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1842.

LONDON JOURNAL OF BOTANY.

EDITED BY

SIR W. J. HOOKER, K.H. L.L.D. FRA & LS.

l.— Notes on a Botanical Excursion to the Mountains of North Carolina, &c.; with some remarks on the Botany of the higher Alleghany Mountains.

(In a letter to Sir W. J. Hooker, by Asa Gray, M.D.)

THE peculiar interest you have long taken in North American Botany, and your most important labours in its elucidation, indicate the propriety of addressing to yourself the following remarks, relating, for the most part, to the hasty collections made by Mr. John Carey, Mr. J. Constable, and myself, in a recent excursion to the higher mountains of North Carolina. Before entering upon our own itinerary, it may be well to notice, very briefly, the travels of those who have preceded us in these comparatively unfrequented regions. The history of the Botany of the Alleghany Moun- tains would be at once interesting, and on many accounts useful, to the cultivators of our science in this country ; but with my present inadequate means, I can only offer a slight contribution towards that object.

So far as I can ascertain, the younger (William) Bartram was the first botanist who visited the southern portion of the Alleghany Mountains. Under the auspices of Dr. Fothergill, to whom his collections were principally sent, and with whom his then surviving father had previously corresponded, Mr. Bartram left Philadelphia in 1773, and after travelling in Florida and the lower parts of Georgia for three years, he made a transient visit to the Cherokee country, in the spring

n

VOL. I. x ^94 Mm. e

2 BOTANICAL EXCURSION TO

of 1776. In this journey, he ascended the Seneca or Theowee river, one of the principal sources of the Savannah, and crossing the mountains which divide its waters from those of the Tennessee, he continued his travels along the course of the latter to the borders of the present state of Tennessee. Finding that his researches could not be safely extended in that direction, after exploring some of the higher mountains in the neighbourhood, he retraced his steps to the Savannah river, proceeding thence through Georgia and Alabama to

obile. His well known and very interesting volume of Travels* contains numerous observations upon the botany of these regions, with occasional popular descriptions, and in a few cases Latin characters of some remarkable plants; as, for example, the Rhododendron punctatum (which he calls R. ferrugineum), Stuartia pentagyna (under the name of 5. montana), Azalea calendulacea (which he terms 4. flammea), Trautvetteria, which he took for a new species of Hydrastis,

Magnolia auriculata, &c. He also notices the remarkable `

intermixture of the vegetation of the north and south, which occurs in this portion of the mountains ; where Halesia, Styrax, Stuartia, and Gelsemiumt (although the latter is

killed by a very slight frost in the open air in Pennsylvania), | are seen flourishing by the side of the birches, maples, and |

firs of Canada.

I should next mention the name of André Micnavx, who; at an early period, amidst difficulties and privations of which |

few can now form an adequate conception, explored our country from Hudson's Bay to Florida, and westward to the Mississippi, more extensively than any subsequent botanist.

* “Travels through North and South Carolina, Georgia, East and West : Florida, the Cherokee country, &c.;" by William Bartram. Phila- `

delphia, 1791.

+ Dr. Torrey has directed my attention to an unaccountable mistake into which the learned Endlicher must have fallen, in describing the fruit 2 of Gelsemium, particularly in the Supplement to his Genera Plantarum (p. 1396), where it is established as a new tribe of Apocynacee, and 8 ` fruit of two follicles, as well as comose seeds, attributed to it! So faras

they extend, the characters given by Jussieu and Richard are correct.

THE MOUNTAINS OF N. CAROLINA.

A few of his plants have not yet been re-discovered, and a considerable number remain among the rarest and least known species of the United States; it may therefore be useful to give a somewhat particular account of his peregri- nation, especially through the mountain region which he so diligently explored, and in which he made such important discoveries. For this purpose, I am fortunately supplied with sufficient materials, having had the opportunity of con- sulting the original journals of Michaux, presented by his son to the American Philosophical Society. I am indebted for this privilege to the kindness of John Vaughan, Esq., the Secretary of the Society, who directed my attention to these manuscripts, and permitted me to extract freely whatever I deemed useful or interesting. The first Geteste of the diary is wanting; but we learn from a chance record, as well as from published sources,* that he embarked at L'Orient on the 29th day of September, 1785, and arrived at New York on the 13th of November. The private journal from which the following information is derived, commences in April, 1787 ; prior to which date he had established two gardens, or nurseries, to receive his collections of living plants, until they could be conveniently transported to France; one in New Jersey, near the city of New York; the SN about ten miles from Caden South Carolina. da the latter, it appears, he introduced some exotic trees, which he thought suitable to the climate; and the younger Michaux, who visited this garden several years afterwards, mentions two Ginkos (Salisburia’ adiantifolia), which in seven years had attained an elevation of thirty feet; also some fine specimens of Sterculia platanifolia, and a large number of young plants

* Vide Michaux, Flora Boreali- Americana ; Introd.—See also A Sketch of the progress of Botany in Western America, by Dr. Short, in the Transylvania Journal of Medicine, No. 35; and in Hooker’s Journal of Botany, for November, 1840. I am informed that an interesting notice of Michaux is contained in the eighth volume of the Dictionnaire Encyclo- pédique de Botanique, (under the head of ha seat ;) a work which, un- fortunately, I am not able at this moment to consu

B 2

4 BOTANICAL EXCURSION TO

of Mimosa Julibrissin, propagated from a tree which his father had brought from Europe. From this stock, probably,

the latter has been disseminated throughout the Southern

States, and is beginning to be naturalized in many places.

I have no means of ascertaining what portions of the country Michaux had visited previously to April 1787, when he set out from Charleston on his first journey to the Alle- ghany Mountains, by way of Savannah, ascending the river of that name to its springs in the Cherokee country, and following very nearly the route taken by Bartram eleven years before.* He reached the sources of the Theowee River on the l4th of June, and was conducted by the Indians across thé mountains to the head of the Tugaloo (the other principal branch of the Savannah), and thence to the waters of the Tennessee. After suffering much inconvenience from unfavourable weather and the want of food, he returned to the Itídian village of Seneca by way of Cane Creek, and descend- ing along the Savannah to Augusta, arrived at Charleston on the Ist of July. His notes, in this, as well as subsequent journeys to the mountains, often contain remarks upon the more interesting plants he discovered; and in some cases their localities are so carefully specified, that they might still be sought with confidence. On the 16th of July, he embarked for Philidelphia, which he reached on the 27th; and after visiting Mr. Bartram, travelled to New York, arriving at the TR he had established in New Jersey, about the Ist of August. Returning by water to Charleston the same month, he remained in that vicinity until February, 1788, when he embarked for St. Augustine, and was busily occupied, during

this spring, in exploring East Florida. His journal mentions :

* In this journey he was accompanied by his son, who shortly after- wards returned to Europe. Before they reached Augusta, their horses were Gest a misfortune, as it appears from Michaux's remarks, of no uncommon occurrence in those days; and they were obliged to pursue ure. journey to that place on foot. On the way, he discovered “@

shrubby Rumex” which he terms Lapathum occidentale ; doubtless the

Polygonella parvifolia of his Flora, and also the Polygonum polygamum of Ventenat.

3

| ;

THE MOUNTAINS OF N. CAROLINA. 5

several sub-tropical plants, now well known to be indigenous to Florida, but which are not noticed in his Flora; such as the Mangrove, Guilandina Bonduc, Sophora occidentalis, two or three Ferns, and especially the Orange.* Leaving Florida at the beginning of June, he returned by land to Savannah and Charleston, where he was confined by sickness the re- mainder of the summer. Late in the autumn, however, he made a second excursion to the sources of the Savannah, chiefly to obtain the roots and seeds of the remarkable plants he had previously discovered. He pursued the same route as before, except that he ascended the Tugaloo, instead of the Seneca or Theowee river; crossing over to the latter, and climbing the higher mountains about its sources in the in- clement month of December, when they were mostly covered with snow, he at length found some trees of Magnolia cordata, to obtain which was the principal object of this arduous journey. Retracing his steps, he reached Charleston at the end of December, with a large collection of living trees, roots and seeds. "The remainder of the winter, Michaux passed in the Bahama Islands, returning to Charleston in the month of May. Early in June, he set out upon a journey to a different portion of the mountains of North Carolina, by way of Camden, Charlotte (the county town of Mecklenburg), and Morganton, reaching the higher mountains at * Turkey Cove, thirty miles from Burke Court House" (probably the head of Turkey Creek, a tributary of the Catawba), on the l5th of June. From this place he made an excursion to the Black Mountain, in what is now Yancey County, and after- wards to the Yellow Mountain, which Michaux at that time considered to be the highest mountain in the United States. If the Roan be included in the latter appellation, as I believe it often has been, this opinion is not far from the truth; since the Black Mountain alone exceeds it, according to Pro- fessor Mitchell’s recent measurements. Descending this

* Les bois étaient remplis d'oranges aigres, etc." Michaux, Moss.— See also Bartram's Travels, and Torr. and Gray, Flor. of North America, i p.223;

6 BOTANICAL EXCURSION TO

elevated range on the Tennessee side, and travelling for the most part through an unbroken wilderness, near the end of June he reached the Block House, on the Holston, famous in the annals of border warfare. Several persons had been killed by the Indians during the preceding week, and general alarm prevailing, Michaux abandoned his intention of pene- trating into Kentucky, and resolved to botanize for a time in the mountains of Virginia. He accordingly entered that State, and arrived on the 1st of July at * Washington Court House, premiére ville dans la Virginie que Don trouve sur la cóte occidentale des Montagnes, en sortant de la Carolinie Septentrionale.” To this he adds the following note: Pre- mière ville, si l'on peut nommer ville une Bourgade composée de douze maisons (log-houses). Dans cette ville on ne mange que du pain de Mais. Il n'y a ni viande fraiche, ni cidre, mais seulement du mauvais Rum.” Abingdon, the principal town of Washington County, is now a flourishing place; but Michaux's remarks are still applicable to more than one premiere ville in this region. From this place he continued his course along the valley of Virginia throughout its whole sxtent, crossing New River, the Roanoke, and passing by Natural Bridge, Lexington, Staunton, and Winchester ; and thence, by way of Frederick in Maryland, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, he arrived at Philadelphia on the 21st of July, and at New York on the 30th. In August and Septem- ber, he returned to Charleston by Baltimore, Alexandria, Richmond and Wilmington, North Carolina. In November, he revisited the mountains which he had explored early the preced- ing summer, passing through Charlotte, Lincolnton and Mor- ganton, to his former head-quarters at Turkey Cove; from whence he visited the north branch of Catawba (North Cove, between Linville Mountain and the Blue Ridge), the Black Mountain, Joe River, &c.; and reached Charleston in De- cember, bringing home two thousand five hundred young trees, shrubs, and other plants. From January until April 1791, this indefatigable botanist remained in the vicinity of Char- leston; but his memoranda for the remainder of that year

THE MOUNTAINS OF N. CAROLINA. 7

are unfortunately wanting. The earliest succeeding date I have been able to find, is March 27th, 1792, when he sold the Jardin du Roi" at Charleston, and going slowly after- wards by water to Philadelphia, he botanized in New J ersey, and around New York until the close of May. In the beginning of June, he visited Milford, Connecticut, to pro- cure information from a Mr. Peter Pound, who had travelled far in the north-west; and at New Haven took passage in a sloop for Albany, where he arrived on the 14th of June (having botanized on the way at West Point, Poughkeepsie, &c.); on the 18th he was at Saratoga; on the 20th he embarked at Skenesborough (Whitehall), explored more ot less both shores of Lake Champlain, reaching Montreal on the 30th of June, and Quebec on the 16th of July.* The remainder of this season was devoted to an examination of the region between Quebec and Hudson's Bay, the botany of which, as is well known, he was the first to investigate. His journal comprises a full and very interesting account ofthe physical geography and vegetation of that inclement district.

Leaving Quebec in October, and returning by the same route, we find our persevering traveller at Philadelphia early in December. It appears that he now meditated a most formidable journey, and made the following proposition to the American Philosophical Society: * Proposé à plusieurs membres de la Société Philosophique, les avantages pour les Etats-Unis d'avoir des informations géographiques des pays à l'ouest de Mississippi, et demandé qu'ils aient à endosser mes traites pour la somme de £3,600, si je suis disposéà vo- yager aux sources du Missouri, et méme à rechercher les rivières qui coulent vers l'Océan Pacifique. Ma proposition ayant été accepté, j'ai donné à M. Jefferson, Secrétaire d'Etat, les conditions auxquelles je suis disposé à entreprendre

* Among the plants collected in this journey, he particularly mentions having found Aconitum uncinatum near Quebec; but in the Flora no other locality is given than the high mountains of North Carolina. Major Le Conte found it several years ago in the southern part of New York, and Mr. Lapham has recently detected it in Wisconsin.

8 BOTANICAL EXCURSION TO

ce voyage. J'offre de communiquer toutes les connaissances

en histoire naturelle que j’acquerrai dans ce voyage." Re- maining at Philadelphia and its vicinity until the following summer, he set out for Kentucky, in July, 1793, with the object of exploring the Western States, which no botanist had yet visited, and also of conferring with Gen. Clarke, at Mr. Jefferson's request, on the subject of his contem- plated journey to the Rocky Mountains, &c. He crossed the Alleghanies in Pennsylvania, descended the Ohio to Louis- ville, Kentucky, traversed that State and Western Virginia to Abingdon, and again travelled through the Valley of Virginia to Winchester, Harper's Ferry, &c. arriving at Philadelphia on the 12th of December of the same year. Conferences re- specting his projected expedition were now renewed, in which M. Genet, the envoy from the French republic, took a pro- minent part; but here the matter seems to have dropped, - since no further reference is made to the subject in the - journal; and Michaux left Philadelphia in February, 1794, on another tour to the Southern States. In J uly of that year, he again visited the mountains of North Carolina, travelling from Charleston to Turkey Cove, by his usual route. On this occasion he ascended the Linville Mountain, and the other mountains in the neighbourhood; but having * différé à cause du manque des provisions," he left his old quarters, at (Ainsworth's) crossed the Blue Ridge, and established himself at Crab Orchard, on Joe River. From this place he revisited the Black Mountain, and, accompanied by his new guide, Davenport, explored the Yellow Mountain, the Roan, and finally the Grandfather, the summit of which he at- tained on the 30th of August.* Returning to the house of

toute l'Amérique Septentrionale, chanté avec mon compagnon-guide l'hymne de la Marseillaise, et crié, * Vive la Liberté et la République Fran- çaise.” " If this enthusiasm were called forth by mere elevation, he should have chanted his pans on the Black Mountain and the Roan, both of which are higher than the Grandfather.

*

THE MOUNTAINS OF N. CAROLINA. 9

his guide, he visited Table Mountain on the 5th of Septem- ber, and proceeded, by way of Morganton, Lincolnton, Salis- bury, and Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Charleston, where he passed the winter.

On the 19th day of April, 1795, our indefatigable traveller again set out, reached the Santee River, at Nelson’s Ferry, ascended the Wateree or Catawba, to Flat-Rock Creek, visited Flat Rock,* crossed Hanging-Rock Creek, and ascended the little Catawba to Lincolnton. In the early part of May, he re-visited Linville Mountain, the Yellow Mountain, the Roan, and some others, and then descended Joe River and the Holston to Knoxville, Tennessee. Thence, crossing the Cum- berland Mountains, and a wilderness one hundred and twenty miles in extent, he arrived at Nashville on the 16th of June, at Danville, Kentucky, on the 27th, and at Louisville on the 20th of July. In August he ascended the Wabash to Vin- cennes, crossed the country to the Illinois River, and de- voted the months of September, October and November, to diligent herborizations along the course of that river, the Mississippi, the lower part of the Ohio, and throughout the country included by these rivers. In December, he de- scended the Mississippi in a small boat to the mouth of the

* I believe this is the only instance in which the name of Flat Rock occurs in Michaux’s journal ; it is in South Carolina, not far from Camden. Here, without doubt, he discovered Sedum pusillum (Diamorpha, Nutt.) ; the habitat of which is said to be “in Carolina Septentrionali, loco dicto Flat Rock.” Mr. Nuttall, who sub tly collected the plant at the same locality, inadvertently continues KE by assigning the habitat, Flat Rock, near Camden, North Carolina," as well in his Genera of North American Plants, as in a letter to Dr. Short on this subject. (Vide, Short on Western Botany, in the Transylvania Journal of Medicine, and in Hooker’s Journal of Botany for Nov. 1840, p. 103). Hence some confu- sion has arisen respecting the locality of gäe interesting plant, since there is both a Flat Rock and a village named Camden in North Geier al- though the two are widely separated. Afterall, Pursh's habitat, “on flat rocks in North Carolina, and elsewhere," proves sufficiently correct ; since Mr. Nuttall himself, and also Mr. Curtis and others, have s ly obtained it in such situations, near Salisbury, in that State, and Dr. Leaven- worth found it abundantly throughout the upper district of Georgia. `

10 BOTANICAL EXCURSION TO

Ohio, and ascended the latter and the Cumberland to Clarks- ville, which he reached on the 16th of January, 1796, after a perilous voyage in most inclement weather. Leaving that place on the 16th, he arrived at Nashville on the 19th of January, and after making a journey to Louisville and back again, he started for Carolina at the close of February, crossed the Cumberland mountains early in March, reached Knoxville on the 8th, Greenville on the 18th, Jonesborough on the 19th, and on the 22nd crossed the Iron Mountains into North Carolina, descended Cane Creek (which rises in the Roan), and spent several days in exploring the mountains in the vicinity, with his former guide, Davenport. In April he returned to Charleston by his usual route; and on the 13th of August embarked for Amsterdam in the ship Ophir. This vessel was wrecked on the coast of Holland, on the 10th of October, and Michaux lost a part of the collection he had with him; on the 23rd of December, 1796, he ar- rived at Paris with the portion he had saved. This notice of the travels of Michaux on this continent, will suffice to show with what untiring zeal and assiduity his laborious researches were prosecuted; it should however be remarked, that greater facilities were afforded him, in some important re- spects, than any subsequent botanist has enjoyed; the ex- pences of his journey having been entirely defrayed by the French government, under whose auspices and direction they were undertaken,

The name of Fraser, so familiar in the annals of North American Botany, ought, perhaps, to have preceded that of Michaux, in our brief sketch; since the elder Mr. Fraser, - who had visited Newfoundland previous to the year 1784, commenced his researches in the Southern States as early as 1785 ; and Michaux, on his first. expedition to the mountains in 1787, speaks of having travelled in his company for a several days. We believe, however, that he did not explore |. the Alleghany Mountains until 1789. Under the patronage - of the Russian Government, he returned to this country in | 1799, accompanied by his eldest son, and revisited the !

THE MOUNTAINS OF N. CAROLINA. il

mountains, ascending the beautiful Roan, Shaik * on a spot which commands a view of five States, namely, Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the eye ranging to a distance of seventy or eighty miles when the air is clear, it was Mr. Fraser's good fortune to discover and collect living specimens of the new and splendid Rhodo- dendron Catawbiense, from which so many beautiful hybrid varieties have since been obtained by skilful cultivators.”* The father and son_revisited the Southern States in 1807, and the latter,after the decease of his father in 1811, came back to this country, and continued his indefatigable researches until 1817.

Many of the rarest plants of these mountains were made known, especially to English gardens and collections, by Mr. John Lyon, whose indefatigable researches are highly spoken of by Pursh, Nuttall, and Elliott. It is very probable that he had visited the mountains previous to his assuming the charge of Mr. Hamilton’s collections near Philadelphia, which he resigned to Pursh in 1802. At a later period, however, he assiduously explored this region from Georgia as far north at least as the Grandfather Mountain, and died at Asheville, in Buncombe County, North Carolina, some time between 1814 and 1818. I am informed by my friend, the Rev. Mr. Curtis, that his journals and a portion of his herbarium were preserved at Asheville for many years, and that it is probable they may yet be found.

Michaux, the younger, author of the Sylva Americana, who accompanied his father in some of his earliest journeys, returned fo this country in 1801, and crossed the Alleghany Mountains twice; first in Pennsylvania on his way to the Western States, and the next year in North Carolina, on his

* Biographical Sketch of John Fraser the Botanical Collector, in Hooker’s Companion to the Botanical Magazine, 2, p. 300 (with a portrait) ; an article from which I have derived nearly all the information I possess respecting the researches of the Frasers in this country, and to which the reader is referred for more particular information. A full list of the North American plants introduced into England by the father and son, is appended to that account,

12 BOTANICAL EXCURSION TO

return to the sea-coast. In crossing from Jonesborough, Tennessee, to Morganton, by way of Joe River (not Doe River, as stated in his Travels), he accidentally stopped at the house of Davenport, his father’s guide in these mountains. The observations of the younger Michaux on this part of the Alleghany Mountains, in a chapter of his Travels devoted to that subject, are mainly accurate.

“In the beginning of 1805," Pursu, as he states in the

preface to his Flora, * set out for the mountains and western `

territories of the Southern States, beginning at Maryland and extending to the Carolinas (in which tract the interesting high mountains of Virginia and Carolina took my particular atten- tion), returning late in the autumn through the lower coun- tries along the sea-coast to Philadelphia.” This plan, however, was not fully carried out, since he does not appear

to have crossed the Alleghanies into the great Western | Valley, nor to have botanized along these mountains farther ` south than where the New River crosses the Valley of |

Virginia.

At any rate it is certain that the original tickets of his ` specimens in the herbarium of the late Professor Barton,

under whose patronage he travelled, as well as those in Mr. Lambert’s collection, furnish no evidence that he extended his

researches into the mountainous portion of North Carolina; | but it appears probable (from some labels marked Halifax, or | Mecklenburg, Virginia), that he followed the course of the ` Roanoke into the former State. His most interesting collec- tions were made at Harper's Ferry, Natural Bridge, the ` Peaked Mountain (which separates the two principal branches `

of the Shenandoah), the Peaks of Otter in the Blue Ridge; also Cove Mountain, Salt-pond Mountain, and Parnell's Knob (with the situation of which I am unacquainted), the region around the Warm Sulphur Springs, the Sweet Springs, and the mountains of Monroe and Greenbrier counties.

Early in the present century, Mr. Kin, a German nursery- - man and collector, resident at Philadelphia, travelled some- ` what extensively among the Alleghany Mountains, chiefly -

THE MOUNTAINS OF N. CAROLINA. 1S

for the purpose of obtaining living plants and seeds. He also collected many interesting specimens, which may be found in the herbaria of Muhlenberg and Willdenow, where his tickets may be known by the orthography and the amusing mixture of bad English and German, (with occa- sionally some very singular Latin), in which his observations are written.

In the winter of 1816, Mr. NUTTALL crossed the mountains of North Carolina from the west, ascending the French Broad River (along the banks of which he found his Phi/adelphus hirsutus, &c.), to Asheville, passing the Blue Ridge, and exploring the Table Mountain, where he discovered Hudsonia montana, &c., and collected many other rare and interesting plants.*

As early as 1817, the mountains at the sources of the Saluda River were visited by the late Dr. MacnnipE, the friend and correspondent of Elliott; who, in the preface to the second volume of his Sketch, pays an affecting and most deserved tribute to his memory, acknowledging the important service which he rendered to that work during its progress.

The name of RArINESQUE should also be mentioned in this account; since that botanist crossed the Alleghanies four or five times between 1818 and 1833, in Pennsyivania, Mary- land, and the North of Virginia, and also explored the Cum- berland Mountains. A few years since, the Peaks of Otter, in Virginia, were visited by Mr. S. B. Buckley; and still more recently the same botanist explored the Moun- tains in the upper part of Alabama and Georgia, and the adjacent borders of North Carolina. Among the interesting contributions which the authors of the Flora of North Ame-

. * The spur of the Blue Ridge, from which the picturesque Table

Mountain rises like a tower, is called by Mr. Nuttall the Catawba Ridge. lam informed, however, by Mr. Curtis, who is intimately acquainted with this region, that it is not known by that name, but called the Table Mountain Ridge. Its base is not washed by the Catawba River, but by its tributary, the Linville,

14 NOTES UPON CAPE ORCHIDACE.JE.

rica have received from this source, I may here mention the Coreopsis latifolia of Michaux, which had not been found by any subsequent botanist, until it was observed by Mr. Buckley in the autumn of 1840.

No living botanist, however, is so well acquainted with the vegetation of the southern Alleghany Mountains, or has ex- plored those of North Carolina, so extensively as the Rev. M. A. Curtis; who, when resident for a short time in their vicinity, visited, as opportunity occurred, the Table Mountain, Grandfather, Roan, Black Mountain, &c., and, subsequently, although prevented by infirm health from making large col- lections, extended his researches through the counties of Hay- wood, Macon, and Cherokee, which form the narrow south- western extremity of Carolina. To him we are indebted for local information which greatly facilitated our recent journey, and, indeed, for a complete Itinerarium of the region south of Ashe County.

(To be Continued).

II.— Notes upon Cape Orchidacee. By Pnorzsson LINDLEY.

AMONG a small collection of dried plants which I owe to the kindness of Mr. W. H. Harvey, are some interesting Orchidacez, with the existence of which I am anxious that Botanists should be at once acquainted, without waiting till the revision of the Order which I havein preparation, can appear.

1. Dispeznis paludosa (Harvey in litt) ; caule glaberrimo,

folis linearibus acutis, floribus solitariis 2-3-nisve, sepalis omnibus liberis glabris acuminatis, labello lineari apice glan- duloso truncato sub apice appendice naviculari membranaceá aucto. Habit of D. capensis, but nearer D. secunda in character. It always grows in wet spongy bogs, very different from “the station of the others, and is a much later flowerer. I first found it at Camps Bay, within twenty minutes’ walk of

NOTES UPON CAPE ORCHIDACE. 15

* Cape Town, afterwards at the French Hoek, fully fifty * miles distant, in company with Satyridium rostratum ; and * finally on the top of Table Mountain later in the season. * In all places it keeps to the same characters. The flowers * are generally 1-2, but sometimes 3, the greatest posp

‘seen. I suppose I have gathered fifty specimens.” SE

2. Disa (Coryphea) Harveiana; folis linearibus acumi- natis sublanceolatis recurvis, vaginis caulis bracteisque ovario brevioribus membranaceis acutis reticulatis, floribus geminis, sepalis oblongis obtusissimis, galeà apice recurvà calcare subulato recto ovario longiore, petalis lineari-lanceolatis tortis basi dilatatis, labello lineari-lanceolato.—** Near D. Draconis, “but differing in size, bracts, petals and labellum. Several * places about Table Mountain. First found in December * 1837, afterwards December 1840, and January 1841, always * preserving the same characters."— Harvey.

3. Disa (Coryphzea) vaginata (Harvey in htt); glabra, foliis radicalibus parvis ovatis, caulis vaginis 4-8 membranaceis adpressis ciliatis resinoso-punctatis, floribus 3-6 subcorym- bosis, bracteis coloratis ovarii longitudine, sepalis concavis ovatis, galeA basi in calcar subulatum ovario parallelum pro- ductá, petalis subfaleatis retusis apiculatis, labello lineari retuso basi trinervi. * Near D. glandulosa. Table Moun- ** tain."— Harvey.

4. Disa (Oregura) porrecta Swartz. Lindl. gen. and sp. 352.—* I haveno doubt that this is D. ferruginea of Thunberg, * being found abundantly in his habitat in March and April, * and nothing else resembling his character being to be met * with."—Harvey.

5. Disa (Disella) maculata (Harvey in litt.) ; caule folioso, foliis linearibus erectis basi dilatatis, bracteis foliaceis acumina- tis inferioribus floribus longioribus, sepalis erectis ovatis acutis, galeà subrotundá acutá basi in calcar breve obtusum ascendens productá, petalis faleato-ovatis acutis ciliatis margine anteriore excisis, labello lineari.— «^ Summit of Table Mountain, * November."— Harvey.

16 NOTES UPON CAPE ORCHIDACES.

6. Disa (Disella) natalensis; foliis oblongis erectis cana- liculatis supremis abbreviatis sub spicá imbricatis, spicá cy- lindraceá densiflora, sepalis oblongis obtusis patentibus galeze concave æqualibus, calcare subulato è mediá galeà pendulo eáque vix longiore, petalis oblongis concavis galeà brevioribus, labello lineari sepalis eequali.—Port Natal, Harvey. A plant with the aspect of a Monadenia. The spike in my only specimen is between two and three inches long, very dense, and consists of flowers about the size of Orchis mascula.

7. BRowNrEEA. (Harvey in litt. Flos et habitus Dise Diselle. Petala recta galee agglutinata. Labellum minimum inflexum basi in bursam columne adnatam expansum. Anthera ascendens, biloba.

BnowwLEEa parviflora, (Harvey in litt.); folio caulino solitario lineari-ligulato, spicà densá, bracteis linearibus acumi- natissimis floribus longioribus, sepalis semi-oblongis deflexis cylindraceis parallelis, gale erectá è dorso calcar crassum deorsüm arcuatum basi intrusum exserente, labello subulato. —" No radical leaves; flowers white."— Rev. J. B. in litt. Near King William's Town, Caffraria, March 1841. Rev. J. Brownlee.

8. Brownteea cerulea, (Harvey in litt.) ; foliis caulinis 2 membranaceis oblongo-lanceolatis acutis, spicá oblongá, bracteis lznceolatis floribuszequalibus, sepalis lineari-lanceolatis dimidiatis porrectis, galeá acuminata infundibulari in calcar longissimum obtusum sub-horizontale productá, labello lineari emarginato.—** Flowers a beautiful sky blue, with dark spots; “no radical leaves, Rev. J. B. in litt. Hab. in a sheltered situation among trees, March 1841, near King William's Town, Caffraria. Rev. J. Brownlee."

These two plants were accompanied by the following memorandum from Mr. Harvey : These Orchidacee which I * have just received from Caffirland appear to me to belong to “a new genus in some respects connecting Disa with Disperis. The habit is that of Disa, but the petals (unless I greatly err) * cohere with the posterior sepal, and the /abellum which is “exceedingly minute, is reflected back on the column, to

NOTES UPON CAPE ORCHIDACE.E. 17

* which its margins adhere, while its inner or upper surface * is free ; it thus forms a little pocket. "These curious plants * were collected by Rev. J. Brownlee, a missionary stationed * at King William's Town, who has latterly sent me several interesting plants, especially OrcAidacee, and from whom I * expect many more. He has a good general knowledge of * Botany, and I wish that you would adopt his name for E

9. Penruea melaleuca, Lindl. gen. and sp. 361.—* I do * not find the petals ‘anthere utrinque adnata; but rather, “asin Disa, attached to the base of the column, but per- fectly free from the anther though conniving over it. The * character of wanting a spur is only absolutely true in P. * patens ; in. P. melaleuca, obtusa, and filiformis the galea is * either saccate or umbonate.”—Harvey.

10. PENTHEA atricapilla (Harvey i in litt.) ; foliis lanceolatis acuminatis canaliculatis margine involutis, vaginis caulis 6 apice foliaceis subulatis patentibus, corymbo deuso multi- floro, sepalis verticalibus inzequilateris ovato-oblongis acutis carinatis, galeá lineari-oblongà acuta basi planà apice cucul- lata, petalis oblongis obtusis apice denticulatis, labello subu- lato acuto pone GE utrinque obsoleté dentato.—This is the plant mentioned by me in the Gen. and Sp. Orch. as having been observed in Vahl’s Herbarium, under the name of Satyrium hians. Mr. Harvey's note upon it is the fol- lowin

* Root-leaves several, lanceolato-acuminate, channelled or * with involute margins. Stem closely invested with about " six sheaths, with leafy, subulate spreading, acuminate * points, resembling the leaves, but shorter. Flowers densely * corymbose, opening horizontally ; ractee ovate-acuminate, “leafy, longer than the ovary, involute at point; galea * linear-oblong, acute, flat at the base, cucullate above, and * produced at back into a compressed umbo ; sepals vertical,

unequal-sided, somewhat ovate, oblong, acute, sharply * keeled, the front margin recurved and produced at the * base, the hind margin flat, the apices incurved (towards * the galea); petals supine, broadly oblong, ES irregularly

VOL.

18 NEW GENERA OF S. AFRICAN PLANTS.

e dentate at the apex, the upper angle incurved and produced * into a subulate tooth, the lower (basal) angle produced in front (where it joins the column) into a channelled ear; * labellum subulate, acute, toothed at each side near the * base, substipitate.

Stem six inches high. Sepals divided (as respects colour) * Jongitudinally into two portions; the anterior purple on * the inside and black on the outside, the other white. Pe- * tals fleshy, greenish, mottled with purple; purple at the “apex. Galea greenish-white.

er Hottentots Holland Mt. Mr. Bowie, 1818. Muyrenberg, Mr. Upjohn, 1840.

* Certainly distinct from P. melaleuca. 1 send my only * duplicate, but hope to get more next year. It is a most singularly lurid-looking plant.”

IIIL.— Descriptions of several new Genera of South African Plants. By tue Hon. W. H. Harvey.

HIPPOCRATEACE.

1. Diptestnes.—Caly2 6-phyllus, sepalis biseriatis, 3 exterioribus minoribus, squameeformibus, 3 interioribus inæ- qualibus, uno multo majore petaloideo. Petala 6, biseriata, ` persistentia, sub disci margine exteriorá inserta; 3 exteriora - majora, simplicia, 3 interiora (inaequalia, uno minore) brevi- unguiculata, utroque latere saccata. Discus expansus, Car- ` nosus, duplicatus (margine duplici) Stamina 3, hypogyn? distincta; filamenta subulata, plana, stylo longiora, demum ` reflexa ; anthere biloculares ; adnate, ovate, extrorse, loculis basi divergentibus, longitudinaliter dehiscentibus. Ovarium ` trigonum, triloculare; ovula 2 in utroque loculo superposita. ` Stylus simplex, brevis. Fructus ....?—Frutex glaber; ` folis alternis? ellipticis, obtusis, denticulatis v. subinteger- ` rimis, supra-nitentibus, subtus reticulatis; floribus flavo- - viridibus, axillaribus, fasciculatis, pedicellis unifloris. |

NEW GENERA OF S. AFRICAN PLANTS. 19

This genus is founded on a shrub (D. Kraussii, nob.) dis- covered at Port Natalby Dr. Krauss, specimens of which are distributed as No. 348 of his collection. Itis the first indi- vidual of the Order recorded as South African, and it will be seen that it differs remarkably from the published genera by having a ¢ripartite flower, and alternate leaves; but if the Hippocrateacee be mainly distinguished from allied groups by the position, number and structure of the stamens and ovules, our plant can hardly be referred elsewhere. It has, indeed, much the appearance of a Salacia, to which genus, till I had carefully examined the floral envelopes, I was dis- posed to refer it. The generic name is derived from ?vzXoos, double, and iw, cow, fo clothe, in allusion to ‘the duplica- tion of calyx, corolla and discal-margin.

ESCALLONIACELE.

2, CnonisrvLIs.—Calycis tubus obconicus, ovario adna- tus; limbus laciniis 5, erectis, distantibus, subulatis, persis- tentibus. Corolle petala 5, summo calycis tubo inserta, deltoideo-subulata, trinervia, sericea, calycis laciniis longiora, persistentia, estivatione valvata. Stamina 5, petalis alterna ; filamenta brevissima ; anthere (minute) biloculares, ovate, longitudinaliter dehiscentes, hirsute, connectivo carnoso. Sty duo, subconnati, demum soluti, divergentes; stigmata capitata, carnosa. Ovarium inferum, biloculare; ovulis juxta dissepimentum utrinque plurimis. Capsula semi-infera, apice conica, calycis limbo petalis stylisque disjunctis coro- nata, bilocularis, inter stylos septicide dehiscens. Semina ob- longa, subincurva, raphe prominula; testa coriacea. Embryo? Frutex 8-10 pedalis, montanus ; foliis alternis, exsti- pulatis, simplicibus, elliptico-ovatis, serratis, glabris, longe petiolatis ; paniculis parvis, parc? ramosis, axillaribus termi- nalibusque ; floribus viridibus.