No. 547] GENETICAL STUDIES ON OENOTHERA 421 



the stem at the base of the long hairs, and in the form 

 and size of a large detached leaf (probably basal). The 

 form of the flowers is essentially similar to either grandi- 

 flora or the large-flowered types of La ma rcLiana; their 

 size is very close to that of the latter plant, which it also 

 resembles in the pubescence of the sepals. In this mix- 

 ture of characters the most important are, in the writer's 

 opinion, distinct!) gr<ut(lifloni-l\kv and indicate a close 

 relationship to some strain of gnu/diflnra. 



The short description in The Fin nil Magazine, Vol. II, 

 1862, quotes the following from Carter and Company. 

 "We received, about four years ago, some seed from 

 Texas unnamed. When we had flowered it, we sent some 

 blooms to Dr. Lindley, who pronounced it to be (Enothvra 

 LamarckuuHu a species, we believe, introduced into Eng- 

 land by Mr. Drummond. Its height is between three and 

 four feet; it blooms the first year, is a very hardy 

 biennial, and is superior to any other (Enothera in the 

 size and number of its blossoms, which measure four 

 inches in diameter." Of the characteristics noted in this 

 quotation, all of which lit Lamarcliana, the most impor- 

 tant is the statement that the plant is "a very hardy 

 biennial," although this is somewhat weakened by the 

 remark that " it blooms the first year." 



Now grandiflora is clearly annual and the (Evotlicras 

 of the south and southwestern Tinted States are, as far as 

 the writer is aware, generally annual or perennial. A well- 

 defined biennial habit, characterized by the development 

 of large and short persistent rosettes, is an adaptation to 

 the short seasons of northerly climates. The question arises 

 whether the plants raised by Carter and Company are 

 represented or could have been represented in the Texan 

 flora. We know that Texas and the southwest generally 

 have some large-flowered CEnotheras and it may be that 

 the climatic conditions of certain mountainous regions 

 would favor the development of a biennial habit. How- 

 ever, botanical exploration has not yet brought forward 

 any plant of the Lamarckiana type. In the absence of 



