

1917] 



SCHNEIDER— NEW CHINESE PLANTS 



405 



flowering one, the only difference I can detect being that the pubescence is 

 somewhat fulvous, while it is greyish in no. 3003. Koehne says: "Sorbus 

 pogonopctala differs from all the other Chinese species with numerous small 

 leaflets in its strongly bearded petals; it is also remarkable in the purplish 

 black color of its petioles and rhachis." The last mentioned character is, in 

 my opinion, judging by the co-type before me, of no value, and apparently 

 only due to an effect of drying. The hairy petals are also present in S. Prattii, 

 in the description of which the author himself says "petala . . . medio supra 

 parce tenere lanato-barbata." I fail to see any difference between the "beards" 

 of 5. Prattii and of 5. pogonopetala. 



Of both S. Prattii and S. munda, Koehne has described two forms, the 

 first one, of course, representing nothing else than the type. In reducing 

 S. munda to a variety of S. Prattii, the name of Koehne's f .a. tatsienensis has 

 to be used, according to international rules, as the new varietal name. It may 

 also be mentioned that the presence or absence of papillae on the under surface 

 of- the leaves is a rather doubtful character to base any varieties or even species 

 upon. In our case, the younger leaves of S. pogonostyla are "subtus epapil- 

 losa," while of 5. munda they are described as "subtus sat valide papillosa, 

 inter papillas parce v. haud reticulato-striata." In the specimen of S. munda 

 (no. 4323) before me the leaves may better be described as "subtus satis 

 indistincte papillosa," and the kind of papillae observed on the leaves of these 

 species of Sorbus seems to be always much more indistinctly developed on the 

 younger leaves than on the mature ones, and they are quite often entirely 

 absent "non nisi circa stomata." After all, I believe we ought not to lay too 

 much stress upon the development or absence of these papillae. 



Arnold Arboretum 

 Jamaica Plain, Mass. 



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