84 



An Undescribed Croton from the Virgin Islands 



i/ Croton Fishlockii Britton, sp. nov. 



A low, much-branched shrub, the young twigs sparingly long- 

 pilose, with very short internodes. Leaves broadly elliptic to 

 suborbicular, rather thin, 6-22 mm. long. 5-15 mm. wide, rounded 

 or obtuse at both ends, pinnately few-veined, sparingly long- 

 pilose and with rather copious black stellate hairs, the long-pilose 

 petioles 2-8 mm. long ; flowers few, in small terminal clusters, or 

 solitary. Staminate flowers : sepals ovate to elliptic-ovate, 2.8-3 

 . mm. long. 1.8—2 mm. broad, stellate-pubescent on the back; petals 

 obovate to broadly obovate, 3 mm. long, 2-2.2 mm. broad, villous 

 within; stamens 12. the filaments villous near the base. 



Top of the mountain in Virgin Gorda, Virgin Islands, at about 

 425 meters altitude {W. C. Fishlock, No. 31 1, May 9, 1919). 



A very interesting distinct species, related to Croton lucidus 

 L. I take pleasure in dedicating it to Mr. Fishlock, who has been 

 in charge of the Botanical Station at Roadtown, Tortola, for a 

 series of years, and who has made extensive collections of the 

 Virgin Island flora, adding greatly to our knowledge of the distri- 

 bution of species of Tortola, Virgin Gorda and Anegada. Croton 

 lucidus L., apparently its nearest relative, has not been found in 

 the Virgin Islands. 



REVIEWS 



Hitchcock's Oenera of Grasses of the United States* 



At the present low ebb of systematic botany, due largely to the 

 deplorable schism over the question of nomenclatorial rules, the 

 appearance of a work of such scope from the pen of our leading 

 agrostologist is of capital importance to every student of the 

 grasses. Sufificient time has elapsed since the publication of 

 Scribner's American Grasses in i90of to make a new exposition 

 of grass-genera extremely desirable. Many of the views set 

 forth in the present volume were foreshadowed in the author's 



* Hitchcock, A. S., The Genera of Grasses of the United States, with special 

 reference to the economic species. U. S. Dept. of Agric. Bull. No. 772 : Wash- 

 ington, Govt. Printing Office, March 20, 1920. Pp. 1-307; 174 figs., 20 plates. 

 Price .40. 



t U. S. Dept. Agr. Div. Agrost. Bull. 20. 



