59 



The facts given in Mr. Graff's note are not new, but have not 

 been given any considerable attention by American authors. 

 The difference in stamen length in E. americanum and E. 

 alhidum was discussed quite fully by Meads in 1893,* and this 

 discussion was noted by European botanists, as in Knuth's 

 Handbuch.f The cut of E. americanum in Die Natiirlichen 

 Pflanzenfamilien clearly shows the stamens of different length. 



Fig. I. Ervthronium Jtamens. 



Following Mr. Graff's suggestion as to northwestern species, 

 I have carefully examined the material available at the State 

 College, and present herewith the results. E. grandiflorum 

 Pursh is the species common and abundant in eastern Washing- 

 ton. It shows considerable variation in the size of the plant 

 and in the number and size of the flowers. Examination of 

 more than one hundred specimens collected last summer show 

 the stamens clearly dimorphic in every case. The difference is 

 so evident that a full statement may be of interest. When the 

 buds are ready to open there is a distinct difference, as shown in 

 the text figure, the stamens opposite the outer perianth segments 

 being the shorter by an average of 2 mm. The variation in total 



* M. E. Meads, The Range of Variation in Species of Erythronium, Bot. Gaz. 

 18: 134-138. 



t P. Knuth, Handbuch der Bliitenbiologie, 3: 126. 1904. 



