MACLOSKIE : REVISION OF FLORA PATAGONICA. 129 



rarely cuneate at base ; the style is short, often very short, and the reticu- 

 lation of the seeds almost obsolete. The illustrations given furnish the 

 differences of fruit and of floral plan on which the order is broken up into 

 sections. Muschler boils down the 45 species of several genera into ten 

 species of a single genus ; with however a subgenus, and three sections, 

 and other subspecies, and varieties, and "forms." Each of his species 

 is not a unit, but a combination of units, as he declares. This course 

 appears to us to be practically convenient, rather than theoretically scien- 

 tific ; to be a striking instance of the pragmatistic method of dealing with 

 a troublesome case. His first section, Carara DC, has subreniform sili- 

 cules, with thick, conical style, the valves reticulate-rugose all round, and 

 marginally toothed. Species verrucarius and molaceus, spreading through 

 the Old World ; and one of the varieties (C. verrucarius procumbens ; 

 syn. C. Ruellii All.) reaches America as far as Chili, as an immigrant. 

 (Probably my citation of it as found in Patagonia was an error: Muschler 

 observes that though Dusen collected in the same location as Hatcher, he 

 did not find this species.) 



The second of Muschler's sections, Nasturtiolum DC. has the silicic 

 dehiscing into 2 cocci, its stigma is a third as long as the septum, or none ; 

 only 4 glands on the receptacle, and these are mere rudiments. This 

 section Nasturtiohtm has 3 species, of which C. integrifolius is African, 

 extending to the Orient ; and C. englerianus Muschl. is confined to East 

 Africa or Mozambique. And the third species C. didymus (L.) Sm., is 

 unique both in its reduction of parts and in its cosmopolitan distribution. 

 It is found in North and South America, and in Europe and Africa, and 

 even in Australia. Muschler regards it as an antique form, which orig- 

 inated in South America, and has spread thence over all the continents. 

 On the other hand, he regards integrifolium as having tropical Africa as 

 its fatherland, whilst he seems to think that C. englerianus was born in 

 the Lake District of Eastern Africa. C. didymus (L.) Sm., is represented 

 by him as originating in our Patagonian area, and having migrated thence 

 to other parts of America, and as now spreading over the world. It may 

 have no petals, and mostly has only 2 stamens ; and the fewness ot its 

 seeds is counterbalanced by the abundance of its flowers. 



The section Cotyliscus (Desv. pro gen.) DC. has two species, both of 

 them African, easily recognizable by the convex-concave silicic. 



The last section, Delpinoella (Speg.) Muschl. was introduced by Spegaz- 



