December 30, 1907 281 



Ccrjisthiin viri<le 



Cerastiurn arvensc var. maximum Hollick & Britton, I>ull. 

 Torn Club, 14://. 5^./ ^. 1887. 



Cerastiurn maximum Heller, Mnlilcnbergia \ ; 50. 1904; 

 not L. Sp. PI. 439. 1753. 



Whether our plant is the same as the var. maximu7n of 

 Hollick & Britton, is impossible to tell, althongh there is con- 

 siderable resemblance to the figure, drawn from a specimen col- 

 lected by Mrs. Curran near San Francisco. There is one point 

 of disagreement, however. The capsule is not "i ^/^ times longer 

 than the calyx," but only about 2 mm. longer. At any rate, the 

 name is a homonym, and according to recent rulings one need 

 not respect varietal names, so it matters little what the t)pe of 

 their plant may be. The following is the description of our 

 plant: 



Perennial: stems ascending, rather slender and weak, 3dn\ 

 high or less, shortly pubescent throughout and somewhat gland- 

 ular above, bright green, as are also the leaves, these confined to 

 the lower two-thirds of the stem, shortly pubescent or puberu- 

 lent, ciliate, the lower ones and those on young shoots linear, 

 scarcely broader at the base, about 2 cm. long, 2 or 3 mm. wide, 

 the internodes 2 cm. apart; the two or three upper pairs 3 cm. 

 long, linear-lanceolate from a base 5 mm. wide, the internodes 

 3 or 4 cm,; internode between last leaf and flowering branches 

 7 to 9 cm. long: inflorescence irregularly cymose: bracts at ba.<e 

 of pedicels ovate-lanceolate, acute, 4 or 5 mm. long, green with 

 hyaline margins: pedicels slender, about 3 cm. long, shortly pu- 

 bescent and glandular as are the sepals, these green with hyaline 

 margins, lanceolate, acute, 7 mm. long, 2 mm. wide at base: 

 petals oblong, i cm. long, 2 mm. wide at base, 3 mm. wide across 

 the apex, which is cleft for 2.5 mm., the sinus i mm. wide at 

 top, a little narrowed but not acute at base: stamens iialf the 

 length of the petals, the anthers broadly oval, i mm. long: can- 

 sule 9 mm. long, exceeding the calyx by 2 mm.: seeds smal!, 

 about yi mm. across, reddish brown, puberulent or somewhat 

 tuberculate. 



