340 WILSON EXPEDITION TO CHINA 



var. acuta. The branches are perulate and the achenes villose. The latter char- 

 acter we assume to be normal in Kuntze's species, since he says nothing to the 

 contrary. 



Clematis brevicaudata De Candolle, Syst. I. 138 (1818); Prodr. I. 

 3 (1824). — Maximowicz in Bull. Acad. Sci. St. Petershourg, XXII. 

 216 (1876); in Mel. Biol. IX. 592 (1876); in Act. Hort. Petrop. XI. 8 

 (1890). — Franchet in Nouv. Arch. Mus. Paris, ser. 2, V. 166 (PL 

 David. I. 14) (1882).— Hemsley in Jour. Linn. Soc. XXIII. 3 (1886).— 

 Pritzel in Bot. Jahrb. XXIX. 332 (1900). — Finet & Gagnepain in 

 Bull. Soc. Bot. France, L. 533 (1903); Cojitrib. Fl. As. Or. I. 18 (1905). 



Clematis Vitalha, 7- brevicaudata Kuntze in Verh. Bot. Ver. Brandenb. XXVI. 

 100 {Monog. Clem.) (1885). 



Western Hupeh: without locality, September 1900 (Veiteh 

 Exped. No. 1723); vicinity of Ichang, A. Hennj (Nos. 4341, 4361). 



This species is widely distributed and is most polymorphic in character. The 

 varieties described by us are strikingly distinct from the type, yet we cannot sepa- 

 rate them specifically. The Hupeh material referred to the type differs from a 

 specimen collected at Peking (Herb. Hance, No. 12703) in having more slender 

 stamens with larger anthers, and darker colored plumes to the achenes. We are 

 disposed to regard the Japanese C. Pierotii Miquel as a variety of this species. 

 We strongly suspect, too, that some of the specimens referred by Finet & Gagne- 

 pain to C. parviloba, var. glabrescens really belong to C. brevicaudata. 



Clematis brevicaudata, var. tenuisepala Maximowicz in Act. Hort. 

 Petrop. XI. 9 (1890). 



Western Szech'uan: Tu-ti-liang-shan, near Lungan Fu, thickets, 



alt. 2000 m., August 1910 (No. 4547; climber 3-4 m., flowers white). 



Our specimen agrees with Maximowicz's description, except that the sepals are 

 more pubescent. 



Clematis brevicaudata, var. lissocarpa Rehder & Wilson, n. var. 



Frutex scandens, 2-4-metralis ramulis glabris sulcatis. Folia 

 majora ad 25 cm. longa, in sicco nigrescentia, bipinnata v. bipinnati- 

 secta segmentis primariis 5-7, inferioribus longe petiolulatis trifo- 

 liatis V. trisectis, superioribus simplicibus, folia ramulorum floriferorum 

 saepe pinnata, f oliolis 3-7 ; f oliola ovata, rarius ovato-lanceolata, acu- 

 minata, basi rotundata v. subcordata, rarius late cuneata, sparse supra 

 medium serrata, rarius integra, 3-7 cm. longa et 2-3 cm. lata, supra 

 ad venas sparse pubescentia, subtus glabra; petioluli primarii 1-3 cm. 

 longi, rarius longiores, secundarii ad 1 cm. longi, terminalis longior; 

 petioli 5-7 cm. longi. Inflorescentiae axillares et terminales, plerum- 

 que folio longiores, late paniculatae v. fere corymbosae e cymis trichoto- 



