01' obscure species oj' Plants. 425 



Chili, (n. 642 of his collections) : but Decandolle's generic character, 

 although agreeing in most points, yet differs somewhat from the 

 following drawn up from Bridges's specimens : 



Involucrvm scariosum subbiseriale : capitulnra heterogamum pau- 

 ci-(sub 9)-florum : floribus femineis uniserialibus, filiformibus in 

 ambitu ; hermaphroditis tribus tubulosis in centro, intra rachidis 

 bracteolas uniseriales isarithmas dispositis. Antherce basi bi- 

 setosse. Stylus hermaph. ramis pube infra apicem decurrente ob- 

 sessis. Achenia estipitata, erostria, oblonga ; fern, sericeo-villosa, 

 villis pappum occultentibus ; hermaph. glabra, compressiuscula, 

 hinc linea sericea notata, bracteolis membranaceis valde concavis 

 apice scarioso-appendiculatis, dorso gibbis omnino involuta. Pap- 

 pus conformis, coroniformis, brevissii\jus, crenato-dentatus, persis- 

 tens. 



Herba pygmoza, annua, albo-tomentosa. Folia ohlonga-spathula- 

 ta. Capitula glomerata, terminalia,foliis sub involucro obvallata. 



The principal difference between Decandolle's and the above de- 

 scription lies in the central florets, which he makes to be male, 

 whereas I find them to possess a perfect style and achenium. He 

 also says the receptacle is destitute of palees ; I find it paleaceous : 

 he consequently arranges the genus near Evax and Micropus among 

 the Plucheinese, whereas I feel rather disposed to remove it near to 

 Filago (Giflago, Cass, and Less.) among the Helichrysese. 



Having now noticed several genera of Compositse, I may here 

 mention that the genus Clairvillea of Decandolle appears to be 

 quite the same as Cacosmia of Kunth, nor can I perceive any spe- 

 cific difference between the two plants. It belongs not to the Se- 

 necionidese, but to the Vernoniaceae, as proposed by Lessing. Phi- 

 loglossa of Decandolle, if I be correct in referring to this a plant 

 collected by Mathews in Peru, also belongs to the Vernoniceae, and 

 is allied to Alibum. Apalus of Decandolle is not distinct from 

 Blennospermum of Lessing : both authors describe the same species 

 from specimens collected by Bertero, and named by him Unxia an- 

 tkeinidifhlia. Kuhnia Arabica, Hochst. and Stend. in Herb. Un. 

 It. 1837, n. 863, is a species of Pegolletia, and scarcely different 

 from p. Senegallense, Cass. 



Saccharum, L. (Gramineae.) 

 While lately preparing materials for an Agrostographia Indiae 

 Orientalis along with my friend Professor Nees von Esenbeck of 

 Breslaw, I, like many other botanists, experienced more difhculty 



