75 



the counterpart of the color of the flower of Wislizeni in Dona 

 Ana County. The size of the plants of Wislizeni in New Mexico, 

 Mr. Wooton told me, were only half the size of those in my 

 garden, and I happened to have plants on hand from 30 cm. up 

 to i^ meters in height. 



On the 31st of July, I discovered another flower on the same 

 plant of Wislizeni, which was tinted a whitish yellow, and it 

 made me think it might be a hybrid. It is a rare occurrence in 

 the vicinity of Phoenix to find a plant of Wislizeni among 

 hundreds of Lecontei, and vice versa. The earlier flowers of this 

 plant had petals of a similar tint, but the one last observed, on 

 July 31, had petals decidedly yellower on both sides. Mr. 

 Wooton advised me to make a new species of Wislizeni, which 

 had purple flowers. After due consideration, I concluded to 

 determine it as Echinocactus Wislizeni, var. Phoeniceus, so as 

 to avoid errors in the future regarding these two species. 



Where the zone of the occurrence of these two species is of a 

 near approach, it is with difficulty that we can separate young 

 plants, without flowers, one from the other, because the central 

 spine of Lecontei is frequently as much hooked as in young speci- 

 mens of Wislizeni. 



It is a rare occurrence for a Wislizeni to sprout unless the 

 plant has been injured, whereas in Lecontei, it is frequently 

 noticed on normal plants. Taken in consideration that Lecontei 

 blooms fully six to seven weeks earlier than Wislizeni, a fact 

 also observed by Prof. Toumey, why should not these two plants 

 be considered as distinct species, as first suggested by Dr. George 

 Engelmann, in the botany of the Mexican Boundary Report. 

 It cannot be otherwise. 

 Phoenix, Arizona. 



FOSSIL FLOWERS AND FRUITS.— Ill* 



By T. D. a. Cockerell 



Sambucus Ellisiae sp. nov. 



Flower 5.75 mm. in diameter; corolla with five triangular lobes, 



a fraction over i mm. long, their sides nearly straight and their 



* Fossil Flowers and Fruits, I. and II., appeared in Torreya ii: 234 and 12: 32. 



