24 
NEW SYLVA 
mitrinerve, rugose, spikes very short, berries 
solitary oblong (red ?) — my specimen is from 
Florida, there also grow the V. ruhrum of L, 
and Catesby, stated to have lanceolate leaves ; 
not seen by Elliot nor any of our Authors. 
Mine is now better described. 
536. Viscum rugosum Raf. purpureum ? of 
some Authors ! Branches rugose, leaves petio- 
late oboval or broad elliptic obtuse trinerve ru- 
gose ; spikes very short, berries spicate ternate 
or geminate oboval white, but red when dry — 
in Delaware and Virginia, often on the Nyssa. 
The V. purpureum seen by few botanists is sta- 
ted to have retuse avenous leaves, my speci- 
mens have 3 nerves reaching beyond the mid- 
dle of the leaves. 
Therefore it is evident that this Genus was 
quite obscure to our botanists, who had seen 
few species, and mistaken those seen. Neither 
Smith nor Elliot had seen the V. rubrum and 
purpureum, and only copied the errors of Lin- 
neus, who blends 2 or 3 species in V. purpu- 
reum , with purple and white berries, the sp of 
Plumier and the Antilles is probably the real 
species, yet Smith deems it the V. buxifolium. 
The 2 sp. of the Bahama Islands figured by 
Catesby appear different from all ours, and are 
thus. 1. V. vulrcim of Cat. 2. t. 81. leaves petio- 
late cuneate obtuse concave, berries red globu- 
lar spiked verticillate. 2. V . purpureum . Cat. 
2. t. 95. leaves petiolate obovate obtuse enerve, 
berries purple turbinate racemose opposite, pe- 
duncles swelled. 
The blunders of Linneus on this Genus are 
egregious, see the criticism of Smith in Rees. 
His V. terrestre ! is a Lysimachia ! He has 
blended 2 sp. in V. verticillatum , the real sp. 
