.384 



SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XXXII. No. 820 



It is narrowly concave beneath and broadly 

 ■convex above. The upper, posterior edge 

 recurves between the internasals, imparting to 

 the latter well-rounded anterior median 

 borders. The internasals are bounded later- 

 ally by the nasals and posteriorly by the pre- 

 frontals. The frontal is hexagonal, somewhat 

 longer than wide; the anterior angle obtuse, 

 the posterior acute. It lies directly between 

 the orbits, is bounded anteriorly by the pre- 

 frontals, laterally by the supraocular and pos- 

 teriorly by the parietals. Each prefrontal 

 touches the preocular, loreal and nasal ven- 

 trally. The supraocular is about twice as long 

 as wide and makes a broad contact with the 

 preocular and postocular. The parietal plates 

 .are longer than wide, the length being con- 

 siderably more than that of the frontal. The 

 nasal is single, pierced a little above the 

 center. It is in contact with the rostral and 

 loreal. The loreal is elongate, wedge-shaped, 

 and in contact with the first and second supra- 

 labials. There are two postoculars, the upper 

 twice as large as the lower. Temporals, one to 

 two. Supralabials, seven on either side, the 

 third and fourth of which are beneath the eye ; 

 fourth longest, the last which closely resembles 

 the scales behind it, smallest. Of the seven 

 infralabials the fourth is the largest. The 

 first meets the corresponding one of the 

 opposite side behind the symphyseal. The 

 symphyseal is acutely pointed anteriorly, the 

 tip fitting a corresponding concavity in the 

 rostral. The anterior genials are broad and 

 somewhat more than twice as long as the pos- 

 terior ones. The gular scales are well devel- 

 oped, the dorsal scales smooth, in fifteen rows, 

 smallest near . the middle of the back. The 

 gastrosteges number 174, the urosteges 44. 

 The anal plate is divided. The pupil is large 

 and round. The tongue is black, tipped with 

 white. 



The rarity of specimens of this snake in 

 •collections is apparently due both to its 

 restricted distribution and to its habit of bur- 

 rowing in the desert sands. Little is known 

 of its food or its general habits. Although 

 probably not nocturnal, it may spend most of 

 its time hidden from sight, much as do the 



similar little snakes Contia mitis and Diado- 

 phis amahilis. C. H. Eichaedson, Jh. 



Stakpord Univebsitt 



a new variety of the sunflower 



The northern sunflower (Helianihus an- 

 nuus lenticularis or H. lenticularis Dougl.) is 

 exceedingly abundant in Colorado and New 

 Mexico, where I have seen many thousands, 

 possibly millions. In all these, I have never 

 seen a noteworthy variation in the color of 

 the rays, until a few days ago my wife dis- 

 covered a single plant of a most remarkable 

 variety, growing along with the common 

 form, within sight of our house in Boulder. 

 This variety, for which I propose the name 

 coronatus, may be described as follows: 

 Leaves much darker green; petioles strongly 

 purplish; heads in bud dark, the ends of the 

 bracts dark purplish; disc dark, normal; rays 

 a full orange (darker than the type), strongly 

 sufEused, especially about the middle, with 

 bright chestnut red, the color more or less 

 streaky, the basal 3 or 4 nun. yellow; beneath, 

 the rays have the middle third or more of 

 about the apical two-thirds red. 



We have moved the plant to our garden, 

 and hope to increase it by seed. It will make 

 a fine addition to the series of horticultural 

 sunflower varieties, and it is hoped an inter- 

 esting subject for experiments in crossing. 

 According to ShulP the sunflowers are self- 

 sterile, so it will be necessary to cross the 

 new variety with the normal one and after- 

 wards extract the pure strain of the variety. 



In the manner of discovery, this ease re- 

 calls that of the Shirley poppy, but the poppy 

 had lost a character, while the sunflower has 

 gained one, or more precisely, appears to have 

 a double dose of the anthocyan pigment 

 which is present in normal plants. It will be 

 interesting to enquire whether there is any 

 doubling of the chromosomes, after the man- 

 ner of (Enoihera gigas, but it hardly seems 

 likely that any cytological character will be 

 visible, accompanying the increase of pig- 

 ment. T. D. A. Cookerell 



University of Colorado 



' Botanical Gazette, Februarj', 1908, p. 104. 



