r 



304 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [October 



Type, Suksdorf 5725 in Herb. Gray, dry, bare places in meadows, Mt. Paddo 

 (Adams), Yakima County, Washington. 



Unusually well marked as a variety by the extreme development of stipitate 

 glands on the bracts, sepals, and petals. The variation is perhaps induced 

 by habitat, for tbe typical form of the species (except for the fact that it 

 has white petals) occurs at the same altitude on the mountain, growing inter- 

 mingled with the variety to some extent, but more abundantly ^^in damp 

 or wet sandy places." It may be that all of the Mt, Paddo material consti- 

 tutes a species, of which the plant above described is a variety, differhig 

 from Lewisia nevadensis in its denticulate calyx segments and from L. 

 pygmaea in its white corolla. Until a more significant difference from L. 

 pygmaea comes to light, such a treatment is hardly to be justified, for in at 

 least one species of the genus, L. rediviva, the color of the corolla is known 

 to vary from deep rose to pure white. — H. H. Baktlett, Gray Herharmm. 



SOME PERPLEXITIES OF THE INDEXER 



1/ new species, 



and forms of American plants 



American and foreign 



authorship. Some of the perplexing questions which have arisen I wish 

 to bring before the botanical systematist. It may be urged, as one cor- 

 respondent has aheady suggested, that ''the scientist writes for the student 

 and not for the indexer,'' This is true, but is it the whole truth? In 

 these da)^ of multiplicity of publications it is well-nigh impossible for 

 each student of systematic botany to review carefully all the literature 

 which may possibly bear upon his subject or contain a new name in the 

 group upon which he is working. Not long ago a publication relating to 

 a state flora and containing more than 600 pages was carefully examined, 

 with the result that six new combinations were found ; but there was no 

 indication whatever that these were new. Can each student spare time for 

 this ? With the aid of such works as the Index Kewensis, the 

 North American fungi, the CardindeXyttCy the student readily turns to the 

 original descriptions of the plants in the group which interests him, and from 

 articles contaming these descriptions he finds references to the important 

 works relating to his specialty. He is also able to ascertain whether a name 

 or combination which he proposes to launch as new has been used previously. 

 The relation of the index to the systematist is that of a catalogue to the 

 worker in a library. Now the scientist is not the person who will take his 

 time for index work, and even if he did he would be limited to the few groups 



Index 



