314 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [APRIL 
Bot. Club 20: 280. 1893) shows that he was merely treating a 
group of Coreopsis species of GrAy’s Synoptical flora en masse, 
and was concerned with their generic rather than specific status. 
And study of Gray’s descriptions and notes (Gray, Synop. Fl. 
N. Amer. 1": 294. 1884) shows that Gray equated, though some- 
what provisionally, Coreopsis aurea Ait. with C. coronata of the 
Linnean Herbarium, a view retained as well by Britron (BRITTON 
and Brown, Illustr. Fl. 3: 498. 1913). 
My search through the material of Bidens and nearly allied 
genera at Kew Herbarium failed to reveal an original specimen of 
Coreopsis aurea Ait., but a good and authentic sheet from Kew 
Gardens, in 1785, occurs in the Herbarium of the British Museum. 
It is the form recently treated by authors as Bidens coronata (e.g., 
Britton and Brown, /. c.). In the Linnaean Herbarium, more- 
over, there still exists the original superb specimen of Coreopsis 
coronataL. It lacks mature achenes, but its several beautiful 8-rayed 
heads, with the rays strikingly well arranged on the paper (fig. 3), 
leave no doubt that Lrnnarus had this specimen at hand when 
describing C.coronata (Sp. Plant. ed. 2. 2:1281. 1763; “radio magno, 
octopetalo,”’etc.). While, indeed, Livnarus cited in his synonomy 
plants of VAILLANT and of Prummrer, these have been justly ex- 
cluded by subsequent authors. Thus, for forming a true conception 
of C. coronata L., there are left for us the Linnaean specimen and 
description. The latter, by itself, is inadequate. The former, in 
Gray’s time, seemed likewise disappointing, as being too nearly 
intermediate between C. aurea Ait. and C. trichosperma Michx. of 
his Synoptical flora. But, in later years, numerous specimens of 
these last two species have been added to our American herbaria 
and show very clearly differences in leaf outlines that Gray, with 
his scantier material, could not properly define. A comparison with 
these specimens shows at once that the Linnaean type is the Coreopsts 
trichosperma Gray (I. c.), and hence Bidens trichosperma Britton.’ 
7 Since the foregoing lines were written, Dr. N. L. Britton has kindly written me 
that many years ago he examined the Linnaean type, but, while entertaining peo 
as to its true status, felt constrained, for want of achenes, to follow Gray's treatmen", 
except as to generic tions. However, Dr. M. L. FERNALD has just informed pi 
that Gray’s fragment at Gray Herbarium, from the Linnaean Herbarium (where 
certain head. ae the single t imen), “shows perfectly characteristic 
‘+ S oO Sele a ae eee r 43 - 
fruit of B. trichosperma, not of B. coronata of recent authors,” thus confirming is 
conclusions in a most emphatic way. 
