62 iMnlileiibero;ia, Vohiine 7 



A common plant in Europe, and at least formerly cultivated 

 in this country, it seems strange that it has not escaped from 

 gardens in our eastern states sufficienth- to be mentioned in our 

 manuals along with Lobiilai^ia^ Hesperis^ Lunaria^ etc. How- 

 ever, I find fto mention of it except in Gray*"s Field, Forest, and 

 Garden Botany, where it is characterized thus: 



"Dyer's Woad. Rather tall, glabrous and glaucous, the 

 stem-leaves lanceolate and entire, sessile and somewhat saggitate; 

 racemes of small yellow flowers panicled, succeeded by the hang- 

 ing samara-like closed pods; flowers in early summer. Old gar- 

 dens; formerly cultivated for a blue dye." iVnd from the key 

 to the genera may be learned further that the fruit is one-cav- 

 itied, one-seeded, and indehiscent. To this I may add that the 

 one seed is strictly pendent in its ca\'ity, dark straw-color, linear- 

 elliptic, about 3x1 mm. in size; the pod oblanceolate, dark brown 

 when matured, about 12x4mm., the stigma sessile and scarcely 

 evident on the well-rounded apex of the pod. 



Several efforts to determine the plant were fruitless, as I 

 neglected to consult Gray's work, quoted from above, but finally 

 I ran across the record of Myagrum perfoliaiiim L. in Britton's 

 Manual; whereupon I at first thought that I had finally named 

 my plant, but later was less satisfied and felt it wiser to submit 

 a specimen to Dr. B. L. Robinson, to whom I am indebted for 

 the correct determination. Then I discovered the description 

 .of Isatis in Gray's work, and got information that I might have 

 -read some months before, and also found the illustration of My- 

 -figritm \\\ ^x\\X.ow and Brown's Illustrated Flora. No one, hav- 

 ing.good'drawings, descriptions, or specimens of both Isatis and 

 J/r(7^;7/;«, should have trouble in distinguishing betweeir the 

 two genera; but it is interesting to note that thev ha\-e in com- 

 mon small yellow flowers and one-seeded, indehiscent pods, the 

 seeds pendulous. .;:-::,■ ■ 



C. P. "Sntith 2J2J and Ci. L. Ziindcl /^f), Box Kldercounfy, 

 Ihigham (Perry), 9 May, 1910. • Mr. Zundel secured matured 

 fruit on Jul\- iSth. : 



Kurc.X SA'IMX'A Hill. Another ninslr.rd delermiiiLcl for me 

 b\- I )r. Robinson. I haw as vet seen no record of it in anv of 



