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TORREYA
A Bi-MonTHLY JOURNAL oF BotranicaL Notes Anp News
John Torrey, 1796-1873
EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY WEEE |) BO NTSAMs EE AND
HAROLD EO LUM VOLUME 42
New York 1942
sng Pia.
NEW YORK ANICAI
Volume 42 January-February, 1942 Number I
TORREYA
A Bi-MontTHLYy JoURNAL oF Botanica, Notes AND NEws
GARDEN
EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB
BY
WILLIAM J. BONISTEEL
John Torrey, 1796-1873
CONTENTS
Thomas Horsfield—American Naturalist and Explorer....... James B. McNair 1 Notes on the Flora of Arizona...............-202e-eeeacecees LyMAn BENSON Dhe7Names of Gormusijs 325 c cic ots ais Wales se shelelore cue sls cieiol eter ckoush H. W. Rickert I1 Phyllanthus nummulariaefolius Poir. in the United States........ Lron Croizat 14 Book Reviews
Ane Jee \WWard tls coving dos moa scacdom acc Aueues ca ade oa Greorce T. Hastines 18
ThesAdvance ofthe Bungie. 95sec se sacle erie ses eaten = etal tek B. O. Donce 19
Hunger Signs in Crops.............2-20 00sec e eee eee Wo. J. BonisTEEL 21 Field ‘Trips of the Clubs.) .2210.. 2 foe. onc ae te ce gs rierlege ee minim = cilia 22 Proceedings of the Club.............. BN cata le em LON REDE Seah ets a cat al ace a teres 25 ING ws INO CG oar ee ie eMC IN Sree corres aa et Val viataDa\talol efava(eskel » 9/a\)) aletereieis etn fens ee19 32
PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB
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TORREYA
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TORREYA
Vol. 42 January-February, 1942 No. 1
Thomas Horsfield—American Naturalist and Explorer
James B. McNair
The eighty-six years of Thomas Horsfield’s life may be divided into three periods—the American period of twenty-six years from 1773 to 1799, the Javan period of twenty years from 1799 to 1819, and the British period of thirty-nine years from 1820 to 1859. But before taking up Dr. Horsfield’s career in detail it might be well to devote some time to a study of his ancestry.
Thomas Horsfield’s grandfather was Timothy Horsfield’ who was born in Liverpool, England in 1708 and was educated in the parish school. In 1725 he emigrated to New York and joined his brother Isaac, with whom he learned the trade of butcher. In 1735 they leased two stands in the Old Slip Market where their business became large and profitable.
Although a member of the Church of England, he became inter- ested in the Moravian Church in 1739. In 1748 he applied to the authorities at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania for permission to reside there, but because he was one of the executors of the estate of Thomas Noble, a prominent merchant of New York, and a member of the newly organized Moravian congregation, as well as being entrusted with the building of the Irene, he was requested to post- pone his removal. He, however, took his children to Bethlehem to be educated in the schools. The year following he moved there him- self where, except for a short sojourn in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, he resided until his death.
On the founding of Northampton County in 1752, Timothy Horsfield was appointed a justice of the peace by Governor Hamil- ton. In 1763 he was commissioned colonel of the forces in the county for the defense of its frontiers against Indian raids. This appoint-
1 Timothy Horsfield, perhaps the great grandfather of T. Horsfield, ap- pears in the parish register of St. Nicholas Church, Liverpool in 1694 and 1704.
Torreya for January-February (Vol. 42: 1-32) was issued February 27, 1942. 1
Z
ment excited jealousy, so he soon resigned and lost his justiceship in consequence. Squire Horsfield lived in what was known as the Oerter house, which stood on Market Street opposite the graveyard.
In 1731 Timothy Horsfield was married to Mary, daughter of John Doughty, a prominent butcher of Long Island, and a lineal descendant of the Reverend Francis Doughty, who, in 1632, preached the first Presbyterian sermon. Both Timothy and Mary Horsfield died in 1773 on Long Island.
Thomas Horsfield’s best known uncle was Joseph Horsfield who was chosen a delegate to the Pennsylvania convention to ratify the Federal Constitution in 1787 and one of the signers of the rati- fication. In 1792 he was appointed by President Washington to be the first postmaster of Bethlehem.
Thomas Horsfield’s father was Timothy Horsfield, Jr., who married Juliana Parsons at Philadelphia in 1738. She was the daughter of William Parsons, surveyor general and founder of Easton, Pennsylvania. Timothy Horsfield died April 11, 1789 and his wife died January 17, 1808.
Thomas Horsfield was born at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, May 12, 1773. He received his early education in the Moravian schools at Bethlehem and Nazareth. Very early in life his tastes led him to the study of botany, and a similar inclination to the pursuit of all branches of biological science may have caused him to select medicine as a profession. He pursued a course in pharmacy with Dr. Otto of Bethlehem and devoted special attention also to botany. This Dr. Otto was probably John Frederick Otto, M.D., of Halle who arrived from Europe in 1750. He was widely known as physi- cian and surgeon and died at.Nazareth in 1779.
Thomas Horsfield graduated in medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in 1798 in the twenty-fifth year of his age and served as “medical apprentice” in the Pennsylvania Hospital from 1794 to 1799. While at the University he was a pupil of Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton. “His graduation thesis is remarkable for its pains- taking clinical description of the toxic symptoms of the poisoning _ produced by sumac and poison ivy, and for the record of well- conceived experiments carried out upon himself and upon animals concerning the pharmacological action of this interesting poison. It ranks as a pioneer contribution in the history of experimental pharmacology in America.”
3
The year after his graduation, in October 1799, he accepted service as surgeon on the China, a merchant vessel about to sail for Java. In the course of the voyage he visited Batavia, in the island of Java. He was impressed with the beauty of the scenery, the rich- ness of the vegetation, and certain drugs in common use by the natives which were extracted from local plants. He decided to in- vestigate these substances, so upon his return home he secured such books, scientific instruments and materials as he could get together in Philadelphia and undertook a second voyage to Batavia in 1801. There he secured, upon application, an appointment as surgeon in the Dutch Colonial Army, and this gave him an oppor- tunity to visit and study the flora, fauna and geology of the various parts of the island. This was the beginning of eighteen years of study which linked his name inseparably with the natural history and especially the botany of Java.
In the prefaces of his various works he tells the story of his collections and travels. It appears that between 1802 and 1811 his facilities were poor and many of his most valued specimens decay- ed owing to inadequate preservation. or several years his re- searches were confined to the vicinity of Batavia, but beginning with 1804 he visited nearly all parts of Java and made brief trips to several of the neighboring islands.
In 1811 Java became a British possession, administered by the East India Company. The temporary commissioner authorized Horsfield to continue his investigations along the same lines as hitherto, and before the end of the year a new governor, Sir Thomas © Stamford Raffles (after whom the genus Rafflesia and family Raffle- siaceae were named) confirmed his appointment in the service of the East India Company. This connection enabled him to pursue his studies on a more elaborate scale. Dr. Horsfield thoroughly ex- plored every part of the island in quest of its natural products. From Java he visited Banca and gave the fullest and best account which exists of the mineralogy, geology, botany and zoology of that island. After the restoration of Java to the Dutch in 1816, Dr. Horsfield made a long sojourn in Sumatra and there continued his favorite studies.
He secured the warm friendship of Sir Stamford Raffles, who, it is believed, acquired from Dr. Horsfield that love of natural his- tory: by which he was distinguished, and which rendered him so
4
zealous in its promotion. Dr. Horsfield followed that eminent man to England in 1818 and soon after was made Keeper of the Museum of the East India Company, which charge he held until his death on July 24, 1859 in the eighty-seventh year of his age.
In regard to Dr. Horsfield’s work in Java, Sir Stamford Raf- fles says in his History of Java that “For all that relates to the natural history of Java, I am indebted to the communications of Dr. Thomas Horsfield. Though sufficient for my purpose, it forms but a scanty portion of the result of his long and diligent researches on the subject.”
It is not strange that one who graduated in medicine and whose graduation thesis should be a study of the action of a poisonous plant should be interested in other plants of pharmacological action. And so we find that upwards of sixty of the medicinal plants of Java were described for the first time by Dr. Horsfield in the Batavian Transactions. One of these studies which gained especial notice was his work on the Upas tree in which he refuted the false- hoods and fabulous traditions which had been published concerning this subject.
Sir Stamford Raffles also states that “Upwards of a thousand (Javanese) plants are already contained in the herbaria of Dr. Horsfield, of which a large proportion are new to the naturalist.” This extensive collection was sent to England and later (1858) presented by the East India Company to the Linnean Society of London. A selection only of his botanical collections was published as a monograph “Plantae Javanicae Rariores.” This is a beautifully illustrated work, prepared with the assistance of the botanists Robert Brown and J. J. Bennett. In it 2,196 species are described, all of which Horsfield had collected himself.
Dr. Horsfield although eminent as a botanist and equally versed in mineralogical knowledge, was perhaps most eminent as a zoologist. The most important of his zoological publications and the earliest of his independent works after his coming to England, was his “Zoological Researches in Java and the Neighbouring _ Islands,” published in 1821 and the following years. His other zoological writings are chiefly the valuable illustrated catalogues of mammals, birds and lepidoptera of the several zoological depart- ments of the East India Company’s museum, and numerous papers on zoological subjects contributed to the “Linnean Transactions.”
5
the “Zoological Journal” and the “Proceedings of the Zoological Society.” His latest publication was the “Catalogue of the Lepi- dopterous Insects in the East India Museum.” It was compiled by Mr. Moore, his assistant, from Dr. Horsfield’s materials and manuscripts, and under his direction. Dr. Horsfield had some years before commenced a catalogue of these insects, of which only two parts were published (1828-29). This publication, though incom- plete, deserves notice, as it contains an elaborate introduction, with a general arrangement of the Lepidoptera founded on their meta- morphosis. The importance of the transformations of insects in reference to their classification had indeed become early impressed on Dr. Horsfield’s mind. He accordingty spent three seasons dur- ing his stay in Java in collecting the larvae of numerous species of Lepidoptera, watching their development, and making careful descriptions and drawings of their successive changes up to the perfect state.
Dr. Horsfield always took the deepest interest in the progress of natural history, and especially in the systematic arrangement of animals, in which he adopted the views of Mr. McLeay. His classification of the diurnal lepidoptera and of birds exhibits great powers of philosophical analysis.
His numerous scattered papers, if put together, would constitute several large and valuable volumes, and many of them, more espe- cially those on geology and natural history of the Eastern Archi- pelago, well deserve to be collected in a separate form.
Dr. Horsfield was a man of retiring habits, but of amiable char- acter and unblemished integrity. He was one of the few Americans who became a Fellow of the Royal Society of London (in 1828). He was a member of many other societies including the Batavian Society, the Zoological Society of London and the Geological Society of London. He was elected a Fellow of the Linnean Society in 1820 and later became one of its vice-presidents.
Three genera of plants have been named Horsfieldia at different times. Horsfieldia of Willdenow (1805) is the oldest and com- prises plants of the Myristicaceae. It is in current use and included more than fifty species of nutmegs. The genus Horsfieldia of Blume (1830) was composed of a species of the Araliaceae. Chifflot (1909) designated the genus Horsfieldia for some of the Gesneriaceae. Because Horsfieldia was first used by Willdenow in a generic sense
6
the genus Horsfieldia of Blume was changed to Harmsiopanax Warb: and that of Chifflot to Monophyllaea Reichb. Many species of plants and insects also bear Horsfield’s name.
References
Anonymous. 1859. Obituary. The Times. London. July 29, 1859.
. 1859. Obituary. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 10: xix—
XX1.
. 1861. Obituary. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Anni-
versary meeting May 24, 1860. Jour. of the Proc. of the Linn. Soc. Zoology.
5: XXV-XXVI.
. 1858. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Meeting of Nov. 4, 1858. Jour. of the Proc. of the Linn. Soc. Zoology. 4: i. Candolle, A. P. de 1830. Prodomus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, sive Enumeratio contracta ordinum, generum specierumque plantarum. 4: 87. Carson, J. 1869. A history of the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania. pp. 131-132.
Chifflot, J. B. J. 1909. Sur quelques variations du Monophyllaea Horsfieldii R. Br. Compt. rend. Acad. Sci. Paris. 148: 939-941.
Egle, W. H. 1887. The Federal Constitution of 1787. The Pennsylvania Mag. of Hist. and Biogr. 11: 213-222.
Gray, Asa. 1859, 1860. Amer. Jour. of Science. Second series (1859) 28: 444; (1860) 29: 441.
Jordan, J. W. 1896. Timothy Horsfield. Notes and Queries. Edited by W. H. Egle. Harrisburg, Pa. 3: 166-168. Reprinted edition.
. 1909. William Parsons, Surveyor General and Founder of Easton, Pa. The Pennsylvania Mag. of Hist. and Biogr. 33: 345-346.
Levering, J. M. 1903. A History of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. p. 171.
McNair, J. B. 1923. Rhus dermatitis, its pathology and chemotherapy. Univer- sity of Chicago Press. pp. 83, 101, 116, 119, 126, 127, 139, 141, 142, 145, 147, 193.
Oliver, D. 1860. Notes on the British Herbarium of the Linnean Society. Jour. of the Proc. of the Linn. Soc. Botany. 4: 194-198.
Raffles, Sir T. S. 1817. The History of Java. London. Vol. 1.
Willdenow, C. L. 1805. Species plantarum. 4: 872.
Publications
Horsfield, Thomas. 1798. An experimental dissertation on the Rhus vernix, Rhus radicans and Rhus glabrum; commonly known in Pennsylvania by the - names of poison-ash, poison-vine and common sumach. By Thomas Hors- field of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Philadelphia. Printed by Charles Cist, No. 104 North Second Street. Published also in Charles Caldwell’s “Medi- cal Theses,” Philadelphia 1805. pp. 113-163.
. 1805. An account of a voyage to Batavia in the year 1800. The Phila-
delphia Medical Museum. Edited by J. Redman Coxe. Vol. 1.
7
——. 1814. Scheikundige ontleding van een vulkaansch zand en een yzer-erts. (Chemical analysis of some volcanic sand and an iron ore.) Batav. Genootsch. Verhand. 7.
. 1814. Over de Rivier van Solo. (Beyond the River Solo.) Batay.
Genootsch. Verhandl. 7.
. 1814. Reis naar de Ooster-streken van Java. (Journey to the East-
stretch of Java.) Batav. Genootsch. Verhandl. 7.
. 1814. Beschrijving van den Gatip-Boom. (Description of the Gatip-
Tree.) Batav. Genootsch. Verhandl. 7.
. 1814. Beknopte beschrijving van het Crinum asiaticum. (Brief descrip-
tion of Crinum asiaticum.) Batav. Genootsch. Verhandl. 7.
. 1814. Scheikundige ontleding der vruchten van den Rarak-Boom.
(Sapindus saponaria, Linn.) (Chemical analysis of the fruit of the Rarak-
Tree.) Batav. Genootsch. Verhandl. 7.
. 1814. On the Oopas or Poison-tree of Java. Batav. Genootsch. Ver- handl. 7; Thomson Ann. Phil. 9: 202-214, 265-274 (1817) ; Jour. de Phys. 84: 259-266 (1817); Amer. Med. Recorder, Phila. 1: 64-80, 587-600 (1818) ; Jour. de Physiol, exper. et pathologique (Magendie’s), Paris. 7: 334-384 (1827).
— . 1816 (?) On the mineralogy of Java. Batav. Genootsch. Verhandl. 8: 141-173.
. 1816 (?) Essay on the geography, mineralogy, and botany of the
western portion of the territory of the native princes of Java. Batav.
Genootsch. Verhandl. 8: 175-312.
. 1822. Systematic arrangement and descriptions of birds from the
island of Java. (Read April 18, 1820.) Linn. Soc. Trans. 13: 133-200. Oken,
Isis, 1825, col. 1053-1087.
. 1824. Zoological researches in Java, and the neighbouring island. Lon-
don.
. 1824-25. Description of the Riman-Dahan of the inhabitants of Sumatra,
a new species of Felis (F. macrocelis) discovered in the forests of Bencoolen
by Sir Stamford Raffles. Zool. Jour. 1: 542-554; Ferussac, Bull. Sci. Nat.
6: 400-402 (1825) ; Oken, Isis, 1830, col. 825-827.
. 1825. Description of the Helarctos Euryspilus, exhibiting in the Bear
from the island of Borneo the type of a sub-genus of Ursus. Zool. Jour.
2: 221-234 (1826); Ferussac, Bull. Sci. Nat. 6: 399-400 (1825) ; Oken,
Isis, 1830, col. 1023-1027.
. 1827. Notice of a species of Ursus (U. isabellinus) from Nepal. (Read
June 20, 1826.) Linn. Soc. Trans. 15 : 332-334.
. 1827-28. Notice of two new species of Vespertilionidae found in Cuba
(Molossus velox, Phyllostoma Jamaicense). Zool. Jour. 3 : 236-240.
. 1828-29. Notice of a new species of Mustela (M. Hardwickii) found
in India by Major-General Thomas Hardwicke. Zool. Jour. 4: 238-240;
Ferussac, Bull. Sci. Nat. 20: 322 (1830).
. 1828-29. Part I (-II) of a descriptive catalogue of the lepidopterous
insects contained in the Museum of the East India Company ... with...
observations on the general arrangement of this order of insects. London.
8
. 1829-30. Descriptions of several oriental lepidopterous insects. Zool. Jour. 5: 65-70.
. 1831. Observations on two species of bats, from Madras (Megaderma lyra), one of them new (Nycticejus Heathii), presented by Mr. Heath. Zool. Soc. Proc. 1: 113-114.
. 1832. On the specific distinction of Viverra Rasse, Horsf. and Viverra Indica, Geoffr. Zool. Soc. Proc. 2: 22-23. ‘
. 1839. A list of Mammalia and birds collected in Assam.by J. McClel- land. Zool. Soc. Proc. 7: 146-147; Ann. Nat. Hist. 6: 366-374, 450-461 (1841) ; Oken, Isis, 1846, col. 631-634.
. 1848. Report on the island of Banka. Jour. Ind. Archipel. 3: 373-427, 705-724, 779-819; Silliman, Jour. 7: 86-101 (1849).
. 1849. Brief notice of several Mammalia and birds discovered by B. H. Hodgson, Esq., in Upper India. Ann. Nat. Hist. 3 : 202-203.
. 1851. A catalogue of the Mammalia in the Museum of the Hon. East - India Company. London.
. 1855. Brief notices of several new or little known species of Mammalia, lately discovered and collected in Nepal, by Brian Houghton Hodgson, Esq. Ann. Nat. Hist. 16: 101-104.
. 1856. Catalogue of a collection of Mammalia from Nepal, Sikkim and Tibet, presented to the H. E. I. C. by Mr. Hodgson in 1853. Zool. Soc. Proc. 24: 393-406.
, J. J. Bennett and R. Brown. 1838-1852. Plantae Javanicae rariores, descriptae iconibusque illustratae, quas in insula Java, amis 1802-1818, legit et investigavit T. Horsfield; e siccis descriptiones et characteres plurimarum elaboravit J. J. Bennett; observationes, structuram et affinitales praesertim respicientes, passim adjecit R. Brown. London.
, et al. 1826-35. Illustrations of ornithology by Sir W. Jardine, Bart., and P. J. Selby, with the cooperation of J. E. Bicheno, J. G. Children, T. Hardwicke, T. Horsfield, R. Jameson, Sir. T. S. Raffles, N. A. Vigors. Vol. 1, 2. Edinburgh.
, and F. Moore. 1854. A catalogue of the birds in the Museum of the Hon. East India Company. By Thomas Horsfield assisted by F. Moore. London.
, and F. Moore. 1857. A catalogue of the lepidopterous insects in the Museum of the Hon. East India Company. By T. Horsfield and F. Moore. London.
, and N. A. Vigors. 1827. A description of the Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society, with an attempt at arranging them accord- ing to their natural affinities. (Read June 21, 1825 and January 17, 1826.) Linn. Soc. Trans. 15: 170-321 ; Oken, Isis, 23, col. 258-312 (1830).
and . 1827-28. Notice of a new genus of Mammalia (Gymnura), | found in Sumatra by Sir T. Stamford Raffles. Zool. Jour. 3: 246-249; Ferussac, Bull. Sci. Nat. 18: 443-444 (1829) ; Oken, Isis, 1830, col. 1168- 1169. . and . 1827-28. Descriptions of two new species of the genus Felis in the collection of the Zoological Society (F. planiceps and F. Temmincki). Zool. Jour. 3: 449-451.
9)
and 1828-29. Observations on some of the Mammalia contained in the Museum of the Zoological Society. Zool. Jour. 4: 105-113, 380-384; Ferussac, Bull. Sci. Nat. 20: 321.
Macleay, W. S. 1825. Annulosa Javanica; or an attempt to illustrate the natural affinities and analogies of the insects collected in Java by T. Horsfield, etc. No. 1. London.
Notes on the Flora of Arizona
LyMAN BENSON
In this article the following topics are discussed: (1) A New Haplophyton from the Southwest; (2) Triodia eragrostoides in Arizona; (3) The California Poppy in Arizona.
1. A New Haplophyton from the Southwest
Dr. D. M. Crooks, head of the division of drug and related plants of the Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C., pointed out to the writer a difference in appearance of the Arizona plants of Haplophyton cimicidum from figures of the same species grown in Mexico. Investigation of the characters of specimens obtained from the United States National Herbarium and in the University of Arizona Herbarium has resulted in the following segregation:
HAPLOPHYTON CIMICIDUM A. DC. var. Crooksii L. Benson, var. nov. Leaves lanceolate, 15-27 or rarely 32 mm. long, 4-8 or 10 mm. broad; seeds 6-7.5 mm. long, somewhat grooved and ridged, commonly with part of the surface with broad papillae resembling pebble-grained leather. Foliis lanceolatis, 15-27 mm. rariter 32 mm. longis, 4-8 mm. rariter 10 mm. latis; seminis 6—7.5 mm. longis, striatis vel partim papillatis. Southeastern Arizona to Western Texas; southward into Northern Mexico. Type collec- tion: “Prison Road,” Santa Catalina Mountains, Pima County, Arizona, D. M. Crooks & Robert A. Darrow, Dec. 27, 1939. Type mounted on three sheets in the Herbarium of the University of Arizona.
The corresponding characters of typical Haplophyton cimicidum are as follows: Leaves ovate-attenuate, 35-45 mm. long, 14-22 mm. broad; seeds 8-10 mm. long, deeply grooved and ridged. The species is common in southern and. central Mexico, and it occurs as far northward and westward as Guaymas, Sonora (Palmer in
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1887, U. S.). Specimens of the variety with leaves large enough to be considered almost but not clearly transitional are the following: Baboquivari Mountains, Arizona, Peebles, Harrison & Kearney 2795, U. S.; Rio de los vueltos, Mexico (state not given), Lieb- mann 11993, U. S.; Eulalia Plains, Chihuahua, Wilkinson in 1885, Oo Sc
Haplophyton cimicidum is known as “hierba de la cucaracha” or cockroach plant, and the vegetative parts contain an insecticide used with cornmeal to kill cockroaches.
2. Triodia eragrostoides in Arizona
Triodia eragrostoides Vasey & Scribn. is one of many species growing in northern Mexico, which occur in Arizona and Texas but not in the intervening area in New Mexico. It has not been reported heretofore for Arizona. Mesquites along a small wash at the Barbeque Area of the Colossal Cave State Park, Pima County, Arizona, L. Benson 9174, Sept. 28, 1938, L. Benson 9801, Oct. 9, 1939. Range, cf. A. S. Hitchcock, Manual of the Grasses of the United) States 213511935, ~Hlorida Keys, Wexas, and) northern Mexico; Cuba,” or, cf. W. J. Beal, Grasses of North America 2: 465. 1896, “Florida, Texas, and Mexico.”
3. The California Poppy in Arizona
The California poppy, Eschscholtzia californica Cham. presents a classification problem to the systematic botanist, wherever he may find it, and it is not surprising that the plant occurring on the desert plains and hills in central and southern Arizona is unusual in some respects. It is difficult to discover enough characters in the California poppy to match the hundred or so specific names proposed by Greene, Pittonia 5: 205-293. 1905, but the species is variable in California. The annual form growing in Arizona is readily matched by some California plants, but it does not agree in some characters with the bulk of plants in that state. The torus rim is either not present or reduced to a ring not more than 2 mm. broad, the stems . have a tendency to be scapose, and most years the flowers are smaller and paler. However, the excellent rainy spring of 1941 afforded an opportunity for study of the Arizona plant under conditions ap- proximating those in various parts of California. According to the field observations of the writer, there is no reason to provide the
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Arizona plant with a name other than Eschscholtzia californica, and specific names such as E. mexicana Greene, E. aliena Greene, E. Jones Greene, FE. arizonica Greene, and F. paupercula Greene (cf. Greene loc. cit. pp. 260-263) are merely metanyms.
It is noteworthy that flower color is more variable than in the California forms of the species. In the poppy fields near Tucson colors included orange, yellow with orange center, white with yellow center, white, and numerous variations in color intensity within the major groups. Similar color-types occur in California, but those other than orange or orange-yellow are uncommon in the spring- time, while in Arizona they are remarkably prominent.
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA Tucson, ARIZONA
The Names of Cornus
H. W. Rickert
So early as 1833 Lindley, in founding his genus Benthamia (Bot. Reg. 19: 1579 et seq.), remarked “We do not understand upon what principle this very distinct genus has been combined with Cornus, from which it differs essentially both in flower and fruit. Whether or not C. florida, which agrees with it in habit, is also a species of Benthamia, our materials do not enable us to de- termine.” In 1828 Rafinesque (Med. Bot. 132) had distinguished C. florida as section Cynoxylon, which in 1838 he elevated to ge- neric rank (Alsog. Am. 59). This early tendency to divide the genus has continued, with varying success, until modern times. For instance, Moldenke (Rev. Sudam. Bot. 6: 177. 1940) says: “There is certainly no doubt in my mind that the genus Cornus as regarded by many botanists today is actually an aggregate of several distinct generic elements. The true genus Cornus is typified by Cornus mas L. and contains the so-called Cornelian-cherries. The cornels or osiers represent the genus Svida, the bunchberries repre- sent the genus Chamaepericylmenum, the American flowering- dogwoods represent the genus Benthamudia, and the Asiatic flowering-dogwoods with their coalesced fruit represent the genus Benthamia.”
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Aside from the taxonomic question here involved, the nomen- clature of these segregates repays scrutiny. To begin at the begin- ning, when Lindley founded Benthamia (1.c.) he said of the name: “The Benthamia of Achille Richard being the same as Herminium, we have great pleasure in availing ourselves of the present oppor- tunity of naming this very distinct genus in compliment to our highly valued friend George Bentham, Esq.’ The sentiment did him honor, but the result is inconformable with our rules of nomen- clature, Benthamia Richard, an orchid, having been validly pub- lished in Mém. Soc. Hist. Nat. Paris 4: 37 (1838) .*
Benthamidia Spach (Hist. Vég. Phan. 8: 106. 1839) is ante- dated by Cynoxylon Raf. (Lc.). I cannot agree with Farwell (Rhodora 34: 29-30. 1932) that Cynoxylon was not intended for generic rank. It is true that Rafinesque did not make combinations under his new name; true also that he did not always make his intentions plain. But to unriddle Rafiinesque’s intentions and, above all, to expect consistency in his writings, are beyond the powers and the prerogatives of a scientist. Speaking of his segregates as “G. or subgenera,” he lists “255. Subg. Mesomera Raf. 256. subg. Kraniopsis Raf. 257. EUKRANIA Raf. 258. CyNoxyton Raf. 259. BENTHAMIA Lind.” (lc. 58-59). Each is briefly characterized. He goes on to “mention all the true Cornus,” the species included in the first two groups.
Eukrania Raf. (1.c.) included as “types’”® C. mascula, C. cana- densis, C. suecica, Of this odd assortment C. mas L. (“C. mascula’) has been designated as the type of Cornus L. The change in the circumscription of Eukrania by the removal from it of C. mas (or, to put it differently, the division of the genus) does not invalidate the name, which must be retained if the “bunchberries” are to be treated as a genus. Eukrania Raf. of course antedates Chamae- pericylmenum Graebner (Asch. & Graebner. FI. Nordostdeuts.
1Tt is interesting also to note a previous abortive attempt by Lindley to name a genus after Bentham (Nat. Syst. 241. 1830, nomen nudum), appar- - ently a genus of Boraginaceae and according to A. de Candolle (Prodr. 10: 118. 1846) used on labels in the garden of the Horticultural Society.
* Rydberg wrote (Bull. Torrey Club 33: 147. 1906) that Rafinesque made C. mas “the type” of the genus. In 1839 Rafinesque was far from designating nomenclatural types in the modern sense. Actually he named three species as “types,” by which he must have meant “typical.”
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Flachl. 539. 1898), and Cornella Rydb. (Bull. Torrey Club 33: 147. 1906).
Svida is derived from a Czech word for dogwood. Opiz (Seznam 94. 1852) made it a genus-name and referred to it C. sanguinea L., the common European shrub called dogwood in England,* and C. alba L., related to our C. stolonifera Michx. ; but failed to describe it. Indeed, we can infer his intention to divide Cornus only from the existence of C. mas on page 33 of his flora. Such a procedure, though legitimate at the time, is contrary to our present rules. Svida was first validly published by Small in 1903 Gal, S12, We Se S96).
There are those who say that such a disturbance of the dead bones of nomenclature can be prompted only by the disturber’s desire to see his name after new names and combinations. Per- haps I should grasp the opportunity to give the Asiatic flowering dogwoods a legitimate name and to make new combinations under Eukrania Raf. emend. But botanical bibliography is the servant of taxonomy ; this catalogue of oversights is only incidental to the revaluation of the groups. The point is that a consideration of the genus Cornus over its entire range renders its division far less easy.
Cornus Volkensii Harms (in Engler, Pflanzenw. Ost-Afr. C: 301. 1895), the only known species in Africa, has a paniculate inflorescence much like that of the European C. sanguinea but enclosed in four early deciduous bracts like those characteristic of C. mas (southeastern Europe and western Asia). The drupe is ellipsoidal as in C. mas but dark-colored as in C. sanguinea. It fits neatly as an intermediate between the sections which include these species. C. disciflora Moc. & Sessé (ex DC. Prodr. 4: 273. 1830) of Mexico has the “capitate” inflorescence (a reduced pani- cle) of our C. florida but its four bracts are small and early decidu- ous as in C. mas and C. Volkensu,; its drupe is ellipsoidal and dark-colored. There seems to be a tendency toward dioecism (char- acteristic of several genera of Cornaceae) in both C. Volkensu and C. disciflora. The concrescence of the fruit characteristic of the Asiatic C. Kousa seems hardly to warrant generic segregation, especially since it is approached by C. Nuttalli: of our west coast.
3 Not, of course, an “osier,” though C. stolonifera is often called the “red osier.” Osiers are properly willows; the name has sometimes been used for other withe-like shrubs similarly used in Europe for constructing wattles.
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As for Eukrania, it bases its claims to recognition on its “herba- ceous’”’ habit and the presence of a small dorsal horn on the petals.* In several characters it is intermediate between C. florida and the ebracteate dogwoods.
I do not know what we are to understand by such expressions as “an aggregate of generic elements.” They may signify that Cornus (sensu lato) is polyphyletic, distinct genera having been merged; or that an original stock has become diversified. The latter seems more plausible. Certainly in our ignorance of the history and cytogenetics of the group the burden of proof must fall on him who expounds a polyphyletic origin; present judgment seems premature. If they are really as closely related as they seem to be, I see nothing to be gained by segregating in distinct genera the seven (not five) recognizable sections of Cornus.
New York BotTanicAL GARDEN New York, N. Y.
Phyllanthus nummulariaefolius Poir. in the United States
LEoN CRoIzAT
About five years ago correspondents in Brazil and the Panama Canal Zone sent me seeds of an undetermined species of Phyllan- thus which they described as a polymorphous and aggressive weed. I planted these seeds in a hothouse, grew out of them a sizable crop of specimens and satisfied myself that P. nummulariaefolius Poir. was the entity that had been collected. This plant has proved to be as aggressive and as polymorphous in the hothouse as it has been reported to be in nature, and I must now carefully eradicate it several times a year. The size of the specimens varies from a few inches tall, when the plants happen to grow on a dry bench, to about three feet for material favored by good conditions of soil and temperature.
Pressed specimens of the same plant have also reached me from Argentina, Brazil, Panama and the French West Indies, showing that it is widespread in every one of the tropical American coun-
# Rydberg (1.c.) said on the sepals; surely an error.
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tries bordering upon the Atlantic Ocean. In no case has the mate-
rial thus sent proved to be correctly determined, being usually mislabelled as P. Niruri L. or P. lathyroides H.B.K. These mis- determinations are not always excusable because P. nummulariae- folius not only manifestly differs from both those species and their nearest allies, but represents in the American flora a type of vege- tation that has no immediate relatives. Its affinities are African and Asiatic.
Léandri, who has contributed several specimens to our herba- rium and has extensively collected this weed in its endemic range, that is, Madagascar and the adjacent islands, is the author of a © critical study (in Lecomte Not. Syst. 7[4] :168-169, 171-172, 1939). Here, he stresses the impossibility of using the relative size of the leaf and the length of the fruiting pedicel to separate, even tri- nomially, the many polymorphous aspects of the species. Léandri treats P. tenellus Roxb. as a synonym of P. nuimmulariaefolius, a disposition which is fully justified by the material of the latter which I have seen in the Kew Herbarium, part of which at least was seen by Hooker when preparing the classic illustration of P. tenellus (in Hook. Icon. 16: Pl. 1569. 1887). It is quite evident that P. minor Fawcett (in Jour. Bot. 57:65. 1919) is a synonym of P. nummutlariaefolius, from which Fawcett attempts to sepa- rate it on the basis of minor vegetative characters. An isotype of P. minor in the herbarium of the N. Y. Botanical Garden, Harris 12123, fully matches specimens of P. nummulariaefolius such as grow in moist and shady situations in a hothouse. I believe, more- over, that Lanjouw is justified in suggesting (in Rec. Trav. Bot. Neerl. 31:452. 1934) that P. corcovadensis Muell. Arg. is a synonym of P. nummulariaefolius and an African weed introduced into America. I have not yet seen authentic material of Mueller’s species, but its description and illustration (in Martius Fl. Bras. 11[2] :30, Pl. 6 ii. 1873) apply to no other plant better than to Poiret’s Phyllanthus.
Rio de Janeiro apparently was the original point of introduc- tion of this noxious weed into America, having been brought there probably by ships sailing in colonial times between Mauritius and Brazil. I may note that this is not the only record of an introduc- tion of the kind. Euphorbia spathulata Lam., the holotype of which I have seen, is supposed to be endemic to the Plata regions of
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Argentina, but is altogether alien to the native flora of South America, and it so well matches FE. dictyosperma Fisch. & Mey. and the minor segregates in its vicinity as to suggest that the alleged Argentina endemic is but the North American weed, introduced in the regions of the Plata before 1780. It is characteristic that Norton lists (in Rept. Mo. Bot. Gard. 11:104. 1900) a Moyer specimen from Montevideo under Euphorbia arkansana Engel. & Gray var. Missouriensis.
In view of the widespread range and of the aggressiveness of P. nummutlariaefolius | have been looking forward to finding it recorded within the continei:tal limits of the United States some- where along the coast between Texas and the Carolinas. My antici- pations have been only very recently fulfilled by the finding of two specimens in the herbarium of the N. Y. Botanical Garden, namely : Moldenke 151, Orlando, Fla., 1929, and Rapp 3, Sanford, Fla., 1932, which unmistakably belong to this species. So far, I have seen no other specimens collected in the United States and accept, consequently, Moldenke 151 as the first record of P. nummula- riaefolius for the flora of the United States, exclusive of its ter- ritories and dependencies.
Phyllanthus lathyroides is reported by J. K. Small for Florida (Man. Southeast. Fl. 778. 1933), but he does not mention either P. nummulariaefolius or its synonyms, P. tenellus and P. corcova- densis. Since the Moldenke and the Rapp records have been origi- nally misdetermined as P. lathyroides, and the former has certainly been seen by Small when at work on the Manual, I suspect that the record of P. lathyroides in Small’s work is based upon a mis- determination. I have not seen material of P. lathyroides from Florida, but this species.is likely to have been introduced there, and Small may thus have seen authentic specimens which are now not preserved in the herbarium of the N. Y. Botanical Garden. He, at any rate, failed to record P. nummulariaefolius.
Taxonomists who are interested in learning how to distinguish P. lathyroides from P. nummulariaefolius should study actual speci- mens rather than rely upon the compilations and the colorless descriptions so frequently found in the literature. The two species are quite distinct and excellent material of both is preserved in the herbarium of the N. Y. Botanical Garden. The following speci- mens represent P. lathyroides in that herbarium: (1) Britton,
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Britton & Brown 6995, Portorico; (2) Britton & Boynton 8201, Portorico; (3) Duss 47, Martinique, French W. I., and are true to the isotype which I have seen in the Parisian Museum.
Phyllanthus nummulariaefolius (=P. tenellus Roxb. ; P. corco- vadensis Muell. Arg., syn. nov.; P. minor Fawc., syn. nov.) is represented by the following collections: (1) Ball s.n., 1882, Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; (2) Duss 2442-5557 [duplicate sheet], Guadeloupe, French W. I.; (3) Harris 12157, 12208, 12123 [three sheets, including isotype of P. minor], Jamaica.
The best characters of identification of P. nummulariaefolius from P. lathyroides and the species or forms in the latter’s vicinity (e.g., P. diffusus Kl., well represented by: J. S. De La Cruz 3662, British Guiana, in the herbarium of the N. Y. Botanical Garden) are the following: (a) Shape of the leaf. In P. nummulariaefolius the leaf, regardless of its size, is more or less gradually narrowed from the center towards the extremities, being ovate to obovate. In P. lathyroides and P. diffusus the leaf is essentially elliptic, with the sides tending to run more or less parallel. (b) Length of the pedicel. In P. nummulariaefolius the pedicel, especially that of a fruiting flower, is subcapillary but stiffly produced, always manifestly elongate. In P. latnyroides and P. diffusus the pedicel is much shorter. In P. miruri the pedicel is very short, so that the female flower can here be described as subsessile. (c) Size of the lobes of the calyx of the female flower. In P. nummulariaefolius the lobes are small, narrowly triangular-acuminate, showing like a minute “star” at the tip of the pedicel. In P. lathyroides the lobes are definitely large and subpetaloid. In P. diffusus and P. Niruri the lobes are much smaller than in P. lathyroides and thus tend to approach the size if not the shape of those of P. nummutlariaefolius, but the length of the pedicel is much shorter, as noticed above.
The seed furnishes good characters of determination in Phyl- lanthus, but only mature seeds can be usefully compared for critical identifications and it is unfortunate that there are all too few speci- mens in herbaria which have a complement of seeds fit to be used. The vegetative characters listed above will be found adequate, I believe, at least for provisional determinations.
THE ARNOLD ARBORETUM Jamaica Prain, Mass.
BOOK REVIEWS
A New Text for College Botany
The Plant-World, A Text in College Botany. By Harry J. Fuller. Henry Holt and Co. 1941. Pp. 592. $3.25.
Another excellent text has been added to the ones planned for a first course in college botany. With so many excellent texts already a new one should justify itself by some difference in its approach to the subject, in the aspects of the science stressed, or in the special group of students for which it is planned. In the preface the present text explains that it is for “students who are registered in elementary botany courses principally because of the cultural and general educational value of the subject” and who presumably will take no other courses in biological subjects. With this in mind the author has chosen and arranged the subject matter with the idea of arousing the interest of the students at the start by associating the study of plants with their everyday experiences. The primary objective given is “the presentation of the fundamental features of structures, physiological activities, and reproduction of flowering plants.” Considerably more than half the book is devoted to this main objective. Of several secondary objectives the presenting of a generalized account of plant evolu- tion is given last, with the suggestion that the section of the book treating it and plant ecology may be omitted. Thus many students using the text will undoubtedly finish the course without getting even the brief description of evolution given in the text. The struc- ture and classification of plants below the Spermatophytes is given very briefly, as is heredity and plant breeding.
The short introductory chapters on the history of botanical study and on the nature and origin of life are well done and should stimulate interest at the start. Conforming to the announced objectives the classification of plants is taken up only briefly, using as “a pedagogical concession” the old grouping into Thallophytes, Bryophytes, Pteridophytes and Spermatophytes; though an out- line of a more modern system of classification is given in an appendix.
Illustrations are many and excellent, the drawings, photographs and photomicrographs are good and well reproduced and are chosen to really illustrate the text. The frontispiece is a beautiful
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1)
colored picture of a Cattleya, but, as is often the case in text books, it is merely a pretty picture not in any way important to the book.
As in nearly all college science texts—and the same is true in only slighly less degree of high school texts—the student will meet here nearly as many new terms as he will new words in the first year of a foreign language. The glossary gives nearly 600 tech- nical terms, most of which will be new to the student, while others (such as xeromorphic, polyploidy, photophobic) used in the text are not given in the glossary. It may be difficult to draw the line as to which scientific terms should be included and which omitted in a book of this kind, but for students most of whom will take | no further botany it seems unreasonable to require the learning of scores of words used but once in the text—and there with an explanation—and which they may never in their lives meet again.
There is nothing in the text to suggest laboratory or field work, nor references to further reading. Each chapter is followed by a concise summary, which correctly used, will be a definite help in mastering and organizing the facts given. The language throughout is clear and easily understood, so that the book may be read by a beginner with pleasure. It should satisfactorily fulfill the author’s objective for the course. It will be a valuable text wherever a cultural course in botany, not to be followed by more advanced work, is given. The reviewer hopes that whenever the text is used part [V—‘“‘The Distribution of Plants in Time and Space” will not be omitted.
Georce T. HASTINGS
The Advance of the Fungi
The Advance of the Fungi. By E. C. Large. Henry Holt and Co., New York. 1940. Pp. 488. $4.
Under the above title one would naturally expect to find a discussion of either the phylogeny of fungi in general or a myco- logical treatise. A glance at the chapter headings may have a rather discouraging effect on the young plant pathologist, for here he would find little information about individual plant diseases, which might be expected in a work on plant pathology. Nevertheless, the author deals primarily with plant-pathological problems, availing himself on every occasion of setting forth some of his philosophical or sociological ideas.
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The two opening chapters on potato murrain and the famine in Ireland contain little not already familiar to the mature plant pathologist. The young student might expect to find at the close of these chapters something on the modern methods of the control of the disease. We might also expect the author to take this oppor- tunity to answer some of those who have been criticizing the scientist because of the way his discoveries have been utilized in the construction of the deadly weapons of modern warfare. He could, in accord with Dr. Blakeslee’s recent address as retiring president of the A. A. A. S., have pointed out the great contribu- tions for good made by scientists who have shown how, for exam- ple, potato blight can be easily controlled so that famines in Ireland are no longer necessary or probable. In later chapters on Bordeaux mixture and “New Sprays for Old” methods are given for con- - trolling the blight.
When one considers the author’s sociological viewpoints he finds an excuse for a good discussion of Phylloxera even though aphids are not very closely related to the fungi! This chapter on Phyl- loxera would naturally be the last place one would look to find an account of Craigie’s discovery of the functioning of the spermatia of wheat rust, which would naturally be included in the chapter on the “Barberry and the Wheat.” Craigie’s work, however, is also mentioned in the chapter “Towards Immunity” where the origin of many of the new biologic races is properly attributed to hybridization in the wheat rust.
A chapter on degeneration and virus diseases is included, no doubt because viruses as well as fungi cause disease. Here the author has briefly yet effectively given us the latest information on this type of disease.
On the whole one cannot help enjoying a leisurely reading of various chapters because the historical accounts of certain of our most destructive plant diseases are enlivened with ideas on human relations well worth pondering.
B. O. DopcE New York BoTANICAL GARDEN
Zyl
An Unusually Good Book
Hunger Signs in Crops. A symposium written by a group of fifteen spe- cialists in agronomy, horticulture, plant nutrition, and plant diseases. Pub- lished by the American Society of Agronomy and the National Fertilizer Association. Judd and Detweiler, Inc., Washington, D. C. 1941. Pp. 340. $2.50
Hunger Signs in Crops gives in a very practical manner the symptoms that develop in growing crops when they lack needed mineral elements. The book is timely, for nutritional experts inform us that our diets are woefully lacking in vitamins, proteins and minerals. When plants lack minerals they cannot grow normally, and man and animals that feed upon these plants do not obtain the essential food elements.
The seventy-nine color plates in the book are well chosen and illustrate clearly the many points emphasized throughout the vol- ume. As an example, the picture of a grapefruit with aborted seed and gum pockets in its axis clearly shows boron deficiency. The normal fruit in section is shown for comparison. In addition to the colored plates there are ninety-five halftones that vividly show the results of mineral deficiencies in the plants. The plants discussed are the ones we deal with in our daily life. The pictures illustrate the poor vegetables and fruits that we often purchase unwittingly from the store.
The opening chapter deals with general considerations but fol- lows with a discussion of tobacco, corn and small grains, potato, cotton, vegetables or truck crops, deciduous fruit, legumes and citrus fruits.
The book was designed to be non-technical so as to increase its usefulness. The material was planned for county agents, agricultural teachers, progressive farmers and a source book for libraries and scientists. The clear pictures show at a glance what is wrong with a plant. Thirty minutes spent in the projection of the splendid plates will teach a student more about mineral deficiencies than ten hours of didactic work. Botanists and all lovers of nature cannot afford to ignore this book if they wish to be classified among the well in- formed.
As one turns the pages of the book one is confronted with the need of the following fertilizers in the soil: nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, boron, zine and copper. When these elements are lacking, we have the ready
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picture which shows the deficiency and the loss of yields that one may expect. As a defense measure crops must be of high quality, and proper plant nutrition is absolutely necessary if we are to pro- duce in abundance.
Sales of this book have been unusually high which testifies to its real worth. Credit, however, must be given to its sponsors who con- tributed freely of their time and to the Soil Improvement Commit- tee of the National Fertilizer Association who agreed to be respon- sible for the sale of enough copies so that the price of the book would be within reach of all.
ForDHAM UNIVERSITY Wo. J. BoNISTEEL.
PILED TRIPS OF DAE Cuus
Trip OF SEPTEMBER 28, 1941, TO LAKE BEAR Swamp (LAKE OwASSA) AND SPRINGDALE, N. J.
This was a joint outing with the American Fern Society. Our first find was made before reaching the swamp. Among the revege- tating species in a long abandoned field at the edge of the swamp we found the two gentians typical of north Jersey, Gentiana quin- quefolia and G. Andrewsti. Two species of Botrychium were taken here also. In rapid succession as we entered the swamp the Massa- chusetts fern, and the two chain ferns were encountered. All of the species commonly to be expected in this habitat were found. Our trip had been prompted by the leader’s interest in a press re- port that “mining” operations were in progress in the vicinity. It seems that a so-called “peat’’ is obtained from the root masses (tussocks) of Osmunda. No evidence of such activity was encoun- tered though Osmunda was plentiful. This is a large swamp and we did not cover it all, though the difficulty of crossing a sector of Rhododendron thicket convinced most of the party that they had travelled miles. The reward here was a good feed of wild grapes in their prime. Before leaving the parking place many of the group were successful in finding Isoetes along the shore of Lake Owassa.
After lunch we returned to Newton and the leader obtained permission from Mr. Whittingham to cross his pasture to the well- known Springdale swamp region. Many previous visits to this area have been made. Clinton’s and Goldie’s ferns are abundant in parts
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of the swamp as well as numerous other species of Dryopteris. During the past forty years many hybrid forms have been dis- covered by the members of the two clubs. One such colony of Goldiana « Marginalis was visited. This colony was first reported by Philip Dowell. At this time it was found to contain several plants, generally in good condition despite the dry season. Two plants of hart’s tongue fern were planted here by the Fern Society some years ago. Mr. Leon Bowen had reported them in good con- dition last winter. We found one plant to have nine good-sized leaves, eight of them fertile. No signs of reproduction were to be seen. The other plant was in poor condition so it was reset in the hope of finding more congenial surroundings. The leader pointed out that the soil and rock conditions of the native habitat in central New York are similar but the slopes are higher and cooler there. No visit to the Springdale swamp would be complete without in- cluding the Big Spring. There is a large colony of the common water buttercup here, Ranunculus delphinifolius. It was in flower at this date. On other trips we have collected it in flower as early as May 15, indicating a possible flowering period of nearly five months. Attendance: about 30. Leader: R. C. Benedict. JoHN A. SMALL
Trip oF JUNE 21-JuLy 5—Eastern New ENGLAND Tour
This trip of some 1800 miles was held substantially as announced in the field schedule. The hotel selected on Mt. Monadnock was the Half Way House which we found completely adequate. Plants of the Canadian and sub-alpine zones were seen on Mt. Monadnock, some of them in great beauty and abundance. Forestry practices and the destruction caused by the hurricane in 1938 were seen at the Caroline A. Fox Research and Demonstration Forest. Both of these walks were led by Dr. Henry I. Baldwin. Dr. Albion Hodgdon gave us some good trips in the Durham vicinity, stressing the behavior of plants at the end of their range. A northern bog, cedar swamp, and various upland situations were examined.
Mr. Arthur H. Norton of the Portland Society of Natural History, assisted by the botanists of the University of Maine, gave us a tour of York County in southwestern Maine. Sand barrens, bog lake, seashore, salt marsh, and fresh marsh were included. Intermediate stops were made at stations for particular plants of
24
local occurrence. We climbed Mt. Agamenticus (alt. 673 ft.) for a grand view of the surrounding country. This is the high point of York County and is of local importance in being near the shore, forming a landmark in the monotonous coastline as viewed from the sea. Of course it figures in local nautical yarns. To us it brought Selaginella rupestris, Juniperus communis, and a dwarf species of Amelanchier, in addition to the more common species of the maple- oak forest. An old friend Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi was found here growing over the exposed granite.
Mt. Washington was a high point in many ways. Both Pinkham Notch Camp and Glen House were delightful though quite different. We had two splendid days. The two endemics, Geum Peckii and Houstonia caerulea var. Faxonorum were abundant and in full bloom. Dr. Baldwin arranged a fine symposium in the Alpine Garden with speakers who knew the region from first-hand re- search. These included Dr. Richard Goldthwaite on geology, Dr. R. F. Griggs on ecology, Mr. Norton on birds, Dr. C. F. Jackson on mammals, Dr. S. K. Harris on plants, a representative of the Mt. Washington Observatory on climate, and a member of the Forest Service on management policy of the White Mt. National Forest.
Two equally spectacular days awaited us at Mt. Katahdin. A five-mile hike to and from the northern terminus of the Appala- chian Trail. A climb down and up the Chimney. Overnight in lean- tos on bough beds. Meals by a Maine guide or at a Maine sporting camp. Crossing the summit in clouds. All these conspired to enhance our pleasure in seeing the many species of alpine plants to which Dr. F. H. Steinmetz led us. The heat of the sun on the mountain table-land, the cold of the mild storm, snow in protected ravines, high winds, steep slides, cliffs, dry exposed rock, springs, and Chimney Pond were some of the varied habitats that we examined. The response of forest species to altitude and these other factors was carefully noted by Dr. Pierre Dansereau of the Montreal Botanical Garden.
The trip through eastern Maine was no less outstanding for Dr. Steinmetz went to unending pains to show us unique habitats and particular species of plants. Streams, the stony coastal head- lands, the raised bogs or high moors, and the blueberry barrens were accompanied by most interesting elaboration of their environ-
25
ment and floristics. Good lodgings and intriguing meals ranging from a picnic with “makings” obtained at a four corners store (which had been in business for over 100 years) to a complete Maine shore dinner kept us in trim for the long days collecting and the short evenings (nights) for pressing.
Finally a day in Acadia National Park with Maurice Sullivan, Park Naturalist, brought our tour to a close. Species have not been mentioned in this report because of the vast number that were of interest and the limitations of space. Lists from characteristic habitats and local stations of botanical significance have been pre- viously recorded by others and are available. A possible extension of range in the discovery of Iris setosa at Jonesport by Dr. Jacques Rousseau of the University of Montreal is our only chance of contributing to botanical science. Daily attendance fluctuated from seventeen to fifty-eight. Total participation was seventy-five. A final word of thanks to all who guided us.
Joun A. SMALL
BNO CEE DINGSEOH rit @le eis
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF OcToBER 15, 1941
The meeting was called to order by the First Vice-President, Dr. E. B. Matzke, at the New York Botanical Garden at 3:30 P.M. Thirty-five members and friends were present.
In the absence of the Recording Secretary the Corresponding Secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting. These were adopted with correction.
It was voted that Miss Mary Gojdics, Duchesne College, Omaha, Neb., be unanimously elected to annual membership.
The Corresponding Secretary requested the permission of the Club to have its name used in the press as being opposed to the proposed amendment to the State Constitution which would permit construction of a ski trail on Whiteface Mountain. After discus- sion, it was moved by Dr. Camp that this permission to use the Club’s name be granted. Dr. Kolk seconded the motion and the Club so voted.
The scientific part of the program consisted of two discussions illustrated by lantern slides and living specimens. The first speaker,
26
Dr. John D. Dwyer, spoke on “Interesting plants of Litchfield County, Connecticut.” The speaker’s abstract follows:
A summer and fall survey of the flowering plants and ferns growing on a 4,000-acre tract of land in Litchfield County, Connecticut, and super- vised by the State Board of Fisheries and Game, yielded approximatetly 600 species. Since the tract surrounds Bantam Lake and includes several ponds, opportunities for the study of aquatic vegetation were offered. Seventeen species of Potamogeton, including seven varieties, were collected. Numbered among these is P. bupleuroides Fernald, hitherto not reported for Connecticut west of Windsor Locks. Special collections and study of the complex species, Arisaema triphyllum were made. Kodachrome studies of exceptional and attractive plants were featured.
The second speaker, Mr. Jerome Metzner, spoke on “Observa- tions on Local Volvocales.” The speaker’s abstract follows:
The three local species of Volvox may be distinguished from each other easily on the basis of certain differences in vegetative characteristics. V. globator has lobate protoplasts which are connected to each other by stout protoplasmic connections containing contractile vacuoles. V. aureus is about one-half the size of VY. globator. Its protoplasts are not lobate and are con- nected by very delicate strands of protoplasm. V. weismannia is approxi- mately the same size as VY. aureus but lacks completely any protoplasmic connections. The oospores of V. globator are large and possess stout conical spines. The oospores of V. aureus lack spines. In V. weismannia there are slight spiny projections from the surface of the oospore.
Our knowledge of the life cycle of the genus Volvox is incomplete since fertilization has never been seen in any species. Preliminary studies made at Barnard College seem to indicate a complete lack of fertilization in V. weismannia. The oospores may be partenospores. Studies made on the development of the juvenile colony from the oospores in V. weismannia reveal the presence of protoplasmic connections in the early stages. This is possibly indicative of the ancestral condition.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:35 P.M. to enjoy the refresh- ments served by the members of the Garden staff. Respectfully submitted,
JOHN W. THOMPSON, JR. RECORDING SECRETARY
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 3, 1941
The meeting was called to order by the President, Dr. J. S. Karling, at the American Museum of Natural History at 8:15 P.M. One hundred and eleven members and friends were present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were adopted as read.
27
It was voted that Dr. Flora Murray Scott, University of California, 405 Hilgard Street, West Los Angeles, Calif., be admitted by unanimous ballot to annual membership in the Club.
The scientific part of the program consisted of a talk by Dr. E. B. Matzke of Columbia University on “Autumn Coloration.” ‘The speaker’s abstract follows:
When the green pigments, chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b, break down in the fall of the year, the carotene and xanthophyll, which are yellow to reddish-orange, become evident; anthoxanthins may be pale yellow. Antho- cyanins are responsible for the brilliant red to violet colors of certain plants ; their formation is governed by the genetic make-up of the plant, internal nutriment, light, temperature, available water, fixed nitrogen, and oxygen. The final brown is caused largely by tannins.
Through New England the sugar maple is the tree most largely respon- sible for the colors of autumn—varying from yellow to brilliant red. Its counterpart farther south is the scarlet oak, though other species of oak are also important. Red and purple colors are also added to the landscape by the dogwood, sour gum, sweet gum, sassafras, and white ash. The yellows are largely furnished by the hickories, tulip tree, and ginkgo. Black cherry, last of our trees to turn, takes on all colors, from purple to yellow.
Among the shrubs, purples, reds, and yellows are added by the sumachs, blueberries, barberry, and spicebush. Vines like cranberry, Virginia creeper, and Boston ivy, add their more modest bit. In the salt marshes glasswort is brilliant red. Beard grass paints the poorer hillsides tawny orange. Fruits, like those of holly, bittersweet, hawthorne, and barberry, each add their touch of red or yellow.
This display is characteristic of eastern Asia and eastern North America; in Europe, the Danube valley and parts of Switzerland are also showy, but to a less extent.
This final fanfare of color has no deep underlying biological significance.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:25 P.M. Respectfully submitted,
JOIEOND WY, “WislOMWMIPSOIN, IR RECORDING SECRETARY
MINUTES OF THE MEETING oF NoveMBER 19, 1941
The meeting was called to order by the First Vice-President, Dr. E. B. Matzke, at 3:35 P.M. at the New York Botanical Garden. Thirty-two members and friends were present.
In the absence of the Recording Secretary, the Corresponding Secretary read the minutes. The minutes of the previous meeting were adopted as read.
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Mr. John T. Presley, Sacaton, Ariz., was elected by unanimous ballot to annual membership.
The scientific program consisted of three talks. The first speaker, Mr. Robert Hulbary, discussed “A fungus disease of Austrian pine.” The speaker’s abstract follows:
In blighted needles of Austrian pine collected in northern Illinois in the fall of 1938, immature stromata indicated the cause of the blight. Infected needles were wintered out-of-doors and examined periodically. The stromata remained quiescent through the winter but very early in the spring began to develop and by March 1 had emerged as strongly erumpent, loaf-shaped structures. A month and a half later, pycnidial locules were becoming dif- ferentiated, and by May 15 conidia were being produced.
The distinctive dothideaceaceous structure of the stroma distinguished the fungus from every described group. For it the new genus Dothistroma is proposed.
The well-marked dothideaceous structure of the stroma and the spore characters place the new fungus in the scolecosporous group of the Phoma- ceae close to Hemidothis Sydow. and Septocyta Petrak.
The second speaker, Mr. John Dodd, discussed “Some reactions to grafting in Viola.”
The third speaker, Dr. Sydney Greenfield, discussed “Chemical inhibition of photosynthesis.” The speaker's abstract follows:
The rates of photosynthesis as measured by oxygen evolution in War- burg manometers were determined with Chlorella vulgaris cells pretreated with solutions of various inorganic compounds, and compared with control rates. Several substances, including ZnSO4, CuSOs, (NH4)2SO4, H3BOs, NiSOs, CoSOs, KCl, KI, and HgClz were found to inhibit photosynthesis, whereas others like MnSO4, KNOs3, and MgSOz did not retard the process. Inhibition was studied at five light intensities, from a range where light was limiting to where it was in excess, in order to determine the effects of these inhibitors on the photochemical and dark reactions in photosynthesis. A comparison of control and pre-treated cell rates revealed differential inhibi- tion. ZnSO, NiSOs, and KCl were found to inhibit the dark reaction with- out appreciably affecting the light stage. CuSO4, H3BO3, and KI inhibited the dark reaction but also retarded the light reaction to a lesser extent. (NH)2SO4 and CoSOx4 caused a relatively equal inhibition of both reac- tions. No substance was found which inhibited the light reaction alone.
The meeting adjourned at 4:40 P.M. to enjoy the delicious refreshments provided by members of the Garden staff. Respectfully submitted,
JOHN W. THOMPSON, JR. RECORDING SECRETARY
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 2, 1941
The meeting was called to order by the President Dr. J. S. Karling, at the American Museum of Natural History at 8:20 P.M. Eighty-seven members and friends were present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were adopted as read.
Dr. Earl H. Newcomer, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N. C., was elected by unanimous ballot to annual membership.
The deaths of Professor W. J. Himmel, University of Nebraska, annual
member since 1924, and Mr. Severin Rapp, Sanford, Fla., associate member since 1941, were announced with regret.
The President announced that the 75th Anniversary Committee had selected the week of June 22, 1942, to hold the 75th Anniver- sary Celebration meetings.
The scientific part of the program consisted of a talk by Pro- fessor William Seifriz, of the University of Pennsylvania, on “Recent advances in the study of protoplasm.” Professor Seifriz illustrated his talk with motion pictures of the protoplasm of slime molds.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:40 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
JOLN Wey EOMESON ike RECORDING SECRETARY
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 17, 1941
The meeting was called to order by the President, Dr. John S. Karling, at 3:30 P. M. at the New York Botanical Garden. Fifty- seven members and friends were present.
In the absence of the Recording Secretary, the Corresponding Secretary read the minutes of the previous meeting. The minutes were approved as read.
The following were elected by unanimous ballot to annual membership: Mr. Russel Lee Walp, Marietta College, Marietta, Ohio; Miss Doris A. Bach, 823 Park St., Kalamazoo, Mich.; Mr. Patrick Murray, St. Albert College, Middletown, N. Y.; Miss Dorothy Day, Smith College, Northamp- ton, Mass.; Miss Margaret S. Brown, 36 Kent St., Halifax, N. S.; Mr. W. J. Nickerson, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.; Miss Clara S. Hires, Mistaire Laboratories, 152 Glen Ave., Millburn, N. J.; Mr. Victor M. Cutter, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.; and Mr. D. G. Smith, 5 West 63rd St., New York, N. Y. To associate membership: Mr. I. E. Ehrenreich,
30
2944 West 28th St., Brooklyn, N. Y.; Rev. P. H. O’Neill, S.J., Fordham University, New York, N. Y.; Miss Laura Filmyer, 2916 Grand Concourse, New York, N. Y.; Miss Hope Mathewson, 82 East End Ave., New York, N. Y.; Miss Margaret Fife, 82 East End Ave., New York, N. Y.; Mr. Fred A. Buttrick, 184 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Miss Fairchild Bowler, 1075 Park Ave., New York, N. Y.
The transfer of Dr. Hettie M. Chute, New Brunswick, N. J., from annual to associate membership was approved.
The following resignations were accepted with regret: from annual membership: Dr. Alfred S. Goodale, Amherst College; Miss Ernestine Ball, Columbus, Ohio; Dr. Themistocles Acconci, Manhattan College; Mrs. D. C. Boyce, Pittsburg, Pa.; Mr. Charles W. Slack, Atlanta Ga.; Dr. Arthur W. Proetz, St. Louis, Mo.; Mr. G. M. Soxman, Dallas, Tex.; Miss Lena B. Henderson, Lynchburg, Va.; Dr. J. E. Weaver, University of Nebraska; Dr. J. W. Roberts, Beltsville, Md.; Dr. Valentine C. Baker, New York, N. Y.; Miss Abigail O’Brien, Remsen, N. Y.; and Mrs. F. L. Keays, Great Neck, N. Y.; from associate membership: Mrs. Cora Roe Smith, Branch- ville, N. J.; Mrs. Regina Jais, New York, N. Y.; Mr. Spencer Scoit Marsh, Madison, N. J.; Dr. Myrtle L. Massey, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Miss Sarah J. Woodward, Brooklyn, N. Y.; Mr. Arthur E. Woods, East Orange, N. J.; and Miss Ethelwyn Doolittle, New York, N. Y.
Dr. Robbins moved that Dr. Barnhart be delegated to repre- sent the Torrey Botanical Club at the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the foundation of the Philadelphia Botanical Society in Philadelphia on Friday, December 18, 1941. The motion was seconded by Dr. Dodge and passed by the Club.
The scientific part of the program consisted of a talk and demonstration on “Vitamins and growth of plants” by Dr. W. J. Robbins of the New York Botanical Garden. The speaker’s abstract follows :
It is now well established that the growth of many fungi is limited by their inability to make adequate quantities of one or more vitamins. Such fungi do not grow or grow poorly in a medium limited to pure sugars, minerals and asparagine but on the addition of various substances of natural origin or of one or more chemically pure vitamins, they develop satisfac- torily. Ten species or strains of Ceratostomella were investigated.
The Cerastostomellas I used may be. grown readily in media to which various natural products have been added, for example, malt agar, media containing a decoction of tree bark, and so on. However, of the ten strains or species reported here one only makes any considerable growth in a medium limited to minerals, sugar and asparagine. This is Ceratostomella pseudotsugae. However, the addition of vitamin B; and of vitamin Bg to the medium materially increases the growth of that fungus. Biotin has no effect. C. pseudotsugae shows a partial deficiency primarily for vitamin By
31
and secondarily for vitamin Bg. Ceratostomella piceaperda grows very slowly in a medium of minerals, sugar and asparagine. The addition of biotin and vitamin Bg markedly increases its growth. While C. pseudotsugae evidences partial deficiencies for B,; and Be, C. piceaperda suffers from partial deficiencies of biotin and Bg.
Ceratostomella ips isolated from Pinus ponderosa does not grow in the basal medium. It suffers from a biotin deficiency and on the addition of biotin to the medium grows quite satisfactorily. C. fimbricata and the Ceratostomella from London Plane have a complete By deficiency. C. ulmi has a nearly complete Bg deficiency. C. pini isolated from Pinus echinata and C. pim isolated from Pinus ponderosa though differing somewhat in appearance of growth are alike in having complete deficiency for both biotin and By. C. montium and C. ips isolated from Pinus echinata suffer from major deficiencies of By, Bg and biotin. They grow little or not at all unless all three vitamins are present in the medium. Among these ten species or strains of Ceratostomella seven different types of vitamin deficiencies exist:
1. Major or complete deficiency for By—little affected by Bg or biotin. Major or complete deficiency for Bg—little affected by By or biotin. Major or complete deficiency for biotin—little affected by Bi or Be. Partial deficiency B; and Bg—little affected by biotin.
Partial deficiency biotin and Bg—little affected by By.
Major deficiency biotin and B,—little affected by Be.
Major deficiency B;, Bg and biotin.
ow ON Ga gS GO)
By selecting a suitable species of Ceratostomella it is possible by its growth or failure to grow to demonstrate the presence or absence of Bi, Be or biotin or substitutes therefor. In the course of these experiments it was discovered by accident that an extract of cotton batting added to a medium of minerals, sugar and asparagine permitted good growth of Ceratostomellas which showed deficiencies for By, Bg or biotin or combinations. It seems justifiable to conclude that unbleached and unwashed cotton contains sig- nificant quantities of all three of these vitamins.
In the same way, that is by the growth of various species of Ceratosto- mella, the presence of By, Bg and biotin in unpurified Difco agar also was determined.
Since cotton and Difco agar are both commonly used in laboratory procedures, it is clear that due consideration must be given to them as pos- sible sources of vitamins. Knight and his associates working with the so-called sporogenes vitamin found that stray filaments of cotton falling in their media invalidated their bacterial experiments.
In presenting these results I have emphasized the more marked deficien- cies of the Ceratostomellas for the three vitamins By, Bg and biotin. Less marked deficiencies have been observed. For example, a species which grows little or not at all unless By is added to the medium may grow somewhat more rapidly if all three vitamins are added. It is probable also that some ‘of these organisms suffer from partial deficiencies for other vitamins or vitamin-like growth substances. I am not sure that reproduction will occur
32
in media supplemented with B1, Bg and biotin as satisfactorily as it does in media containing natural products, for example, malt agar. Some evidence for the deficiencies for unidentified growth substances is furnished by the more rapid growth in some natural media than in a basal medium containing twelve pure vitamins and twenty-one pure amino acids.
These results with Ceratostomella are of interest:
1. Because of the diversity of vitamin deficiencies in representatives of a single genus.
2. Because the discovery of a fungus with nearly complete vitamin Bg deficiency suggests that it may be used for bio-assay for this vitamin. Assay methods for vitamin Bg are at present unsatis- factory.
3. Because of the determination of the presence of significant quan- tities of biotin, Bg and By, in cotton batting and unpurified agar.
4. Because the results show that a fungus may suffer from a com- plete deficiency of three vitamins, a situation which approaches more nearly the condition of the animal where many complete deficiencies exist. This emphasizes again the fundamental like- ness of the basic physiological processes in all living things.
The meeting was adjourned at 4:20 P.M. and many members and guests remained to continue the discussion informally at tea provided by the Garden staff.
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN W. THOMPSON, JR. RECORDING SECRETARY
THe FreLp CoMMitTeEE of the Club announced 168 botanical events in its schedules during 1941. Of these 85 were actual field trips, many of them in cooperation with one or more other botanical societies. Reports were received from 78 of these field trips. Total attendance was 1456 or an average of about 19 persons to each field trip. The high mark was the Branchville Nature Conference, attended by 97.
THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR 1942
President: C. STUART GAGER Vice-Presidents: JoHN A. SMaAtt, F. Treasurer: WW. GorDON WHALEY CLYDE CHANDLER
; Editor: Harotp W. RIcKETT Recording Secretary: Miss Honor M.
HoLLINGHURST Business Manager: MicHAEL LEVINE Corresponding Secretary: Harotp C. Bibliographer: Mrs. LAzeELtta ScHWAR- Bop TEN
Delegate to the Council, N. Y. Academy of Sciences: W. J. Rospins
Representatives on the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science:
A. E. HircHcock J. S. Karine Representative on the Board of Managers of the N. Y. Botanical Garden: H. A. GLEASON
Council for 1940
Ex officio members
Bernard O. Dodge Edwin B. Matzke Michael Levine Arthur H. Graves i Harold N. Moldenke William J. Robbins Alfred Gundersen John S. Karling Henry K. Svenson George T. Hastings Florence C. Chandler John A. Small
Harold W. Rickett
Elected members
1939-1941 1940-1942 1941-1943 Gladys P. Anderson Lela V. Barton Helen M. Trelease John M. Arthur Ralph H. Cheney Ralph C. Benedict Harold H. Clum Robert A. Harper John H. Barnhart Percy W. Zimmerman Edmund W. Sinnott
Committees for 1940 ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE
Clarence Lewis, Chairman J. Ashton Allis Caroline C. Haynes Henry de la Montagne Helen M. Trelease ProGRAM COMMITTEE Harold C. Bold, Chairman (e-officio) E. Marcy William J. Robbins P. W. Zimmerman E. B. Matzke G. Whaley
FIELD COMMITTEE John A. Small, Chairman
Edward J. Alexander Rutherford Platt Robert Hagelstein G. G. Nearing Henry K. Svenson Michael Levine Vernon L. Frazee Ellys Butler James Murphy Alfred Gundersen Dolores Fay Daniel Smiley, Jr. Inez M. Haring Eleanor Friend Farida A. Wiley
H. N. Moldenke
LocaLt Frora COMMITTEE W. H. Camp. Chairman
William J. Bonisteel Harold W. Rickett Dolores Fay
James Edwards Ora B. Smith H. Allan Gleason
John M. Fogg, Jr. Herbert M. Denslow Hester M. Rusk Cryptogams
Ferns and Fern Allies: R. C. Benedict, W. Herbert Dole, N. E. Pfeiffer Mosses: E. B. Bartram
Liverworts: A. W. Evans, E. B. Matzke
Freshwater Algae: H.C, Bold
Marine Algae: J. J. Copeland
Fungi: A. H. Graves, J. S. Karling, W. S. Thomas
Lichens: J. W. Thomson, Jr.
Myzomycetes: R. Hagelstein
CoMMITTEE ON EXCHANGES Harold C. Bold Amy Hepburn Elizabeth Hall
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
OF THE
TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB
(1) BULLETIN
A journal devoted to general botany, established in 1870 and published monthly, except during July, August, and September. Vol. 68, published in 1941, contained 694 pages of text and 55 full page plates. Price $6.00 per annum. For Europe, $6.25.
In addition to papers giving the results of research, each issue contains the INDEX TO AMERICAN BOTANICAL LITERATURE—a very comprehensive bibliography of current publications in American botany. Many workers find this an extremely valuable feature of the BULLETIN.
Of former volumes, 24-68 can be supplied separately at $6.00 each; certain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire stock of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. Single copies (75 cents) will be furnished only when not breaking complete volumes.
(2) MEMOIRS
The Memoirs, established 1889, are published at irregular in- tervals. Volumes 1-18 are now completed. Volume 17, containing Proceedings of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Club, 490 pages, was issued in 1918, price $5.00.
Volume 18, no. 1, 108 pages, 1931, price $2.00. Volume 18, no. 2, 220 pages, 1932, price $4.00. Volume 18 complete, price $5.00.
Volume 19, no. 1, 92 pages, 1937, price $1.50. Volume 19, no. 2, 178 pages, 1938, price $2.00.
(3) INDEX TO AMERICAN BOTANICAL LITERATURE
Reprinted monthly on cards, and furnished to subscribers at three | cents a card. ‘Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to W. Gordon WHALEY, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, N. Y.
Heroariun, LIBRAR
Volume 42 March-April, 1942 Number 2"FW YO
COTANI¢ GARDE A Bi-MonTHLy JouURNAL oF BotanicaL Notes anp News EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB BY WILLIAM J. BONISTEEL John Torrey, 1796-1873 CONTENTS
A Botanist’s Summer in Costa Rica........................ M. A. CurysLerR 33 Collecting Chicle in the American Tropics (Part 1)......... Joun S. Kariine 38 Rare Cladonia in New Jersey............. 0000s ccc ee cence cca eeeas W. L. Dix 49 Book Reviews
Introducing (Insects iy. i5 2 kel d acd pie) aus ede k Slated oa) cerned JAMES Forses 50
The Flower Family Album.......................... GrorceE T. Hastines 51
ISU LESTE TES 555 is Ha we ent eh es OE Oey ae LC CE GeEorcE T. Hastincs 52
Bloray of indiana) 75 Os es ae Gees OE oa diate aia hele, ate R. M. Harper 53 Field) Drips of the Glubiar ara coun fo dd Seater eA SOM Mes uses at cnt! 56 Proceedings’ of the (Clube (oe eis peta ale HN Oe SRN AA 61 News sNOteSe tte et Rare Mew UTES) Des NEI DAM a Ue NaS ea Ul MSL iS aa Mave te 64
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Entered as second class matter at the post office at Burlington, Vermont, October 14, 1939, under the Act of March 3, 1879
TORREYA
TorrEYA, the bi-monthly publication of the Torrey Botanical Club, was established in 1901. Torreya was established as a means of publishing shorter papers and inter- esting notes on the local flora range of the club. The proceedings of the club, book reviews, field trips and news notes are published from time to time. The pages of TOoRREYA are open to members of the club and others who may have short articles for publication.
TorREYA is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per year (January-December) ; single copies thirty cents. To subscribers elsewhere, twenty-five cents extra, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders, drafts, and personal checks are accepted in payment. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes.
Claims for missing numbers should be made within sixty days following their date of mailing. Missing numbers will be supplied free only when they have been lost in the mails. All subscriptions and requests for back numbers should be ad- dressed to the treasurer, Dr. W. Gordon Whaley, Barnard College, Columbia Uni- versity, New York, N. Y.
Of the annual membership dues of the Torrey Botanical Club, $.50 is for a year’s subscription to TORREYA.
INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTRIBUTORS
The manuscript should be prepared so that it conforms to the best practice as illustrated by current numbers of Torreya. Manuscript should be typed double- spaced on one side of standard paper. The editors may accept papers up to eight printed pages in length. Longer papers may be published if the author agrees to bear the cost of the additional pages. Illustrations (including tables and graphs) should not exceed twelve per cent of the text; authors of more copiously illustrated ar- ticles may be asked to pay for the excess material. Brief notes will be published with especial promptness.
Drawings and photographs should be mounted on stiff cardboard and the desired reductions plainly indicated. Figures should be so planned that after reduction they will occupy the entire width of a page (4 inches) and any portion of the height (6%4 inches). Labels should be parallel to the shorter dimension of the page. It is best to combine illustrations into the smallest possible number of groups. Unmounted material will not be accepted. Legends for figures should be typewritten and in- cluded with the manuscript (not affixed to the figures). All legends for one group of figures should form a single paragraph. If magnifications are stated, they should apply to the reduced figures.
Contributors may order reprints of their articles when they return galley proof to the editor. A schedule of charges is sent with the proof, and will be supplied to prospective contributors on request.
TorreYA is edited for the Torrey Botanical Club by
WM. J. BONISTEEL W. H. CAMP DOROTHY J. LONGACRE
MEMBERSHIP IN THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB
All persons interested in botany are invited to join the club. There are four classes of membership: Sustaining, at $15.00 a year; Life, at $100; Annual, at $5.00 a year and Associate, at $2.00 a year. The privileges of members, except Associate, are: (a) To attend all meetings of the club and to take part in the business, and - (b) to receive its publications. Associate members have the privilege of attending meetings, field trips and of receiving the Schedule of the Field Trips and the Bulletin of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Manuscripts for publication, books and papers for review, reports of field trips and miscellaneous news items should be addressed to:
DR. WM. J. BONISTEEL BIOLOGICAL LABORATORIES, FORDHAM UNIVERSITY New York, N. Y.
TORREYA
Wor 42 MarcuH-APRIL No. 2
A Botanist’s Summer in Costa Rica
M. A. CHRYSLER
It was the writer’s good fortune to spend July and August of 1940 in the little republic of Costa Rica, which has been character- ized by Gunther’ as “‘one of the most delightful countries in the world and one of the purest democracies on earth.” It has moreover a par- ticularly interesting flora, especially to the student of ferns. Accord- ing to the North American Flora, it is headquarters for Gleichenta- ceae, with an array of endemic species, hence a trip was arranged so as to provide a two-weeks’ stay in Jamaica, a week on Barro Colo- rado Island, C. Z., and the balance of the season in Costa Rica. Dur- ing most of the time the writer was accompanied by his colleague, Dr. W. E. Roever, whose cooperation was invaluable.
One gains a lasting impression of the vertical distribution of the plant life by looking out of the window from the train which takes him from Port Limon to the capital, San José—a trip of only a hundred miles which nevertheless occupies about six hours. Starting from the banana groves near the coast, the traveler passes through real jungle with reappearance of bananas, coconuts and cacao at every settlement—the tierra caliente. Presently the lower stretches of the Reventazon River are reached, and the road begins a series of sharp curves and steep grades as it follows the course of the rushing river. By the time an elevation of 2000 feet is reached, coffee has re- placed the banana as the leading crop, giving an entirely different aspect to the landscape, for the coffee shrubs grow in the partial shade of such trees as species of Inga, and during August are bright by reason of the ripe red berries which contain the familiar coffee “bean.” The railroad banks are enlivened by the brilliant flowers of Heliconia and Costus, representing monocotyledonous families quite unknown to northern floras.
1 Gunther, John. Inside Latin America. Harper & Brothers, New York, 1941.
Torreya for March-April (Vol. 42: 33-64) was issued April 10, 1942. $8}
34
We are now passing into the tierra templada of Standley,” the region in which most of the population is found. The curves become sharper and the grades if possible more steep, as we realize when a brisk shower descends and the track becomes so slippery that the train is stalled until the rails are sanded and the plucky little engine jerks the train into motion, while we breathe more easily although we realize that perhaps we should have bought some of that fried chicken which was offered at the car windows while we stopped at Turrialba. The view of river and mountains grows more expansive, and Roever’s Leica is in frequent use. At length an altitude of 5137 feet is attained at the Continental Divide just beyond Cartago, the former capital, which was levelled by an earthquake thirty-odd years ago. The train slides down the remaining ten miles to San José, situated at an altitude of 3800 feet among the coffee plantations in the saucer-shaped “meseta central.”
San José was our headquarters for most of the two months, and was convenient because of the bus lines radiating in every direction. Under the guidance of Director Valerio and Dr. A. Skutch of the Museo Nacional, we made our first excursion to the tierra fria, go- ing by auto on one of the few paved roads until an elevation of 6800 feet was reached, where we found the way blocked by a landslide. So we finished on foot the few miles to the hamlet called Varra Blanca, where we spent a memorable week. Here no crops except potatoes are raised, and the universal industry is dairying. Milk, tortillas, beans and rice are the staple articles of diet. As we wand- ered out into the fields we were at once attracted by huge pink bouquets formed by old oak trunks covered with climbing shrubs belonging to the ericaceous genus Cavendishia. The dominance of epiphytes astonished us until it was realized that these plants en- joyed plenty of light, air and water, also immunity from grazing animals. Every tree had its assortment of “air-plants,” chiefly ferns and orchids. One large shaggy species of Trichomanes (T. lucens) attracted attention, also what appeared to be a fleshy spleenwort (Enterosora spongiosa). One tree was beautifully mantled by a vigorous specimen of the familiar Polypodium aureum, below which a border of Nephrolepis pendula was added by way of good measure. The fragrant Asplenium auritum adorned the base of most trees,
2 Standley, P. C. Flora of Costa Rica, part 1. Chicago, 1937.
35
while the dainty Rhipidopteris peltata grew in masses on fallen trunks. Presently the usual afternoon shower drove us to cover, where we hastened to get our treasures into the drier or into pickle ere the quick tropical night descended and we had to depend on candle light.
The scientific peak of the whole trip was reached when on a hill- side near our stopping place we found eight species of Dicranopteris (a segregate of Gleichenia) including the endemic D. costaricensis and the remarkable D. retroflexa. D. Bancroftu (Fig. 1) afforded a surprise, for instead of the single fork bearing two leaflets found
Ficure 1. Dicranopteris Bancroftii filling a small ravine; the branches of the leaves are two feet long. Varra Blanca, C. R. Alt. 6000 ft.
earlier in Jamaican plants, forks of the second, third and even fourth order were characteristic of the plants in a ravine near those endemic species. Stream banks displayed a huge herbaceous Senecio (Coo- peri) and an equally large Eupatorium (angulare) while the fuchsia used as a house plant was represented by F. arborescens 15 feet high. Melastomes of various genera—trees, shrubs, and herbs —were of constant occurrence, some as beautiful as climbing roses (Blakea spp.). From Varra Blanca Dr. Roever took a memorable
36
trip to the crater of Volcan Poas (8300 feet), bringing back Drimys Wintert, famous because although it is a dicotyledon its wood shows tracheids in place of vessels. Other prizes were certain rare ericads and the immigrant conifer from South America, Podocarpus mon- fanus.
Our next trip afforded a chance to sample the rich flora of a region at an altitude of 2,200 feet, San Isidro del General. This vil- lage in the midst of a bean growing region has the distinction of having skipped some of the usual evolutionary stages of a com- munity, such as horse and carriage, automobile, railroad, telegraph and telephone, for it has leaped from the ox-cart stage to airplane and radio. Half an hour by plane covered the journey from San José, although by mule-back over the ridges five days used to be consumed. We were particularly impressed at San Isidro by the variety of tree ferns and the pendent species of Lycopodium. Al- though the roadsides showed some highly colored flowers, the only conspicuous angiosperms in the rain forest were the orchid-like Orchillium Endresii—a large-flowered member of the bladderwort family—and Cephaelis spp. (Rubiaceae) distinguished by two deep red bracts enclosing each inflorescence. But the Selaginellas of stream-banks, a splendid Lindsaya (lancea) a climbing Blechnum, impressive Dennstaedtias made up for paucity of color.
Another area along the 2,000-foot contour was visited—the val- ley of the Reventazon River near Turrialba village. The calcareous banks of the river support a varied flora, again consisting chiefly of ferns, but including Zamia Skinnert, a species interesting because of its trunk-forming habit. We were hospitably entertained at a coffee plantation by Mrs. Goode, the patron saint of botanists in that re- gion, where every hedge-row presents novel plants, and a bewilder- ing assortment of Dryopteris challenges one’s observing capacity.
The vicinity of Cartago has been made familiar to biologists by Professor and Mrs. Calvert* through the notable volume describing a year’s work, chiefly on insects but containing many references to plants. Although the region is much changed during the last thirty years, we still found the slopes of Mt. Carpintera well worth explor- ing, while the thickets and walls could be depended on to furnish
= Calvert, P. P. and A. C. A year of Costa Rican natural history. New York, 1917.
37
unfamiliar ferns. The chief attraction of the region, however, is the orchid garden of Mr. C. H. Lankester. This is a most remarkable assemblage of orchids of Costa Rica and other tropical countries, blended with ferns and cycads and growing on trees and banks in a charming atmosphere of wildness. The writer was most kindly en- tertained by the Lankesters, and cannot forget the display of hybrid orchids, some of rich fragrance, which greeted him each morning as he emerged from sleeping quarters. The visit was notable for a number of personally conducted field trips, one to a station for Ophioglossum palmatum and another along the newly constructed — Pan-American highway.
The difficulties experienced in travelling in Costa Rica are il- lustrated by another trip. In company with Sr. Leon of the museum we took bus for Heredia, then climbed six miles on a dirt road to the slopes of Volcan Barba. On the way a sudden storm overtook us, as we ate lunch by a friendly bank. Arriving at a schoolhouse we went under the guidance of the schoolmaster to a sulphur spring near which we collected a Peperomia which is regarded as a new species. We were allowed to sleep on the floor of the schoolhouse, which we may report as clean and polished, but cold and drafty. It was on this trip that we found Botrychium cicutarium, B. under- woodianum and Ophioglossum reticulatum, at altitude 6,500 feet. It was in a similar locality that we found Gunnera insignis, a plant provided with leaves so large that they are used as umbrellas by the natives.
Our advisers did not encourage us to brave the dangers of ma- laria by venturing into the Province of Guanacaste, on the Pacific slope. The climate of San José is so healthful, and relatively easy excursions are so many that our remaining trips were made in the neighborhood of the capital. On the last day of August we took train for Port Limon, feeling content at having accomplished at least the main objects of the trip.
DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY RutTGerRsS UNIVERSITY
38
Collecting Chicle in the American Tropics*
Joun S. KARLING
The principal source of chicle, the basic ingredient of chewing gum, is the latex of Achras zapota, a species of the family Sapotaceae which occurs in abundance in southern Mexico and Central Amer- ica. The sapodilla or chicle tree is generally regarded as indigenous to southern Mexico, Central America, northern South America, and the West Indies, but because of its delicious fruit it has been planted extensively and may now be found under cultivation in limited quan- tities as a fruit tree in most tropical and sub-tropical countries. It is principally in southern Mexico and Central America, however, that it grows in sufficient quantity, size, and height to make tapping for chicle profitable. Here the trees may occasionally attain a height of a hundred feet with straight smooth boles, sometimes as much as eight to twelve feet in circumference; and in these regions during the past half century has sprung up the extensive and unique indus- try of gathering crude chicle which has no parallel in any other part of the world.
Although the natives in tropical America had been using small amounts of chicle for various purposes in pre-Columbian times (Melendez, 1920), it was not until the discovery of chicle as a suit- able base for chewing gum that this product became economically important. This discovery more than half a century ago is said to have been the result of attempts to vulcanize the gum of the sapodilla tree in the same manner and as a possible substitute for rubber. The similarity of chicle to spruce and cherry gums, the best chewing gums in use at that time, and its adaptability to chewing and com- pounding with adulterants, sugars, and flavors were soon recognized, and from these first modest experiments and an initial outlay of fifty- five dollars the extensive present-day chewing gum industry is said to have had its beginning. Hand in hand with the spread of the gum chewing habit grew the demand for raw chicle, and within a few years a new enterprise sprang up in the jungles of southern Mexico and Central America. Rival American contractors began to push into the jungles to obtain large concession of virgin forests and to offer unheard-of inducements to the natives for gathering chicle. Raw
1 Address presented before the Torrey Botanical Club, December, 1940.
3!)
chicle thus soon became one of the principal exports of several Mexi- can and Central American states, and in 1930 the import of chicle into the United States had risen to nearly fourteen million pounds (U. S. 1932). In its half century of growth the chewing gum in- dustry has made phenomenal progress, and at the present time ranks among the big American industries. The manufactured output in 1930 was valued at more than seventy million dollars, representing a retail business of over a hundred million dollars.
CHICLEROS AND THE PRESENT NATIVE METHOD OF TAPPING AND PREPARING RAw CHICLE
The native laborers or Indians who bleed the sapodilla trees and gather the chicle are known as chicleros. No particular group or tribe of natives has a monopoly of skill in this profession, and chic- leros of almost every race, color, nationality, and intermixture are to be found. The native Indian of southern Mexico and Central Amer- ica, however, is generally regarded as the most skillful, careful, and desirable. Steadiness of hand and accuracy in manipulating a ma- chete as well as a certain amount of skill in climbing are the prime requisites of a good chiclero, and only a small proportion of the na- tive labor is capable of bleeding chicle. The chiclero is thus regarded as a skilled worker in the tropical forests and is among the best paid of all native laborers. Since the chicle tapping season is dependent on the rainfall, the chicleros spend the greater part of the rainy season from July to February in the chicle forests. As soon as the tropical rains start in June, the exodus of chicleros from the coast towns and villages into the jungle of Peten, Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Campeche, Chiapas, and British Honduras begins. For the purpose of companionship as well as assistance in certain aspects of the work, they generally go in small groups of from two to five, and may often- times take their families with them to form large camps.
While in the chicle forests the chicleros live in temporary camps close to the scene of operation. These camps are generally located on the edge of a lagoon, swamp, or savannah where water is avail- able, since a constant water supply is necessary not only for drinking and cooking but for the molding of cooked chicle as well. As a con- sequence, the camps are generally situated where mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects are likely to be most numerous. In fig- ures 4 and 5 is shown a portion of such a chicle camp at the border
40
M. Hedler.
. Photograph by H.
s zapota for chicle
Achra
ing
Chicleros tapp
41
of a dense cohune palm ridge. Inasmuch as the chicleros may often shift their operations during the same season and rarely return to the same camp in successive years, their huts are but temporary structures of upright poles in the ground roofed over with palm leaves. During prolonged tropical rainstorms these huts afford but little protection from the rain, so that the chicleros are more or less wet for extended periods of time. This constant exposure, together with the presence of disease-carrying insects, often leads to the con- traction of malaria and other pernicious tropical diseases. While in the jungles the chiclero’s fare is very simple and consists chiefly of rice, frijoles, and tortillas, with occasional meat from wild game which they may kill.
The chicleros are paid in accordance to the amount of gum ex- tracted during the chicle season. A skilled tapper in a virgin forest can sometimes collect as much as 2000 pounds in one season, for which he is paid from 12 to 30 cents per pound, depending on the quality and moisture content of the gum. Since he is frequently able to make more money gathering chicle during the rainy season than for working for wages throughout the entire year, he is preferably idle from February to June. During this period many of them loaf from one village to another doing an occasional job. As a result they may be partially or wholly dependent on some chicle contractor for rations and livelihood during the dry months, and by the time the chicle season arrives they are often in debt for more than the value of the chicle they can extract. In this manner, they often become bound to one contractor from year to year. For these reasons many observers maintain that the chicle industry has done more harm than good to native labor in tropical America. It has been claimed that previous to the advent of chicle the Indian was a fairly industrious and conscientious worker who cultivated his milpa, hunted, and was quite contented to work for small wages rather than remain idle, while the women spun and made their own clothing. Then came the American chicle contractor offering fabulous advances in cash for chicle with the inevitable result that the Indian forsook his milpa to become a chiclero. Finding that he was thus able to more than double his yearly income in a few months gathering chicle, he refused to work at all during the dry season or only for greatly increased wages. As a result the milpa was neglected, and the price of rice, beans, and corn nearly doubled. Moreover, the earning of more money than
42
‘purying ‘qd “MM 4q syderdojoyg ‘g]o1Yy9 Joy vjodez sesyoy surdde, Jo poyzou Jetids-ayoyoeul dATyeU oY,
nrpemrmer ements tame eT ATTN
43
was necessary for food during the chicle season developed extrava- gant tastes among the women. Where once they had been contented with the simple native costume, they now demanded expensive cloth- ing, etc., from their men. ‘The increased price of food and the efforts to satisfy more extravagant tastes were not commensurate with their increased earnings from bleeding chicle, and as a result they had to turn continually to some chicle contractor for advances. He, in turn, charged impossible rates of interest and paid as little as pos- sible for the chicle. The chiclero, not to be outdone, adulterated the chicle, and often received advances from several contractors without working for any of them. In the last two decades, however, many of these economic factors have changed considerably.
The chicle tapping season is dependent on the rainfall, and is thus concurrent with the rainy season, contrary to the reports of certain authors. If the tropical rains come early it may begin in June and extend to February, but it does not generally get well started until July and August. Tapping commences with the daylight. The chiclero rises while it is yet dark, prepares a light breakfast, and starts out afoot through the dense jungle for the sapodilla trees which he had located on previous days. Arrived at a tree, the chiclero first clears a small area around the tree, and adjusts the skin or can- vas bag in which the milk is collected. It is either set on the ground or hung from an incision in the bark (Figs. 1, 2). Directly above the bag a small area of the tree is cleared of its outer hard bark and an upward incision made in the softer cortex with the machete. This makes a flap under which the end of a trimmed palm leaf is inserted to act as a conveyor for the latex from the tree to the bag. Having properly adjusted the bag and inserted the palm leaf, the chiclero begins to tap.
Tapping in the wild chicle “bush” or “chicleria” is done exclu- sively with a long thin-blade cutlass or machete. Chicleros generally prefer the fairly straight machete, since they are thereby able to re- move a wider chip of bark with each stroke. The native method of tapping is essentially a half-spiral system, as is shown in Figures 2 and 3, and consists of successive parallel rows of cuts ascending the bole obliquely. The successive oblique rows of incisions alternate from side to side and lead into the lower preceding ones, so that the latex from the individual rows flows together in a zigzag channel down the tree to the point where the collecting bag is attached. As
ish Honduras.
it
in Bri
a = 3 O n
J
iclero
A ch
45
is at once apparent in Figures 2 and 3, the obliquely ascending rows of cuts are not continuous channels encircling the trunk, but consist or more or less separate partially overlapping incisions. The latex from each cut thus spills over into the lower preceding one. The first oblique rows are usually started a few inches above the point of in- sertion of the palm-leaf conveyor, at angles of 45° to 70°, depending on the size of the tree and the habits of the chiclero, and the follow- ing oblique rows are then made ten to twenty inches apart. In the case of large and old trees, the outer bark is generally too hard and thick for making satisfactory incisions, and as a consequence it is usually removed before each oblique channel is made. This is well shown by the tree in the foreground of Figure 1 and in Figure 2. In the small tree shown in Figure 3, however, removal of the outer bark was not necessary. Chicleros thus frequently carry two ma- chetes, an old one for removing the outer bark and another sharper one for making the oblique incisions.
As soon as the chiclero has tapped as high as he can reach stand- ing on the ground he begins to climb. This is done with the aid of a thick rope passed around the tree and the middle of his body. The looseness of the loop permits the chiclero to steady himself with his feet against the tree, leaving both hands free for tapping, as is illus- trated in Figure 1. The trees shown in this figure are being tapped for the second time, and the overlapping of the previous and the new oblique channels accounts for the striking diamond-shaped areas on the bole. Climbing spurs such as those used by telephone linemen are frequently employed as an aid, but the best chicleros spurn such assistance and climb only with bare feet. The chiclero thus climbs higher and higher, swinging from side to side as he makes the alter- nate rows of cuts until the entire bole has been tapped. In cases where the trunk forks and large erect branches are present, the latter also may be tapped. When one tree is finished the chiclero proceeds to the next, and so on into the early forenoon until relative humidity, sun, wind, and temperature begin to affect the flow of latex. In the dense jungle where only slight winds penetrate relative humidity remains fairly high, so that tapping may continue until middle forenoon. In the more open “bush,” however, increased tem- perature, sun and wind, and loss in humidity make tapping unprofit- able after 8 or 9 o’clock in the morning.
46
The chiclero usually spends the remainder of the forenoon locat- ing trees for the next day’s tapping. The first step after finding a virgin tree is to test its flow of latex. Incisions are made in the bark near the base, and if the latex flow is good the tree is marked or staked for tapping; otherwise it is discarded. In an area which has
Aerating chicle after cooking.
47
once been tapped, it is not uncommon to find several large, vigorous, and sound trees that are untouched. They all, however, bear the test marks of the chiclero, testimony to the fact that they are poor yield- ers. By the careful selection thus of only good yielding trees, the amount of chicle per tree in the virgin sapodilla forests may be quite high, but the acreage yield is proportionately low. The yield per in- dividual tree is quite variable, as is to be expected in a wild popula- tion. Some trees do not yield sufficient latex to wet the incisions, while others have been reported to yield as much as sixty-one pounds (Hummel, 1925). The report of Sperber that trees in Mexico yield thirty to thirty-five pounds annually is obviously without foundation. Exceptionally large trees may yield that amount at the initial tap- ping, but certainly not every year. According to the writer’s obser- vations, the initial yield per large virgin tree is usually two to ten pounds. As soon as a sufficient number of trees have been located, the chiclero returns to camp with the bags of latex. Frequently the bags are allowed to remain on the trees until the following day if there is no danger of rain. Otherwise they are collected on the same day, since the presence of excess water in the latex makes cooking long, tedious, and difficult.
The latex from the various trees is poured together in empty petrol tins or larger bags and stored until a sufficient amount for cooking has been accumulated. The chicleros generally tap through- out the week and cook the latex on Sundays. Cooking is primarily for the purpose of driving off water and is done in large iron kettles or cauldrons over an open fire, as is illustrated in Figures 4 and 5. The time required for cooking varies with the amount and quality of latex in the pot, but usually one to two hours are sufficient. Dur- ing the process the latex is stirred continuously with a long stick or paddle in a circular fashion to prevent burning and to throw the water toward the periphery of the mass. After the latex has reached the consistency of soft taffy, the fire is scraped from beneath the kettle or the latter is removed from the open fire. The gum is then further worked and aerated (Fig. 6) with the long paddle until it begins to cool and become firm. It is then lifted out onto a large soaped palm leaf, tarpaulin sheet or sack (Fig. 7) and molded into blocks (Fig. 8). The chicle at this stage is still quite sticky, and an abundance of water and soap are essential for successful handling and molding. Preparatory to taking the chicle out of the cauldron,
48
the chicleros soap their hands and arms thoroughly, and by constant renewal of soap they are able to handle and mold it with a minimum of sticking. In the earlier days of gum collecting the chicle was often heaped together into semi-spherical and rectangular masses and al- lowed to dry, but the general practice at present is to mold it in
Molding chicle into blocks.
49
rectangular frames of uniform size, which allows greater economy of space in storing and shipping. Formerly, the weight of the chicle masses and blocks varied as much as their shape, and blocks weigh- ing as much as a hundred pounds were not uncommon. At present, however, they are usually more uniform in weight, varying from twenty-five to forty pounds. At the time of molding the chicle con- tains approximately forty to fifty per cent water, but by the time it is shipped to the States, the moisture content varies from twenty- five to thirty-five per cent.
As soon as the chicleros have accumulated a fair number of blocks, the chicle is delivered to the contractors who advanced the money for rations and supplies. In more organized chicle operations the contractors generally send out pack mules periodically to the various chiclero camps to collect the accumulated chicle. It is then concentrated in central camps, baled and transported by mule, boat or aeroplane to storehouses along the coast, and eventually shipped to the United States or Canada.
Attempts have also been made from time to time to extract chicle profitably from the leaves and green fruit, but without much suc- cess. It is estimated (Anonymous, 1923) that approximately 3200 leaves are required for a pound of gum, and the cost of production at that rate is in excess of the present price of chicle.
(To be continued)
Rare Cladoniae in New Jersey W. L. Dix
Cladonia squamosa {. carneopallida Sandstede. This specimen was collected by the writer a few miles east of Jackson, Camden County. It was first collected in America near Hartford, Connecti- cut, and reported by Dr. Alexander W. Evans in his third supple- ment to the Cladoniae of Connecticut.
Cladoma pyxidata var. neglecta f. centralis Schaer. In this form the cup is centrally proliferate. It was collected near Hopewell in Mercer County. Apparently this is the first account of this form in America.
The second authenticated collection of Cladoma turgida in New Jersey was made by the writer along the Appalachian Trail in War-
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ren County last November. The reported collections of Austin from Bergen County, by Eckfelt from Warren County, and by Torrey from Passaic County, all proved to be other species, or are repre- sented by no specimen. Torrey, however, did later find “a small form of the species” in Green Bank State Forest, Atlantic County, in 1936. The specimen collected by the writer consisted of squamules only.
BOOK REVIEWS The A. B. C. of Insects
Introducing Insects: A Book for Beginners. By James G. Needham. The Jaques Cattell Press, Lancaster, Penna. 1940. Pp. v + 129. $1.50.
Biting into a wormy apple is an unpleasant experience ! Unpack- ing the dress suit after it has been stored for a while only to find that it has a few conspicuous moth holes can be very distressing. If we know nothing about these “pesky bugs” that come to upset us or if we should like to refresh our memories, Professor Needham’s little book is an ideal starting point.
Professor Needham has given us a book, written in simple, non- technical language coupled with an easy style, that will help the lay- man to understand and to appreciate the insects with which he comes in contact. His introductory chapters, “Why Study Insects” and “How to Study Insects,” are followed by discussions of such com- mon insects as butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, leaf bugs, beetles, scale insects, aphids, mosquitoes, and bees. The author next considers such ecological groups as carniverous insects and insects that eat our foods and textiles. The concluding chapters are con- cerned with the control of insects and the collecting and rearing of insects.
The expositions of life histories, food habits, and habitats pre- ferred by the insects during their developmental stages are inter- spersed with considerations of the balance in nature, parasitic and predatory insects, beneficial and noxious insects. The importance of careful observation is stressed so that we shall know which insect to swat and which insect to protect: our insect friends should not be needlessly killed.
The line drawing illustrations are well chosen and admirably compliment the various parts of the text. In illustrations of this type,
Sl
most drawings have to be larger than the actual specimen under con- sideration to show even a minimum of structure. As the book is especially designed for beginners, it is to be regretted that hairlines, indicating the size of the insects, are not included with all the draw- ings.
This book can be used with profit in nature study groups or clubs and in biology classes which range in age from the early teens through adults. The suggested points for field observations, tricks for catching some of the insects, the study of live insects, and the simple rearing experiments should certainly provide excellent train- ing and considerable enjoyment. The author appropriately closes his INTRODUCTION by listing a few advanced books to which the inquisi- tive beginner might turn for more detailed information.
ForDHAM UNIVERSITY JAMES ForBeEs
A Nature Study Book
The Flower Family Album. By Helen Field Fischer and Gretchen Harsh- barger. 130 pages, 62 full-page plates. The University of Minnesota Press. 1941. $2.50.
When this book first appeared, bound in stiff paper and printed by the off-set process, it was reviewed briefly in Torreya 40: 212 (1940). It proved so popular that it is now issued by the Univer- sity of Minnesota Press, bound in attractive cloth covers. The size remains the same, 81% by 11 inches, with the same attractive illustrations showing 458 common wild and cultivated flowers belonging to some forty plant families. The drawings are all to the same scale, with the height in inches indicated at the side of the page. For each family a sketch of a single blossom, or flower cluster is shown to give the family characteristics. Most of these latter are rather generalized, some without enough detail to be of much help. In the introduction there is a series of sketches of flower types with references to the pages where the corresponding types of flowers are found, this making a sort of key so that one can hunt more easily to find an unknown plant’s portrait.
Opposite each plate is a description of the family and of the flowers illustrated. These are ¢ntirely non-technical, often somewhat whimsical, but clear and accurate. For example the description of the flowers of the legumes reads, “In most of the family they (the
52
flowers) look much like butterflies. One petal enlarges to make a banner to tell the bees that pollen is ready. Two more, called wings, make a roof landing field for the bees. The last two join to make a cradle for the ovary, which is wrapped in a gossamer sheet made from the united stems of the stamens.’ Of the mints we read “The family is friendly and helpful, seems to love the society of mankind, for around every dooryard may be found plants of MoTHERWORT and Catnip, which furnish tonic for man and beast.” Of the com- posites, “Cooperative Flowers,” “Each disk flower is given the materials to produce a seed, and it all works out as efficiently as the production line in an automobile factory.” Of the composites ten pages of plates include such cultivated forms as dahlia, cosmos, chrysanthemum, marigold and zinnia and such wild forms as asters, bidens, dandelion, goldenrod and thistles.
The book will be of little value to the professional botanist, but the beginning student and gardener will find that a knowledge of the characters of the plant families given in this informal way will aid in placing the majority of plants in their proper places while all plant lovers will find the book helpful and attractive.
GeorGE T. HASTINGS
Butterflies of the North-eastern States
Butterflies. A Handbook of the Butterflies of the United States. Com- plete for the Region North of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and East of the Dakotas. By Ralph W. Macy and Harold H. Shepard. viii + 248 pages. The University of Minnesota Press. 1941. $3.50.
This attractive book is written for beginners in the study of butterflies as well as for experienced students and collectors. Cov- ering all of the north-eastern United States and adjacent Canada completely it will be useful beyond this area as many, if not most, of the species described extend beyond any artificial boundary. One hundred sixty-two species and twenty-seven races are described, about one-fourth of all the species in North America north of Mexico. The descriptions include not only the adults but also the life histories as fully as known, the food plants of the caterpillars, the ranges throughout the United States and the world—for some, and as the Mourning Cloak and Red Admiral range over most of the northern hemisphere. There are often in addition personal
53
observations on the habits of caterpillars and adults by the authors. Synonomy is complete and for each species there are page references to other works in which it is described or illustrated. The keys to families, genera and species make use of non-technical characters— wing shape, color and pattern, size—as far as possible so that in only a few cases is it necessary to consider the venation of the wings or to use a lens for minute characters. Unfortunately after deter- mining a specimen by use of the keys no page references are found, but one must either hunt through the following pages or turn to the index to find the location of the descriptions.
The book begins with brief accounts of butterflies in folklore, curious facts about butterflies, protective coloration and mimicry, sense organs, hibernation and migration, habitats and ranges, classi- fication and the use of the keys. Half a dozen pages are used in explaining in detail how to collect, kill and mount specimens, with suggestions as to making nets, killing jars and display cases.
Twenty-eight butterflies are beautifully illustrated in the four color plates and there are photographs of thirty-eight others—but again the lack of page references in the descriptions makes the locating of the illustrations a matter of search. The book is bound in green cloth and the press work leaves nothing to be desired.
Both of the authors have been collecting and observing butter- flies for twenty-five years or more and each has published numer- ous technical papers and popular articles. Dr. Shepard is Assistant Professor of Entomology at the University of Minnesota ; Dr. Macy,
Professor of Biology at the College of St. Thomas at St. Paul,
Minnesota. GeorGE T. HASTINGS
SANTA Monica, CALIF.
Deam’s Flora of Indiana
Flora of Indiana. By Charles C. Deam, M.A., D.Sc., LL.D. With a fore- word by Stanley Coulter. 1236 pp., with half-tone frontispiece, 2243 distribu- tion maps and 4 full-page maps in text. Department of Conservation, Indian- apolis, June, 1940. $3.50. (Obtainable from the State Forester.)
Several reviews of this splendid volume have already been pub- lished, but the whole story of its excellent features has not been told yet. The present review seeks to bring out some of its important
54
points without unduly duplicating what has been said about it already.
This book is doubtless based on more thorough work than any other state flora ever published. The author has lived in Indiana all his life, and has been studying the flora of the state for over forty years, and he began publishing notes on it in 1904. (He has also traveled and collected in several other states, and in Central America.) He had previously published books on the trees, shrubs and grasses of Indiana, some of them in two or more editions; and in a long bibliography at the end of the present volume 34 of the titles, or about 5% of the total, are by him. Good roads and automobiles, although they have expedited the destruction of natural vegetation in recent years, have enabled Mr. Deam to visit every township in the state; something that probably no botanist has done in any other state.
Accuracy in identification has been his constant aim, and the aid of several specialists has been enlisted to that end; but of course there will always be some doubtful cases, on account of intermediate or imperfect specimens, differences of opinion, or even perhaps recent mutations in the plants themselves.
In nomenclature the work is very up-to-date. Apparently all recent revisions involving Indiana plants have been taken advan- tage of, some as late as 1940 being cited in footnotes. Changes since the latest manuals available have been surprisingly numerous, and a great many of the names used will be unfamiliar to readers who have not kept up with recent developments as closely as Mr. Deam has. Nearly 22% of the species (not counting varieties and forms) in his catalogue bear names different from those used in Robinson & Fernald’s Manual of 1908. Some of these innovations are re- cently discovered or recently introduced species, some are changes in classification due to increasing knowledge, and some are due to differences of opinion as to generic or specific limits, or new nomenclatorial rules. And Mr. Deam has done very little of the changing himself, but has accepted the judgment of other workers if after carefully weighing the evidence he believed it to be valid. A list of new names appearing for the first time in this book (p. 1112) includes only 17 cases, and those mostly varieties. In his treatment of families and genera he has been very conservative, following Robinson & Fernald’s Manual pretty closely.
35)
In Indiana, as in most other northeastern states, there are few distinct endemic species as compared with some of the southeastern states. This is due partly to its small size and dearth of unique habitats, and partly to the encroachments of civilization, which may have already wiped out some very local species, and scattered others outside of their original range. The fact that most of the state was covered by glaciers, perhaps only 50,000 years ago, may be another factor tending to reduce the number of endemics. One can pick out from the catalogue forty or fifty species, varieties, etc., that are at present known only from Indiana, or Indiana and one other state, but the great majority of these are hybrids, or recently described and not very distinct varieties and forms, that might easily turn up elsewhere when botanists study them closely enough. Practically none has a well-defined range that stops short of the borders of the state.
In a state with 94.7 inhabitants per square mile (1940 census), and the greater part of the area cultivated at one time or another, and all the forests easily accessible to lumbermen, many unques- tionably native plants have adapted themselves to changed condi- tions and persisted in weedy as well as in undisturbed habitats, while some, less adaptable, or originally confined to sites very subject to economic exploitation, have disappeared entirely, and a horde of more or less undesirable immigrants has come in from Europe and elsewhere to take possession of fields and roadsides.
In Indiana, as in other thickly settled states, practically every species has felt the devastating effects of civilization in some degree, and there are all gradations between delicate plants that are found only in undisturbed habitats, and the weeds of ditches, fields, road- sides, vacant lots, etc.; so that it is hard to draw the line between natives and exotics. A few of the species now confined to unnatural habitats, such as Phytolacca, Prunus angustifolia, Passiflora im- carnata and Solanum Carolinense, may have existed in Indian clear- ings before the white man came, but it is hard to get evidence on that point now.
Many authors of local floras in the northeastern states, with the veneration for authority characteristic of long-settled regions, have accepted without question the distinction between native and introduced species made in current manuals; and if a species is regarded—trightly or wrongly—as native anywhere in the eastern
56
United States it becomes ipso facto, in their estimation, native in the state or county covered by the flora, even if it is there strictly confined to weedy habitats. Mr. Deam did not go quite to that extreme, but he gave many weeds the benefit of the doubt, and classed them as natives. My acquaintance with Indiana vegetation is chiefly confined to car-window notes in about one-fourth of the counties, between 1911 and 1941, but from what I know of the same species elsewhere, I would judge that his 302 introduced species should be increased to about 500, and the natives correspondingly reduced.
Many valuable features of the book, such as keys and distribu- tion maps for every species, the tabular summary, the descriptions of natural regions, the bibliography of about 700 titles, and the list of Indiana botanists (142 men and 29 women) have been discussed by previous reviewers. It is worth noting here that the 41 botanists who have died lived about 61 years on the average; the later ones a little longer than the earlier ones.
Typographical errors are very few, and mostly easily detected. One minor fault of the book is the use of too many fictitious common names, some of which are longer than the technical names, and not likely ever to come into general use, and thus serve no useful
purpose. Rotanp M. Harper
UnNIversity, ALA.
RUDD) Tees) Que Aas, CILIUIR Trip oF AUGUST 23% 1941, To SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY
Mr. Hollis Koster of Green Bank, a competent student of pine barrens natural history, showed us many interesting species in that area. Some of the species bring to mind early botanists of the area. Among these were Rynchospora knieskernu, Lobelia canbyi, Poly- gala nuttalu, and Panicum commonsianum. The writer was inter- ested in adding Juncus caesariensis, Snulax walteri, and S. lauri- folia to the list of plants occurring at the ghost town, Martha. Mistletoe (Phoradendron flavescens) is a plant that many of us had not previously seen on a field trip in New Jersey. In the Bass River State Forest a tree designated as Quercus imbricaria brought
57
on some discussion of the possibility of its being Q. heterophylla. As no decision was reached this remains ample reason for a return field trip.
Mr. Otway Brown guided us over Cape May County and showed us some of its flora and remarkable plant communities. The lichenologists worked valiantly this day. Conspicuously large specimens of a number of trees were brought to our attention. The climax for most of us was to lay hands on the bald cypress (Taxo- dium distichum). The specimen is several feet in circumference and Stone says in 1910 that “very old residents remember them as being large trees in their youth.” The second tree recorded from nearby has long since disappeared. We found knees at a distance of sixty feet or more from the base indicating the extensive root system. Neither fruit nor seedlings were seen but referring to Stone’s Plants of Southern New Jersey again we see that at least immature cones have been observed on this tree. The plant is on the upper reaches of Sluice Creek in South Dennis. Its natural or introduced presence is debatable. No lists of species were kept but those col-
lecting found plenty of interest to take. Attendance, seventeen. Joun A. SMALL
Trip or Aucust 10, 1941—Etystan CLup (Kaiser Roap) To SUNFISH PoND viA APPALACHIAN TRAIL
From the Elysian Club there was a walk of about a mile over side trail to the Appalachian Trail. The side trail follows what used to be a road (Kaiser Road) crossing Kittatiny Ridge from Mt. Vernon valley to Dimmick Ferry on the Delaware. After picking up the AT there was a walk of some two miles to Sunfish Pond, travelling to the southwest. The trail followed a dry ridge at the start giving fine views of the Delaware valley and the Poconos beyond. The flora was that of similar portions of Kittatiny Ridge; oak-hickory with admixtures from the coastal plain such as pitch pine, scrub oak, and wild indigo. Broom beard-grass were evident on the exposed outcroppings. Tree species coming into such open- ings included red cedar, grey birch, poplars, and aspens.
The next mile or so was over richer, more moist terrain, skirt- ing Tock Swamp for some distance. A larger number of species were recorded from this portion. Red maple and sour gum were
58
conspicuous trees while shrubs and ground plants were represented by numerous species. Four northern plants were seen which venture into New Jersey only in these upland areas of the northern coun- ties. Thus New Jersey represents the southern limit of their range except as they follow down the higher ridges of the Appalachians. Cornus canadensis is one of these. Neither Britton’s Catalog nor Taylor’s Flora of the vicinity of New York record this species from Warren County. A specimen in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden is labelled, “Green’s Pond, Warren County, New Jersey, May 21, 1921. In larch woods, very rare.” Green’s Pond: is now Mountain Lake on the topographical maps. Rhodo- dendron canadense is reported in the above manuals from Morris and Sussex Counties only. Prunus cuneata is also limited to the northern counties in New Jersey, and Muhlenbergia racemosa is credited with a similar distribution. The last three are not recorded from Warren County in the herbarium of the New York Botanical Garden. This trip therefore may have produced three definite exten- sions of range.
Among the ferns seen, Aspidium simulatum and Woodwardia virginica are distributed over the state but their occurrence is sufficiently local to make this station of interest. A total of ten ferns and 138 flowering plants were recorded without leaving the trail. The list is filed with the field committee. Attendance, ten. Leader, L. Hardy. Plant lists by L. E. Hand and G. G. Nearing.
Joun A. SMALL
Trip oF Octoser 4, 1941, ro BRookKLYN BoTANIC GARDEN
This walk was devoted to a study of the pines. The distinguish- ing characteristics of the white pines and pitch pines were pointed out. The circumboreal distribution of the genus was evident from the walk. American species included our common white pine, Pinus Strobus, and the dominant pitchpine of southern New Jersey, P. rigida. Going northward on the magic needles we saw the red pine, P. resinosa, and the far northern jack pine, P. Banksiana. Moving westward via the Allegheny species, P. pungens, we noted the west- ern P. flexilis. It was observed that two of the western species, P. ponderosa and P. Jeffreyi do not grow well in the Prospect Park environment. The following European species were seen: P. nigra
59
and P. sylvestris which are not uncommon in American nurseries, then P. Heldreichu, P. mugo and P. Cembra. The Himalayan pine, P. excelsa, was the largest specimen among Asiatic pines. Other species were P. Thunbergu, which might be called silver-bud pine, P. densiflora, P. parviflora, P. koraiensis and P. Bungeana which grows as a shrub here. The leader stated that the genus Pinus reaches into the southern hemisphere in only one place, the moun- tains of Java. Has anybody been looking at Java on the map lately? Attendance was 11. Leader: Dr. Alfred Gundersen.
Joun A. SMALL
TRIP OF OCTOBER 18 To THE BROOKLYN BOTANIC GARDEN
This time the objective was the study of evolution. The Con- servatory was visited and we were shown the exhibit of the principal groups of plants. Algae, Ferns and Angiosperms are the three main stages of plant evolution, with many diverging lines within and be- tween. Algae are nearly all water plants. Early stages of land plants are suggested by lichens, by liverworts, by the fossil Rhynia group, and also by clubmosses and horsetails. These have no true leaves, but fronds of ferns are primitive leaves, which are now recognized as fused and flattened branches. Seeds differ from spores somewhat as the large eggs of reptiles differ from the small eggs of amphibians, for seeds and reptile eggs are adaptations to land life. Differences such as open or closed ovary should be considered with the time difference between Gymnosperms (late Devonian) and Angiosperms (Cretaceous). The significant characteristic of flowering plants is insect pollination, although a few of them have reverted to the primi- tive wind pollination. Deciduous leaves and the herbaceous habit must be thought of as adaptations to a winter season. Various books were seen and discussion closed the meeting. Attendance 17. Leader: Dr. Alfred Gundersen. There will be other visits for some-
what different studies in 1942. Joun A. SMALL
Trip oF NoveMBER 16, 1941. Kaiser Roap To MILLBROOK Roap Via APPALACHIAN TRAIL, WARREN County, N. J.
Like the trip of August 10, this walk started from the Elysian Club, following the side trail to the crest of the ridge. Several plants
60
of the stiff stemmed gentian were seen along the trail up the moun- tain. The AT to the southwest leaves Kaiser Road at the crest of the ridge. The road then leads northward crossing the ridge in an apparent quest of a suitable line of descent. When this point is reached the AT proceeds northeast following the skyline. And a veritable skyline it is: narrow, with occasional high outcroppings that make delightful natural rock gardens. In these one finds Aqui- legia, mountain phlox, marginal shield fern, polypody, and a variety of mosses and lichens. The view from these points is excellent, par- ticularly at this season of the year.
At other points the trail follows the top of an escarpment drop- ping from the narrow summit ridge to the valley below. One sees Andropogon and other grasses in such places, with rock tripes on the stone. Red cedar, sweet fern, and blueberries make up the major por- tion of the woody flora. The general flora of the ridge is oak, of which eight species were recorded, among them Q. prinoides which we note is not credited to Warren County in Britton’s survey. Hickories, beech, red maple, black birch, ash, and sour gum made up the other common tree species. Flowering dogwood, azaleas, and laurels indicated the beauty to be seen along this trail at the appro- priate season.
About three miles above Kaiser Road the trail descends abruptly to a notch in the ridge where another road, now long abandoned, formerly crossed to the Pahaquarry copper mines. This road is still maintained eastward as an access road to the nearby boy scout camp which owns most of the land over which we had travelled. This makes a suitable point for approaching the trail by car. Several spe- cies were added along the brook at the point where we crossed the notch. We then climbed abruptly as the ridge regains its normally rather level crest. Along the trail at this point, a well-fruited sprout growth of Castanea was found. None of the fruits examined ap- peared viable however.
The vegetation continued as on the south side of the notch. Even more spectacular escarpments were encountered but with more limited views. Time and daylight did not permit us to continue to Millbrook road, so a side trail to the west was taken, bringing us around to Catfish pond. From here we crossed the scout camp and went out over their road. Attendance 11. Leaders, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Anderson. Plant lists by Louis Hand and W. L. Dix. These
61
lists recorded 111 flowering plants, 7 ferns, 8 mosses, 20 lichens, and 3 fungi. The lists for mosses and fungi are only fragmentary since no one well qualified to list these plants was available. One of the lichen species, Cladonia turgida was remarkable for being the second collection in the state, the other being from Atlantic County where it was collected in 1936 by the late Raymond H. Torrey.
Joun A. SMALL
HvO CED DEINGSTOE DEE GEUB MINUTES OF THE MEETING ON JANUARY 6, 1942
The annual meeting of the Torrey Botanical Club was held at the Men’s Faculty Club of Columbia University on Tuesday, Janu- ary 6, 1942. Dinner was served at 6:30 p.m., after which the meet- ing was called to order by the President, Dr. J. S. Karling. Seventy- seven members and friends were present.
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as read.
Reports of the officers of the Club were mimeographed and dis- tributed to those present at the annual dinner. The report of Dr. Dodge as delegate to the Fordham University anniversary and to the A. A. A. S. meetings in Dallas, and the report of Dr. Robbins as delegate of the Club to the New York Academy of Science were accepted by the Club.
Dr. Small announced that as a member of the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, the Club was participating in the Sports- man’s Show.
The Club accepted the 1942 budget as approved by the Council.
Dr. Zimmerman moved that the Club reconsider its action of May 16, 1941, dedicating the 1942 volume of the Bulletin to Dr. Harper, and extend the dedication to include the surviving charter member of the Club, Dr. Denslow. Dr. Bold seconded the motion and the Club so voted.
The President announced that the following list of officers had been elected by the Club to serve during 1942:
President: C. Stuart Gager First Vice-President : John A. Small
Second Vice-President : Clyde Chandler Corresponding Secretary: H. C. Bold
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Recording Secretary : John W. Thomson, Jr. Treasurer: W. Gordon Whaley Editor : Harold W. Rickett Bibliographer : Lazella Schwarten Business Manager: Michael Levine Members of the Council: John M. Arthur Lela V. Barton Arthur H. Graves Edwin B. Matzke Delegate to the Council of the New York Academy of Sciences: W. J. Robbins Representative on the Board of Managers of the New York Botanical Garden: Henry A. Gleason Representatives on the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science: Albert E. Hitchcock John S. Karling
Mr. Rutherford Platt then conducted a guessing game with the Kodachrome colored slides of plants for which he is so well known. The botanists present did not prove to be too familiar with the com- mon plants which he showed. First, second and booby prizes were awarded.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
JoHN W. THOMSON, JpR., RECORDING SECRETARY
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF JANUARY 21, 1942
The meeting was called to order at 3:35 p.m., in the Member’s Room of the New York Botanical Garden by the President, Dr. C. Stuart Gager. Thirty-six members and friends were present. In the absence of a Recording Secretary, the Corresponding Secretary read the minutes of the preceding meeting. These were adopted as read. The following were elected unanimously to annual membership in the Club:
Dr. W. B. Baker, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia Mr. Stanley D. Wikoff, 91 Easton Avenue, New Brunswick, N. J.
Mr. G. Thomas Robbins, University of Colorado, Boulder, Col. Mr. Frank G. Lier, 510 West 110th Street, New York City.
The transfer of Mr. W. Herbert Dole, 25 Overlook Avenue, West Orange, N. J., from annual to associate membership was approved. The following resignations were noted with regret:
63
From annual membership:
Mr. H. H. McKinney, Horticultural Field Station, Beltsville, Md. Mr. Alan Martin, Glenwood, N. J.
Prof. A. J. Sharp, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
Miss Olga H. Hingsburg, 46 Esplanade, Mt. Vernon, N. Y.
From associate membership:
Mr. Seymour Barrett, 1475 Grand Concourse, N. Y. C.
Dr. George H. Hallett, Jr., 3353 82nd Street, Jackson Heights, N. Y. Mrs. Ruth D. Hallett, 3353 82nd Street, Jackson Heights, N. Y.
Mr. L. W. Steiger, 835 Summit Avenue, Hackensack, N. J.
The Corresponding Secretary announced that the Council had accepted the resignation of Dr. Thomson as Recording Secretary, and read his letter of resignation to the Club. The President stated that in accordance with the Constitution the Council had elected Miss Honor Margaret Hollinghurst to fill the unexpired term of Recording Secretary.
The President also announced that the Council had sent a tele- gram of congratulations to Professor R. A. Harper in the name of the Club, this being Dr. Harper’s 80th birthday.
The President also announced that through an error in the bal- lot, a vacancy existed in the Council membership. Dr. Rickett nomi- nated Dr. W. J. Bonisteel for the vacancy, the nomination was sec- onded by Dr. Robbins, and Dr. Bonisteel was unanimously elected to a term from 1942-1944.
Dr. Small again announced that tickets were available for the Sportsman’s Show.
The scientific portion of the program consisted of a report by Dr. L. V. Barton of the Boyce Thompson Institute on “Some Spe- cial Problems in Seed Dormancy.” The speaker’s abstract follows:
Dormancy in relation to seeds is a general term used to indicate the failure of the embryo to resume growth when placed under conditions of temperature, moisture, and oxygen supply which ordinarily bring about germination. The dormant state may be imposed by seed coats, dormant embryos or a combina- tion of seed coat and dormant embryos. Furthermore, there are seeds in which the root is not dormant but the shoot or the bud which forms it is dormant. In the last case it is necessary to treat for a period at a low temperature (1° to 10° C.) in a moist medium after the root has already formed in order to break the epicotyl dormancy so that the first green leaf may develop. Such treatment may be given effectively at any time between the first appearance of
the radicle and the maximum development of the root system from the stored food in the seed.
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Recent experiments in which seeds of Convallaria majalis L. and Smilacina racemosa (L.) Desf. were the test material, showed epicotyl dormancy of a different type in that the period at low temperature, in order to be effective, must be given, not merely after root production, but after the seedlings had developed to the stage where their shoots had broken through the first enclos- ing sheaths. Exposure at earlier developmental stages was without effect in breaking epicotyl dormancy. Three to five months at 5° or 10° C. was found to be necessary for forcing the first green leaves of Convallaria and Smilacina.
Low-temperature pretreatment of the imbibed seeds increased root produc- tion in Convallaria and was essential to root formation in Smuilacina when plantings were made in the soil in the greenhouse.
After considerable discussion, the meeting adjourned at 4:40
p.m., to enjoy tea and other refreshments served by members of the Garden Staff. Respectfully submitted,
Harotp C. Bo rp, Acting Re. Sec.
NEWS NOTES
The Torrey Club has undertaken a botanical survey of that portion of the Appalachian Trail that is maintained by the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, namely, from the Delaware River to the Connecticut state line. Something over twenty miles of trail and alternate trail between the Delaware and Flatbrooks- ville road were covered last season. Three hundred and sixty-seven species of Spermatophytes, 28 species of Pteridophytes, 24 species of Bryophytes, 105 species of lichens (disregarding forms, modes, and varieties), and 47 species of fungi have been recorded to date. The only alga so far determined is Microspora stagnorum. In many of the groups a considerable number of additional species would be recorded if specialists in those plants were available on the trips. The project will be continued this season.
THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB OFFICERS FOR 1942
President: C. Stuart GAGER Treasurer: W. Gorpon WHALEY Editor: Harotp W. RIcKETT
Vice-Presidents: JoHN A. SMALL, F, CLyDE CHANDLER
Recording Secretary: Miss Honor M.
HoLLINGHURST Business Manager: MicHarL LrEvIne Corresponding Secretary: Harotp C. Bibliographer: Mrs. LazELLA SCHWAR- Bop TEN
Delegate to the Council, N. Y. Academy of Sciences: W. J. Ropstns
Representatives on the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science:
A. E. HitcHcock J. S. Karrine
Representative on the Board of Managers of the N. Y. Botanical Garden: H. A. GLEASON
Council for 1940
Ex officio members Edwin B. Matzke Harold N. Moldenke
John S. Karling Florence C. Chandler
Michael Levine William J. Robbins Henry K. Svenson John A. Small
Bernard O. Dodge Arthur H. Graves Alfred Gundersen George T. Hastings Harold W. Rickett
Elected members
1940-1942 Lela V. Barton Ralph H. Cheney Robert A. Harper Edmund W. Sinnott
1941-1943 Helen M. Trelease Ralph C. Benedict John H. Barnhart
1939-1941 Gladys P. Anderson John M. Arthur Harold H. Clum Percy W. Zimmerman
Committees for 1940 ENDOWMENT COMMITTEE
Clarence Lewis, Chairman J. Ashton Allis Caroline C. Haynes Henry de la Montagne Helen M. Trelease
ProGRamM COMMITTEE
Harold C. Bold, Chairman (e- elicte) William J. Robbins E. B. Matzke
FIELD COMMITTEE
John A. Small, Chairman Rutherford Platt Henry K. Svenson Ellys Butler Dolores Fay Eleanor Friend
Edward J. Alexander G. G. Nearing Vernon L. Frazee Alfred Gundersen Inez M. Haring
H. N. Moldenke
Locat FLora COMMITTEE
W. H. Camp, Chairman Harold W. Rickett Ora B. Smith Herbert M. Denslow
William J. Bonisteel James Edwards John M. Fogg, Jr.
Cryptogams
E. Marcy P. W. Zimmerman G. Whaley
Robert Hagelstein Michael Levine James Murphy Daniel Smiley, Jr. Farida A. Wiley
Dolores Fay H. Allan Gleason Hester M. Rusk
Ferns and Fern Allies: R.C. Benedict, W. Herbert Dole, N. E. Pfeiffer
Mosses: E. B. Bartram
Liverworts: A. W. Evans, E. B. Matzke Freshwater Algae: H.C. Bold
Marine Algae: J. J. Copeland _
Fungi: A. H. Graves, J. S. Karling, W. S. Thomas Lichens: J. W. Thomson, Jr.
Myxomycetes: R. Hagelstein
CoMMITTEE ON EXCHANGES
Harold C. Bold Amy Hepburn
Elizabeth Hall
OTHER PUBLICATIONS OF THE
TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB
(1) BULLETIN
A journal devoted to general botany, established in 1870 and published monthly, except during July, August, and September. Vol. 68, published in 1941, contained 694 pages of text and 55 full page plates. Price $6.00 per annum. For Europe, $6.25.
In addition to papers giving the results of research, each issue contains the INDEX TO AMERICAN BOTANICAL LITERATURE—a very comprehensive bibliography of current publications in American botany. Many workers find this an extremely valuable feature of the BULLETIN.
Of former volumes, 24-68 can be supplied separately at $6.00 each; certain numbers of other volumes are available, but the entire stock of some numbers has been reserved for the completion of sets. Single copies (75 cents) will be furnished only when not breaking complete volumes.
(2) MEMOIRS
The Memoirs, established 1889, are published at irregular in- tervals. Volumes 1-18 are now completed. Volume 17, containing Proceedings of the Semi-Centennial Anniversary of the Club, 490 pages, was issued in 1918, price $5.00.
Volume 18, no. 1, 108 pages, 1931, price $2.00. Volume 18, no. 2, 220 pages, 1932, price $4.00. Volume 18 complete, price $5.00.
Volume 19, no. 1, 92 pages, 1937, price $1.50. Volume 19, no. 2, 178 pages, 1938, price $2.00.
(3) INDEX TO AMERICAN BOTANICAL LITERATURE
Reprinted monthly on cards, and furnished to subscribers at three cents a card. Correspondence relating to the above publications should be addressed to W. Gordon WHALEY, Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, N. Y.
Herbarium,
Volume 42 May-June, 1942 Number 3
TORREYA
A Bi-MonTHLy JoURNAL oF BoTANICAL NoTEs anp NEws . EDITED FOR THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB
BY
WILLIAM J. BONISTEEL
John Torrey, 1796-1873
CONTENTS
Program of the Torrey Botanical Club—The Seventy-fifth Anniversary Cele-
pation tese statis we ice CE Ne ce sae etn ae ar toon eos Guede he arn MIR dey igen tet SES Chile Tarweed in Quebec.......................00005. Haroitp N. MoLtpENKE Collecting Chicle in the American Tropics (Part 2)......... JoHN S. KARLING More Fungi from the Front Lawn.......................... Laura A. KoLk Book Reviews
AboutO@urselvesi/. hee Rh ee LAr ee MIcHAEL LEVINE
Microbe’s Challenge... 0.0.0... .00.0. 00 0c e ec eee eee RuHopa W. BENHAM
Practical Plant Anatomy............................ W. Gorpon WHALEY
Fundamentals of Plant Science........................ Epwin B. MatzkrE velde Drips softs the x@lubron ye a5 oe Nn WEN Pe ce ea oy See a
An Herbal (1525)....... Bal cla ae SER PEM ET Bin Hu hers Get H. W. RicKeEtTT
Proceedings of the: Clubs g hep ey Rae REN Shes cue aan News i NOtesi sige steele ns aie SU a eae I SOL Se CMe oll te oer pele
PUBLISHED FOR THE CLUB
By THE FREE PRESS PRINTING COMPANY 187 COLLEGE STREET, BURLINGTON, VERMONT
Entered as second class matter at the post office at Burlington, Vermont, October 14, 1939, under the Act of March 3, 1879
TORREYA
TorrEYA, the bi-monthly publication of the Torrey Botanical Club, was established in 1901. TorREYA was established as a means of publishing shorter papers and inter- esting notes on the local flora range of the club. The proceedings of the club, book reviews, field trips and news notes are published from time to time. The pages of TORREYA are open to members of the club and others who may have short articles for publication.
TorREYA is furnished to subscribers in the United States and Canada for one dollar per year (January-December) ; single copies thirty cents. To subscribers elsewhere, twenty-five cents extra, or the equivalent thereof. Postal or express money orders, drafts, and personal checks are accepted in payment. Subscriptions are received only for full volumes.
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Of the annual membership dues of the Torrey Botanical Club, $.50 is for a year’s subscription to TORREYA.
INSTRUCTIONS TO CONTRIBUTORS
The manuscript should be prepared so that it conforms to the best practice as illustrated by current numbers of TorreyA. Manuscript should be typed double- spaced on one side of standard paper. The editors may accept papers up to eight printed pages in length. Longer papers may be published if the author agrees to bear the cost of the additional pages. Illustrations (including tables and graphs) should not exceed twelve per cent of the text; authors of more copiously illustrated ar- ticles may be asked to pay for the excess material. Brief notes will be published with especial promptness.
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Contributors may order reprints of their articles when they return galley proof to the editor. A schedule of charges is sent with the proof, and will be supplied to prospective contributors on request.
TorREYA is edited for the Torrey Botanical Club by
WM. J. BONISTEEL W. H. CAMP DOROTHY J. LONGACRE
MEMBERSHIP IN THE TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB
All persons interested in botany are invited to join the club. There are four classes of membership: Sustaining, at $15.00 a year; Life, at $100; Annual, at $5.00 a year and Associate, at $2.00 a year. The privileges of members, except Associate, are: (a) To attend all meetings of the club and to take part in the business, and (b) to receive its publications. Associate members have the privilege of attending meetings, field trips and of receiving the Schedule of the Field Trips and the Bulletin of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Manuscripts for publication, books and papers for review, reports of field trips and miscellaneous news items should be addressed to:
DR. WM. J. BONISTEEL BIoLoGIcAL LABORATORIES, FoRDHAM UNIVERSITY New York, N. Y.
TORREYA
VoL. 42 May-JUNE No. 3
The Torrey Botanical Club Seventy-fifth Anniversary Celebration June 22 to June 27, 1942
Monday, June 22.
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Registration. Rotunda, Low Memo- rial Library, Columbia University—General informa- tion about accommodations in Johnson Hall, Livingston Hall, and King’s Crown Hotel available at registration.
2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Scientific Program. Room 305 Schermerhorn
Hall. Sectional chairman: Dr. Edwin B. Matzke.
“The History of Botany at Columbia University.’ Dr.
John S. Karling.
Symposium on Morphology.
1. “Haphazard as a Factor in the Production of Tetra- kaidecahedra.” Dr. F. T. Lewis, Harvard Medi- cal School, Cambridge, Mass.
2. “The Evolution and Determination of Sexual Char- acters in the Angiosperm Sporophyte.” Dr. C. E. Allen, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.
3. “The Leaf-Stem Relationship in Vascular Plants.” Dr. R. H. Wetmore, Harvard University, Cam- bridge, Mass.
4. “Problems of Pattern in Plant Development.” Dr. E. W. Sinnott, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
4:30 to 6:00 p.m. Tea and Torrey Exhibit. Rotunda, Low Memorial Library.
7:00 p.m. Anniversary Banquet. Men’s Faculty Club, 117th St. and Morningside Drive.
Presentation of President of the Torrey Botanical Club,
Dies CC, Swat (Gees ose esos acs Dr. John S. Karling
Presentation of officially appointed delegates Dr. John S. Karling
TorreYA for May-June (Vol. 42, 65-103) was issued June 5, 1942. 65
66
Welcome to delegates, members, and guests
Pres. C. Stuart Gager Response of delegates Reading of letters of felicitation......... President Gager
Tuesday, June 23.
10:00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. New York Botanical Garden. Sec- tional chairman: Dr. Wm. J. Robbins.
“The History of the New York Botanical Garden.” Dr.
Wm. J. Robbins, Director.
Symposium on Taxonomy.
1. “Contributions of the Torrey Botanical Club to the Development of Taxonomy. Dr. H. A. Gleason. New York Botanical Garden.
“Modern Taxonomy and Its Relation to Geography.”
Dr. H. K. Svenson, Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
3. “Economic Aspects of Taxonomy.” Dr. E. D. Mer-
rill, Harvard University. |
4. “The Importance of Taxonomic Studies of the
Fungi.” Dr. F. D. Kern, Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pa.
12:30 to 2:00 pm. Basket Luncheon in the Rock Garden, 50 cents.
2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Inspection tour of Gardens, Conservatories, Laboratories, and Herbarium, conducted by members of the Staff.
8:30 p.m. Smoker. Men’s Faculty Club, Columbia University.
Wednesday, June 24.
10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Scientific Program. Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Yonkers, New York. Sectional chairman: Dr. P. W. Zimmerman.
“The History and Organization of the Boyce Thompson
Institute. Dr. Wm. J. Crocker, Director.
Symposium on Growth.
1. “Viruses in Relation to the Growth of Plants.” Dr. L. O. Kunkel, Rockefeller Institute for Medi- cal Research, Princeton, New Jersey.
2. “Morphogenetic Influences of Plant Hormones.” Dr. P. W. Zimmerman, Boyce Thompson Institute.
to
67
3. “The Many-sided Effects of Animal Hormones and Their Possible Resemblance to Plant Hormones.” Dr. Oscar Riddle, Carnegie Institute of Wash- ington, Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York. 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. Luncheon. Boyce Thompson Institute acting as host. 2:00 to 4:30 p.m. Inspection tours of grounds and laboratories conducted by members of the Staff. Exhibits by investigators of the Institute. 8:30 p.m. Public Lecture. American Museum of Natural History. “Plants Need Vitamins, Too.” Dr. Wm. J. Robbins, New York Botanical Garden.
Thursday, June 25. 10 :00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Scientific Program. Brooklyn Botanic
Garden, 1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn, New
York.
Sectional chairman: Dr. C. Stuart Gager.
“The History of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden.” Dr. C.
Stuart Gager, Director.
Symposium on Genetics.
1. ‘Genetics, the Unifying Science in Biology.” Dr. George H. Shull, Princeton University, Prince- ton, New Jersey.
2. “A Consideration of Criteria of Center of Origin.” Dr. Stanley Cain, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee.
3. “The Status of Plant Pathology in 1875 and in 1942.” Dr. George M. Reed, Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
4. “Technical Applications of Genetics in Plant Breed- ing in 75 Years.” Dr. A. F. Blakeslee, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Cold Spring Harbor, Long Island, New York.
12:30 to 4:30 pm. Luncheon. Brooklyn Botanic Garden. 50 cents. Inspection tours of gardens and laboratories con- ducted by members of the Staff.
68
Friday and Saturday, June 26 and 27.
Two-day field trip to Southern New Jersey. Dr. John A. Small,
New Jersey College for Women, Field Chairman.
First day to Seaside Park for beach, salt marsh, and en- croaching pine barren vegetation. Overnight accommodations at Toms River.
Second day to the dry barrens, “The Plains,” and the bogs.
Chile Tarweed in Quebec
Harotp N. MoLpENKE
Since the publication of my recent note on the occurrence of Chile tarweed east of the Mississippi River (Torreyva 41: 162-164), my good friend, Brother Marie-Victorin, of the Montreal Botanical Garden, has kindly sent me some more material of this species, rep- resenting the first known eastern Canadian records. All these speci- mens appear to be the typical form of Madia sativa Molina, rather than the variety, and all except three from the Marie-Victorin herbarium are deposited in the herbarium of the Montreal Botanical Garden.
The first specimen is an undated one, collected by Omer Caron in Lotbiniere County, Quebec. The earliest dated collection is rep- resented by five sheets (two in the Montreal Botanical Garden her- barium and three in the Marie-Victorin herbarium) collected by Brothers Marie-Victorin and Rolland-Germain on August 24, 1927, in uncultivated ground along the road from Longueuil to Gentilly, Chambly County, Quebec (no. 29062), where the collectors state that the species was introduced and abundant. On September 16, 1933, the same two collectors found it naturalized in fields at Longueuil (no. 45645, two sheets). On August 20, 1935, the same collectors collected it again in an abandoned field at Longueuil (vo. 43637, two sheets), and on September 14, 1935, Cécile Lanouette . collected it along Chemin du Lac at Longueuil, where it seems, there- fore, to be very definitely established.
New York BotTANICAL GARDEN
69
Collecting Chicle in the American Tropics (Part 2)
JoHN S. KARLING
IDENTIFICATION OF ACHRAS SPECIES AND CHICLE ADULTERANTS
In spite of the economic importance of chicle and the sapodilla tree, there is still some confusion and ignorance among contractors, chicleros, and professional botanists about the sources of chicle and the substitutes commonly used. A large number of species of differ- ent families yield gum which is utilized to a limited extent in chew- ing gum manufacture, but there is little doubt that the best and larg- est supply of chicle comes from Achras zapota, although some tax- onomists have denied this. This species as described by Plumier (1703), Linnaeus (1753, 1762), Jacquin (1760, 1763), Brown (1789), Pierre and Urban (1904), Coville (1905), Cook (1913), Pittier (1914, 1919), Hummel (1925), and Standley (1925, 1932) appears to be quite variable, and confusion as to the source of chicle is to be expected, especially when the herbarium material has been collected under different vernacular names from widely separated localities. In 1888 Planchon listed three species of Achras as com- mercially important, and recently (1919) Pittier added two addi- tional latex-yielding species, A. chicle and A. calcicola, which were formerly included in A. zapota. Pierre and Urban (1904) described four varieties of A. zapota on the basis of fruit and flower sizes and shapes. Whether or not these latter are valid species is uncertain, but it is not improbable that when the jungles of southern Mexico, Central and South America have been thoroughly combed and the forms carefully studied, additional species and varieties will be seg- regated.
In British Honduras the native chicleros, according to Hummel (1925), recognize the following types of A. zapota:
(1) “Female Sapodilla’—by far the best tree for producing chicle. Large edible fruit of good quality. Leaves smaller and closer together than those of any of the other kinds of sapodilla. However, the leaves of saplings are often abnormally large and their size and shape are, therefore, misleading. This tree is more numerous in the north of the Colony than in the south ; the Sibun River may, roughly, be taken as the dividing line betwéen good and inferior chicle.
70
“Female sapodilla”’ grows well on inferior soil, on so-called “Broken Ridge” soil, but it grows also on the best soil together with ma- hogany.
(2) “Crown Sapodilla’—produces the second best chicle. The general appearance of this tree is so similar to No. (1), “female sapodilla,” that even chicleros are not always certain in distinguish- ing it, unless they can see the fruit, which is much smaller and of a slightly different and more elongated shape from those of the “female sapodilla,”’ and not quite so delicious to eat as the latter.
(3) “Male” or “Bastard Sapodilla’—produces little chicle, less fluid and of inferior quality. The leaves are considerably larger and further apart than those of Nos. (1) and (2). The fruit is small, inedible and grows in small bunches. This tree does not bear fruit every year. The belief that it does not bear any fruit at all is wide- spread. The attribute “male” has no botanical significance ; it 1s ap- plied in the native nomenclature quite generally to plants of inferior quality, while the attribute “female” is here usually used for plants of superior quality.
(4) “Chicle Bull’—the most useless of the various sapodilla trees. The leaves are smaller than those of the “male sapodilla.” It is usually recognized by its fruit, which are the size of grapes and grow in fairly great bunches almost like grapes.
The “male” sapodilla tree or “chicle macho” (Record and Kuy- len, 1926) of British Honduras, as reported by Hummel, has been described from Guatemala and Mexico, where Pittier treated it as a new species, 4. chicle. On the basis of reports which he received from chicleros, Pittier regarded this species as the chief source of chicle, and stated: “The chicle of commerce is not extracted exclu- sively, if at all, from the latter species, Achras zapota.” This conten- tion has been severely criticized and is undoubtedly wrong, or at least certainly needs additional proof. Record and Kuylen report that the latex of A. chicle is used only to a limited extent for chicle. Hum- mel’s descriptions of “chicle bull” and “male” sapodilla are the same ~ with respect to size and growth of the fruits in bunches. This claim has also proven to be incorrect in most instances, since “chicle bull” in the crown lands of British Honduras is very similar to “female” sapodilla with respect to fruit, etc. However, in 1927 Record re- ported 4. chicle from Honduras with large edible fruits, which indi-
73
cates further the variability of Achras species and the difficulty of distinct differentiation. |
The confusion about the species of Achras which yield the chicle of commerce stems largely from the fact that the Indians and chic- leros in various localities and countries have different names for the same plant or the same name for widely different plants; and collectors unfamiliar with these vernacular synonyms may be readily led astray. Use of vernacular names as a criterion of differentiation without excellent herbarium material is worthless and leads at once into difficulties. To illustrate, Achras chicle in British Honduras is generally known as “chicle macho” and often as “chicozapote,’ while in Guatemala, according to Record (1926), it goes under the name of “nispero” or “zapotillo.” “Chico zapote”’ and “zapotillo,’ how- ever, are two of the vernacular names generally applied to Achras zapota in Mexico and other regions. Similarly, “sapodilla” is applied to A. calcicola in Panama. Hence, chicle reported to come from “chico zapote,” “‘zapotilla,” and sapodilla may involve several species of Achras as well as other genera of the Sapotaceae.
Throughout Mexico, Central America, South America, and the West Indies, Achras zapota has more than twenty different vernacu- lar names, many of which are also applied to trees of entirely differ- ent species and genera. Below is a partial list of names commonly given to Achras zapota in different parts of tropical America, accord- ing to Pittier (1914), Standley, and others.
West Indies, Venezuela, Colombia, and generally throughout Central Amer-
Ged tinea eee neta leu lee eenay oan ASN Ps Nispero zapote
British West Indies and Florida...... Naseberry, Sapodilla, neesberry, nis- berry
French West Indiés................. Sapotier, sapotille, sapotillier
Dutch West Indies................... Mispel, mispelloom
Guatemala ty yactiee dh tee een aoktte Chicle zapote, muy, chico zapote, sapo- dilla, zapote chico, zapotillo
RstIGa talline neers cust dendiate uc cneeumle ts Zapote, ya, zapote de abejas, tzapotl, palo maria, zapotillo, peruetana
Were, Cir, OAS8iCs soncocodcov0cdu0: Zapote, chico zapote, zapote chico, chico, zapotillo, guendaxina, txicoza- potl
Panama ..... LeS5S SHG Ao MOOT ORDO SOOM Mamey, zapote
Sailkievolore vs ee tcev amin amin eee neeee enc ate Muyozapot
GostamRicaae mea crns ceeere tes unison Korok, zapote, zapotillo
INiCarag tains: Shy toeiees atoms cme tare ntevete Zapote, iban, zapotillo, chico.
72
ElonduraSmee ee seen eee eee soe ee NispeLrouzapoteszaporlllo Bicuadomerracnaceer ae hie oo eeoe er NISperolrguite;nse Brazile escear ss ct ann encase Sapote, sapotilla
The terms “nispero,’ “zapote,’ “zapotillo,’ used generally throughout Central America for A. zapota, are often extended to include several genera and species of the Sapotaceae, such as Sider- oxylon amygdalinum, S. Gaumeri, S. Meyeri, Lucuma salicifolia, L. Durlandu, Dipholis Stevensonu, Calocarpum mammosum, C. viride, Chrysophyllum oliviforme, and others. It is not surprising then that in the early attempts to classify the chicle-yielding trees confusion arose among collectors in separate localities. In recent years, however, more extensive botanical collections have been made in the chicle areas, and the commercially important trees are fairly well known.
Achras zapota itself, as noted before, shows considerable varia- tion in different localities, and a number of local varieties are recog- nized by the chicleros. In regions south of the Belize River, British Honduras, and in certain localities in Peten, Guatemala, is found the form of A. gapota which is generally known as “chicle bull” or “chiquibul.” Taxonomically and morphologically, as far as it has been studied, it is reported to be the same as A. zapota, but for chewing purposes its gum is very inferior to that of trees growing north of this river. The latex is difficult to coagulate and requires longer boiling, while the resulting gum must be worked and fre- quently washed before it can be molded and hardened sufficiently for shipment. Since trees yielding “chicle bull’? are commonly found on a slightly different type of soil, the difference in quality of the gum has been attributed to this variation. The sapodilla tree appears to flourish best on calcareous marl and disintegrated. limestone which predominate in the Yucatecan Peninsula of Mexico, northern British Honduras, and the Peten District of Guatemala ; and it is primarily from this contiguous area that the best A. zapota chicle comes. South of this region the surface soil is reported to be less limey, and here occur A. chicle, “chicle bull,” and the so-called “bastard sapodil- las” chicle operators as necessary for good chicle. It is not uncommon, however, in regions where they overlap to find the two kinds of sapodillas growing side by side in the same type of soil, but still showing a marked difference in gum quality. In view of this it is
in greater abundance. A soil rich in lime is thus regarded by
73
not improbable that “‘chicle bull” may be a variety or physiologically differentiated race of A. zapota.
Within the species A. zapota, which yields the best chicle of com- merce, most chicleros in British Honduras recognize three forms: zapote blanco, zapote colorado, and zapote morado. The mauve or morado is said to be the best yielder, with the white next in order. The white and red forms are also recognized in Mexico and Guate- mala, but the mauve is not generally distinguished. In those coun- tries the white sapodilla is reported to yield almost twice as much as the red (Anonymous, 1923). Whether or not these three forms also are to be recognized as varieties or physiological races of A. zapota remains to be seen. Morphologically they appear the same. Their difference lies chiefly in the color of the bark, and the distinctions may be so fine that they are often unrecognizable except to the prac- tised eye. Taxonomists (Standley, 1932) have so far failed to find any essential morphological differences which would justify recogni- tion of these forms as distinct. Chicleros, however, claim to know the difference as soon as an incision is made in the bark. In the writer’s experience there may be almost any degree of transition be- tween the three forms, and frequently expert chicleros have been very doubtful of the type when questioned about the exact identity of certain trees.
In addition to the previously-mentioned forms of sapodilla, there are numerous other laticiferous trees the latex of which is sometimes used as chicle adulterants. Such adulterants, as far as is now known, are derived chiefly from the Apocynaceae, Sapotaceae, Moraceae, and Euphorbiaceae. The best chicle is reported to come from the Mexican states of Quintana Roo, Campeche, and Yucatan, because of their comparative freedom from these adulterants. In Peten, Guatemala, other laticiferous trees occur in great abundance in the chicle areas, and their latices have been used to dilute the increased volume of good chicle. This is also true but to a less degree in Brit- ish Honduras, when, during one rainy season, the writer collected specimens of more than twenty trees, the latex of which is reported to be used in varying degrees for adulterating good chicle. With the view of bringing these datas together more concisely, the writer has listed in tables 1 and 2 the species names, families, localities of occurrence, and vernacular names of these adulterants. The order in which they are arranged indicates the degree of frequency with
74
TABLE 1. SHOWING THE Sources, LOCALITIES, VERNACULAR NAMES, AND LITERATURE REFERENCES OF CHICLE AND CHICLE ADULTERANTS IN MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA
Species
Achras zapota ( Chiquibul )
A. chicle
Calocarpum mamosum
Calocarpum viride
Dipholis Stev- eEnsSONnIL
Dipholis sali- cifolia
Bumela Guate- malensis
Family
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Localities and Vernacular Names
British Honduras, Guatemala, Hon- duras: sapote, chiqubull, chicle bull, crown gum Guatemala, British Honduras, Hon- duras, Nicaragua, Panama: chicle macho, sapote macho
West Indies: sapote, mamee sapote, marmalade fruit (English). Mar- tinique, Guadelupe: zsapotte, grosse sapotte, sapote a creme (French). Cuba: Mamey, mamee sapote (Spanish). Mexico: tza- potl (Nauhuatl), tspas Savani (Zoque). Yucatan: zapote mamey (Spanish), haas, chacal haaz (Maya). Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador: Mamey colorado (Spanish). Guatemala: Saltul (Kekchi), tul-ul (Pokomchi), Chul (Mame), chul-ul (Jacal- teca). Costa Rica: bko (Cabé- cara), kurok (Bribri), komkra (Brunka), fm (Térraba). Pana- ma: Oa-bo (Guaymi), mamey, mamey de tierra. Philippine Is- ‘lands: chico-mamey (Spanish).
Guatemala: imgerto. Costa Rica: sapote, zapote blanco (Spanish). Honduras: gapotillo calenturiente (Spanish). Salvador: sapote in- gerto (Spanish). British Hon- duras: red and white faisan. Nica- ragua: sapote (Spanish). Hon- duras: zapotillo (Spanish)
British Honduras: zapote faisdn (Spanish)
Guatemala: dvalo, chaschin, acun, chaxicaste
British Honduras: Mijico, Chachiga
Reference in Literature
Pittier (1919) ; Hummel (1925) ; Record (1930) ; Standley (1932)
Pittier (1914), (1926) ; Pierre, (1890), (1904) ; Sloane (1725) ; Jacquim (1760, 1763) ; Linnaeus (1763) ; Miller (1768) ; Gaertner (1805, 1807) ;
Radlkofer (1882) ;
Cook (1913) ; Standley (1925, 1928) ; Cook and Collins (1903) ; Popenoe (1920)
Pittier (1914) ; Standley (1925, 1932)
Standley (1927, 1932) Standley (1927)
Standley (1932)
Species
Bumelia lauri- folia
Castilla fallax and C. elas- tica
Brosimum utile
Sideroxylon amygdalinum
S. Gaumeri
S. Meyeri
Lucuma beliz- ensis
Lucuma Dur- landi
Lucuma sali- ctfolia
Lucuma Hey- deri Lucuma cam- pechiana Stemmadena Donnell- Smith Pseudolmedia oxyphyllaria Brosimum ali- castrum
Family Sapotaceae
Moraceae
Moraceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae
Sapotaceae Sapotaceae
Apocynaceae
Moraceae
Moraceae
75
Tasle 1. Continued
Localities and Vernacular Names
British Honduras and Guatemala: Silly Young (English), Suilion, hoja largo
Guatemala: Ule, castiloa rubber, castilloa. Mexico: arbol de bule, hule, ule, olli, cwauchile, olcaguite, ulcuagulil, ulcahwitl (Nahuatl). British Honduras: hule macho, tunu, toonu
Guatemala and Honduras: palo de leche. Colombia and Nicaragua: palo de vaca, palo de leche, cow tree, arbol de leche, avichuri
Guatemala and British Honduras: sapote faisan (Spanish), Sully young (English)
Mexico: Caracolillo (Spanish). British Honduras: Zoy, Dzo1i, cream tree
British Honduras zapotillo
Guatemala and British Honduras: Silly Young (English), Suillion, hoja largo, zapote (Spanish)
Guatemala: Zapotillo (Spanish)
and Mexico:
Mexico: zapote amarillo, zapote bar- racho, zapote de nino (Spanish), costiczapotl, atzapotl (Aztec and Nauhuatl). Costa Rica: sapotillo (Spanish). Guatemala : aceitunillo
British Honduras: Mamee cirulla (Spanish)
British Honduras: Mamey cirera, Mamey serilla
British Honduras: cojoton, cojon de mico, cojon de caballo, chaclikin
Guatemala: wild cherry, mamba
British Honduras: Bread nut, mas- ico, ramon (Spanish). Guatemala : ramon, naranjillo. Mexico: ramon, ojite (Spanish)
Reference im Literature
Standley (1920)
Pittier (1909-1912) ;
Cook (1903)
Blake (1922) ; Pit-
tier (1918, 1926)
Standley (1925, 1929, 1932)
Standley (1925, 1932) ; Pittier (1912)
Standley (1932)
Standley (1926)
Standley (1925, 1932) Standley (1927)
Standley (1927, 1932)
Standley (1925, 1932)
Record (1930)
Record (1925, 1930) ; Pittier (1918)
Species
Chrysophyllum oliviforme
Tabernemon-
76
Tasle 1. Concluded
Localities and Vernacular Names
British Honduras: Wild star apple (English), chiceh (Maya), Chike. Salvador and Honduras: Caimito (Spanish). Salvador: zapotillo, guayabillo (Spanish). Yucatan: chiceh (Maya)
Apocynaceae British Honduras: cojon de pero,
Family
Sapotaceae
Reference im Literature
Standley (1924,
1925, 1932) ; Record (1930)
tana SP. cojoton Thevetia Apocynaceae British Honduras: cojoton nitida Ficus lapathi- Moraceae Guatemala and British Honduras: folia Kopo, mata palo, strangler fig Ficus glabrata Moraceae British Honduras: wild fig. Guate- Record (1925) ;
Plumeria multi-
mala: higo. Salvador: Amate de hijo grande Apocynaceae British Honduras: sapilote
Standley (1917)
Record (1930)
flora
Cameraria Apocynaceae British Honduras: Chechem de ca- Record (1930) belizensis ballo
Couma Apocynaceae Guatemala: palo de vaca; cow tree Record and Kuylen Guatemalen- (1926) ; Karling Sis (1935)
which, according to reports of chicleros in British Honduras, they have been utilized in adulterating the good chicle from A. zapota. This varies naturally in the different localities and countries ac- cording to the occurrence of laticiferous plants, and there is, of course, no universal agreement among chicleros and contractors in this respect. The arrangement presented is accordingly personal and tentative. Achras chicle gum and “chiquibul” are often collected and sold, without mixing with A. zapota chicle, under the name of Crown Gum in British Honduras. Contrary to the reports of many chicleros, A. chicle or “chicle macho” in the writer’s experience yields a goodly amount of latex in this colony, but its chicle is very soit, difficult to mold, and resembles “‘chiquibul.’’ Chicleros, there- fore, generally mix it with the gum of A. zapota in the proportion of one to three, making a chicle that will mold and become quite firm. The practice of adulteration in the jungle is not widely practiced at present, since adulterated chicle can be readily recognized by tests.
77
TaBLeE 2. SHOWING THE Sources, LOCALITY, VERNACULAR NAMES, AND LITERATURE REFERENCES OF CHICLE ADULTERANTS AND SUBSTITUTES IN SouTH AMERICA AND THE Far East
Locality and V ernacular
Species Family Name Couma utilis Apocynaceae Colombia: lirio Manilkara sp. Sapotaceae Venezuela: pendare (Mimusops) Manilkara sp. Sapotaceae British Guiana Dyera Low Apocynaceae Sarawak, British Borneo,
Sumatra, British Ma- laya: dead Borneo, pon- tianak, gutta jelutong
D. borneensis © D. Costulata ry D. laxifolia i s
Alstonia Scho- i laris
A. grandiflora
A. eximia
Rauwolfia * * Spectabilis
Literature and References
Vander Laan (1927) Vander Laan (1927) ; Pittier (1926) Vander Laan (1927) Vander Laan (1927) ; Heyne (1914) ; Cor- son (1927) ; Pearson (1918)
66
ce
Heyne (1914) ; Van- der Laan (1927)
The price of such gum is accordingly reduced, and chicleros soon
discovered that adulteration is not profitable.
In these tables are included other laticiferous plants the gum of
which is used as substitutes, but which is nonetheless classed as chicle in the countries where it is exported. The source of chicle is less known in northern South America than in Mexico and Central America, and much further study is necessary before definite state- ments can be made with respect to the species of laticiferous plants. According to Hoar (1924), over three million pounds of chicle were imported from Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, and British Guiana annually immediately after the close of the last World War. This quantity dropped considerably after political conditions improved in Mexico and Central America, and according to later chicle import data, it is considerably less.
According to Pell (1921), the largest amount and best chicle in Colombia comes from the “zapote”’ tree, but whether this is 4. sapota or some other member of the Sapotaceae is uncertain in view of the wide range of trees which bear this vernacular name. Next in amount
78
and quality is “lirio” gum from various “‘lirio” trees, which is often mixed with balata. The vernacular “‘lirio” is likewise extensively used in Colombia and applied locally to many widely different plants. Maloutia is a genus of laticiferous trees which occurs in the chicle areas of Colombia, and Pell may possibly refer to a member of this group. An anonymous writer (1921) and Vander Laan, however, report Couma utilis, another species of the Apocynaceae which is known locally as “‘lirio,”’ as the principal source of chicle in this coun- try. Pittier (1918) describes Brosimum utile as one of the most abundant sources of latex in Colombia, and it may possibly be used as an adulterant. Species of Mamnilkara are also reported to be tapped for chicle. These species are closely related to those which produce the balata of commerce (Chevalier, 1932), and it is not improbable that a considerable amount of latex from the latter, together with that from species of Sapium, Sideroxylon, and Palaquim, is used in adulteration. Along the north coast of Colombia is gathered an in- ferior chicle known as “perillo,” which was exported to the extent of nearly a half million pounds in 1923. Very little is known, how- ever, of its source, as far as the writer is aware.
The chicle of Venezuela is known locally as “pendare” and was exported to the amount of over a half million pounds in 1914, 1915, and 1920. According to Fletcher (1927) and Vander Laan, it re- sembles balata, and probably comes from a species of Manilkara. Planchon (1888), however, reported that A. zapota is abundant in the forests of Venezuela, but since his studies of the Sapotaceae were made before the chicle industry had become extensively established, he did not describe it as a source of gum. Doubtless, like Pittier (1914), his description deals primarily with the cultivated sapodil- las. Couma sapida (Pittier, 1926) occurs in the chicle areas of Venezuela and may possibly be tapped for chicle.
Small amounts of chicle have been shipped from Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras from time to time, but the exact source of this gum is not certain from the literature. Doubtless, in addition to A. sapota as a source, it comes largely from A. chicle and the chiquibul form of A. zapota, and is adulterated with the latex of other laticiferous species. In 1922 Costa Rica exported considerably more than a hundred thousand pounds. The exports of Honduras probably relate largely to Guatemalan chicle shipped through Hon- duranian ports.
ECUADO anor 40" EQUATO: i) iD / I. C5 4 —~\¢ _~ rae Ny ~ —~ Lo NE 4 Ng oe olen a 4 Eee ee Tt =< > a Peon ee ence RICORIY = SS SS = =: MAP OF LES I) Se NORTH AMERICA AND @E ARGIENTIN A SOUTH ANERICA a Scole 8/55 Stotute tiles. | / Seo ED jURUGUE G2" 78° we vor 66° 62° Ja" SF” Jo° 46° #2° Ja" oe .
Map 1. Areas of Mexico, Central America, and South America in which chicle and chicle substitutes are reported to occur.
Very little is known concerning the source of Peruvian chicle. Vander Laan reports it as coming from a species of the family Apocynaceae. It is probably a mixture of various latices, since balata and other gums occur in abundance in the same regions. Relatively small amounts of chicle have been exported from Bolivia, Brazil,
80
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et) o22/_002/ __ol!__ 251) __obll__ off _20/! _080/ 290! oO! o20/ 000/86 095 _—otE
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$1
British and French Guiana, but the exact sources are not well known. In Brazil occurs a species of the Apocynaceae which yields the chicle known locally as Tamanqueira leiteira. Since Manilkara and other laticiferous trees occur in great abundance here, this chicle is undoubtedly a mixture. Part of the Brazilian exports probably come from the eastern portion of Peru. In British Guiana a species of Manilkara is reported to yield the chicle of commerce.
Another extensively used substitute is jelutong, which comes from several species of the family Apocynaceae in Borneo, Sumatra, and the Federated Malay States. According to Heyne (1914) and Corson (1927), it is the product of various species, principally Dyera Lowu, D. costulata, D. laxiflora, D. borneensis, Alstonia scholaris, A. grandiflora, A. eximia, and Rauwolfia spectabilis. Jelutong, which was formerly known under the names of “dead Borneo,” “pontianak,”’ and “gutta jelutong,” is a soft pliable gum with a resin content of seventy-five to eighty per cent and rubber varying from nineteen to twenty-four per cent, according to Eaton and Den- nett (1923). It is now being used extensively in the United States for mixing with Achras zapota chicle, and according to Vander Laan the total imports in 1910 reached fifty-two million pounds. Since that time, however, it has dropped considerably, and in 1925 slightly more than fifteen million pounds were imported.”
The various regions from which chicle, chicle adulterants, and substitutes have been exported are shown in maps 1 and 2. These maps have been made up chiefly from government and consular re- ports and various articles on chicle, and with the exception of cer- tain parts of Central America do not relate to actual observations in the field by the writer. For this reason these maps will doubtless prove inaccurate in many respects, particularly with reference to the exact regions in which the latex-yielding trees occur, since the ports from which chicle is exported are usually far removed from the source.
9)
(To be concluded)
2 Since the invasion of Malaya and the Dutch East Indies by Japan the source of jelutong has been almost completely cut off.
82
More Fungi from the Front Lawn
Laura A. KoLtk
Since 1934, I have been recording the different species of fungi which have appeared on the grounds of a small suburban home on Long Island. Twenty-three species were reported in 1935 (TorRrEyA 35: 31-32, 1935), and since then the number has almost doubled ; but it is as interesting to watch each year for the reappearance of | the old “perennials” (?) as to welcome newcomers. Previous refer- ence has been made to the two blue spruce trees, approximately thirty years cld which dominate a portion of the front lawn. A scar- let oak, a dogwood tree, and a hemlock, all about the same age as the spruce, mark the boundary of the nearby adjoining property. Other gymnosperms are scattered over the lawn, but they offer less favorable cover for the growth of fungi.
Each year Russulas appear during the summer in the vicinity of the oak. Short-stalked specimens are characteristic, so that the purplish-red and grayish-green caps are in many cases scarcely raised above the ground. Russula variata seems to be the common species, and it is spreading in the grass beyond the immediate area under the oak. Xylaria polymorpha, found in 1934, occurred in abundance in the spring of 1936 in the form of small specimens about an inch and a half tall, but seems to have disappeared. A maple tree, growing too close to the oak, had been removed several years previously and old roots may have been left in the ground, possibly accounting for the appearance of the Xylaria in this location. How- ever, this summer (1941) another specimen appeared, but in an entirely different place. _
Amanitopsis vaginata var. plumbea is another species which yearly makes its appearance in an area of approximately ten feet between the scarlet oak and a narrow flower border along the side porch of the house. The volva of this agaric sheathes the base of the stipe much more closely than that of the heavier volva of Amani- topsis volvata—a newcomer in the vicinity of the oak during the past two years. The volva of the latter is very thick, and splits at the margin into two or three deep clefts. The sporophore is quite slow in reaching maturity, sometimes requiring two days or more to emerge from the button stage. In July 1941, there appeared within a few feet of the place where I have usually found A. volvata, an-
83
other agaric, with a large, bag-like volva (Fig. 1), deeply buried in the soil, and of somewhat thinner texture. It was very similar to A. volvata in its general characteristics, but was almost three times as large as any specimens of that species which had appeared up to date. The white pileus was covered with brownish scales, while the margin was fringed with large loose flakes, similar to the covering
FicureE 1 (See Text)
of the six-inch stipe, which left a mealy deposit on the hands when touched. Specimens of A. volvata showed a striate margin with no indication of this fringe. Kauffman’s description’ of Amanita Pecki- ana also fits this fungus in many particulars, but it will be necessary to wait for its reappearance next year before a decision can be reached. The specimen was not kept after photographing.
Laccaria amethystina reappears each year in the grass between the oak and the dogwood tree, whereas the Amanitopsis species tend to appear on nearby patches of bare soil. However, in 1940 another Laccaria, L. ochropurpurea appeared on the bare soil, in the form of a few depauperate specimens, but in September 1941, at least ten
1 Kauffman, C. H. The Agaricaceae of Michigan. Mich. Geol. & Biol. Surv. Pub. 26, Biol. Ser. 5. vols. 1 & 2; 1918.
84
very well developed specimens appeared in a small area previously occupied by the puff-ball Scleroderma aurantium. All these forms are within a radius of 15 feet from the trunk of the oak tree. Typical specimens of this Scleroderma have appeared each year, but several smooth walled specimens were gathered the past summer which fit Coker and Couch’s description’ of S. cepa, both as to peridium and spore characters. A third species of Scleroderma has appeared in sunnier situations in another area of the lawn. They are usually much smaller than the specimens of the two already mentioned spe- cies, and are replicas of those illustrated by Coker and Couch as S. lycoperdoides in their Plate 94. The spores, however, correspond more closely to those of S. tenerum on their Plate 120. I have col- lected this species in the same areas of lawn since 1934.
The Boleti are represented by Boletus castaneus, which yearly makes its appearance in the neighborhood of the oak, and by B. chrysenteron, which has appeared from time to time in various places on the lawn. A less frequent visitor is B. granulatus with its stipe marked by reddish granular dots.
A species of Inocybe with angular, nodulose spores, has ap- peared in 1940 and 1941 beneath a barberry hedge several feet from the oak. Its cap, about an inch in diameter, shows the typical fibrous markings of an Inocybe; it is umbonate with a dark umbo, and has a tendency to split along the margin. This is the third species of Inocybe to appear on the lawn. Two others, Inocybe infelix, and Inocybe eutheloides (?) were found in 1934, but only J. infelix has been a permanent resident. From spring to early fall this dingy brown little agaric may be found on a barren patch of soil beneath a rhododendron shrub. The spores of all three of these Inocybes differ decidedly.
Ina patch of moss (narrow-leaved Catharinea) beneath the dog- wood tree, a tiny yellow Clavaria has been found, and also Pleurotus hypnophilus and a small white agaric possibly Omphalia gracillima (?), but these are only among the occasional visitors.
Of the two blue spruce trees, which occupy a position directly in front of the house, one seems to be much more favorably situated for the growth of fungi than the other. Under the former, Amanita muscaria has established itself permanently. Each year dozens of
2Coker, W. C. and J. N. Couch. The Gasteromycetes of the Eastern U. S. and Canada. Univ. North Carolina Press. 1928.
85
specimens appear especially in the late summer and early fall. This dangerous agaric is also found in other areas of the lawn, especially under the hemlock and occasionally under a white pine. Of late these Amanitas have produced caps which are more tan than orange in color, but the volva is typical of A. muscaria.
This blue spruce harbors numerous other agarics beneath its branches. The Inocybe with nodulose spores mentioned above, has also been gathered here. Clitocybe infundibuliformis appeared in the latter part of June 1936, and was found again in June 1937, and May 1938. It has appeared since then, but no record has been kept. The identification of a small gray Clitocybe has so far been doubtful. Recorded as Clitocybe pinophila in 1934, other specimens gathered since then, indicate it may be C. wilescens. A species of Psalliota which appeared for the first time in the late summer of 1940, ap- peared again in September 1941. I am inclined to think this is P. abruptibulba. The fallen spruce needles, during a wet period in 1940, developed a conspicuous white mycelium which produced brown sporophores two to three inches tall, with upward tapering stipes, covered especially in the lower half with a dense white tomen- tum, velvety to the touch, often binding several sporophores to- gether at the base. This is Collybia (Marasmius, according to Pen- nington®) confluens. The fetid Marasmius (MV. foetidus) appeared twice on the lawn near the blue spruce; once in 1935, and again in 1937,
In the rear of the house, an apple tree occupies the center of the yard, and for several years troops of Psilocybe foenescii were con- tinually in evidence, but these have now disappeared. No other fungi of interest have appeared in this area except a Psathyrella, single specimens of which appeared several years in succession.
The following fungi have appeared only once: an Entoloma (spe- cies undetermined), Naucoria semi-orbicularis, Hypholoma incer- tum, and Lycoperdon Wrightu. Mutinus elegans (incorrectly re- ported as M. caninus in 1935), Russula foetens, Coprinus micaceus, Hypholoma sublateritium, Guepima (sp.) and a Lachnea-like As- comycete (Patella albospadicea ?) all recorded in 1934, have not reappeared. A Hebeloma was found recently near the place where the so-called Pholiota aggericola appeared in 1934.
° Pennington, L. H. New York species of Marasmius, N. Y. State Museum Bull. 179; Report of the State Botanist 1914.
86
The Zygomycetes are represented by Sporodinia grandis which attacks the chestnut Boletus and also the Amanitas, and covers them with a bright orange-yellow fuzz.
Even the rusts and smuts are represented in this limited area. Several plants of smooth crab-grass in the back yard were infected with Ustilago Rabenhorstiana and some Panicum dichotomiflorum in one of the flower beds harbored the head smut Sorosporium Syn- therismae. A tiny creeping Euphorbia had its leaves heavily rusted with Uromyces proéminens in 1940. A special search for plant patho- gens could no doubt have uncovered numerous others, since the weeds above mentioned indicate neither a well-kept garden nor a perfectly groomed lawn. For a mycologist, however, it is ideal.
BROOKLYN COLLEGE, BrooKLyn, N. Y.
BOOK REVIEWS
About Ourselves
About Ourselves. By James G. Needham. The Jaques Cattell Press, 1941. Pp. XII + 276. $3.00.
It seems that a book so thoroughly publicized and by so popular an author needs very little in the way of a review, especially when it comes from a botanist with non-too-critical zoological leaning. However, to those of us of the Torrey Botanical Club whose daily task it is to present the biological aspects of human endeavors to the young, a few words about the impressions made by this book and the reasons why this book has such meaning for them, should be of some interest.
The title “About Ourselves” may have many implications, but since it has been written by a zoologist, one must naturally infer that its discussions treat of the human being. Not only is this true, but man’s relation to other animals and other human beings are very much stressed. The book is accordingly divided into two parts. The first deals with man in his biological aspect ; the second deals with society in its biological aspects. The first part is replete with topics which should appeal to the teacher in general and the teacher of biology in particular. The language is not technical and
87
is adapted to the reading ability of an average intelligent layman. Behavior, instinct, and learning are the subjects of some of the most interesting chapters in Part 1. The second part is no less interesting for such timely topics as the biological aspects of goy- ernment, war, and religion are developed. The long list of readers and commentators are high in praise of Needham’s efforts. Few readers, however, have attempted to appraise the pedagogical value of this volume. Briefly, as one teacher to another, let me say that the author approaches his subject from the teacher’s point of view. His story is told in a vein that makes it simple, interesting, and often amusing. It is these characteristics that make many of the topics models for teaching simple biological concepts to the non- too-willing learner we meet in our schools today. The author chooses from the known and non-technical subjects the facts best suited to illustrate his point. The diagrams of Dr. Sargent are of great simplicity and in two or three cases their purpose is not very clear to the reviewer, except perhaps to heighten the basic nature of the story.
The author at times seems to find it necessary to remind his reader that “About Ourselves” deals with man in his zoological aspects. For in such chapters as “Behavior,” and “Learning”’ little is said about man. The chapter, “Nature and Nurture,” is interest- ing and should serve as a review to all those who teach and find little time for reading or experimenting. Here they will find a slightly different outlook on the problems of heredity. Briefly summarized in the author’s inimitable way when he tells the story of germ plasm and body plasm, “Hats change but noses go on forever.” In the chapter on the biological aspects of war there is no outpouring of venom against the Axis powers but one finds here an analysis of facts which lead to war and the contention that war will be part of the untamed instincts and evil folkways of Homo sapiens.
“About Ourselves” is a book which should interest a wide group of readers, scientists, and especially teachers of biology as well as those who are concerned with our present-day problems of
education. MiIcHAEL LEVINE
LABORATORY DIVISION MontTEFIORE HOSPITAL NEw York City
88
The Microbe’s Challenge
The Microbe’s Challenge. By Frederick Eberson, Ph.D., M.D. 329 pages. The Jaques Cattell Press, 1941. $3.50.
To write a book on a scientific subject that will have appeal for the lay mind as well as for the scientist is a difficult task and yet this is seemingly what Dr. Eberson has achieved in his recent publication, “The Microbe’s Challenge.”
Microbes are shown to have a way of living. They must grow, eat, reproduce and die. The manner in which they set about this business of living is vividly told. There are both good and bad microbes and these are equally important to man. The microbial parasite is a subject for contempt as are parasites in any walk of life, but must be treated with respect because its parasitism is necessary if it is to go on living. The fight to overcome these disease-producing parasites is a fascinating one and puts to test all of man’s ingenuity, as the author plainly shows.
The numerous disease-producing parasites or agents are each described in detail and the means by which invasion is fought and overcome clearly stated. One sees the body-producing poisons to offset those produced by the microbe. Such words as toxin, anti- toxin, bacteriophage, etc., are given meaning.
Virus diseases, the yellow fever problem, and many others are set forth in a manner that will arouse enthusiasm for the scientist and respect for the laboratory. The how and the why of epidemics is but one of the problems met with.
Indeed the microbe’s challenge is being met with, and though the path is hard and strewn with difficulties, much success has been attained since Louis Pasteur first started out on the journey.
In addition to the above, the author gives a true and accurate account of the history of the development of bacteriology and the
men who have made this possible. ROR Sete ae
Plant Anatomy
Practical Plant Anatomy. By Adriance S. Foster. D. Van Nostrand Company, 1942. Pp. 155. $2.50.
If one approaches Dr. Foster’s new book as this reviewer did, by way of the pre-publication announcement, the results are likely to be disappointing. The publisher’s notice leads one to expect
89
another Eames and MacDamiels with all the recent findings in- cluded and laboratory directions added. What one finds is a first rate laboratory guide. The author defines his purpose as the bridging of the gap between theory and practice in the study of plant anatomy. The form of the book is admirably suited to this purpose.
Each chapter consists of a discussion of the pertinent details of modern theory concerning the topic considered and an outline of practical laboratory exercises. ‘The first two chapters have to do with the general characteristics of plant cells. The third chapter is on meristems. Knowing Dr. Foster's excellent work in this field one could wish that this chapter were more complete. The various theories as to the structure of the apex certainly deserve more discussion than they get here. A student doing the proposed collateral reading at this point would easily be confused by the various systems of tissue designation which he would encounter. Chapter IV is a unique and very helpful presentation of the various systems of cell and tissue classification. The charts relating the origin, position, structural characteristics, and functions of different cell types are perhaps the most valuable single feature of the book. In chapters V through XI each of the principal cell types is con- sidered in detail. In chapter XI there is a good discussion of the distinction between sieve-tubes and sieve cells, the neglect of which has led to confusion in some modern papers. The last three chap- ters cover the stem, leaf, and root as tissue aggregates. There is a very brief appendix detailing certain special laboratory procedures.
As a working laboratory outline this book should prove of great value. The material is well organized and clearly presented. In- structors will appreciate the designation of specific materials which can be used for each exercise.
The principal criticism of this book is one which perhaps can be equally well applied to the teaching of plant anatomy generally. There is too great a tendency toward the purely descriptive aspects. Anatomy is a justifiable study only in that it is a manifestation of development either in the sense that the anatomy of an organism is the ultimate expression of its morphogenetic pattern, or, what is really the same thing, that it is a picture of the physiological differentiation. As there is often a gap between theory and practice in plant anatomy so does the descriptive approach make for a gap
90
between form and function. We should have preferred to see what is really a developmental picture approached with a less static outlook. However, this is merely a personal viewpoint. There is much to be said for learning anatomy by this purer, more Spartan approach. Any student who covers faithfully the material outlined in this excellent book will certainly know plant anatomy, and know
it well. W. Gorpon WHALEY
BARNARD COLLEGE CoLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
General Botany
Fundamentals of Plant Science. By M. Ellen O’Hanlon. F. S. Crofts & Co., 1941. $4.25.
The numerous botanical textbooks of recent years are roughly divisible into two groups: those that are the work of young sci- entists and, like a spring freshet, have vigor, clarity of outline, and force of presentation; then there are those other texts, the works of botanists who have already won their spurs; and these, like a mature stream, tap deeper reservoirs of knowledge and present the subject set in its whole and proper environment. Happily, “Fundamentals of Plant Science’ belongs in the latter group.
The book is divided into two parts. In traditional fashion the first deals with such topics as “The Plant Cell,” “Leaves,” “The Flower,’ “Fruits,” “Roots,” “Stems.” In the second half, after a chapter on “Alternation of Generations,” the groups of the plant kingdom are considered—the “Algae,” “Fungi and Their Allies,” “Bryophyta,” “Pteridephyta,”’ etc. Following this, a thirty-five page chapter is devoted to “Genetics’’; the next eighteen pages