, and/rutt without pappus, but crowned 

 by the non-accrescent crown. Benth. & Hook, assign to it 30 Andine- 

 Mexican species. Eng. & Prantl place it as a section of Valeriana, with 

 10 species, mostly stemless, leaves entire and bracts connate, no pappus, 

 corolla 3~5-lobed, with long tube. (Fig. of V. (Phyllactis] rigida R. & 

 P. of great altitudes in Peru; in Eng. & Prantl, iv, 4, p. 180, B.) 



i. VALERIANA CARNOSA Smith. (K magellanica Lam.) 

 Glabrous. Stem erect, 60 cm., rather rigid, simple. Leaves mostly 

 radical, long-petiolate, obovate to obovate-lanceolate, fleshy, sinuate, ser- 

 rate, or incised-pinnatifid, lobes and sinuses obtuse, the uppermost leaves 

 oblong, sessile. Panicle terminal, elongate ; its branches suberect. Bracts 

 acuminate, basally connate. Lateral peduncles dichotomizing, 6-8-flow- 

 ered. Fruits oblong, glabrous, retrorsely denticulate. 



Patagon., by Lago Nahuel-huapi ; mts. of Chubut; Rio Sta. Cruz ; Cabo 

 Negro; Magellan; N. and E. Fuegia (Dusen, "a steppe-plant, every- 

 where over the steppes "). 



2. V. CHUBUTENSIS Speg. 



Simple, glabrous, perennial herb, with slender root and fistulous, terete 

 to tetragonal stems, 40-80 cm. high. Leaves thin, membranaceous ; the 

 radical entire, oblanceolate, rather obtuse, long-attenuate-petiolate ; the 

 cauline acute, few, remote, lanceolate, basally auricled-connate and there 

 subpuberulous ; the lower toothed, the upper pinnatifid, and the upper- 

 most linear. Panicle not much branching, contracted, with linear brac- 

 teoles, white flowers, glabrous achenes, and a crown of 12 plumose 

 setulae. 



Chubut, in wet places along Carren-leofu. 



3. V. CLARION^FOLIA Phil. 



Glabrous herb. Stem terete, 15 cm. high. Leaves coriaceous, nearly 

 all radical, rosulate, oblong-linear, lobate-pinnatifid ; lobes 8 pairs, subor- 

 bicular, usually imbricating, decurrent. Cauline leaves 3 pairs, attenuate- 

 petiolate, small, deeply pinnatifid, segments linear. Panicle short, com- 

 pact, few-flowered. Corollas rather large. Anthers and stigma included. 

 Fruit glabrous, crowned by the short calyx ; no pappus. 



