56 Contributions from the Gray Herbarium 
however, Abrams confines to the vicinity of Monterey. Whether 
A. vestita is more than a geographical variant of A. tomentosa may 
be questioned, but the latter apparently does not occur in typical 
state in California nor is the former confined to Monterey if one 
may judge from herbarium material. Macbride & Payson’s no. 
879, for example, from Pasadena seems to be the same as Miss 
Eastwood’s own collections from Monterey Bay. 
Frasera Walt. Fl. Carol. 87 (1788). Leucocraspedum Rydb. Fi. 
Ry. Mts. & Adj. Plains, 665 (1917). 
Dr. Rydberg maintains that the presence or absence of the 
““ crown ”’ in certain members of the Gentianaceae is of vital im- 
portance in the definition of genera within the group. At least 
such appears to be his contention from his segregation of Frasera, 
l. c., for his genus Leucocraspedum rests primarily upon the char- 
acter “ corolla with a crown.” It is true that those species which 
he refers to his new genus are characterized by a more or less 
obvious white border to the leaves but in as much as this border is 
not uniformly pronounced in the case of different species and in as 
much as it displays some variation in the degree of development 
even within a given species its use as a generic character appears 
palpably weak. But if the development of the crown seems 0 
such importance to Rydberg in the generic classification of the 
Gentianaceae how can he retain Amarella ventorum, A. propinqua 
and A. arctophila in the genus Amarella when these species form 
a group at once distinct from all other species of Amarella because 
their corollas are “ without a crown”? And if it be argued that 
this case is not analogous to the segregation of Frasera because 
there the absence of the crown was supported by another char- 
acter, namely the absence of the white margin to the leaves, I 
would call attention to the fact that here also the crown-character 
is accompanied by another difference, which, if anything, is eve? 
stronger than the leaf-character used so successfully by Rydberg 
for the cleavage of Frasera. These three ‘“ crownless ’’ species 
Amarella have evident glands at the base of the corolla; the glands 
at the corolla-base of the other, and “ crowned,” species are ob- 
solete or wanting.” Can this be the botanist who has argued ig 
vigorously for consistency in both our “ lumping ” and our “ split- 
ting,” for instance in Bull. Torr. Club, xxx. 271 (1903); ef. also 
Contrib. Gray Herb. liii. 2-4 (1918)? 
