September 12, 1894.] 



Garden and Forest. 



367 



cent. The flowers, which are white, are produced in great 

 profusion, and appear before the leaves. The following 

 note has been furnished me by Dr. Palmer : 



This tree is one of the most noticeable features of the land- 

 scape between Alamos, Sonora, and Sinaloa.Culiacan, especially 

 about the latter place, where it is the tree of all trees seen. A 

 stranger may ask, why there are so few other trees and so 

 many of this. The answer is : This tree cannot be used as 

 timber or for fuel, since it burns like straw. The ashes are 

 sometimes used in soap-making. Thus the tree is left to 

 beautitythe country ; its smooth gray-white body, without any 

 leaves in winter, is quite noticeable. It is then an object of 

 attraction to all domestic and wild animals, for it produces an 

 immense supply of buds and flowers, which are very sweet, 

 all of which are eagerly devoured. The tops are often cut off so 

 that animals may .feed upon them, since in winter other vege- 

 tation is of the driest kind, and these fresh buds and flowers 

 are a welcome relish. The ground underneath is well tramped 

 by the animals looking after the individual interests of their 

 stomachs. It is next to impossible to make botanical speci- 

 mens so as to show the number of buds and flowers on the 

 branches, for they readily drop off. When a group of trees 

 are in bloom it forms a beautiful sight. No green leaves ob- 

 scure their glory. At the time of the full bloom no other plant 

 competes with it in number of beautiful flowers. This is the 

 more interesting because if the tree was like most other trees, 

 useful for tinfber and fuel, it would be scarce. As a compen- 

 sation nature has made it a food for animals at the time of 

 scarcity and given it an abundance of beautiful flowers. 



Ipomcea intrapilosa. — Very little is known regarding this 

 species.* It "has probably a much less limited range than 

 I. arborescens. It was first collected by Dr. Palmer in 

 1886 and by Mr. Pringle in 1889. It is described as "an 

 irregular-growing tree, twenty to thirty feet high." The 

 corolla is larger than in I. arborescens, and with the 

 branches and leaves completely glabrous. This tree was 

 first considered as a variety of murucoides by Dr. Gray,' but 

 a study of more material seems to justify me in raisinglt 

 to specific rank. 



This species, like the others, would, doubtless, be a very 

 attractive plant in cultivation. 



Ipomcea Wolcottiana. — This species f (seep. 365) has only 

 been reported from Manzanillo, in the state of Colima. Here 

 Dr. Palmer obtained specimens in 1891. It is undoubtedly 

 the most graceful species of the group. The tree has a 

 very large top, and the branches are long and nearly pen- 

 dent, covered with an abundance of flowers and buds. As 

 stated above, Dr. Palmer obtained seed of this species, and 

 although every effort was made to germinate them, it was 

 without avail. Not only was I unsuccessful in growing 

 the seeds, but a part were sent to Mrs. H. L. T Wolcott, 

 at Halifax, Massachusetts, who gave them the most careful 

 attention, but without success. Not only in her efforts in 

 attempting to raise this tree, but for her success in growing 

 a number of interesting Mexican plants, I have named the 

 above species in her honor. 



* Ipomcea intrapilosa. Rose. 



Ipomcea murucoides, var. glabrata, Gray, Proc. Anier. Acad., xxii., 440 (1887). "A 

 large irregular-growing tree, twenty to thirty feet high," nearly glabrous through- 

 out ; leaves triangular, shortly acuminate "or sometimes nearly oval and obtuse, 

 truncate or a little rounded at base, 5 to 10 cm. (2 to 4 inches) long, petioles 

 5 to 7.5 cm. (2 to 3 inches) long ; calyx deeply five-parted, glabrous without, hairv 

 within ; seoals oval, acutish, 12 to 16 mm. (6 to 8 lines) long ; corolla white, " with 

 yellow shading at the base of the tube," glabrous without, about 7.5 cm. (3 inches) 

 long ; carpels and seeds not seen. Rocky hillsides ; only known from the state of 

 Jalisco. 



Dr. Gray, after describing the variety, made the following remark, "Palmer's 

 specimens are glabrous or very early glabrate, even to the calyx ; indeed, even the 

 corolla is almost glabrous in the bud. The calyx is short, the leaves acuminate, 

 and the petioles elongated (two or nearly three inches long)." Except as to the 

 acuminalion of the leaves, these characteristics are opposed to I. murucoides. The 

 very inappropriate name, glabrata, has not been usea, as it has previously been 

 employed by Meissnerin Flora Brasilliemis, iii. , 226. 



Specimens from the following places have been examined : 



Jalisco. Chapala {Palmer. October-November, 1886, No. 703) ; near Guada- 

 lajara (Pringle, December 14th, 1889, No. 2443). 



t Ipomcea Wolcottiana, Rose, sp. nov. A tree nine meters (thirty feet) high, with 

 a trunk sometimes three dm. (one foot) in diameter ; branches slender, some- 

 what drooping; leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 7.5 to 12.5 cm. (3 to 5 inches) long, 

 37 to 8.7 cm. [1% to 3?a inches) broad, rounded or truncate at base, acuminate, 

 glabrous on petioles, 5 to 10 cm. (2 to 4 inches) long; flowers in numerous short 

 racemes or corymbs, mostly naked; pedicels jointed near the base, little if 

 at all thickened upward, 8 to 12 mm. (4 to 6 Une9) long ; calyx 10 to 12 mm. 

 (5 to 6 lines) long, glabrous ; sepals nearly equal, oblong or oval rounded 

 at apex ; corolla white, broadly campanulate, 6.2 cm. broad, with a short thick 

 tube 3 cm. long ; capsule oblong, 18 mm. (9 lines) long, glabrous, two-valved, four- 

 seeded, separating into four carpels ; seeds oblong. 8 mm. (4 lines) long, with mar- 

 gins covered with a long reflex coma longer than the seed. Rocky hills. 



Manzanillo, Colima (Dr. Edward Palmer, March 2d to 18th, 1S91, No. 1342). 



The following dichotomous key seems to contain the 

 most usable characters : 



A. Seeds covered with short black hairs. 

 Ipomcea fistulosa. 



AA. Seeds with long white hairs only on the angles. 



B. Calyx large, clothed externally with white wool ; corolla 



woolly without. 

 Ipomcea murucoides. 

 BB. Calyx small, not woolly externally ; corolla glabrous 

 without. 



C. Leaves slightly cordate at base, young parts of stems and 



leaves (especially beneath) pubescent ; sepals pubes- 

 cent without, at least when young, and tardily glabrate. 

 Ipomcea arborescens. 

 CC. Leaves rounded at base, glabrous; young parts of stems 

 minutely pubescent and early glabrate ; sepals gla- 

 brous without. 



D. Sepals hairy within, larger than the next, acutish ; pedi- 



cels elongated, sometimes one and a half inches long, 

 thickened above ; branches erect ; corolla, with broad 

 funnel-formed throat, two inches long ; stamens at 

 length exserted ; filament broad, with a tuft of long 

 hairs near the base. 



Ipomoea intrapilosa. 

 DD. Sepals glabrous both within and without, small, obtuse; 

 pedicels short, slender ; corolla salver-formed, with 

 broad throat ; proper tube very short ; stamens in- 

 cluded ; filament narrow, with a small tuft of short 

 glandular hairs. 



Ipomoea Wolcottiana. 



I wish to express my gratitude for aid received in the 

 preparation of this paper from the following gentlemen : 

 Professor A. Duges, Dr. A. Engler, Mr. W. Botting Hems- 

 ley, Dr. B. L. Robinson, Capt. John Donnell Smith. 



Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. (_. 1. N. Rose. 



Plant Notes. 



Gerardia purpurea. — It seems a pity that plants with 

 such beautiful flowers as some of our Gerardias should 

 have the habit of attaching their rootlets to the bark of the 

 roots of neighboring plants and living on their sap. True, 

 they are not entirely parasitic, but they can hardly get 

 along without robbing some other plant, and this depraved 

 tendency is enough to banish them from gardens. Never- 

 theless, there are places in wild gardens where they are 

 most effective. In the low grounds of some of our south- 

 ern states the Purple Gerardia often covers entire acres, and 

 becomes a very distinct feature in the landscape. It is 

 naturally a low, spreading plant, not much more than a 

 foot high, with very slender stems and linear leaves, with 

 flowers about the size of a Maurandya-blossom, and quite 

 as handsome. When growing in tall grass the support thus 

 received lifts it up considerably higher, and it is among 

 the grasses and strong-growing plants along water borders, 

 where natural effect is desired, that these plants are very 

 useful. When Mr. Nash reclaimed his swamp in Clifton, 

 New Jersey (see vol. v., page 494), he took pieces of sod 

 from different places in the neighborhood and set them 

 along the borders of his Lily-ponds. Among these were 

 plants of this Gerardia, and they have a lightness and grace 

 which adds much to the fringe of wild beauty along the 

 bank. Wherever any natural planting is wanted along the 

 banks of a stream or pond this Purple Gerardia should not 

 be neglected. 



Cytisus nigricans. — We have none too many dwarf flow- 

 ering shrubs, especially such as flower in midsummer and 

 later, and it is, therefore, somewhat surprising that this old 

 plant, which was introduced into English gardens more 

 than a hundred and fifty years ago, and which is per- 

 fectly hardy in this country, is not more generally used. 

 If it is cut back for a few years when it is young, until it 

 becomes somewhat stocky, it will make a rather broad 

 bush not more than two feet high, but of much neater 

 habit than if left to itself, when it is apt to be twiggy. Its 

 pea-shaped flowers are a bright yellow, and are borne in 

 long upright racemes. It is a desirable plant all the season 



