On the Rarer Plants (if North America. 



59 



mities. The flowers are scarcely so large, but as rich in colour as in the Nia- 

 gara plant. 



Leguminos^: Lespideza hirta, Torrey., Dry moorland grouncTnear Ha- 

 milton, Upper Canada. 



Lespideza frutescens, Elliot. Dry moorland ground, Brentford, Upper 

 Canada. 



Rosacea. — Potentilla fruticosa, Linn. Poteniilla floribunda, Pursh. Banks 

 of the Maitland river, Goderich, Upper Canada. This plant agrees with 

 Pursh's description of P. floribunda, distinguished principally from the P. 

 fruticosa by its being a low-growing shrub, varying from 5 to 18 inches in 

 height, and having the leaves and flowers more numerous. Few plants 

 in beauty could excel this variety of Potentilla, when seen as it was by us 

 in full flower, (August 1834), covering vast tracts of level ground about 

 three miles above the mouth of the Maitland river. It is a low-growing 

 shrub, not exceeding 9 inches in height. The flowers are small, but of a 

 beautiful bright yellow. The leaves in general are very narrow and dense- 

 ly coated with white silky hairs. If this plant shall retain the same habit 

 in cultivation which it exhibits in its native soil, it will prove an interesting 

 addition to our gardens. 



Halorage^e. — Myriophyllum heterophyllum, Mx. In stagnant pools by 

 the side of the Maitland river, near Goderich, Upper Canada. 



Hippuris vulgaris, Linn. In pools by the side of the Maitland river, near 

 Goderich, Upper Canada. 



Sax if rage iE — Heuchera pubescens, Pursh. In the exposed crevices of rocks'; 

 on the summit of the Allegheny mountains. 



Umbellieer^e. — Archemora rigida, Dec. Marshy places on the^banks of 

 Lake Ontario, near Kingston, Upper Canada. 



Rubeaceje — Symphoria occidentalis ; spicis densis terminalibus axillari- 

 busque nutantibus, corolla intus laciniisque dense barbatis, stylo stamini- 

 busque subexertis. (Richardson in Franklin's First Journey.) Meadow 

 lands near Goderich, Upper Canada. After a careful examination, we find 

 that this plant agrees perfectly with the foregoing description, and also with 

 the specimens in the herbarium of Dr Hooker from the Saskatchawan and 

 Red rivers. This beautiful shrub covered a great proportion of an extended 

 rich natural meadow lying on the north side of the Maitland river, near 

 Goderich, where it was growing in bushes not exceeding 2\ feet in height. 

 They presented a curious appearance, bearing at the time (August 1834) both 

 flowers and fruit ; their large, handsome, and somewhat reticulate leaves pro- 

 ving also very ornamental. 



Valeriane^e. — Patrinia longifolia, nov. sp. caule glaberrimo, foliis ciliatis 

 lanceolatis integris vel remote pinnatifidis subparallelis nervosis radicalibus 

 inferne lougissime attenuatis, caulinis perpaucis angustis, panicula (immatura) 

 congesta. On the banks of the Maitland river, near Goderich, Upper Canada. 

 August 1834 



Of the natural order Valerianece, numerous as are the species in the tempe- 

 rate regions of South America, very few are enumerated as indigenous to any 

 part of North America. Two only, Valeriana pauciflora and Fedia radiata, are 

 mentioned in NuttalTs Flora. Sir Joseph Banks detected a third species in New- 

 foundland, V. sylvatica ; Chamisso and Dr Richardson a fourth in the Arctic re- 

 gions, V. capitata ; and the late Mr Douglas two others, both on the west or Paci- 

 fic side of the Rocky Mountains, Plectritis congesta, and Patrinia ceratophylla. It 

 is to the latter genus that we refer with little hesitation the present plant, 

 for, although we found its flowers only in bud, the herbage and roots possess 

 entirely the characteristics of Patrinia. It is quite distinct from any hitherto 

 described, all of which, with the exception of the one just mentioned, have 

 yellow flowers, and are natives of temperate or Northern Asia. The root is 

 fusiform and woody, thicker than a swan's quill, and, when bruised, yields the 



