Rec. Feb 9 Berlin January 18,1868 
Ana. N2.18 
Dr. Georze Engelmann 
Dear Friend: 
Finally I am able to report to you about the Najlas, which you 
sent in the letter of Sept. 22 of the preceding year. It was not new 
to Me, because you had found it earlier already in Missouri without 
knowine it. Leonhart sent a fragment to me,which he found attached 
to a Zizania aquatica gzathered by you. I do not have a Ziz. aquat, 
from you ‚„ but may-be you find some of it on your specimens. In short, 
I already posessed this form and had seen, that it differs fromN., 
minor, but I shied away from a carefyl investigation as I knew, that 
this could lead into a badly confusingz labyrinth. I have'nt done any- 
thinz else in the last 8 days but examine Najas and then examine 
them agrain,but have not come to a defiritive decision how the spe- 
cies are to be defined. Unfortunately, the materials in the herbarla 
are much too pityful, good fruits rare or often entirely missing, and 
yet these are the most important. As far as magrifying lense and weak 
microscopic enlargement can g0, I have examined the fruits, but 3 
have not had the time to undertake the exact microscopic research of 
the beautiful cell structure. By-the-way I also found the fruits 
variable spyecially as to size;se.g. for N, major of various subspe- 
en? 
In the meantime I named the little American Najas geracilli- 
BIETET N 
ma. It is closely related to forms of N. indica, and must, If no 
— ne 
separation is desired, be named N. indiloca var, eracillima. AllL'forms 
related to N. indica differ from N. minor by their pyramidal, long- 
De sh en fen 
stemmed, not dichotomos growth, and the sculpture of the fruit,. 
which has rows of alveoli,which are not broader than long, but some- 
times longer than broad. The number of rows varles for aifferent 
9 10 MISSOURI 
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eleJo)iglelsimec-ti-iati-Te GAR DAR 
