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ABUTILON, Tourn. The Mexican species need to be cleared up before we can well settle those of the North American flora. For this sufficient authentic materials are not at hand.

Besides A. AVICENNÆ, which is more or less naturalised in the Atlantic States, I count A. INDICUM var HIRTUM of Grisebach as a chance introduction from the West Indies into the southern parts of Florida; and am disposed to think the same of A. PEDUNCULARE, HBK., or what passes for that species.

A. JACQUINI, Don, (Lavatera Americana, L., Sida abutiloides, Jacq. Obs. t. 7, S. crassifolia, L'Her. Stirp. t. 60, Abutilon lignosum, A. Rich. Fl. Cub., and Griseb., to which may be added A. hypoleucum, Gray, Pl. Wright. i. 20,) cannot be Sida lignosa, Cav., with "capsulis durissimis." In Mexico it comes so near the boundary (coll. Berlandier, Palmer. &c.) that it is likely to reach Texas. It is known by its seemingly cordate sepals equally the numerous subulately erect-awned and villous-hirsute carpels, which are as large as those of the preceding species.

A. PALMERI, Gray, and A. AURANTIACUM, Watson, are apparently good species of N. W. Mexico and Lower California, which come very near to our borders.

A. PERMOLLE, Don, is the Florida plant (otherwise only West Indian) which in Champman's Flora is taken for A. Jacquini.

A. WRIGHTII, Gray, of Texas, Arizona, and adjacent Mexico, is the species most resembling A. Jacquini, Don.

A. PARISHII, Watson, Proc. Am. Acad. xx. 357 is a recently added species of the same group, but wholly herbaceous, with short peduncles and short calyx.

A. LEMMONI, Watson, l. c., is a species near to the Mexican A. Berlandieri, Gray, which Mr. Watson has partly characterized: and to the latter may be referred the "306, Abutilon" of Pringle's Chihuahua distribution, a var. DENTATUM.

A. XANTI is a name which may be applied to the plant of Lower California, noted as "A. Californicum, Benth. var." in Proc. Amer. Acad. v. 154, which cannot be Bentham's species. It goes with those two very closely related species, A. Sonoræ, Gray, and A. reventum, Watson, Proc. Am. Acad. xxi. 418, which are herbaceous, large-leaved, and with a very naked and ample compound panicle of small flowers. This one has neither the long beard-like hairs of A. Sonoræ, nor the smooth stems of A. reventum, and has a different and larger calyx, nearly equalling the cuspidate beaked fruit.

A. INCANUM, Don. A. Texense & A. Nuttallii. Torr. & Gray. Fl. In the Botany of the Wilkes South Pacific Expendition, I noted that A. incanum of the Sandwich Islands was hardly distinguishable from A. Texense. I now find that the characters there mentioned are of no avail. The seeds of our plant, although quite glabrous when young, become minutely downy in age. We must combine the species, notwithstanding the disjointed range.

A. PARVULUM, Gray, to which belong some specimens which have been referred to A. Texense (as in Lemmon's and Pringle's Arizona collections), ought to be distinguished, not only by the spreading or trailing growth and the pubescence, but also by the color of the corolla. In the original description this is said to be yellow: but I find no authority for it in the collector's memoranda. It is noted as "brick red" on the ticket of specimens collected by Sir Joseph Hooker and myself at Cañon City, Colorado, in 1877, and as "pink" by Dr. Havard in specimens for W. Texas.

A. THURBERI, Gray. A pentacarpellary species, of Grisebach's section Anasida, but wholly with one-flowered peduncles. Dr. Masters, in Fl. Trop. Africa, i. 186, takes it to be very near A. ramosum (Sida ramosa, Cav.); but that sems to be more like A. umbellatum. The latter was collected by Berlandier in Mexico, not far from the Texan boundary (no. 1549, 3049), is cinereous or somewhat canescent, usually more the pentacarpellary, and the peduncles 3–5-flowered, the seeds muriculate.

A. HOLOSERICEUM, Scheele, which is figured in Gen. Ill. ii. t. 125, as A. velutinum, is interesting as the only one of our species which bears a pair of collateral ovules and seeds in the upper part of each of the five carpels, while the lower and narrower basal portion bears a single seed.

A. (GAYOIDES) CRISPUM [1], Don. Common along the southern frontier, usually with villous branches, while in Florida the var. imberbe, Griseb. (A. trichodum, A. Rich., amd Sida imberbis, DC.) prevails. To this species belongs no. 92 of Parry & Palmer's Mexican collection, which has inadvertently referred to Gaya subtriloba.

[1] Abutilon crispum is now placed in the segregate genus Herissantia, as H. crispa.

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