BILTMORE BOTANICAL STUDIES 



13 



relatively thick and firm, 4.5-6 mm long, 1.5-2""" wide, smooth 

 or a little hairy on the back, the apex mucronate : florets a little 

 longer than the chaffy scales, the lobes of the corolla erect : 

 achenes 2-3""" high, the pappus a minute coroniform border 

 toothed at the angles. 



The range of R. graminifolia probably does not extend beyond 

 Florida and southern Georgia, where it inhabits the margins of 

 pine barren ponds. 



Rudbeckia speciosa Wender. Ind. Sem. Hort. Marb. 1828 and 

 Flora, I : Suppl. 30, 1829. 



Although the original citations of R. speciosa have not been 

 viewed by the writers, authentic specimens from Marburg and 

 Berlin are at hand, and in view of the confusion surrounding 

 this most distinct species in American herbaria and literature, 

 it would seem to be proper to recharacterize it in this paper. It 

 is well described by Torrey and Gray, 8 who liberally extend the 

 characters to include forms "with the upper leaves shorter and 

 ovate-lanceolate or oblong," and by Dr. Gray, 9 barring the de- 

 scription of leaves, achenes and chaffy bracts of the receptacle. 

 The species is fairly figured by Britton & Brown, 10 but the de- 

 scription, like the instances noted, embraces related forms. Both 

 Dr. Gray and Britton & Brown, 1. c, doubtfully refer Persoon's 

 R. aspera 11 to the species under discussion, a disposition not 

 suggested, and it would seem correctly so, by DeCandolle. 12 



A perennial herb 5dm_ I m tall : stem angled, striate, hirsute 

 or hispid, branched: radical leaves elliptical, i-3 dm long in- 

 cluding the petiole, 2.5-5 cm broad, 3-5 -nerved, acute at the 

 apex, narrowed at the base and prolonged into a slender petiole, 

 7 cm -i.5 dm long, sparingly rough-hairy: cauline leaves elongated- 

 lanceolate, often falcate, the lower i-2 dm long, including the 

 petiole, i-4 cm broad, the uppermost sessile and entire or nearly 

 so, much reduced in size ; they are coarsely and irregularly ser- 

 rate or laciniately- dentate, 1-3 -nerved, roughish -hirsute, the 

 apex acuminate, narrowed at the base, subsessile or petioled, 



8 Flora N. Am. 2: 308, 1842. 



* Syn. Flora, 2d ed. 1 : 261, 1886. 

 i° 111. Flora 3: 417, 1898. 

 11 Syn. 2 : 477, 1807. 

 1 2 Prodr. 5 : 556, 1836. 



