The stones of V. pfunifolium and Lentago he was unable to distinguish, 
and he almost felt inclined to unite Both, as, in our neighborhood at least, 
the former was a most Variable plant with broad or narrow, obtuse, 
acute or acuminate, glabrous or rusty leaves, and larger or smaller 
flowers, growing in rocky woods or in deep bottoms, and with many 
approaches to the eastern V. Lentago, wnfcB, in its typical Tbrai, was not 
found; here*, ..• : 
In. V nudum and still more in V. obovatum, the markings so characteris¬ 
tic, of V, acer folium are already present, though not very distinct. 
The stones_of ; the European and the American V. Opuliis which he could 
examine, were all broadly oval and longer than wicle; but a feW specimens 
of what was labelled.,F.. edule had stones broader than long and deeply 
emarginate atBase; further investigation must show whether tlfiS is a 
constant character, perhaps with other's s'ufficierit Vo re-establish that 
species of Purshian. The only fruit of V. 'dentdtum he could examine was 
unripe, .and the stone was no dCubt narrower than it Would be iii tBe 
ripe berry. 
Aniopg the fruits of Viblyrna, mostly from the East Indies, obligingly 
communicated by Prof. A. Gray, lie found those of V. punctaium similar 
to V. nudum, .though larger; V. erosum , of Japan, with a lenticular irre¬ 
gularly marked stone, might also belong here; V. orientate, of the 
Caucasus, was the representative of our V. acer folium; the red-fruited 
X, cotin folium, pren inaceum, stellulatum, and perhaps Colbrodlcianum, had 
Stones similar to our black;,-fruited dentdtum apti nar¬ 
rower. The stones of V. plicaium , of Japan, V. Sfmonsii, erubescens, 
and also of grdndijtorum, were like those of our V. scabreltiim. 
For those species of Viburnum, he had more.fully examined, he would 
suggest the foliowing ,arrangement, in which fie had Been obliged to 
overlook the presence or absence of a fadiated inflorescerice, which here¬ 
tofore constituted the principal character of the sections of this genus : 
1. ‘ Opulus would comprise species 5-7 with lobed leaves, radiated or 
uniform cymes, red or black-red berries, and flat, smooth or marked 
stones. 
2. Lentago with species 1-4; leaves. serrulate or sometimes entire, 
glabrous or squamulate, cymes even, berfics hiuisB-Black, stones flat, not 
or scarcely marked. 
3. Lantana with species 8-11; leaves finely or coarsely dentate, glab¬ 
rous or often with stellate pubescence, cymes even or, rarely, radiate, 
berries bluish-black, stones strongly marked, coin pressed or tumid. This 
section might be subdivided according to the form of the stones above 
described. 
4. Tinus with species 12-15; leaves perennial (always?), entire or 
minutely, sinuate-toothed, cymes even, berries purple or black, often 
shining, stones tumid with ruminated albumen. 
In explanation of the measurements ^iven in the above table he would 
add, that he had, in conformity with the usage now almost universal 
among men of science, adopted the French decimal measure, and hoped it 
would supersede even in common life the inconvenient measure of feet, 
inches, and lines. For those 'not familiar with it, it will suffice to state that 
the millimetre is about equal to half a line. 
Dr. Engelmann had observed similar, though not as strongly marked 
differences in the fruits and stones of the different species of Cornus. Thus, 
the stone of our common C. asperifolia (a small tree with us) is subglobose, 
small, nearly smooth, marked with very slight furrows; the eastern C. 
circinata. has larger stones, marked by indistinct undulations; the low, 
shrubby C. sericea of our swamps bears a stone twice as large, and quite 
knotty, with thick ridges ; bur Dogwood, C.forida, has a larger and elon¬ 
gated stone, acute at both ends, and slightly grooved; the stone of 
the nearly allied Californian Cornus Nuttalki is still larger, obtuse at both 
ends, and scarcely grooved, and that of the northern C. Canadensis is 
from a rounded base elongated to a pointed tip, and is perfectly smooth. 
He solicited botanists to furnish him with ripe fruit of any species of 
Viburnum and Cornus within their reach, so as to enable him to prosecute 
these investigations. 
Missouri Botanical Garden 
George Engelmann Papers 
MlSSOUR 
Botanicai 
copyright reserved cardei 
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