98 



narrow entire leaves The twenty-sixth sort sends out 



smooth panicled stalks two feet high, garnished with linear, 

 smooth, obtuse leaves, which are entire, and fit close the 

 stalk. The flowers terminate the stalk in loose panicles, stand- 

 ing erect." 



The above species did not appear in the 8th edition of the 

 Gardeners Dictionary (1768), but in the sixth edition of the 

 Abridgement (1771) we find this same description repeated 

 except that the leaves are described as spear-shaped and rough 

 instead of linear and smooth. This species was here described 

 as species Xo. 24 (by error Xo. 25 in second part of his descrip- 

 tion) and was given the name Solidago linearia. 



The above species did not appear in the fourth edition of 

 his Abridgement published in 1754 (where he called the genus 

 Virga Aurea), nor did it appear in the seventh edition of the 

 Gardeners Dictionary- published in 1759. X^o specimen could 

 be found in the British Museum. 



It seems to me that the species described is Solidago stricta 

 Ait. 

 iX Solidago obtusifolia Miller 



In the fifth edition of his Abridgement of the Gardeners 

 Dictionary (1763) Miller had the following golden-rod: 



"28. Solidago caule paniciilato, racemis sparsis, pedunculis 

 erectis, foliis, inferioribus lanceolatis serratis caulinis ohtiisis 

 integerrimis sessilibus. Golden-rod with a panicled stalk, the 

 spikes of flowers thinly disposed, the foot-stalks erect, the lower 

 leaves spear-shaped and sawed, but those on the stalks obtuse, 



fitting close The twenty-eighth sort has smooth, pale, 



green stalks, which rise four feet high, and are thinly garnished 

 with oblong, entire, smooth, blunt-pointed leaves, fitting very 

 close. The lower leaves are large, spear-shaped, oblique and 

 sawed on their edges. The stalks are terminated by simple 

 racemi, which are thinly disposed in a corymbus, but their 

 foot-stalks are erect." 



In the sixth edition of his Abridgement (1771) he copied 

 word for word the first part of the above description as Species 

 No. 26 giving to it the name obtusifolia. Howe\'er, when it 

 came to copying his concluding remarks he copied the wrong 

 ones, as follows: "The twenty-sixth sort hath purplish stalks 

 which rise three feet high, and are closely garnished with 

 rough spear-shaped leaves, slightly sawed on their edges, end- 



