I20 



collections) are always unsatisfactory. It needs be a large plant 

 indeed which cannot be made into a specimen showing the 

 whole inflorescence and some of the upper leaves by bendirig 

 it once or twice. Then one of the lower leaves, and one too 

 from the middle part of the stem should be shown. Several in- 

 dividual flowers should be taken off and pressed flat under 

 plenty of pressure; and a small branch may be treated in the 

 same way. 



Unless we can have work carried on somewhat as outlined 

 above, an intelligent understanding of the genus is hardly pos- 

 sible. The following preliminary sketch is offered as a begin- 

 ning: 



Capsule oblong-ovate, acute, many seeded 

 Perianth segments serrulate or entire 

 Flowers greenish, bractlets foliaceous, equalling or 



exceeding the flowers V. Eschscholtzianum 



Flowers whitish or creamy; bractlets shorter than 

 the flowers 

 Segments broad 



Long, I cm. or more 

 Mostly acute, with a green V-shaped mark at 



base V. Calif ornicum 



Mostly obtuse, not marked at base V. speciosum 



Short, 5 mm. long 

 Obtuse, dark lined at base, but the lines not 

 confluent V. Jonesii 



Segments narrow 



2-3 mm. wide; main stem much elongated V. caudatum 



I mm wide; stem not much elongated V. tenuipetalura 



Capsule obovate, obtuse, few seeded 



Segments firnbriate V. fimbriatum 



/ Veratrum Eschscholtzianum (R. & S.) Rydb. Bull. Torr. 

 Club, 37: 531. 1900. 

 Veratrum lobelianum var. Eschscholtzianum R. & S. Syst. 



7: 1555. 1829. 

 Veratrum Eschscholtzii A. Gray, Ann. Lye. N. Y. 4: 119. 



1837- 

 In the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical club as cited above, 

 Dr. Rydberg apparently published the combination Veratrum 



