110 Herman G. SimmonH 
147. Oxytropis campestris, (L.) DC. 
o. leucantha, Macoun, App. Neptune. 
Distribution. Banks Land, Andekson (ex Hookee, Coll.); Victoria Land: 
Minto Tnlet and Cambridge Bay, Amderson (KH), south coast, Rae (KH); King 
William Land: Gjöa Harbour, Hansen (CH); [Melville Peninsula: south shore of 
Fury and Hecla Strait, Parry (CH), Repulse Bay, Parry (NHM, KH, CH), Hooper 
(LS), interiör, Rae (E^xp.), Igloolik, Edwards (NHM), Winter Island, James C. Ross 
(KH); Southampton Island: Duke of Yorks Bay, Parry (NHM)] ; Baffin Land: 
Ponds Bay, Walker (ex Hooker, Exp. Fox), Lyall (KH, SH) ; Borden (ex Macoun, 
1. c); Melville Island, herb. Menzies (LS), herb. Trevelyan (KH). 
Geographic area. Northern North America, eastern and northern Asia, 
northern parts and mountains of middle Europé. 
Hooper writes on the paper of the specimen which I have identified as O. 
campestris: »found at Duke of Yorks Bay, Repulse Bay, Lyon Inlet, Barrow River, 
Liddon Island». The plant in question accordingly seems to be rather common in 
tliat region, and it is present in the collection of J. C. Ross (LS) also. I cannot, 
however, assert that all speciuiens referred here do belong without doubt to the 
same si)ecies. I have, indeed, tried to determine them after Bunge's monograph 
of tiie genus and Asa Gray's Revis. Amer. Oxytropis, hut it is a very difficuU task, 
as most specimeiis are very incomplete and often lacking fruit or other important 
parts. The nrrangement of the Oxyfrcpis-forms, such as I must leave it here, is 
only to he looked upon as temporary. The anierican representatives of the genus 
certainly stånd in great need of a thorougli revision which cannot, however, be 
made without having a larger and more complete material at hand than the old 
colleetions afford. 
Most of the material I have seen seems to represent the var. melanocephala of 
Hooker, Flora Bor. Amer., I, p. 147, which accordingly to Ostenfeld, Gjöa Exp., 
p. 20, is the same as the O. leucantha of Asa Gray (1. c, p. 5). But besides there 
are other speciraens, representing, or at least approaching to var. sordida, (Willd.) 
Wahlenb. Bunge looks upon this as good species, belonging to another tribe than 
O. campestris, and he may be right, but when the material is incomplete, they are 
impossible to separate. These sordida-Wke forms seems to be rather common on 
the Coutinent, especially to the west. As for the Melville Island specimens, there 
is the curious fact that Rob. Brown has only one Oxytropis in his hst (Chlor. 
Melv.), viz., his new species O. ardica. Also O. campestris is not represented from 
that region neither in the NHM nor at Kew. Now there might be some confusion 
about the Menzies and Trevelyan specimens mentioned above, but a new difficulty 
ariaes from the fact that Macoun in App. Arctic mentions only one species from 
Melville Island in the collection of M' Millan, and that is O. Bellii, a new species 
described hy N. L. Britton. I shall have to come hack to this immediately. 
