1935] Bu ll, - .\ oru ' alamu in .\merira

War aw, unty, C. Dram, no. :).\3- · n rth en<l of lark t., ar) (form rly Pin ) , Lak . D fam, n . ,5.5,u ... 9;

I w marl b rd r of ea ' t id of .\darn Lak , 3 mil n rthea t f v\ I otvill , La :rrange unty, .\ugu ·t Hi, 1.:34, '. C. Dcam, n . ;).-,3.57 A. Mi HI • N: pen, ·andy shor of pond a ·t f ' ilv r Lak , 0,1 ~ miles north west of Dexter, v\' a htenaw ount , \ ugu . t 31, J 9:34, F . ./. ll ermw11·11, no. (;4:30 (Gray Herbarium, Brooklyn Botanic Gar­den ), and Non•mi>er 20, 19:34, no. G-!.S7.- F .. T. 1IKHMAN 1, [ niv ersity of Michigan.

.\ ,OllU. .\LAlVIU. lN Al\IERI ,.\

1: RRAY I~. B ELL

LAt\1l: L. in it veral varieti grow· with ut ultiva-tion over a Jar part of th n rth temperat z n and the adjacent tropic . In a t rn A ia, wh re Engl r1 r cognize fc ur vari tie., it o curs in on form or anoth r from Ceylon to th .\mur Ri r, and inland as far as Lake 13aika1. In Europ it occurs from th :\lp n rthwarcl to ScandinaYia and Ru ia, and in a f w pla · in th Mediterranean region. ln North Am ri a it is widel y dist ribut d ast of the llock · Mountain from the Gu lf of t. Lawrenc e to Florida,

and westward to Texa:, Montana, and a far north as the P •a ·e River. T n both Europe and North America th plant se ms to helong uniformly to Linnaeus' var. vulgaris.

No on ' ems ever to ha\' que!-itioned that th specie s in s m form i , indig nou s in :\sia . The pre nee f s ral vari ti s n t kn wn ls where and th o ·urrence of a ·econd ·pecies (.1. grm11inro~)

with a ·ub tantially similar range, s em to indicate it s native stat us beyond a shad w of doubt.

In Eur p ', a lthough th plant is sa id to h uniformly sterile, botani ,t · did n t seri u. ly qu st ion it. indig enou s .'tat u. · until the :econd half f th ninet nth c ntury, hut by th beginning of th present century European botanists eem to hav b n pretty w II agr d that it i an introduc d plant which has b om naturalized ince the micldl of the ixte nth ntury, and th re arche of Miicke

f lilly con firm th i . 2

.\ s to it. · ·tatus in orth America va riou opinion. ar express d b. 1 ENou ~n. Da PflanZ(•nreich, J V. 23 B . 308. (1905 ). 2 .' eENGLER, l.c .; Cll ERHON D •RA EBNER, ynopsi ,ll,2 . 365 (1904). 1Uck e,

M ., .. b r d n Bau un~ di Entwi kJung der Frilcht und Ub r di Ht•rkUnft von Acoru calamu L . Bot . Zeit. L VT, 1- 23. (190 ). ccorcling to the latter a uthor the inun diat ource of tit plant wa from living rhizom nt from on tantinople to l\tatthiolu in Pra gu <.• in 15.57, and to lusiu in Vienna in 1.574. What wa th ultimat e .·ource of thi material r main to be determined .

;3(j Rhod ra [ 'T DJ.;H

cliff r nt auth r ': .\ . a Gray 1 a. s of it : " Probabl y truly indi gen u

n rthward ." Dam a nd llin 2 b Ii v it t b nativ in !fa' a­

chu s tt . On th . th r han 1, hapman 3 tat ' that in th . u th rn

nit d Stat' · it i 'a ppar<>ntly intr du d ." .As to it" cond it i n in

the int rior r th ontin nt , M lvin ilrnor 4 b li v bat it was

br ught l y the lndiun : fr m the Atlanti oa t and that l. wh r it

o ur s only 1war th . it e f Id Indi an amping ground s. In his

dis ·u8sion he mak es th . tatem nt , " alamu i a plant whirh v r.

:e l lorn bloom and I ha v n v r kn wn it t pr du l ·, sc that

1t I n adapt d t di: minat it lf r invad n w territor . . "

Thi : is ·crt ain l n t a rr t ·tat m n f th situation in l\rlinn -

s ta, nor apparently in other par of th int erior f rth \m ri a .

I ha \' f un I it pr lu in ()' g )Od fruit at wid ly att r d 1 ·ation in

Minn ta: in th a t cent ra l par t f th tat at .. avag in ' tt

un t~ and al o along th l\li. · i ippi Riv rat t. Paul; tw hun lr d

mil t th n rthw ' t at th h adwat r f t h Mi ' i sippi ; v n

farther t th north ast n ar Ely . L ui unt, , where th plant

wa thri\'ing in a ba ck , atc r of 't ny Riv r, and a ain n th andy

shor ' of llurn t ,i<l Lak . Furtherm r , niver ity of Minne " ta

h rbarium . p im ns h w w 11 cl v 1 p ~d fruitin g pik from all

part. of 1inn s ta, a n I th ·am i tru f sp im n fr m Illlin ois

an l Indiana , an 1 as far a t u. n rth rn w Y rk . Throu h c rr e-

spond nr with b tani t in vari u: part s f th .oun try I hav

I arn cd that thb ran ge of g cl fruitin g mat rial ma y he ext nd d as

far ut h a · Ynm ms a nd Mi ~ uri.

Th e plar s wlwr th plant fail t pr <lu fruit h r ar th · lo ations wh er it is : had <l for a good part of th day r wh re t h

ground dri '.' out durin g ar ly r mid- umm r . alain u . e m to

thri Ye only wh ·re th rhiz m i: · ntinu u ~Iy ·ubm rg at I a:t

until !at· summei· and wher " it r ceiv · th maximum s1mlight.

S ii t. 'P<' has l' n: id rabl cffc ·t n it s luxurian ce. Wh r plant are

growin g in . and, g tat iY gr wth i 1 "; wh re th y a r ro t cl in

rich humu s or mu ·k, t h rhiz m ~ and l av : ar . n. pi u u?l,.

la rg ·r hut in ith r ·a· it fruit fr ly . Th e cl· pr due d ar

Yiabl and g rminatr r adily the f l1 wing sp rin H w fr q uently

th y g rminat in na t ur in Iv1inn ta i n t kn wn, but in a I a t

1 RA v. l\1anual. <l. 5. 47 . (1 6 ). 2 D 1,~. L . L . and li'. 8 . OLLI R, Flora of Middl x . 9 . ( l ).

a H P 1 • F'l ra . ed . 3 . ,100. (1 97) . • ~rL I rn ;, MBLYI , H.. Dj ~p rsal b. Jnclian a fa tor in th 'xtcns:ion f di con­

tio uou di , tribution of <>rtain p i of natl plant '. Pap er' 1ich . A· d.,· i. rt and L Lt r . IIC , !>- 04. ( 1931 ).

l\I. L . F., - Hit h ·ock's J\,lanual f the Gra::;:e s 369

onC' ·asr I haYe found abundant vigorous srcdlings. Thi s was in lat ,Jun , I ~);33, on th hor s of Burnt icle Lak n ar Ely , in one of' the ·old ·t part f th :tat .

There: m n -valid reason to doubt that Arorus Calumus 1:

natin :' to rth Am rica. There are in th Gray H rbarium a f w fruiting- ·p im n fr m N w England,' and the fa ts m t indi at very clefinit ly that th plant is wholly natiY in th int ri r. H re in l\Iinn sota th plant i · ommon throughout th tat :- and b ar fruit freely. Ther i · n thing about the local di tri ution to "ugg st an introduc cl plant. Jt. , general cli.,trihution i · \. ry much like that of Sym plor·arpus .foctidus and the genu , I ris<u·nw of the 41 rarra(', a we'll H • many ther g n ra and eYen :pcci s of oth r famili , 1. .,

it o ·curs in .\sia and a ·t rn North ~\m rica. :i Thi Ii ·trihution is known in many ea: · to be a dir et r ·ult of' th Plei toe n di . rup­tion of an carli r and much wid r circumhor al rang n do s not que stion that 8ym p/oca.rpus ha · lived in our swamp or . l risw ·11w in our woods for ag · pa s t. ] t : eem , n more than rea . nahl to assum that the ,· hardy aroid s of irnilar di:tribution ha\ · had the : am I ~d on tologi al h i:tory, though the re ords in th ea , of , J corus ha v become mu h blurred by human interferent'e.

l ;\.'JVt•:m-wrY F MrN . EsoT .

iR A,'S E~ . - F()r :-;c•vc' ral ,·c,ar ::-; bot anist · of the L nit ed ' tat : hav e heen looking forward to th · app arancc of

d volum ou the grn:s c:-;. Xow, in :\l ay thr fit .. g n rally availablr, al hough th titl c'-pa g<' sa. rs

• It has b en .·ugg ested that tho sterilo EuropC'an ra <' m a y havr b ee n introclu eel into certain parts of orth Amorica . Without doubt thl' earl y ·pt.tier a.lon g tho Atlant ,ic coa . t w r familiar with th dome tic u , of th ' plan . Jn fa c t e v n to -d ay th rhizorn a r u d m what by th ir d e C<'ndant. · in makin g ca nd y. a nd in rural , · t•w En ~Jand on e occa ionally fine! "candi ed , t flag " for sa l . T lws sf' ttl r · po , ii ly brou gh rhizome of A coru s with th em, and it ·e m po 'hi th a t som • of tlw mat rial now growin g wild in th oldN t tl N l an•as i ac tu a lly fr m th k ou rc . Jn thi ~ nn tioo nA VE R , C'. B . . et al . Ca ta lof.{ue of th , flow erin g~plant and f rn of Conn cticut . 111. (1910 ).

' 1 ts a tual tatu m to h in t erm diat e he tw C'c n th t wo g n ra it •d . ·11111-pl ocar pus . a monotypic g nu , occur in a ppa rently id enti ca l form in ea t rn N orth .\nwrica and U•mperat Ea t A ia. Arisarma with two or thr p i s in a st rn ~ ortl1 A rnt•r·ica ext ending into Houth Am eric a ha <'VC'ra l clo cly r ~1::itod though ohviou ·ly di -tinct p cie , in temp erat e a t ern A ia, a. w<'ll a a la rge ournh ' r of .·p ci f.:'s in th<' tropic . of hr Id World . A corns C'a lamus occ ur s a , a r . ru l(laris in th C'a t<'rn half of ~orth mf'rica . and a t lea t in la rge pa rt a d i tin t Yari et i • in a t ern and ou h a t rn Asia. whil th r e i a ec oncl Asia ti c . p ie . EnJl;I r . incl d .

cit<' . rv ra l a t A ia ti localiti f> for var . i•u luari s. :"\ot havin g n an y sia ti p cim ('n , r am unabl e to jucl g wh th er th e. e a r e id enti ca l with our . ' orth m ri n

mat e ri a l. 1 f th ey ar , the na tural di , trihution f thi s a ri t :r would bf' V<'r y lik th a t. of th 's l unk ca bb ag citt ' d ahov .