(217) 
and rather pauciseriate.” But Gray evidently did not consider 
those differences as of taxonomic importance. He further added 
that this form is Nuttall’s original, and on that basis Small kept 
the name a/tzsstma as a synonym for gigantea and described the 
inland plant as V. maxima. 
The essential difference between the two forms lies in the in- 
volucre, which in V. gigantea is less than half the height of the 
mature heads, subturbinate in shape, narrowed at the base, and with 
loosely imbricated, irregular scales. In the species under discus- 
sion it is at least half the height of the heads, broadly campanulate 
or nearly hemispheric in shape, rounded at the base, and with closely 
and regularly imbricated scales. Nuttall’s original description of 
V. altisstma agrees perfectly with the latter, ‘* calix small and hemi- 
spherical, scales appressed, ovate, acute, ciliate, awnless,” and ‘‘inner 
scales of the calix obtuse, without points, external merely acute, and 
with the points appressed.” Elliott redescribed the plant and spoke 
also of the compact hemispheric involucre with closely appressed 
scales. It seems clear that Nuttall could have had no other plant 
in mind when formulating his description. There is nothing to in- 
dicate that the specimen referred to by Gray as Nuttall’s original 
was taken by him as a type. In his description are the words 
‘vy. s. Anonymous, in Herb. Muhl.” but the characters given must 
have been drawn instead from his field observations, and the Muhl- 
enberg specimen was merely incorrectly referred to the same species. 
The publication of a species by an intelligible description is just 
as valid as publication with reference to an earlier name, and if the 
accidental or incorrect citation of specimens is to take precedence 
over either then the name of this species would become V. gigantea, 
because that binomial was first applied to Kearney’s 788 from Ken- 
tucky, or V. alézflora Raf., based on a white-flowered form. 
(viii) Species-group Giganteae 
Inflorescence usually very large and loose; heads 8—13-flowered ; 
involucre short, narrowed at the base, and less than half the height 
of the rnature head; scales loosely and irregularly imbricated, very 
variable in length. One species of the coastal plain of the South 
Atlantic states. 
