240 Bradley Moore Davis. 
I have certain views on the subject but my purpose is not to 
present them at this time but to plead that a strong effort be made 
to fix the approximate date of the appearance in British 
CEnotliera floras of the biennis of Linnaeus (probably represented by 
the Dutch plant) and of 0. Lamarckiana De Vries. The characters 
that are likely to be most helpful in distinguishing these species on 
herbarium sheets are:— 
1. The presence in Lamarckiana and absence in the Dutch 
biennis (so far as is known) of red in the stem papillae. It must be 
borne in mind, however, that some races close to the biennis of 
Linnaeus have the stem coloration of Lamarckiana. 
2. The size of the petals, 4-4-5 cm. long in the large-flowered 
forms of Lamarckiana and 2-2-5 cm. long in the Dutch biennis. 
There are small-flowered races of Lamarckiana the petals of which 
are of about the same size as those in the Dutch biennis. 
3. The position of the stigma 5-7 mm. above the tips of the 
anthers in the large-flowered Lamarckiana (open pollinated) and 
well below in the Dutch biennis (close pollinated in the bud). The 
small-flowered races of Lamarckiana sometimes present the stigma 
in a lower position more like that of the Dutch biennis. 
4. The coloration of the sepals, sometimes streaked with red 
in Lamarckiana but normally green in the Dutch biennis. 
De Vries has suggested that what I have termed the small- 
flowered forms of Lamarckiana may be hybrids between the large- 
flowered type and biennis, but it is also possible that they are 
variants from Lamarckiana, itself a hybrid. It seems most unlikely 
that Great Britain has no herbarium sheets that can throw light 
on these problems. 
Most interesting from my standpoint is the problem of the first 
% 
appearance in England of the progenitors of 0. Lamarckiana De 
Vries. Were they certainly first introduced through the cultures 
of Carter and Company, about 1860, or were they in England and 
perhaps on the sand hills of Lancashire previous to this date? Is 
it possible that the plants of Carter and Company came not from 
Texas but from some part of England, perhaps from the very sand 
hills of Lancashire? There certainly should be in British herbaria 
some evidence on these questions. 
It seems to be impossible to determine with exactness what 
are the forms under consideration in some of the descriptions 
published at dates of great importance to our problem, and that is 
why I have laid so much importance upon herbarium material. 
