Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club/Volume 1/01

BULLETIN
OF THE
TORREY BOTANICAL CLUB.
Vol. 1. ]	New-York, January, 1870.	[ No. 1.

1.⁠Prefatory.  — The object of this Bulletin is primarily to form a medium of communication for all those interested in the Flora of this vicinity, and thus to bring together and fan into a flame the sparks of Botanical enthusiasm, at present too much isolated.  An attentive study of plants in their native haunts is essential to the advance of the science, and in this respect the local observer has an advantage over the explorer of extensive regions, or the possessor of a general herbarium.  He can note the plant from its cradle to its grave; can watch its struggles for existence, its habits, its migrations, its variatlons; can study its atmospheric and entomological economics; can speculate on its relations to the past, or experiment on its utility to man.  It would be in vain to attempt to enumerate all the points about which a lover of vegetable nature can learn and report something new. Botany, like every other science, far from being exhausted, is ever widening its field.  We hope, therefore, to have no lack of interesting communications, not only from deep investigators, but from all who meet with interesting facts,—for we wish it to be distinctly understood, that we have chiefly in view the development of a greater Botanical interest in our neighborhood, and found our hopes of success as much upon learners as upon the learned.

While the Bulletin will be chiefly devoted to the local flora of New-York, it will not exclude matters of general Botanical interest, of which we hope correspondents will keep it informed.

Such papers of value as are too long for the regular sheet, will be issued in a supplement of from two to four pages at a time.

The terms upon which the Bulletin can be issued will depend upon the number of its supporters.   We suppose at present that we can furnish each of thirty subscribers at five dollars a year with ten copies, but must wait for a little experience.  If we find it favorably received, we are not without hope of insuring it a permanency, which of course it ought to have.  But of this we purpose to speak hereafter.

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2.⁠New Catalogue.  — A revised catalogue of the plants, native and naturalized, within thirty-three miles of New-York, has been tor some time in contemplation; but without the co-operation of those who herborize in all the different regions of our district, it must be necessarily incomplete.  We wish those who know of observers, not yet in communication with the Club, would furnish us with their P. 0. address.  In order to make the Catalogue more serviceable and authentic, it is desirable to have specimens of plants from all our districts preserved in a herbarium by themselves for reference.  This herbarium will at present be formed and kept at Dr. T. F. Allen's, No. 3 East 33d-street.  Dr. Allen and Mr. P. V. Le Roy will act as curators, and take charge of exchanges or contributions in this connection.  It is estimated that about half the number of plants in Gray's Manual are to be found within our precincts.  Some, which are supposed to have disappeared, or have not been recently found, it is hoped may be re-discovered.  Lepedium Draba, Clitoria Mariana, Corema Conradii, and Azolla Carolineana, are among the number.  The revised Catalogue should be accompanied with a map showing the formation of the districts and the plant distribution

3.⁠The Œnothera of Montauk Point, Long Island.  — In July of this past summer I twice traveled the entire length of this remarkable point of land, exploring its Botany very carefully.

Vegetation is very stunted except in a few sheltered spots.   For about ten miles an Œnothera is quite abundant, whose habit differs remarkably from any Œnothera we have in this section.  It has very numerous and large flowers, with widely-spreading petals, making the plant very conspicuous.

It lies flat on the ground, its branches, which are covered with a profusion of showy flowers, spreading in every direction.   The plant has a perennial root, and very short, woody trunk; it seldom attains an elevation of two or three inches; the whole plant is roughened with closely-appressed rigid hairs, which give the pods an almost hoary appearance.  The leaves are long and narrow, long-tapering at the base, and appear petiolate, though really sessile, and are slightly and sparingly toothed.  The pods have a long, tapering base, and an abrupt, club-shaped extremity, which is broadly four-winged at the sides, the wings either continuing to the very apex, or becoming smaller and almost obsolete at the apex.  This mark I find depends upon the age of the pods; when young, the wings seem very broad to the apex; when older, and filled out internally, the wings seem narrower at the apex.

At East Hampton this form occurs in low, grassy places near the beach, sometimes strictly prostrate and hidden in the grass; sometimes quite erect; and in the low pines and oaks, half a mile from the beach, it occurs with the typical Œ. fruticosa, and cannot be distinguished from it in any thing except its more spreading habit.

After comparison with an original specimen of Œ. linearis var. β. in Dr. Torrey's Herbarium, the plant gathered is found to be the same.   (Indeed, there is no other Œnothera on Montauk Point that I could find.)  It differs from the Southern Œnothera more than from our own Œ. fruticosa.

I am inclined to believe, from its habit and apparent gradation into Œ. fruticosa that the plant should be referred to that species, and labelled Œ. fruticosa L. var. humifusa.

T. F. A.

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4.⁠Solanum Fendleri,  Gray. — At a late meeting of the Club, Mr. Bower exhibited some small tubers of this Solanum, raised in his garden.  They were about the size of large peas.  Mr, Bower sends us the following account of them:

“ Dr. Torrey very kindly sent me six small tubers, I suppose from native plants, growing wild in New-Mexico.

“ Dr. Torrey, in his note, says: ‘It has been thought that as S. tuberosum bears only small tubers in its natural state, those by cultivation may give alike favorable result.’

“ I planted them in different situations, and from one tuber I gathered twelve, but no larger in size. The plant has a habit of sending underground shoots some distance, then sending up stems above ground, which, I think, is not the case with S. tuberosum.

“ In one instance the upright shoot came out of the top of a small mound composed of rotten wood, stones and soil, where I have Polypodium incanum growing, four feet from where the tuber was planted.

“ As I know something of its habits, I shall pay more attention to it next year.

“William Bower,⁠53 Fulton-street.”

5.⁠Epigæa Repens,  L. — This plant is found sparingly on Staten Island.  The nearest point to the city, I believe, is Huguenot Station on the Staten Island Rail-Road.  Is there any other station nearer or more accessible where it grows in sufficient abundance to justify a May-flower party ?  In relation to Epigæa, Mr. Thomas Hogg reports that he has seen it gathered in Japan, where also Brunella vulgaris is common.  The latter is likewise a native of Europe.

W. H. L.

6.⁠Aristolochia Serpentaria,  L. — Mr. Wm. Bower has in his garden, in Newark, a plant of this species, which, besides the regular flower, sends up a number of small buds with flowers that do not open, somewhat in the manner of Specularia perfoliata, probably for self fertilization.  The same kind of flowers may be observed in the case of many well-grown wild plants of this species.  These flowers, however, form perfect seed pods.  The subject requires further investigation.  It would be interesting to examine whether Asarum Canadense has also two sorts of flowers.  Mr. Bower was the first to call my attention to this peculiarity, and I cannot learn that it has ever been noticed before.  Judging from the plants I have seen, it would appear that seeds in greater abundance, and perhaps more perfect, are produced by these hermaphrodite flowers.  Mr. Bower will have an opportunity next summer to test this point.  In the similar case of Amphicarpæa monoica, Nutt, I bave found sometimes quite a number of pods with apparently well-formed seed.  On the other hand, Apios tuberosa, Mœnch, seems to compensate by its tubers for the very frequent abortion of its pods.  These plants, with others, Specularia, for example, afford an interesting subject for investigation on this point.

W. H. L.

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7.⁠Lemna Valdiviana, Philippi, (L. Torreyi, Austin) grows in ponds near Patchogue, Long Island.   Its habit is very similar to L. trisulca, growing under water in masses.  I have found only sterile plants.

T. F. A.

8.⁠Nasturtium palustre, L. — The typical form (smooth, with oblong pods) seems to be quite common about New-York, especially along the Harlem Rail-Road; it is more abundant than the hispid variety.

T. F. A.

9.⁠Arabis lævigata, DC, grows in abundance on the low, rocky ground just southeast of Yonkers.

10.⁠Hesperis matronalis seems thoroughly established, especially in the ditches along the rail-roads.

T. F. A.

11.⁠Bromus sterilis, L., is very abundant along the Hudson River R. R., from Manhattanville to Yonkers.   It comes very early and lasts but a short time; only dead specimens can usually be obtained after June.

T. F. A.

12.⁠The Varian “Sycamore,” more property Plane-tree, which stood on the west side of Broadway, between 20th and 27th streets, was cut down the first week in November.   Its diameter was more than four feet near the ground.  Just at the street level there was a hollow place on one side, but on the whole it seemed remarkably sound.  Some one might give us a history of the stately old giant.  Two young observers who Counted the rings made out 95, but the roughness of the sections made accuracy difficult.

13.⁠Polymnia Uvedalia, L. — Dr. T. F. Allen found a small patch of this plant near the Weehawken Ferry in 1804.   It was still to be found there this summer, but in danger of destruction, with the cliffs that sheltered it.  Dr. Gray, by some accident, refers this locality to P. Canddensis. There is no doubt about its being P. Uvedalia.

14.⁠Books. —

— Dr. Torrey has received “Traité Général de Botanique,” by MM. Le Maout and Decaisne, with upwards of 5,500 illustrations by Steinheil and Riocreux.

— T. F. A. has Hegelmaier's “Lemnaceen,” with 16 plates.   He makes three genera, Wolfia (including Griffith's Grantia,) Lemna, and Spirodela.  L. Torreyi, Austin, was less perfectly described by Philippi, 1804, and named Valdiviana, from Valdivia, in Chili, where it was first found.

— W. H. L. has C. K. Sprengel's “Entdeckte Geheimniss,” 1793; often quoted by Darwin.

Subscriptions and communications received by W. H. Leggett, 224 E. 10th-street.