AGRIMONIA MOLLIS (T. & G.) Britton.
Not aromatic and obscurely if at all glandulose, mostly slender and 2°-3° high (1° to over the branches ascending or some times spreading, either few and simple or forming a loose panicle which exceptionally attains a spread of as much as 2°-3°. Stem below loosely tomentose-pubescent and weakly villose with spread ing or subspreading hairs, becoming finely hoary-tomentosc or subappressed pubescent above and in the racemes. Leaves rather dark green, 3'-12' long, 2'_7' wide, a common size being 5' or 6' by 3' or 4'. Leaflets commonly 2 or 3 loosely separated pairs (1-4 pairs), mostly obovate-oblong, varying from obovate to ellip tic, subsessile, rounded or somewhat acute at apex, dentate-serrate to crenate, the odd leaflet mostly obovate, often on a foliolate stalk, reaching an extreme size of X 2', the largest lateral leaf lets becoming 3' X I W; upper surface sparsely hirtellous-pubescent and roughish to glabrate, the margins finely subappressed-ciliate, lower surface paler and minutely downy to velvety-pubescent ; leafstalk finely pubescent and somewhat tomentose-villose. Stip ules varying from small, lanceolate and entire on the lower leaves and in dwarf plants to cordate-clasping with cut-serrate or incised outer margin, on stout plants sometimes 2' long by wide. In terposed leaflets often only a small entire pair in the distal inter space, sometimes larger, obovate-oblong and dentate above with a single minute one or a pair on either side. Racemes slender, mostly 3'--to' long, rarely i6', rather loosely flowered. Flower buds rounded, scarcely or not at all glandulose. Flowers 3"-5" broad, rather deep yellow; anthers with broad connective. Bracts and bracteoles pilose-ciliate, very small, at least the bracts narrowly 3-cleft. Fruit before maturity oblong and ascending, later reflexed or subspreading on short appressed pedicels, minutely subglandu lose and slightly strigose, small, 2"-2%" long, i%"-2" wide, nar rowly turbinate to subhemispheric, often with a somewhat nar rowed nonsulcate basal portion, or the lowest fruit of the racemes sometimes depressed-turbinate, marginless or obscurely margined, the disk flat or slightly convex with obtuse sepaline process, bristles loosely ascending or clOser and nearly erect, equalling the body of the fruit or only half its length. Roots tuberous-thick ened as in A. striata, but the swellings often thicker and less tap ering at either end, often club-shaped. (Plate 282, fig. 3.) Dry open woods and copses and weedy banks and hillsides. Of scattered or solitary habit of growth.
Begins to flower at New York from the middle to the end of July and blooms later than any other species; belated flowers are sometimes to be found at the middle of October.
Reduced plants are sometimes trifoliate nearly throughout and simulate A. pumila. It will be usually evident to the collector of such forms, however, that they represent a state of imperfect de velopment under unfavorable conditions of growth.
This is the most variable of our species and runs into several unstable forms. It should not be overlooked, however, that it shows a well-defined tendency to separate into two particular forms or varieties. Extreme examples of both are common and exhibit so considerable a degree of divergence that the eye always gives them instant recognition. Although both varieties are to be found holding their characters perfectly under identical conditions of soil and situation, intermediate forms, or what appear so to be, are of such frequent occurrence that I have not been able to sat isfy myself of the expediency of giving a distinctive varietal name. For the sake of definiteness, however, the foregoing description of A. moth's has been made to cover only the form represented by the type, a specimen of which is preserved in the Herbarium of Columbia University (" Red River, Dr. Pitcher "), excluding its va riety, which may be separately characterized as follows : Pubescence throughout denser and more pilose than in the type, the smaller and narrower leaves dull grayish green, the leaf lets much narrower and dentate rather than crenate, the pairs closer and often more numerous. The hairs of the stem are longer and weaker than in the type and often loosely appressed, the pubescence above tending to become dense and pilose-canes cent. The leaflets are mostly 4 pairs, though often 5-6 pairs on the narrowed lower leaves, or lanceolate oblong) to elliptic., often inequilateral and subfalcate, blunt or subacute, abruptly narrowed or rounded at the sessile base, mostly dentate or dentate-serrate, often with broad, shallow, uneven teeth, the odd one mostly sessile, or when petiolulate fre quently cleft basally into a pair of narrow decurrent lobes, above finely pubescent to softly appressed pilose, whitened below and softly appressed pubescent, the veins pilose, subleaflets narrower than in the type, often borne well forward in the interspace. Stipules irregularly cut-serrate or dentate-lobed, usually less in cised than in the type with shorter termination, the upper ones often dentate-serrate on the inner margin and more spreading. Fruit often with more convex disk and longer more spreading bristles, usually also with a perceptible rim. Apparently the tuberous thickenings of the roots tend to become stouter than in type and to develop on shorter roots; the largest found were 33/,' long by 3y2," thick. (Plate 282. fig. 4.) The specimens that have come under my observation would appear to indicate that this form was of more coastwise range than the type extending from southern New York to Virginia Beach and to middle North Carolina and East Tennessee.