Subgenera of Dubautia — St. JOHN 
345 
5 (-7) -nerved; pappus bristles 16-25 in 
number, 2. 5-3. 5 mm. long. 
Though the subgenus Railliar diaster is rare 
on Oahu, there are to be considered two pub- 
lished records of its occurrence. Sherff (1935 : 
113) summarizes the range of Railliar dia 
scahra as "Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu.” This 
species is common and Sherff lists nearly a 
whole page of specimens, but no collection 
from Oahu is in his list. None is in the 
Bishop Museum; nor has any other published 
record been seen, so Sherff’s record seems to 
be an error. 
Sherff also lists (1935: 125-126) Rail- 
liar dia linearis Gaud, as on "eastern Maui, 
western Oahu, Lanai, and Hawaii.” For Oahu 
he cites, U. S. Exploring Expedition, Kaala 
(Waianae) mountains, Oahu, 1840 (Gray, 
New York). Since 1840 no other collector 
has found this species on Oahu, but many 
have done so on the three more southerly 
islands. The flora of Oahu is the best known 
of any island in the group and its montane 
flora is well preserved. The U. S. Exploring 
Expedition also obtained specimens of this 
species on Maui and Hawaii. This expedition 
was large and well organized but inharmoni- 
ous. The commander, Capt. Charles Wilkes, 
had trouble with his officers on the trip and 
after it, and with the scientists for decades 
afterwards while acting as editor of the pub- 
lications of the expedition. In the botanical 
collections made by this expedition, it is now 
known that there is much confusion, as often 
the loose labels with the data were inserted 
with the wrong specimens. Piper (1906: 15) 
discussed this in detail, and the evidence is 
well known. It is probable that the U. S. 
Exploring Expedition specimen came not 
from Oahu, but from Maui or Hawaii with 
their other collections of these species. In 
any case, their record from Oahu is question- 
able until confirmed by a well-substantiated 
collection. 
REFERENCES 
Degener, Otto, 1940. Flora Rawaiiensis, 
fam. 344: Railliardia demissifolia, May 20, 
1940; ed. 2: in 9/15/’46. 
Fosberg, F. Raymond. 1943. Notes on 
plants of the Pacific islands — III. Torrey 
Bot. Club, Bui 70: 386-397. 
1948. Derivation of the flora of the 
Hawaiian Islands. In: Zimmerman, El- 
wood C. 1948. Insects of Hawaii 1: 107- 
119. University of Hawaii Press, Honolulu. 
Hartt, Constance E., and Marie C. 
Neal. 1940. The plant ecology of Mauna 
Kea, Hawaii. Ecology 21: 237-266, figs. 
1 - 22 . 
Keck, David D. 1936. The Hawaiian silver- 
swords: systematics, affinities, and phyto- 
geographic problems of the genus Argy- 
roxiphium. Bernice P. Bishop Mus., Occas. 
Papers 11(19): 1-38, pis. 1-9. 
Neal, Marie C. 1948. In gardens of Ha- 
waii. Bernice P. Bishop Mus., Spec. Pub. 
40: 1-805, figs. 1-312. 
Piper, Charles V. 1906. Flora of the state 
of Washington. U. S. Natl. Mus., U. S. 
Natl. Herbarium, Contrib. 11: 1-637, pis. 
1-22, map. 
Selling, Olof H. 1947. Studies in Ha- 
waiian pollen statistics , Part 2. The pollens 
of the Hawaiian Phanerogams. Bernice P. 
Bishop Mus., Spec. Pub. 38: 1-430, pis. 
1-58. 
Sherff, Earl Edward. 1941. New or 
otherwise noteworthy plants from the Ha- 
waiian Islands. Amer. Jour. Bot. 28: 18- 
31. 
Skottsberg, Carl. 1944. Vascular plants 
from the Hawaiian Islands IV. Phanero- 
gams collected during the Hawaiian Bog 
Survey 1938. Hort. Gotohurg., Acta 15: 
275-531, figs. 1-556. 
