THE AMERICAN BOTANIST 



17 



in full bloom. Specimens are in the herbarium of the New- 

 York Botanical Garden, the herbarium of the University of 

 Nebraska and my own. 



Elymus Canadensis villosus. 



On July 20 and 21, 1911, at Loup City and Arcadia on 

 the Middle Loup river, I collected in the brush a form of 

 ElyiJius Canadensis with villous sheaths and upper leaf surfaces 

 which has heretofore been undescribed. In August I found the 

 same form in the Minnechaduga canyon at Valentine, Cherry 

 County, where it extended for a mile in length. The villosity 

 varies from dense to a mere border on the sheath margins, the 

 longer hairs being 1.5 mm. long. The plants are largely of 

 glaiicifolius type, stout or slender and vary through all the 

 phases of Canadensis with hirsute lemmas, to the scarbrous 

 glumes and lemmas of hrachystachyus showing that there are 

 no well defined species in this group. In looking over my 

 whole collection, I find the Wood Lake sheet, collected 26 miles 

 southeast of Valentine, is the same, while Crawford, 200 miles 

 west and O'Neill, 100 miles east, furnish the lowest limit of 

 simply fringed sheaths. If there were any sense in it, one could 

 make a new variety for Canadensis and for hrachystachyus and 

 perhaps for rohustus but cui hono f 



Helianthus Besseyi N. Sp. 



Growing in open beds like H. tuherosus. Root system 

 not strongly tuberous, stems medium, about 5 mm. in diameter 

 9 — 10 dm. high, angled and grooved, very rough. Leaves op- 

 posite, up to the inflorescence, of medium thickness, three- 

 nerved, scabrous above, pale with canescence below, ovate- 

 oblong 1 — 1.5 dm. long, 6 cm. wide (the longest about half 

 way up the stem) bases rounded or tapering, summit variable, 

 acute to acuminate; petioles 2 — 2.5 cm. long, scarcely winged. 

 Inflorescence dichotomous ; heads 1.5 cm. wide without the rays, 

 the latter 10 — 15, rather pale yellow, 3 cm. long with brown 

 veins, puberulent. Involucral bracts mostly appressed, lanceo- 



