i**i» 



The West- American Scientist. 



J'ol. I, 



San Diego, Califoruiaf Aitril, 1SS5^ 



No, 



'^'1S?\*hVr;dlcCoast"''^PCBLISHED MONTHLT BY G. R. O^Cr^rt.\^Tl^r^tt^t§]^%^ll 



>OTES m CHORIZASTHE LASTAR- 

 BI^A, PARRY. 



«Y C. a PARRT. 



In a recent examination of the . 

 early collections of Cliorizantlie 

 etc., in the old world herbaria, 

 some facts of general botanical 

 interest were brought to view; 

 most important of all being the 

 types of Beutham's original de- 

 scriptions in establishing the sub- 

 order Eriogonete. Among these 

 I was particularly interested in 

 tracing \\\) the botanical history 

 of Choriza]itheno,Lastarriaia, Par- 

 ry ( LastarriiPa Chilensis, Gay). 

 Owing to the inconspicuous char- 

 acters of this otherwise well mark- 

 ed species, in the older herbarium 

 specimens, it was frequently in- 

 advertently mixed with other 

 species, and when properly separ- 

 ated had received several unpub- 

 lished generic names, being vari- 

 ously referred to Paronychiacese, 

 Ilecebracea?, or Eriogonejie. 



It Avas, however, fairly repre- 

 sented by authentic specimens in 

 all the early collections from 

 Chili, South America, as far back 

 as 1830, and by both Coulter and 

 Nuttall, from Southern Califor- 

 nia, 1832-86. 



By Nuttall, whose complete 

 specimens were collected at Santa 

 Barbara in 1836, its diagnostic 

 botanical characters were clearly 

 determined, though not referred 



to any natural order. In his 

 si)ecimens at the British Museum, 

 the accompanying label marked 

 with his usual * indicating a new 

 genus, the following brief descrip- 

 tion is given, (the original con- 

 tracted Latin being translated), 

 viz: 



" * Ancistrophyllum Californi- 

 cum. Annual; leaves 5, verticel- 

 late;stem jointed, fragile; flowers 

 sessile, dichotomous, calyx pris- 

 matic, 5 cleft, uncinate, corolla 

 none; stamens 2 - 3 ? ovary slen- 

 der 3 angled, stigmata none. San- 

 ta Barbara, Upper California." 



With still another Nuttallian 

 s]iecimen (probably on cui-sory 

 examination) is the following 

 label, viz: 



" * Corrispermum spinulosiim." 



In other fragmentary Nuttallian 

 specimens in the Kew Herbarium, 

 this species is mixed on the same 

 sheet with Chorizantlie uncinata 

 Nutt., and so referred in Ben- 

 tham's handwriting, followed also 

 by Prof. Gray on another mixed 

 sheet. In South American speci- 

 mens in the Kew Herbarium, 

 there is a similar cimf usion in the 

 older collections, the following 

 laliel accompanying one of the 

 oldest, viz: 



" 50 Poppig, PI. Chil. 



Hamaria Poppigii, Ky. (ined). 



Synop. PI. Am. Aust. Misc. Nov. 

 gen. e familia Paronychiaceee? in 

 arenosis Montes, Aug. floreus." 

 On still another jCiliiiiaiWSiieci- 



\m 3 ^389 



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