522 Davis: Lamarck's evening primrose 



rapprochtes. Le calice est jaune, muni d'un tube un peu plus 

 long que la corolle, qui se divise en quatre folioles lanc6ol6es, 

 61argies k leur bise, aigues a leur sommet, terminees par un 

 filet court, s6tac6. La corolle est jaune, compos6e de quatre 

 petales ovales, tres-grands, entiers, arrondis, presque aussi 

 longs que le tube calicinal, retrteis k leur b^se en forme de 

 coin. Les antheres sont longues, lindaires. Le fruit est une 

 capsule courte, cylindrique, glabre, tronquee, legferement quad- 

 rangulaire, n'ayant qu'environ le tiers de longueur du tube 

 calicinal. Cette esp&ce est originaire de I'Am^rique septen- 

 trionale. On la cultive au jardin du Museum d'Histoire 

 naturelle. (V.S.) " 



An interesting point has been brought to my notice by Mr. 

 H. H. Bartlett. Poiret has this note in the Encyclopedie M6tho- 

 diqueBotanique,Suppl.4: 141. 1816: " L'Oenothera grandiflora, 

 no. II, est la memeplante que celle d'Aiton, Hort. Kew., 2, pag. 

 2." The designation "no. 11" instead of "no. 12" must have 

 been a slip of the pen on Poiret's part. Although Poiret was 

 correct in considering 0. grandiflora Lamarck as a synonym of 0. 

 grandiflora Solander, he could not have had a clear conception of 

 this plant since he kept 0. siuiveolens Desfontaines, which is also a 

 synonym, as a distinct species. 



We will give also the short diagnosis by Seringe (1828) of 

 Oenothera Lamarckiana for comparison with the longer description 

 of Lamarck. 



"OE. Lamarckiana (Ser. mss.) caule ramoso, foliis integer- 



rimis ovato-lanceolatis , petalis integris magnis, capsulis glabris 



cylindrico-tetragonis brevibus. @ in AmericS sept. OE. 



grandiflora Lam. diet. 4. p. 554. *non Ait. Fl. flavi." 



I have italicized phrases that are the same as those in the brief 



introduction in the description of Lamarck, showing that Seringe 



had little or nothing to add to the original description. 



Certain points should be noted in these descriptions of Lamarck 

 and Seringe before we compare Lamarck's plant (plate 37) on the 

 one hand with 0. grandiflora Solander and on the other with the 

 material of De Vries's cultures ("0. Lamarckiana De Vries"). The 

 description of the petals as entire must not be emphasized, for 

 while there may not be in these species a conspicuous notch at the 

 tip of the petals there is usually at least a shallow indentation ; the 

 character is not one easily determined in dried specimens and 



