52 Miihlenberg^ia, Vohime 7 



white ^ variously marbled zvith dark Zri^ze//^, being practically in* 

 distingnishable when partly buried in the white sand, or even 

 when lying on its surface. 



Figure 8 Seeds oi Lupittus Tidestromii Greene " 



The peduncles are evidently ndt able to support the weight 

 of the thick, fleshy legumes, and the loose drifting sand covers 

 them until the tissues of the pods give up their excessive water 

 content at the maturit}- of the seeds; whereupon the peduncles 

 are able to again lift the fruits above the sand, and normal de- 

 hiscence and scattering of thfe seed follows. 



' ] am not prepared to say how many lupine species have 

 such swollen, succulent pods, but certainly none of the other 

 species of my experience have that character. I have not had 

 the pleasure of collecting L. pachylobus Greene, but according 

 to the original description, that s])ecies has, "in the fresh plant," 

 the pods "very thick and succulent, almost terete, weighing the 

 branches, which are by no means slender, quite to the ground." 

 These two species are not otherwise comparable, belongings to 

 widely different groups, one being a decumbent perennial, the 

 other an erect annual of the Micranthi section. 



A point of greater importance, no doubt, is the further com- 

 parison of L. Tidestromii with L. littoralis Doug'., from which 

 it is separated by Greene. The original description of L. littor- 

 alis states: "Pods linear, covered with bristly hairs: seeds linear, 

 brown, with black spots." If this characterization is to be de- 

 pended upon, I feel that my observations give added proof that 

 L. Tidestromii deserves unquestioned recognition as a worthy 

 species. It is also certainly distinct from L. variicolor Steud., 

 a seacoast species frequent at Pacific Grove, which has, by some 

 authorities, been referred to L. littoralis. 

 '0 Ftah Agricultural C'ollege, Logan, Utah. 



