PLANTS OF SOUTHERN; NEW JERSiEY. 531 



Barren region, stretching away for some thirty square miles, for 

 the most part devoid of trees higher than one's knees. But trees 

 there are in abundance, round boles of pitch pine trunks, which 

 send out prostrate branches, or short upright ones, bearing an 

 abundance of cones ; and scrub oaks of several species — Q. ilici- 

 folia and marilandica — everywhere stunted. Here and there 

 the Bearberry Arctostaphylos trails about over the coarse white 

 sand and gravel, and then at favored spots are great round 

 cushions of the Corema, one to three feet in diameter, the basal 

 portion a tangle of brown stemis and dead branches, but the 

 surface of the mass, covered with fresh green leaves — little 

 slender green needles recalling those of some conifer — and at 

 the tip of each spray a blossom or fruit, according to season; 

 neither of them very conspicuous, although the purple anthers 

 do stand otit rather brightly when the plant is in full bloom. 



The history of the discovery and re-discovery of the plant 

 in New Jersey is interesting, and I quote in full that portion of 

 an article of Mr. J. H. Redfield, which refers to the plant in our 

 State.* Mr. Redfield says : 



"It is said to have been first discovered by Prof. Solomon W. 

 Conradf as early as 183 1 near Pemberton Mills, about ten miles 

 from) Burlington, N. J., and a fragment sO' ticketed (with 

 a ?) is in the herbarium of the Philadelphia Academy. Soon 

 after Rafinesque collected it at Cedar Bridge, Monmouth 

 County, about twenty-two mliles southeast of Pemberton. This 

 locality was visited about 1833 by Dr. Torrey, who published 

 the first description of the plant under the name of Bmpefrum. 

 Conradii, in Annals of N. Y. Lyceum of Nat. Hist., iv., 83. In 

 April, 1869, in company with the late Charles E. Parker, I 

 made some examination of the vicinity of Pemlberton, and also 

 visited Cedar Bridge in search of the plant. The encroach- 

 ment of cultivation near the foi-mer place discouraged search, 

 but at Cedar Bridge the localities which Dr. Torrey in his 

 paper has so carefully indicated, were readily identified. But 

 no trace of the plant was seen either at these points or elsewhere 



*Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, 1884, p., 97. 



1 1779-1831. A botanist of note, professor at the University of Pertnsyl- 

 vania, 1829-183 1, and an authority on the flora of Southern New Jersey. 



