182 



I have found the following : Twigs of Juiiipcnis liypiioidcs Heer 



and Sequoia Rdcliciibaclii (Gein.) Heer; aments of probably a 



Sequoia ; eight or ten varieties of seeds ; several varieties of 



fruits, including Myrica and Platanus ; leaves o{ Bracliypliyllum ; 



five or six varieties of cone scales, including Daininara and Picea ; 



and a miscellaneous assortment of undeterminable remains. 



Maryland Geological Survey, 

 Baltimore, Md. 



MESADENIA LANCEOLATA AND ITS ALLIES 



By Roland M. Harper 



In the genus Mesadeiiia Raf. [Cacalia L. in part) there is a 

 small group of species growing in moist places in the coastal 

 plain of the southeastern United States and flowering in late sum- 

 mer, characterized by terete stems, leaves with parallel or sub- 

 pinnate primary veins, and involucral bracts not keeled. These 

 plants are distinguished from each other by comparatively slight 

 morphological characters, but differ more in range and habitat. 



The first published species of this group is M. laneco/ata, 

 described by Nuttall in 1818 from specimens collected in Georgia 

 and Florida (presumably in the maritime counties) by Dr. Bald- 

 win. Its leaf-blades are glaucous, especially beneath, and lance- 

 olate to oblanceolate in outline. 



In 1822 Elliott described a plant collected by himself on his 

 trip to the Alabama territory, identifying it with Cacalia ovata 

 Walt. According to Elliott's description, and specimens which 

 have since been collected in the same general region, this plant 

 differs from Nuttall's Cacalia lanceolata chiefly in having leaf- 

 blades nearly as broad as long ; but its range and habitat are so 

 different that there is little danger of confusing the two species in 

 the field. 



]^ut the identity of IClliott's Cacalia ovata with Walter's is by no 

 means certain, since the former is not now known east of the 

 Ocmulgcc River, while the latter presumably came from South 

 Carolina, There are also some serious discrepancies between 

 Elliott's description and that of Walter, as was noted by Torrey 



