Vol. XX February, 1919 No, 230
JOURNAL
OF
The New York Botanical Garden
EDITOR
H. A. GLEASON
First Assistant
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Prickly Pears of Florida 21
Dr. Henry Allan Gleason Appointed First Assistant 39
The Use of Plants in Decorative Design 40
Hardy Woody Plants in The New York B » tanical Garden 41
Notes, News and Comment 45
Accessions 47
PUBLISHED FOR THE GARDEN
AT 41 NORTH QUERN STREET. LANCASTER, PA.
THE NHW ERA PRINTING COMPANY
O F F I C E R S 1 9 19
PRESIDENT— W. GILMAN THOMPSON
cANDREW CARNEGIE
VICE- PRESIDENTS J F R ANCIS LYNDE STETSON
TREASURER— JOHN. L. MERRILL ,„.„„„
ASSISTANT TREASURER— HENRY DE LA MONTAGNE
SECRETARY— N. L. BRITTON
I. ELECTED MANAGERS
Term expires January, 1920
EDWARD D. ADAMS DANIEL GUGGENHEIM
ROBERT W. DE FOREST JOHN L. MERRILL
HENRY W. DE FOREST J. P. MORGAN
Term expires January, 1921
N. L. BRITTON LEWIS RUTHERFURD MORRIS
ANDREW CARNEGIE FREDERIC R. NEWBOLD
W. J. MATHESON W. GILMAN THOMPSON
Term expires January, 1922
MURRY GUGGENHEIM GEORGE W. PERKINS
ADOLPH LEWISOHN FRANCIS LYNDE STETSON
MYLES TIERNEY
2. EX- OFFICIO MANAGERS
THE MAYOR OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK
HON. JOHN F. HYLAN
THE PRESIDENT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC PARKS
HON. FRANCIS DAWSON GALLATIN
3. SCIENTIFIC DIRECTORS
PROF. R. A. HARPER, Chairman
PROF. CHAS. P. BERKEY PROF. FREDERIC S. LEE
EUGENE P. BICKNELL PROF. HERBERT M. RICHARDS
DR. NICHOLAS MURRAY BUTLER PROF. HENRY H. RUSBY
PROF. WILLIAM J. GIES HON. ARTHUR S. SOMERS
G A R D E N S T A FF
DR. N. L. BRITTON, Director- in- Chief ( Development, Administration)
DR. H. A. GLEASON, First Assistant ( Administration)
DR. JOHN K. SMALL, Head Curator of the Museums ( Flowering Plants)
DR. W. A. MURRILL, Supervisor of Public Instruction
DR. P. A. RYDBERG, Curator ( Flowering Plants)
DR. MARSHALL A. HOWE, Curator ( Flowerless Plants)
DR. FRED J. SEAVER. Curator ( Flowerless Plants)
ROBERT S. WILLIAMS, Administrative Assistant
PERCY WILSON, Associate Curator
DR. FRANCIS W. PENNELL, Associate Curator
GEORGE V. NASH, Head Gardener
DR. A. B. STOUT. Director of the Laboratories
DR. JOHN HENDLEY BARNHART, Bibliooraeher
SARAH H. HARLOW, Librarian
DR. H. H. RUSBY, Honorary Curator of the Economic Collections
ELIZABETH G. BRITTON, Honorary Curator of Mosses
DR- A RD^ Rw. WnI LTL'ITA- AMM 1J!.' rGSIZESV, ConCsuurlati'n° gr ° Cfh Fe° m" isil t PZ"
COL. F. A. SCHILLING, Museum Custodan
JOHN R. BRINLEY, Landscape Engineer
WALTER S. GROESBECK, Clerk and Accountant
ARTHUR J. CORBETT, Superintendent of Buildinos „, ltr
HENRY G. PARSONS, Supervisor of Gardening Instruction , J°\ t
Government Service) (° " I e a v e for
JOURNAL OF THE NKW YORK BOTANICAL GARDEN.
On edge of prairie west of Lake George, Florida, December 6, 1918.—- Opuntia
ammophila with stout trunk and many branches. Notice the abundant long and
slender spines and the small fruits. This is the most abundantly fruited prickly-pear
in Florida, except O. Dillenii. Owing to the lateness of the season most of
the berries have fallen. In spite of the vicious armament the half- wild cattle of
the region browse on the young joints of these large plants which often grow in
quite extensive colonies.
JOURNAL
OF ,
The New York Botanical Garden
VOL. XX February, 1919 No. 230
THE PRICKLY PEARS OF FLORIDA
( WITH PLATES 224, 225, 226)
Succulent plants grow in most parts of the world; but America
can justly claim the most peculiar group of succulents, as well as
one with almost endless variety in form.
Since the discovery of America, the cacti have been of general
or particular interest to all who have come into contact with them.
The early adventurers in the New World, and the explorers,
were quick to make the acquaintance of these plants, as is evi­denced
by the prompt introduction and naturalization of several
kinds of prickly- pears in southern Europe, northern Africa, and
western Asia. Later others became naturalized in southern
Africa, in the East Indies, and in Australia.
The history of the genus Opuntia in Florida is quite simple.
Reference to this group of plants doubtless exists in the records
of the early Spanish expeditioners; but the botanical history
apparently dates from the publication of Bartram's " Travels" 1
in which William Bartram gives an account of a large prickly-pear
then native in the wilderness lying west of Lake George in
the peninsula. This locality was recently visited by the writer,
who thus made the first botanical pilgrimage to that still unin­habited
region since the Bartrams were there nearly a century
and a half ago.
During the last century, as far as well- known descriptive
1 Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia. East and West Florida.
161.
21
22
floras are concerned: Michaux ( 1803) 1 does not extend the geo­graphic
range of Opuntia south of the Carolinas, Pursh ( 1814)'
similarly limits the range southward, Nuttall ( 1818) 3 extends the
range to Florida, and Darby ( 1841) 4 records a single species as
being common- in the southern states, while Chapman ( i860,
1883, 1897), 5 records four species for the state. The latest
American monograph6 of the genus Opuntia cites only two species
as growing in Florida.
The writer became interested in the prickly- pears of Florida
in 1901, when an upright plant with copiously tuberous roots
was discovered at Miami. This plant was later described as
Opuntia austrina and represents the widespread inland species
of peninsular Florida. For a decade my work was confined
mainly to tropical Florida, and aside from the species just men­tioned,
only the common and widely distributed coastal forms
were encountered. However, a few years ago when opportunities
to travel more extensively in the state presented themselves,
various heretofore unobserved kinds of prickly- pears came to
light. Many parts of the state have now been visited; but little
known, as well as almost wholly uninhabited extensive areas,
both in the interior and in the eastern and western coastal regions
and the unknown country back of Cape Sable still remain to be
explored.
In addition to field observations, we have had the advantages
offered by the extensive cactus plantation of Mr. Charles Deering
at Buena Vista, Florida, in which the writer has had all possible
facilities extended to him and where he has introduced to cultiva­tion
the species and forms of cacti he has met with in Florida and
the other southeastern states. In this plantation, where the
prickly- pears have nearly or quite natural conditions and a
continuous growing season for twelve months each year, it has
been possible to study and compare the vegetative and floral
1 Flora Boreali- Americana 282.
2 Flora Americae Septentrionalis 327.
8 Genera of North American Plants 1: 296.
* Botany of the Southern States, 322.
5 Flora of the Southern United States, ed. I and 2, 144, ed. 3, 171.
6 Contributions from the National Herbarium 3: 355- 462.
23
characters of the several kinds under consideration. Anyone
interested in the prickly- pears may secure joints for propagation
from the plants growing in the garden at Buena Vista, by ad­dressing
the author of this paper.
In 1832 Rafinesque writes thus: 1 " having seen in gardens
and herbals several rare or new sp[ ecies] of Florida, I will here
describe some of them." The first species proposed is Opuntia
( Cactus) maritima and is said to grow on the seashore from Florida
to Carolina. However, Rafinesque's own reference to a pre­viously
published work2 shows that the name is really founded on
a description of Elliott. 3 The second species proposed is Opuntia
( Cactus) Bartrami and is founded on the account of an Opuntia
in Bartram's " Travels" referred to in the earlier part of this
paper. A third species proposed is Opuntia spinalba founded on
a Cactus Opuntia of Lunan. It is said to have grown on the
Keys of Florida.
The following schedule is offered as a tentative interpretation
of the Florida prickly- pears. The notes and descriptions are
based mainly on observations made on plants in the field and
on specimens grown in the garden referred to in a preceding
paragraph, and in the greenhouses of the New York Botanical
Garden.
Interesting discoveries of cacti in Florida have not been con­fined
to the genus Opuntia; but different genera have been repre­sented
as well. A subsequent paper will deal with other genera
of the Cactaceae.
The present era in the studies of prickly- pears dates from the
publication of " A Preliminary Treatment of the Opuntioideae of
North America," 4 in 1908, by Dr. N. L. Britton and Dr. J. N.
Rose. In this paper four species of Opuntia were recorded from
Florida and correctly so as far as the flora of the state was then
known.
Publication of this paper is made at this time in order that it
may be cited in the forthcoming first volume of the Monograph
1 Atlantic Journal 146.
1 Medical Flora 2: 247. 1830.
• A Sketch of the Botany of South Carolina and Georgia 1: 537. 1821.
4 Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections 50: 503- 539.
24
of Cactaceae by Dr. N. L. Britton and Dr. J. N. Rose, now in
press for the Carnegie Institution of Washington.
KEY TO THE GROUPS AND THE SPECIES
Plants with essentially uniform joints, or sometimes with the joints of the main
stem more or less fused into a flattened or subterete trunk; berries constricted
or narrowed at the base.
Stems and branches with firmly attached joints: fruits
persistent; plants typically freely flowering.
Mature spines white or uniformly gray.
Plants with armed joints ( joints or whole plants
sometimes individually unarmed); joints
' of the branches relatively small ( less
than 2 dm. long): berries purple or red.
Mature plants prostrate, or erect and
bushy or diffuse, the joints not fused
into a trunk. I. TORTISPINAE.
Mature plants erect, with the joints of the
stem fused into a subterete trunk which
is divided above into few or many
spreading branches. II. AMMOPHILAE.
Plants with unarmed joints ( joints sometimes in­dividually
weakly armed with white spines):
joints of the branches relatively large ( over
2 dm. long): berries red or orange, said to be
sometimes yellow. III. FICUS- INDICAE.
Mature spines yellow, dark- red, or brown, uniform,
discolored, or banded.
Mature spines yellow, or slightly discolored,
stout and more or less curved, or very short
and mostly hidden in the areolae, not closely
spirally twisted: berries narrowly pyriform
to obovoid. IV. DILLENIANAE.
Mature spines red or brown, banded in our
species, closely spirally twisted: berries
roundish pyriform, conspicuously turgid. V. ELATIORES.
Stems and branches with loosely attached joints, these
readily separating when shocked or touched: fruits
early deciduous: plants not freely flowering, but freely
propagating by the easily scattered joints. VI. CURASSAVICAE.
Plants with elongate terete continuous stems, or stem and
main branches, the branchlets of thin, flat, dilated joints:
berries broadly rounded at the base. VII. BRASILIENSES.
I. Tortispinae
Plants prostrate, the stem and branches often forming de­pressed
mats of joints: joints dark- green.
25
Corolla of numerous petals: berries clavate, over 4.5 cm.
l o nS- 1. 0. lata.
Corolla of few petals: berries short- obovoid, less than 3.5
cm. long. 2, 0. Pollardi.
Plants erect, sometimes copiously branched, thus bushy and
diffuse: joints pale- green. 3. o. austrina.
II. Ammophilae
Plants tree- like, the stout or stocky trunk divided above into
few or many divergent branching joints, sometimes sema­phore-
like: joints gray- green, usually copiously armed. 4. O. ammophila.
III. Ficus- indicae
Plants robust, more or less tree- like, the thick joints sup­ported
on the subterete trunk, mostly about 3 dm. long: cor­olla
large, mostly 8- 10 cm. wide: berries red or orange, said
to be sometimes yellow. s. o. Ficus- indica.
IV. Dillenianae
Areolae bearing 4- 13 short spines which seldom exceed the
bristles, the joints thus apparently unarmed: corolla short-campanulate.
6. 0. keyensis.
Areolae bearing 2- 6 long spines which much exceed the
bristles, the joints thus prominently armed; or indi­vidual
joints sometimes spineless: corolla rotate.
Spines decidedly flattened, often curved, in clusters of
3- 6, from dense clusters of protruding bristles, the
joints thus rigidly armed: plants copiously floriferous
and fructiferous. , 7. O. Dillenii.
Spines terete or nearly so, straight, solitary or 2 or 3
together, from small clusters of inconspicuous bristles,
the joints not rigidly armed: plants sparingly floriferous
and fructiferous. 8. O. stricta.
V. Elatiores
Plants large, stout, erect, but widely branched, bushy, not
fragile: joints thick, but broad: hypanthium broadly turbi­nate:
outer sepals very broad: corolla bright- yellow. g. O. zebrina.
VI. Curassavicae
Plants small, prostrate, exceedingly fragile: joints narrow, often
as thick as wide: hypanthium narrowly turbinate; outer
sepals narrow: corolla lemon- yellow. 10. O. Drummondii,
VII. Brasilienses
Plants tree- like, the trunk and branchlets strikingly different:
young spines pale yellow with brown tips; mature spines
gray with brown tipe; berries subglobose to oval. 11. O. brasiliensis.
26
I. Opuntia lata Small, sp. nov.
Plant prostrate, often radially branched, sometimes forming
mats nearly a meter in width, the tip of the branches sometimes
assurgent, with elongate cord- like roots: joints elliptic to nar­rowly
obovate, often narrowly so, thick, 0.4- 1.5 dm. long,
deep- green, sometimes glaucous, especially when young: leaves
subulate, 6- 11 mm. long, green or purple- tinged: areolae scattered,
often conspicuous, sometimes very prominent and densely
bristly, the marginal ones, at least, armed: spines slender, solitary
or 2 together, pink, turning red or red- banded, at maturity gray
or nearly white, nearly terete, slightly spirally twisted: flowers
usually several on a joint, conspicuous: sepals subulate to lan­ceolate,
acute: corolla yellow, 7- 9 cm. wide; petals numerous,
the inner ones broadly obovate to flabellate, erose at the broad
minutely mucronate apex: berries clavate, 5- 6.5 cm. long, red
or red- purple, many- seeded: seeds about 5 mm. in diameter.
Pinelands, northern peninsular Florida.— Type specimens col­lected
twelves miles west of Gainesville, Florida, December,
1917, J. K. Small, in the herbarium of the New York Botanical
Garden. Living specimens of the same collection are in the
garden at Buena Vista and in the conservatories of the New
York Botanical Garden.
The discovery of this plant was recorded by me about a year
ago. 1 Since that time the specimens I transplanted from Gaines­ville
to Buena Vista have grown and assumed the habit of the
plants in their native habitat. In addition they have flowered
freely and fruited. The specimens I brought to the New York
Botanical Garden also flowered; but naturally they did not grow
to any extent under the necessarily artificial conditions under
glass.
Information received from the region where Opuntia lata grows
naturally, in addition to the personal observations of the writer,
indicates that the plants always grow prostrate, just as the
writer found them in the winter of 1917. The early joints may
either give rise to branches that spread radially and thus form
mats, or they may branch more in one direction, thus giving rise
to a long string of joints with only a few lateral branches. Opun­tia
lata somewhat resembles 0. Pollardi in habit; but it differs
1 Journal of the New York Botanical Garden 19: 74. 1918.
27
in the usually smaller joints, the long narrow hypanthium, the
more numerous petals, and the clavate berries.
2. OPUNTIA POLLARDI Britton & Rose, Smithsonian
Misc. Coll. 50: 523. 1908
Plant prostrate, forming irregular mats, somewhat tuberous:
joints suborbicular or oval, varying to broadly obovate, usually
quite thick, 10- 15 cm- long, or sometimes smaller, deep- green:
areolae rather conspicuous, much scattered, some of the upper
ones, at least, usually armed: spines stout, at maturity gray,
usually solitary: flowers solitary or few on a joint: sepals deltoid
to broadly rhombic or rhombic- cuneate, acute or mucronate:
corolla light yellow, 6- 7 cm. long; petals cuneate, broadly trun­cate
and decidedly erose at the apex: berries obovoid, 2.5- 3 cm-long,
purple, rather many- seeded: seeds 5- 6 mm. in diameter.
Pinelands and sand- dunes, coastal plain, North Carolina to
northern Florida and Mississippi.
At the time of the publication of the second edition of my
Flora1 this plant was known only from southern Mississippi,
where it was originally collected nearly twenty years earlier.
In the spring of 1917, while in search of the long- neglected
Opuntia Drummondii, the writer found this species widely dis­tributed
in the region north of Apalachicola, and last December
he collected it on the hills back of Pensacola. As far as we know
now, its range in Florida is confined to the northern part of the
state, or, in other words, the coastal plain of the Gulf of Mexico.
Recent exploration also brought it to light on the Atlantic
coast. While searching for long- lost prickly- pears in the vicinity,
of Charleston, 2 South Carolina, in the winter of 1916, I found
Opuntia Pollardi at several localities in that region, while last
fall Mr. W. E. McAtee extended its known range still further
northward by collecting specimens on Church's Island, in Cur­rituck
Sound, North Carolina.
As will be noticed, by comparing the geographic range of this
species with that of Opuntia Drummondii, that the distribution
of the two species coincides very closely. Last year Professor
S. M. Tracy sent specimens of Opuntia Pollardi, collected at the
1 Flora of the Southeastern United States. Ed. 2. 817. 1913.
2 Journal of the New York Botanical Garden 18: 237- 246. 1917.
28j
type locality, to the garden at Buena Vista where they are now
growing vigorously.
The present species and Opuntia lata represent the only kinds
in our range with prostrate stems and branches, except the
distantly related Opuntia Drummondii. Opuntia Pollardi is
evidently the Opuntia vulgaris of Chapman's " Flora" as far as
Florida is concerned.
3. OPUNTIA AUSTEINA Small, Fl. SE. U. S. 816. 1903
Plant erect, 1 m. tall or less, irregularly branched, tuberous:
joints obovate, or nearly elliptic, thinnish, 5- 10 cm. long or
rarely longer, or much larger in maritime regions, deep- green or
bright- green: leaves stout- subulate, 3- 7 mm. long, green or
purple- tinged: areolae rather prominent, the marginal and upper
ones usually armed: spines slender yellowish or reddish, at ma­turity
white or light gray, solitary or 2 together: sepals lanceolate
to ovate or rhombic- ovate, acute: corolla 6- 7 cm. broad, light-yellow,
or sometimes very pale: petals cuneate to obovate,
rounded- truncate and mucronate: berries narrowly obovoid or
sometimes broadly so, 3- 4 cm. long, purple: seeds numerous,
4' 5~ 5 mm. in diameter.
Pinelands and coastal sand- dunes, northern peninsular Florida
from the central part to the Atlantic, southward to Cape Sable.
As it is now understood, Opuntia austrina represents one of the
more widely distributed prickly- pears of Florida. The geo­graphic
range seems to extend from the upper part of the lake
region eastward to the flatwoods and the eastern coast strip
thence southward through the Miami limestone region and Cape
Sable. Certain forms from the coastal strip and from the north­ern
part of the range do not agree in full with those from the
Miami region, where the species was first described. However,
the variations observed may be due to different environments and
local conditions, and thus be only superficial. Striking changes
in different plants of the same species, caused by somewhat
abnormal and slightly disturbed environments, have been ob­served
by the writer, both in continental and insular Florida.
In order to get a better understanding of this species, we have
brought together in the plantation at Buena Vista, the various
forms now referred to Opuntia austrina so that they may be
observed as they grow under uniform conditions.
u O —
J - 2 ~
P a b u
s « i_
£ 5 a< u a « .
I. s
^ w crj o •"
n i ' 3 10 i , ^
^ ~ a t, A
i , o> 0 _
M o -<=> - = *-
[ 2 O ni " c i
ffl £ a '>• •=
a '"' rt
•=. S P
29
This was the plant which first aroused my interest in the
prickly- pears of Florida, and one of the more striking characters
it exhibited was the numerous tuberous roots. For some time
it was thought that this character was peculiar to Opuntia
austrina, but later investigations have shown that Opuntia
Pollardi, 0. ammophila, and 0. Drummondi produce tuberous
roots; but none of them to the extent that the species under
consideration does.
Opuntia austrina is a short- lived plant. Every year or two
the individual plants break down and new ones start afresh
either from the tuberous roots or from the old joints. It may
be that there is some relation between the fibrous and tuberous
rooted species and longevity. At any rate, the plants with
fibrous roots seem to be longer lived as individuals than those
with tuberous roots.
4. Opuntia ammophila Small, sp. nov.
Plant erect, more or less branched throughout or ultimately
with a stem 1- 2 m. tall or more, becoming 1- 2.5 dm. in diameter,
bearing several spreading branches near the top, thus tree- like,
tuberous at the base: joints various, those of the main stem
elongate, ultimately fused on the ends and subcylindric, those
of the branches typically obovate or cuneate, varying to elliptic
or oval, thickish, 0.5- 1.7 dm. long, becoming gray- green: leaves
stout- subulate, 6- 10 mm. long, green: areolae relatively numer­ous,
conspicuous on account of the densely crowded long bristles,
especially on the older joints, the marginal ones, at least, armed:
spines very slender, solitary or 2 together, reddish or red, at
maturity gray, mostly 2- 6 cm. long, nearly terete, scarcely
spirally twisted: flowers several on a joint: sepals lanceolate,
acute or slightly acuminate: buds sharply pointed: corolla bright-yellow,
5- 8 cm. wide; petals cuneate or obovate, notched and
prominently apiculate, scarcely erose: stigmas cream- colored:
berries obovoid, 2- 3 cm. long, more or less flushed with red-purple,
many- seeded: seeds about 4 mm. in diameter. [ Plate 224.]
Inland sand- dunes ( scrub), peninsular Florida.— Type speci­mens
from south of Ft. Pierce, collected in December, 1917, by
J. K. Small. They are in the herbarium of the New York Botani­cal
Garden. Living plants are also in the conservatories of the
Garden, as well as in the plantation at Buena Vista, Florida.
30
My attention was first attracted to this species on the large
sand- dunes south of Fort Pierce, in a region that has turned out
to be the southern end of its geographic range. It reaches its
best development, however, in the northern part of its range
west of Lake George. It differs from all our other species in the
gray- green color, the numerous elongate, very slender, often-deflexed,
spines, and in the small, thick- obovoid fruits. In spite
of its vicious armament, the cattle that range through the country
west of Lake George often browse upon it.
This plant is the most conspicuous native prickly- pear in
Florida, and curiously enough, in proportion to its striking habit,
the most neglected one. It is confined to the so- called " scrub"
or inland quiescent sand- dunes which range in a general way
through the lake region and the east Florida flat- woods, from
the region west of Lake George to that east of Lake Okeechobee.
The first definite record of Opuntia in Florida begins with the
record of the discovery of a large prickly- pear about the western
shores of Lake George by William Bartram in the latter part of
the eighteenth century. 1 His account of the plant he observed
suggests a form with the habit of Opuntia Ficus- indica; but this
species could not have been established there at that early date,
and, further, he describes the berries as purple and charged with
juice. One could imagine that he fbund a plant or a colony of the
plant just described; but its fruits are conspicuously small, at
least relatively so in proportion to the size of the plant, and they
are not particularly juicy, in fact they are rather dry.
The writer recently visited the country west of Lake George,
traveling many miles through it for the purpose of rediscovering
the Bartram plant, but without success. If Bartram did find a
particularly smooth and large- fruited prickly- pear, such as he
describes, the cattle may have exterminated it by this time.
Thus the Bartram Opuntia still remains a mystery.
1 Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West Florida
31
5. OPUNTIA FICUS- INDICA ( L.) Mill. Gard. Diet. Ed. 8.
Opuntia. No. 2. 1768
Cactus Ficus- indica L. Sp. Pl. 468. 1753.
Plant erect, often tree- like, 4 m. tall or less, the early joints
somewhat fusing to form a thick trunk which supports irregularly
spreading heavy branches: joints elliptic, varying to slightly
broadest above the middle or below it, very thick, mostly 3- 4 dm.
long, often slightly glaucous: areolae small, with yellowish bristles
and white wool: spines wanting, or occasionally and irregularly
developed, and mostly solitary, pale, at maturity turning white,
nearly terete: flowers usually several on a joint: corolla yellow,
7- 10 cm. wide: berries obovoid, red or orange ( said to be some­times
yellow), 5- 9 cm. long: seeds 3.5- 4.5 mm. in diameter.
Waste places, roadsides, and old fields, Florida. Doubtless
native of tropical America; but its original home is unknown.
Naturalized in the Old World.
Two of the species of Opuntia now growing naturally in Florida
are naturalized exotics. The present plant is apparently a
rather recent introduction. The Opuntia Ficus- indica of the
older floras is evidently based on specimens of the species fol­lowing
the one here described.
The species is apparently represented in several forms. In
some places it has escaped from flower- gardens, while in other
regions it may be found on roadsides, in fence- corners, and in
old fields where it formerly was planted extensively by people
who are locally known as " cactus- crazy." This plant does not
seem to be of much practical use at present.
6. Opuntia keyensis Britton, sp. nov.
Plant erect, much- branched, sometimes forming clumps 3 m.
tall, with long fibrous roots: joints elliptic, oval, obovate or
spatulate, thick, 1- 3 dm. long, bright- green: leaves ovoid, 2- 3
mm. long, green: areolae rather conspicuous, often relatively
large and prominent, apparently unarmed: spines stout, 4- 13
together, very short, mostly hidden in the bristles, pink, at
maturity salmon- colored, and sometimes protruding from the
areolae as tufts of very coarse bristles, slightly flattened: buds
short- pointed: flowers solitary or 2 or 3 on a joint: sepals deltoid
to subreniform, acute or acutish: corolla salmon- colored, cup­like
or short- campanulate, 3- 3.5 cm. wide; petals rather few,
32
the inner ones broadly obovate or orbicular- obovate, undulate,
scarcely, if at all, mucronate: berries obovoid, 4- 6 cm. long,
purple: seeds numerous. [ Plate 225.]
Hammocks, Florida Keys and the Cape Sable region.— Type
specimens collected on Boot Key, April, 1909, by N. L. Britton
in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden.
Our two typically maritime species of Opuntia were recorded
for many years under names that did not belong to them, as far
as the plants growing in Florida were concerned.
This plant is strictly maritime, and has only been found on
the Florida Keys and on the shores of the Cape Sable region
It has been confused with several species described long ago, but
recent observation both in the field and on plants grown in the
garden at Buena Vista have convinced me of its valid claim to
specific recognition. It differs from its relative, Opuntia Dillenii,
both in vegetative and floral characters. Casual observation
would determine it as unarmed; but careful examination will
disclose it to be in a'way our most thoroughly armed kind. The
spines are short and stout, so short that they seldom protrude
beyond the bristles of the areolae. However, they are often
numerous and exist in clusters of as many as thirteen. The
flower is unique among the Florida species of Opuntia. The
corolla instead of being rotate is short- campanulate or cup-shaped.
The plants produce flowers and fruits much more
sparingly than those of Opuntia Dillenii.
This species is evidently the Opuntia Ficus- indica of Chap­man's
" Flora," and it was described under Opuntia inermis in
the second edition of my " Flora."
7. OPUNTIA DILLENII ( Ker) Haw. Suppl. Pl. Succ.
79. 1819
Cactus Dillenii Ker, Bot. Reg. 3: under pl. 255. 1818.
Plant erect, rather strict, sparingly branched and much-branched
and sometimes diffuse or sometimes 2 m. tall, occa­sionally
somewhat tree- like, with stout fibrous roots: joints
elliptic to obovate or oval, thickish, 1- 3 dm. long, light- green,
often glaucous: leaves ovoid, 2- 5 mm. long, usually green:
areolae remote but conspicuous, mostly armed: spines stoutish,
clustered, usually 3- 6 together, flattened, often curved, pale-
33
yellow, at maturity deeper yellow and often sordid: flowers
several on a joint: corolla yellow, salmon, or reddish, rotate, 6- 8
cm. wide; petals rather few, the inner broadly cuneate to broadly
obovate, often mucronate: berries pyriform, 5- 6 cm. long, purple:
seeds numerous, 3- 4 mm. in diameter.
Hammocks along or near the coast, and sand- dunes, peninsular
Florida and the Florida Keys. Bermuda, West Indies, and
eastern Mexico.
During the earlier period of Florida botany, Opuntia Dillenii
was referred to under the specific names of plants to which it is
really only distantly related. In fact its identity was not defi­nitely
established until the beginning of the present century.
This species is the common and typically maritime prickly-pear
of our range, and also the most vigorous of the several
different kinds. It is apparently the longest- lived and the
healthiest of them all, seemingly wholly free from disease and
also from insect pests. It grows either in perpetual shade or in
exposed sunny localities and will stand almost any amount of
ill- treatment and frequent transplanting for ornamental purpose
with impunity.
Although typically maritime and sometimes growing even in
mangrove swamps or in low situations where the plants are
partly submerged during high tide, it may be found equally
vigorous on the high quiescent sand- dunes along the eastern
coast of the Florida peninsula.
In addition to producing the strongest and most thorough
armament of our species, it is the most prolific in the matter of
flowers and fruits. Plants or clumps of plants are often con­spicuous
on account of large quantities of purple fruits, which
are never equalled in numbers in the case of any of our other
species. It is the Opuntia polyantha, at least in part, of Chap­man's
" Flora."
8. OPUNTIA STRICTA Haw. Syn. Pl. Succ. 191. 1812
(?) Opuntia Bentonii Griffiths, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: 25. pl.
1 and 2. 1912.
Plant erect, but ultimately diffusely or widely branched,
mostly less than 1 m. tall, not tuberous: joints broadly spatulate,
34
obovate, elliptic, or oval, thinnish, or quite thick at the base of
the plant, mostly 1- 3 dm. long, bright- green: leaves stout- subu­late,
3- 9 mm. long, green or purplish- green: areolae rather evenly
scattered or more numerous along the edges than on the faces
of the joints, few of the upper marginal ones armed, or joints
individually unarmed: spines slender, solitary, or 2 or 3 together
and sometimes with several shorter ones, pale- yellow, at maturity
deeper- yellow, nearly terete, obscurely spirally twisted: flowers
showy, mostly few on a joint: sepals lanceolate or ovate- lan­ceolate:
corolla 8- 10 cm. wide; petals few, the inner ones broadly
obovate- or cuneate, some of them mucronate: berries solitary
or few on a joint, obovoid, sometimes slightly pyriform, 3.5- 5
cm. long, purple.
Sandy woods and roadsides Florida to eastern Texas.
For many years specimens of a prickly- pear of uncertain
relationship were collected in Florida. In 1912, Dr. David
Griffiths associated the specimens from northern Florida and
described them undert he name of Opuntia Bentonii, making the
type specimen a certain collection from near MacClenny, at the
same time recording the extension of the geographic range to the
mouth of the Brazos River in Texas.
A little later Dr. Britton and Dr. Rose, in the course of their
studies in the genus Opuntia, associated this plant with Opuntia
stricta, basing their opinion on the close resemblance of the
Florida specimens and those of apparently authentic specimens
of 0. stricta received from European botanical gardens where that
plant had long been in cultivation. Still later they began to
refer here various hitherto unassigned specimens from peninsular
Florida, so that now we know the species to range from the
northern extremity of the state to the southern.
One curious point about this plant is that its habitats, as far
as the writer has observed, often arouse suspicion that it may be
naturalized in Florida, and not a native. In fact, Dr. Griffiths
says: 1 " Always in cultivation in the eastern portion of this range
and native in southwestern Louisiana and Texas." If the
Florida specimens are properly referred to Opuntia stricta it is
quite likely they are descendants of plants that were brought from
Cuba, where it appears to be native, or from some other point
1 Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 22: 25.
35
in tropical America, or even from Texas, at least in some cases,
as there seems to be some variation in those from different locali­ties,
for cultivating, and later escaped from gardens where it was
planted.
This is, perhaps, the Opuntia polyantha of Chapman's " Flora"
as far as the Apalachicola part of the range given for that species
is concerned.
9. Opuntia zebrina Small, sp. nov.
Plant erect, more or less branched, throughout, fully 1 m. tall,
or less, the roots fibrous: joints oval or obovate, thickish, mostly
1- 2 dm. long, deep- green, sometimes obscurely glaucous: leaves
ovoid, 2- 3 mm. long, bright- green: areolae scattered, some of
them, usually the lower ones, unarmed, the upper ones irregularly
armed: spines slender, solitary or 2, 3, or 4, together, red- brown,
finely banded, nearly terete, closely spirally twisted: flowers few
on a joint, or solitary: sepals deltoid, to deltoid- reniform or
nearly reniform: corolla yellow, rotate, 6- 7 cm. wide; petals
rather numerous, the inner ones broadly- obovate, undulate,
minutely mucronate or notched at the apex: berries obovoid,
not constricted at the base, 3.5- 4.5 cm. long, red- purple: seeds
many, 6- 7 mm. in diameter. [ Plate 226.]
Coastal sand- dunes, Cape Sable, Florida, and the lower Florida
Keys.—' Type specimens collected on Middle Cape Sable, Decem­ber,
1917, by J. K. Small, in the herbarium of the New York
Botanical Garden.
The only specimens collected on Middle Cape Sable on a
cruise to that region in December, 1917, were plants of a prickly-pear.
In spite of clouds of mosquitoes that almost defeated the
securing of any plants at all, the writer and his associates managed
to gather several bags of joints of an Opuntia that seemed dif­ferent
from others heretofore observed by us in southern Florida.
The discovery of this plant not only added a new species to
our range, but also brought a series of hitherto more southern
geographic range, into our limits. It is a conspicuous plant,
not only on account of the contrast of its peculiarly deep- green
joints and bright- yellow corollas, but also on account of its
vigorous growth and continuous healthy condition. A close
examination reveals an armament not duplicated in our other
36
species. The mature spine is very slender, red or brown, more
or less banded. It consists of a very close spiral.
Since describing this species from the specimens collected by
the writer on Cape Sable, a specimen collected on Boot Key,
Florida, in April, 1909, by Dr. N. L. Britton, has been found in
the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden, where it was
associated with another plant. In July, 1918, Dr. J. N. Rose
discovered the plant on Key West, whence he sent us joints and
mature fruits.
In addition to the herbarium specimens cited above, living
specimens of the original collection' are growing in the cactus
garden at Buena Vista and in the conservatories of the New
York Botanical Garden. As the plants grow at Buena Vista,
they appear to last individually for at least several years, as up
to the present there is no sign of the original plants breaking
down.
10. OPUNTIA DRUMMONDII Graham, The Botanist 5: pl. 246.
1841
Opuntia frustulenta Gibbes, Proc. Ell. Soc. Nat. Hist. 1: 273.
1859-
Opuntia Pes- Corvi Le Conte; Chapm. Fl. S. St. 145. i860.
Plant prostrate or diffusely sprawling, sometimes forming de­pressed
mats, tuberous: joints ellipsoid, usually narrowly so, or
slightly broadest above the middle or below it, very turgid, 3- 12
cm. long, light- green or pale- green, loosely attached to each
other: leaves ovoid, 3- 6 mm. long, green: areolae inconspicuous,
the upper ones, at least, armed: spines very slender, solitary or
2, 3, or 4 together, pink, reddish, or red, at maturity gray or even
whitish, sometimes darker at the tip, nearly terete: flowers
solitary or few on a joint: sepals lanceolate to ovate, acute or
acutish: corolla lemon- yellow, 5- 6 cm. wide: petals rather few,
the inner ones broadly cuneate to obovate, mucronate to emargi-nate
at the apex: berries turbinate- obovoid, 2- 3.5 c m ' long,
purple: seeds few, about 4 mm. in diameter.
Pinewoods and sand- dunes, near the coast, North Carolina
to Florida and Alabama.
The history of Opuntia Drummondii, together with some notes
" S £
^ ij - c
* j " a *
~- cu o £
= 2 ? =
37
in its habit, has lately been recorded in considerable detail. 1
It is indeed, not strange that this plant, even considering its
extensive geographical range, should have remained, until
recently, the least known of the older described species of Opuntia
in the eastern United States.
The exceedingly fragile articulation of the joints was com­mented
on in the papers referred to above. Recent observations
have shown that even the wind will separate the joints and
scatter them. It may be that this ready method of vegetative
propagation has caused the plant to become the shyest bloomer
of all our eastern species of Opuntia. It may be readily seen
that propagation by seeds is almost unnecessary. The crowfoot-cactus,
as this plant is sometimes called, grows naturally in the
loose sand of pinewoods or in the drifting sands of active dunes.
In sheltered spots the branches lie on the surface of the sand;
but when in exposed positions the joints naturally partly bury
themselves in the sand and thus strings of joints that would
otherwise be b'own apart and scattered, are securely anchored
in place, at least until the sand may be blown away from the
bodies of the joints and from the spines which extend further
down into the sand. The phenomena just described not only
obtain in the natural habitats of this plant, but they are dupli­cated
on the sand mounds in the cactus plantation at Buena
Vista.
Another interesting point in connection with this plant recently
impressed on the writer is the similarity in color between the
joints and spines on the one hand and the sand in which they
grow on the other. The camouflage is usually so complete that
one usually feels the presence of the plants before the eye is
attracted by them.
The color of the corolla according to both the original plate
and to testimony obtained at Apalachicola is lemon- yellow.
Dr. Mohr records the corolla as being " rose purplish." The
color is various in some species of Opuntia, and it may thus vary
in this one.
1 Journal of the New York Botanical Garden 18: 237- 246. 1917. and 19: 1- 6.
1918.
38
I I . OPUNTIA BRASILIENSIS ( Willd.) Haw. Suppl. Pl. Succ. 79.
1819
Cactus brasiliensis Willd. Enum. Suppl. 33. 1813.
Plant erect, tree- like, 5 m. tall or more, or often much smaller,
with a terete upwardly tapering trunk which in mature plants
supports terete spreading branches, these in turn divided into
branching flat oblong, elliptic, or obovate relatively thin leaf­like,
bright- green joints: leaves ovoid, mostly 1- 3 mm. long,
light- green: areolae small, minutely white- woolly, those of the
stem, branches, and edges of the joints armed: spines slender,
usually solitary, terete, mostly 1- 3 cm. long, pale with reddish
or brown tips, ultimately gray: flowers usually several on the
terminal joints: sepals ovate, the inner ones broadly so: corolla
lemon- yellow, mostly 3- 4 cm. wide: berries subglobose to oval,
2.5- 4 cm- long, light yellow, the areolae conspicuous on account
of the tufted brown bristles.
Woods, eastern peninsular Florida. Native of eastern South
America.
Among the eleven species of Opuntia growing naturally in
Florida, only two are introduced and naturalized plants. The
present species, although sometimes seen in and about gardens,
has not been definitely determined as a naturalized plant until
quite recently. However, like many other cultivated exotics,
it may be more extensively naturalized than we now know.
Last November, John Soar and Charles T. Simpson collected
specimens of Opuntia brasiliensis on a shell mound south of
Daytona, Florida. Although there is no habitation near the
spot, at present, I have been informed that there is evidence that
long ago a house and garden may have stood there. This would
account for the occurrence of this prickly- pear now growing on
the shell mound.
To sum up: We definitely know eleven species of prickly- pears
growing naturally in Florida, nine native kinds ( Opuntia lata,
0. Pollardi, 0. austrina, 0. ammophila, 0. keyensis, 0. Dillenii,
0. stricta, 0. zebrina, 0. Drummondii), and two naturalized
exotics, ( Opuntia Ficus- indica, 0. brasiliensis). Six of the native
species are endemic ( Opuntia lata, 0. austrina, 0. ammophila,
0. keyensis, 0. zebrina), three are found in other states ( Opuntia
39
Pollardi, 0. stricta, 0. Drummondii), while one species ( Opuntia
Dillenii) is widely distributed in tropical America. Two species
( Opuntia lata, 0. Pollardi) are typical of inland pinelands. One
species ( Opuntia ammophila) is confined. to the ancient quiescent
sand- dunes or scrub, and the adjacent prairies and pinelands,
while two species ( Opuntia austrina, 0. Drummondii) occur on
the active sand- dunes and in the inland pinelands. Three
species ( Opuntia keyensis, 0. Dillenii, 0. zebrina) are typically
maritime and grow almost always in hammocks or on coastal
dunes near hammocks.
Among the native species three ( Opuntia lata, 0. Pollardi, 0.
Drummondii) are prostrate, while six ( Opuntia austrina, 0.
ammophila, 0. Keyensis, 0. Dillenii, 0. stricta, 0. zebrina) are
erect, some of them merely bushy, others tree- like.
JOHN K. SMALL.
DR. HENRY ALLAN GLEASON APPOINTED FIRST
ASSISTANT
Dr. Henry Allan Gleason has been appointed the First Assistant
of the Director- in- Chief, succeeding Dr. W. A. Murrill, who has
been transferred to the new position of Supervisor of Public
Instruction.
Dr. Gleason is 37 years old; he was graduated from the Uni­versity
of Illinois in 1901, received his Master of Arts degree
from his alma mater in 1904, and his degree of Doctor of Phi­losophy
from Columbia University in 1906. He studied at the
New York Botanical Garden in 1905, 1906, 1913, and again in
1918, and at the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1904. From 1901
until 1910 he served as assistant and later as instructor in the
botanical department of the University of Illinois, except during
one year, while he was a fellow of the Ohio State University.
Since 1910 he has been on the faculty of the University of Mich­igan,
first as Assistant Professor of Botany, and later as Asso­ciate
Professor, and since 1915 he has been Director of the Bo­tanical
Garden and Arboretum of that institution. Dr. Gleason's
40
special interest in plant life are ecology and geographic distri­bution;
his published papers include over 40 titles. He has
traveled widely in the United States, and in 1913- 14 made an
Asiatic trip for the purpose of studying at the Dutch Botanical
Garden at Buitenzorg, Java. Dr. Gleason is married and has
two children.
N. L. BRITTON,
Director- in- Chief
THE USE OF PLANTS IN DECORATIVE DESIGN
In their desire to be of service to designers and students of
design, the New York Botanical Garden and the Metropolitan
Museum have devised a new field for their joint efforts in a
projected exhibition to be held in Class Room B of the Museum
from March 15 to April 20. This will display designs in which
plant motives are used, selected from the Museum collections,
and living plants themselves, provided by the Botanical Garden.
Plant life has been a source of inspiration to designers since
prehistoric times. A few typical plants have been used through­out
the whole history of design. This fact the exhibition will
take into account and will group about those chief motives
examples of design dating from different periods and in various
materials.
The exhibition will not, however, be exclusively historical but
will include a group of plants not yet used to any appreciable
extent as decorative motives but admirably adapted to design.
Our native flora, in fact, offers to the modern designer, who
often has followed the traditions of the European schools, an
almost unexplored but invitingly attractive field.
41
HARDY WOODY PLANTS IN T H E XEW YORK
BOTANICAL GARDEN
( Continued)
Kraunhia macrostachya. LONG- CLUSTERED WISTERIA.
Location: Viticetum.
Natural distribution: South central United States.
Kraunhia sinensis. CHINESE WISTERIA.
Location: Viticetum.
Natural distribution: China.
Robinia. LOCUST
Robinia hispida. ROSE ACACIA.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Southeastern United States.
Robinia Kelseyi. KELSEY'S ROSE ACACIA.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Southern Alleghany Mountains.
Robinia neo- mexicana. NEW MEXICAN LOCUST.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Southwestern LTnited States.
Robinia Pseudacacia. LOCUST- TREE.
Location: Arboretum.
Natural distribution: South central LTnited States.
Robinia Pseudacacia var. Decaisneana. ROSE- FLOWERED LO­CUST-
TREE.
Location: Arboretum.
Robinia Pseudacacia var. inermis. SPINELESS LOCUST- TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Robinia Pseudacacia var. Rehderi. DWARF LOCUST- TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Robinia viscosa. CLAMMY LOCUST.
Location: Fruticetum. Arboretum.
Natural distribution: Virginia to Georgia.
Colutea. BLADDER SENNA
Colutea arborescens. TALL BLADDER SENNA.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Southern Europe and northern Africa.
42
Colutea orientalis. ORIENTAL BLADDER SENNA.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Southeastern Europe and the Orient.
Halimodendron. SALT TREE
Halimodendron halodendron. SALT TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Central Asia.
Caragana. PEA- TREE
Caragana Caragana. COMMON PEA- TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Siberia and Manchuria.
Caragana Chamlagu. CHAMLAGU PEA- TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Northern China.
Caragana frutex. CHINESE PEA- TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Southern Russia to China.
Caragana microphylla. SMALL- LEAVED PEA- TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Siberia and China.
Caragana pygmaea. PIGMY PEA- TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Caucasus to Siberia and Thibet.
Coronilla. CORONILLA
Coronilla Emerus. SCORPION SENNA.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Southern Europe.
Lespedeza. BUSH- CLOVER
Lespedeza bicolor. JAFANESE BUSH- CLOVER.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Amur Region, northern China and Japan
43
Peuraria. KUDZU VINE
Pueraria hirsuta ( Pueraria Thunbergiana). KUDZU VINE.
Location: Viticetum.
Natural distribution: Japan.
RUTACEAE. Rue Family
Zanthoxylum. PRICKLY ASH
Zanthoxylum americanum. PRICKLY ASH.
Location: Fruticetum. Economic Garden.
Natural distribution: Northeastern United States.
Zanthoxylum Bungei. BUNGE'S PRICKLY ASH.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Northern and central China.
Zanthoxylum micranthum. SMALL- FLOWERED PRICKLY ASH.
Location: Fruticetum. Arboretum.
Natural distribution: China.
Zanthoxylum schinifolium. JAPANESE PRICKLY ASH.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Japan and Corea.
Ptelea. HOP TREE
Ptelea trifoliata. HOP TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Eastern LTnited States.
Ptelea trifoliata var. aurea. GOLDEN HOP TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Ptelea trifoliata var. mollis. HAIRY HOP TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Southeastern United States.
Phellodendron. CORK TREE
Phellodendron amurense. AMOOR CORK TREE.
Location: Arboretum.
Natural distribution: Northern China, Amurland, and Japan.
Phellodendron japonicum. JAPANESE CORK TREE.
Location: Arboretum.
Natural distribution: Central Japan.
44
Phellodendron sachalinense. SACHALIN CORK TREE.
Location: Arboretum. Along walk, Museum to 200th Street
entrance.
Natural distribution: Saghalin, Corea, northern Japan, and
western China.
Poncirus. TRIFOLIATE ORANGE
Poncirus trifoliata. TRIFOLIATE ORANGE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Northern China.
SIMARUBACEAE. Ailanthus Family
Ailanthus. TREE- OF- HEAVEN
Ailanthus glandulosa. TREE- OF- HEAVEN.
Location: Arboretum. 200th Street entrance.
Natural distribution: China.
MELIACEAE. Mahogany Family
Toona. BASTARD CEDAR
Toona sinensis. CHINESE BASTARD CEDAR.
Location: Arboretum.
Natural distribution: Northern China.
BUXACEAE. Box Family
Buxus. Box
Buxus japonica. JAPANESE Box.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: China and Japan.
Buxus microphylla. SMALL- LEAVED Box.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Japan.
Buxus sempervirens. COMMON Box TREE.
Location: Fruticetum.
Natural distribution: Europe and Asia.
Buxus sempervirens var. angustifolia. NARROW- LEAVED Box.
Location: Fruticetum.
45
Buxus sempervirens var. angustifolia aurea. GOLDEN NARROW-LEAVED.
BOX.
Location: Fruticetum.
Buxus sempervirens var. aurea. GOLDEN BOX.
Location: Fruticetum.
Buxus sempervirens var. Handsworthii. HANDSWORTH'S BOX.
Location: Fruticetum.
Buxus sempervirens var. macrophylla. LARGE- LEAVED BOX.
Location: Fruticetum.
Buxus sempervirens var. navicularis. CHANNEL- LEAVED BOX.
Location: Fruticetum.
Buxus sempervirens var. rotundifolia. ROUND- LEAVED BOX.
Location: Fruticetum.
NOTES, NEWS AND COMMENT
Thrushes were well represented in the Garden during 1918.
Most of the species, including two Bicknell thrushes, were seen.
The wood duck, mother of two in 1917, had a family of nine last
year and all survived. A rose- breasted grosbeak remained
through the season and two chats were seen in migration. A
merganser was a novelty.— F. H. HOUGHTON.
Mr. Ivan M. Johnston has recently sent to the Garden her­barium
a large and valuable collection containing over 100
numbers of woody and fleshy fungi, collected in the mountains
about Claremont, California. The collection is accompanied
by valuable field notes and sketches. Several species that have
been known very imperfectly are represented by a number of
good specimens in this collection.
Mr. John H. Slocombe, originator of some of the most desir­able
varieties of dahlias now in cultivation, died in New Haven,
Connecticut, on January 11, in his seventy- fifth year. Last
46
spring he generously contributed roots of thirty- eight choice
varieties to the new dahlia border of the Garden, as acknowledged
in the JOURNAL for August, 1918.
On January 22, 300 pupils from Evander Childs High School
visited the Garden to study living tropical plants, hardy trees,
and plant products. They were in charge of Mr. Mann and some
of his teachers, assisted by several members of the Garden staff.
Mr. Hewitt gave an interesting illustrated lecture on forestry in
the large lecture hall in the museum building. The weather
was mild and the work of the pupils very satisfactory.
A persistent search was made by Dr. A. H. Graves in the vicin­ity
of New York City during the growing season of 1918 for
chestnut trees that had escaped the ravages of the chestnut
canker, but no immune trees were found. However, a number
of trees were located, which, according to Dr. Graves, give promise
of highly resistant strains through inbreeding and crossing with
resistant oriental species.
Last summer, Mr. Eckstein Case presented to the Garden a
series of water- color paintings made by his sister, Miss Mary
Case, late of Cleveland, Ohio. These are on 225 loose sheets
and illustrate about 425 species of native American wild flowers
from various parts of the United States, and two from the Giant's
Causeway, Ireland. Flowers and fruits of many of the species
are figured, illustrating some very rare and interesting plants.
These have been placed in two albums, and deposited in the
library. Besides these, Miss Case's copy of Mrs. Dana's " How
to know the Wild Flowers" was also presented. It is beautifully
hand- colored with 383 illustrations, evidently done from living
plants.
The unusually mild winter has permitted much work on the
grounds, which in ordinary winter seasons would have been im-
47
possible. By the aid of subscriptions by members of the Cor­poration
and of the Women's Auxiliary, we are giving needed
employment to laborers engaged in necessary rock excavation at
conservatory range 2 and near the museum building, thus ob­taining
stone for the Telford foundations of paths through the
magnolia, oak and birch collections in the arboretum, and through
the site of the war memorial grove of Douglas spruce to be planted
in the spring, described in the January issue of the Journal.
Much earth excavation and grading along these new paths has
also been accomplished. These new paths, which were much
needed, are io feet wide and, collectively, over 1600 feet in length.
They are now being surfaced with fine ashes from the power
house.
Meteorology for January.— The total precipitation for January
was 3.21 inches, including a very light fall of snow ( about 0.50
inches snow measurement) on the 8th and 9th. The maximum
temperatures recorded at the Garden for each week were 60°
on the 2d, 420 on the 8th, 500 on the 16th, 510 on the 26th and
520 on the 27th. The minimum temperatures were 130 on the
5th, 70 on the 12th, 230 on the 20th, 25° on the 25th and 29° on the
28th.
ACCESSIONS
MUSEUMS AND HERBARIUM
1 specimen of Gymnopus velutipes from Michigan. ( By exchange with Mrs.
Wallis Craig Smith.)
25 specimens, " Fungi Utahensis"; fascicle 10. ( Distributed by Professor A. O.
Garrett.)
1 specimen of Hymenogaster from South Carolina. ( By exchange with Professor
Guy West Wilson.)
1 specimen of Entoloma striatum from Massachusetts. ( By exchange with Mr.
Simon Davis.)
200 specimens, " North American Uredinales," Centuries 20 and 21. ( Dis­tributed
by Mr. Elam Bartholomew.)
2 specimens of fungi from Porto Rico. ( By exchange with Professor F. S.
Earle.)
48
i specimen of Aleurodiscus Oakesii from Montana. ( Collected by Mr. R. S.
Williams.)
LIBRARY ACCESSIONS FROM NOVEMBER i, 1018, TO JANUARY 31,
1919
American rose annual. Vol. 2. Ed. 2., Vol. 3. Harrisburg, 1917, 1918.
COSTANTIN, JULIEN NOEL. Les Mucedinees simples. Paris, 1888.
DIXON, ROYAL, 81 FITCH, FRANKLIN EVERETT. The human side of trees. New
York, 1017. ( Given by Mrs.. N. L. Britton.)
FERRY DE LA BELLONE, CAMILLE DE. La truffe. Paris, 1888.
GERTH VAN WIJK, H. L. A dictionary of plant- names. Vol. 2. The Hague, 1916.
HARDING, ALICE. The book of the peony. Philadelphia, 1917. ( Given by Mrs.
N. L. Britton.)
KELLY, HOWARD ATWOOD. Some American medical botanists commemorated in our
botanical nomenclature. Troy, 1914. ( Given by Dr. J. H. Barnhart.)
LETELLIER, JEAN BAPTISTE LOUIS. Figures des champignons servant de supplement
aux planches de Bulliard. Ed. 2. Meilhac [ 1841].
LOVELL, JOHN H. The flower and the bee. New York, 1918. ( Given by Mrs. N.
L. Britton.)
MICHAEL, EDMUND. Fuhrer fur Pilzfreunde. 3 vols. Zwickhau i. S. 1898- 1905.
MURRILL, WILLIAM ALPHONSO. Three young Crusoes. Bronxwood Park, 1918.
( Given by Dr. W. A. Murrill.)
NYLANDER, WILLIAM. Observationes circa Pezizas Fenniae. [ Helsingfors, 1869.]
OLIVER, GEORGE W. Plant culture. Ed. 3. New York, 1912. ( Given by Mrs.
N. L. Britton.)
ROMELL, LARS GUNNAR. Dr. M. A. Lindblads swampbok. Stockholm, 1902.
TRATTINNICK, LEOPOLD. Fungi auslriaci, iconibus illustrati. Wien, 1805—[ 06].
TRELEASE, WILLIAM. Winter botany. Urbana, 1918. ( Given by Mrs. N. L.
Britton.)
WUNSCHE, FRIEDRICH OTTO. Flore generate des champignons. Paris, 1883.
PLANTS AND SEEDS
1 plant of Juglans cordiformis. ( Given by Mr. J. F. Jones.)
5 plants of Erica. ( By exchange with Harvard Botanic Garden.)
235 plants for herbaceous collections. ( Collected by Mr. E. B. Southwick.)
32 orchids for conservatories. ( Given by Mrs. Henry Marquand.)
5 plants of Rhipsalis. ( By exchange with Bureau of Plant Industry.)
5 plants of Hylocereus. ( Given by Mr. G. A. Lind.)
3 plants of Cereus. ( Given by Mr. W. H. Becker.)
2 orchid plants. ( By exchange with Lager & Hurrell.)
5 plants for conservatories. ( Given by Mrs. J. B. Trevor.)
4 plants of Lantana Camara. ( Given by Mrs. C D. Dickey.)
25 plants, mostly palms, for the conservatories. ( Given by Mrs. Finley J.
Shepard.)
1 plant of Mamillaria from New Mexico. ( Given by Mr. W. H. Long.)
2 plants of Opuntia Stanleyi. ( By exchange with Dr. D. T. MacDougal.)
6 plants of Mesembryanlhemum from California. ( Given by Dr. H. M. Richards.)
49
2 plants of Cattleya Trianae. ( Given by Mr. Adam Muller.)
r plant of Strobilanthus Dyerianus. ( By exchange with Mr. S. Untermyer.)
198 plants for conservatories from Ecuador. ( Collected by Dr. J. N. Rose.)
43 plants for herbaceous grounds. ( Collected by Dr. F. W. Pennell.)
2 plants of Peperomia from Florida. ( Collected by Dr. J. K. Small.)
21 plants for conservatories from Florida. ( Collected by Dr. J. K. Small.)
2 orchid plants for conservatories from Florida. ( Collected by Dr. J. K. Small.)
16 plants for conservatories. ( By exchange with U. S. National Museum,
through Dr. J. N. Rose.)
1 plant of Agave decipiens from Key West, Fla. ( Collected by Dr. J. N. Rose.)
205 plants derived from seeds from various sources.
2 packets of seeds of Ochroma. .( Given by Mr. W. W. Rowlee.)
2 packets of oak seed. ( By exchange with Indiana Board of Forestry Service.)
144 packets of seeds from Colombia. ( Collected by Dr. F. W. Pennell.)
1 packet of seed of Ochroma tomentosa from Colombia. ( Collected by Rusby &
Pennell.)
15 packets of seeds from Colombia. ( By exchange with Ministerio de Agric. y
Comercie, through Mr. M. T. Dawe.)
2 packets of seed of Ilex verticillata. ( Given by Mrs. N. L. Britton.)
1 packet of seed of Picrodendron baccatum. ( Given by Mr. Wm. Harris.)
14 packets of seed. ( By exchange with Hort. Sect. Ministry of Agric, Giza,
Egypt.)
2 packets of seed. ( Given by Mrs. W. W. Heaton.)
2 packets of Robinia seed. ( Given by Mr. H. G. Wolfgang, through Dr. J. K.
Small.)
5 packets of seed of Quercus virginiana. ( Collected by Dr. J. K. Small.)
1 packet of seed of Arisaema sp. from Florida. ( Collected by Dr. J. K. Small.)
1 packet of Florida seed. ( Collected by Dr. J. K. Small.)
l packet of Opuntia seed from North Carolina. ( Given by Mr. W. L. McAtee.)
1 packet of seed of Paurotis Wrightii. ( Given by Mr. C. A. Mosier.)
4 packets of Cuban seed. ( Given by Bro. Leon.)
2 packets of seed. ( By exchange with Bureau of Plant Industry.),
1 packet of Solanum seed. ( Given by H. J. Corfield.)
1 packet of seed of Sparganium acaule. ( Collected by Mr. P. Wilson.)
I packet of seed of Coffea arabica. ( Given by Dr. H. H. Rusby.)
1 packet of Sapindus seed from Colombia. ( Collected by Dr. H. H. Rusby.)
Members of the Corporation
Fritz Achelis,
Edward D. Adams,
Charles B. Alexander,
Vincent Astor,
John W. Auchincloss,
George F. Baker,
Stephen Baker,
Edmund L. Baylies,
Prof. Charles P. Berkey,
Eugene P. Bicknell,
C. K. G. Billings,
George Blumenthal,
Prof. N. L. Britton,
Prof. Edw. S. Burgess,
Dr. Nicholas M. Butler,
W. H. Carpenter,
Andrew Carnegie,
Prof. C. F. Chandler,
William G. Choate,
Hon. W. A. Clark,
C. A. Coffin,
Samuel P. Colt,
Edmund C. Converse,
Marin Le Brun Cooper,
Paul D. Cravath,
Cleveland H. Dodge,
A. F. Estabrook,
Samuel W. Fairchild,
William B. 0. Field,
James B. Ford,
Henry W. de Forest,
Robert W. de Forest,
Henry C. Frick,
Prof. W. J. Gies,
Daniel Guggenheim,
Murry Guggenheim,
J. Horace Harding,
J. Montgomery Hare,
Edward S. Harkness,
Prof. R. A. Harper,
J. Amory Haskell,
T. A. Havemeyer,
A. Heckscher,
Bernhard Hoffmann,
Henry R. Hoyt,
Archer M. Huntington,
Adrian Iselin,
Dr. Walter B. James,
Walter B. Jennings,
Otto H. Kahn,
Darwin P. Kingsley,
Edw. V. Z. Lane,
Dr. Albert R. Ledoux,
Prof. Frederic S. Lee,
Adolph Lewisohn,
David Lydig,
Kenneth K. Mackenzie,
V. Everit Macy,
Edgar L. Marston,
W. J. Matheson,
Dr. William H. Maxwell,
George McAneny,
James McLean,
Emerson McMillin,
Dr. Walter Mendelson,
John L. Merrill,
Ogden Mills,
Hon. Ogden L. Mills,
J. Pierpont Morgan,
Dr. Lewis R. Morris,
Frederic R. Newbold,
C. D. Norton,
Eben E. Olcott,
Prof. Henry F. Osborn,
George W. Perkins,
Henry Phipps,
F. R. Pierson,
James R. Pitcher,
Ira A. Place,
M. F. Plant,
Charles F. Rand,
Ogden Mills Reid,
Edwin A. Richard,
Prof. H. M. Richards,
William Rockefeller,
John D. Rockefeller,
W. Emlen Roosevelt,
Prof. H. H. Rusby,
Dr. Reginald H. Sayre,
Jacob H. Schiff,
Mortimer L. Schiff,
Albert R. Shattuck,
Henry A. Siebrecht,
William Sloan- e,
Valentine P. Snyder,
Arthur S. Somers,
James Speyer,
Francis L. Stetson,
Frederick Strauss,
F. K. Sturgis,
B. B. Thayer,
Charles G. Thompson,
Dr. W. Gilman Thompson,
Myles Tierney,
Louis C. Tiffany,
W. K. Vanderbilt,
Felix M. Warburg,
Paul M. Warburg,
H. H. Westinghouse,
Bronson Winthrop,
Grenville L. Winthrop.
Members of the Women's Auxiliary-
Mrs. Robert Bacon,
Mrs. Thomas H. Barber,
Miss Elizabeth Billings,
Miss Eleanor Blodgett,
Mrs. Charles D. Dickey,
Mrs. Walter Jennings,
Mrs. Delanccy Kane,
Mrs. Hamilton F. Kean,
Mrs. A. A. Low,
Mrs. Charles MacVeagh,
Mrs. V. Everit Macy,
Mrs. Henry Marquand,
Mrs. George W. Perkins,
Mrs. George D. Pratt,
Miss Harriette Rogers,
Mrs. James Roosevelt,
Mrs. Benson B. Sloan,
Mrs. Theron G. Strong,
Mrs. Henry O. Taylor,
Mrs. Cabot Ward.
Honorary Members of the " Women's Auxiliary
Mrs. E. Henry Harriman, Miss Olivia E. P. Stokes, Mrs. F. F. Thompson.
Mrs. John I. Kane, Mrs. F. K. Sturgis,
Provisions for
Benefactors, Patrons, Fellows, Fellowship Members,
Sustaining Members, Annual Members
and Life Members
I. Benefactors
The contribution of $ 25,000.00 or more to the funds of the Garden by
gift or by bequest entitles the contributor to be a benefactor of the Garden.
2. Patrons
The contribution of $ 5000.00 or more to the funds of the Garden by gift
or by bequest shall entitle the contributor to be a patron of the Garden.
3. Fellows for Life
The contribution of $ 1000.00 or more to the funds of the Garden at any
one time shall entitle the contributor to be a fellow for life of the Garden.
4. Fellowship Members
Fellowship members pay $ 100.00 or more annually and become fellowi
for life when their payments aggregate $ 1,000.00.
5. Sustaining Members
Sustaining members pay from $ 25.00 to $ 100.00 annually and become
fellows for life when their payments aggregate $ 1,000.00.
6. Annual Members
Annual members pay an annual fee of $ 10.00.
All members are entitled to the following privileges:
1. Tickets to all lectures given under the auspices of the Board of
Managers.
2. Invitations to all exhibitions given under the auspices of the Board
of Managers.
3. A copy of all handbooks published by the Garden.
4. A copy of all annual reports and Bulletins.
5. A copy of the monthly Journal.
6. Privileges of the Board Room.
7. Life Members
Annual members may become Life Members by the payment [ of a fee
of $ 250.00.
Information
Members are invited to ask any questions they desire to have answered
on botanical or horticultural subjects. Docents will accompany any members
through the grounds and buildings any week day, leaving Museum Building
at 3 o'clock.
Form of Bequest
I hereby bequeath to the New York Botanical Garden incorporated under
the Laws of New York, Chapter 285 of 189J, the sum of