464 The Botanical Gazette. [October, 
Note on buffalo grass.—I read with interest an article by Mr. Plank 
on “Buchloe dactyloides Englm., not a dicecious grass.” He asserts 
that the grass in question is not dicecious, as usually described, but 
moncecious, and in support records observations made in Kansas. 
Wishing to satisfy myself experimentally as to the correctness of 
this assertion, a few seeds were germinated in the greenhouse in the 
spring of 1893. A single seedling was transferred to an outdoor plat. 
This grew vigorously through the season, sending out stolons and 
forming a compact mat. During 1894 the mat became larger and 
denser, but no flowers appeared. ° : 
However, the plant flowered this season (1895). Both staminate 
and pistillate flowers were present, the former preponderating. The 
flowers arose mostly from nodes that had taken root and thus become 
essentially independent plants. In no case did I find the two kinds 
of flowers from the same node, but from the interwoven state of the 
stolons I was unable to determine whether the two kinds of flowers 
were borne upon independent stolons. 
The plant was first described by Nuttall (Gen. 1: 65. 1818) from a 
staminate specimen, and named Ses/eria dactyloides. He is evidently 
doubtful about the plant belonging to the genus Sesleria. 
Rafinesque having occasion to review Nuttall’s Genera (Am. Monthly 
Mag. 2: 190. 1819) makes a note regarding this plant: “18. Ses/eria 
dactyloides must form a peculiar genus by Mr. N.’s own account. It 
may be called Buldilis.” It is upon this basis that Dr. Otto Kuntze 
establishes Budbilis dactyloides (Nutt.) Raf. (Rev. Gen. Pl. 763). 
Nuttall remarks in his description: “Root, after flowering, rese- 
bling a bulb,” from which, doubtless, Rafinesque derives Budbilis. 
Upon the margin of the copy of the American Monthly Magazine above 
quoted (in the library of the Missouri Botanical Garden), some one 
has suggested another derivation, “bull’s bile!”’—A. S. HircHcock, 
Kansas Agricultural College, Manhattan. 
Paes tte CS A SESS oe eats 
*Bull. Torr. Bot. Club. 19: 303. 1892, 
