198 



New Jersey {Taylor 1450) and New Egypt, Ocean County, New 

 Jersey {Taylor 2650), several localities in Cape May County, 

 New Jersey, and Milton, Delaware, reported by Mr. Brown. 

 Additional West Indian stations are Great Bahama {Brace 3685^ 

 Britton & Millspaugh 2^03 and 2445) ; Abaco {Brace 182'/ and 

 1864) ; Andros {Brace 6gg6 and 7/27) ; North Caicos {Millspaugh 

 Qiyg) ; St. Thomas {Eggers) ; Santo Domingo {Fuertes go); 

 Porto Rico {Heller 1350); Vieques {Shafer 26igA)\ Montserrat 

 {Shafer 14) ; St. Kitts {Britton cf Cowell 428). All the above cited 

 specimens are glabrate, with purple-tipped bracts, and essentially 

 entire leaves (the lower leaves of the North Caicos plant have a 

 few sharp teeth). 



In studying West Indian collections, I had long ago noticed 

 the glabrate feature as compared with the hirsute E. canadensis 

 of the eastern United States, and had sorted the specimens of 

 our collections in accordance with this feature, but I had not 

 noticed the purple-tipped involucral bracts. We have a large 

 number of specimens from the West Indies which are quite as 

 glabrous as those cited by Dr. Robinson as belonging to pusilluSy 

 and agreeing with them, apparently, in every other character 

 except that of these purple tips ; I cite the following as illustrating 

 this series: Inagua {Nash & Taylor 1408); Hog Island, New 

 Providence {Wilson 8253); Andros {Brace 4887); Great Ragged 

 Island {Wilson 28/7) ; Eleuthera, {Coker 381); Grand Turk {Nash 

 & Taylor 386s) ; Cuba {Wright 13 13, Wilson igs and 243, Britton 

 & Shafer 726, 0' Donovan 5251, Leon 1325, Shafer 2442, Van 

 Hermann 'j8g) ; Porto Rico {Britton cf Cowell 1547) ; Mona 

 {Stevens 63gi) ; Martinique {Duss 1442) ; Guadeloupe {Duss 2505) ; 

 Barbados {Botanic Station 521) ; Jamaica {Fredholm 3317) ; 

 Columbia {H. H. Smith 527) . It is possible that some of these 

 may have shown purple-tipped involucral bracts in life, but I 

 have not been able to see them in the dried specimens. 



It would seem to me probable, therefore, that the characters 

 of purple-tipped involucral scales may not be constant, but 

 that the species must rest on its glabrate feature, usually smaller 

 size, and entire leaves. Inasmuch as I regard these plants as 

 generically distinct from Erigeron, I here propose the binomial 

 Leptilon pusillum. 



