62 Botanical Notes. 



that there is only one species of Sisyrinchium in the Eastern 

 States, and this they designate S. bermudiana. The error pro- 

 bably arose in consequence of the Bermudian plant disappearing 

 from European gardens, though the name was retained. S. ber~ 

 mudiana requires the shelter of a greenhouse in this country, 

 not merely to protect it from frost, but also to enable it to attain 

 its full development, while S. angustifolium, the other species, is 

 perfectly hardy and grows like grass. Curtis, having been de- 

 ceived by its behavior during a very mild winter, at first stated 

 that the Bermudian plant was hardy, an assertion that he recalled 

 in the letter-press accompanying the figure cited below of his S. 

 gramintum. 



The synonymy of the Bermudian plant follows. — 

 Sisyrinchium bermddiana Linn. Sp. PL, ed. i. p. 954 (quoad /3 tantum) ; 

 Miller, Diet., ed. 6; Lamarck Encycl. Method. Bot. i., p. 408; Redoute) 

 Lill. 1. 149. Sisyrinchium bermudensc floribus parvis, ex cseruleo & aureo 

 mixtis : Iris Phalangoides quorundam; Plukenet, Almagestum, p 348 et 

 Phytogr., t. 61, fig. 2. Bermudiana Iridus folio, fibrosa radice, Tournefort 

 Inst. Kei Herb., p. 388, t. 108; Dillenius, Hort. Elth., p. 48, t. 41, fig.48. 

 Sisyrinchium iridioides, Curtis, Bot Mag., t. 94. 



Sisyrinchium bermudianum, var. 1, Baker in Journ. Linn. Soc, Lond., xvi, 

 p. 117. 



Endemic in the Bermudas. 



Besides the Bermudian specimens alluded to above, there are 

 cultivated specimens at Kew from the herbarium of Bishop 

 Groodenough, presented by the corporation of Carlisle. 



Sisyrinchium bermudiana differs from S. angustifolium in being 

 much larger in all its parts, and strikingly so in its broad leaves, 

 which are equitant at the base ; hence Curtis's name iridioides. 

 It grows eighteen to twenty-four inches high, and is stout in pro- 

 portion. The flowers are large, and the broad segments of the 

 perianth are obovate-mucronate ; but I have not been able to com- 

 pare the flowers, as there are none of the Bermudian specimens in 

 a satisfactory state. However, a comparison of the figures cited 

 should be sufficient to convince any one of their specific diversity. 



With regard to the forms of Sisyrinchium from eastern North 

 America, if they are all to be regarded as belonging to one 

 species, (and we have the authority of the leading botanists in the 

 States for considering them as such,) Miller's name, being the 

 earliest, is the one to adopt. 



