13 Jan 1831 [2] (seq. 2)

It must also be the {Mitella} prostrata of Michaux. I have never seen
but two
species of this genus (excluding {Mitella} grandiflora of Pursh which is the type of
{Robert} Brown's genus Tellima) among all the plants which have been sent
to me from many parts of N. America. The figure in Lam. {Lamarck} ill. {Tableau
encyclopédique et méthodique} t. 373
f. 3 has the leaves more acute & serrate than in any of my specimens — but
his fig. 2 of the same plate is exactly our plant & the latter is referred by
all authors (even by De Candolle in his last vol. (4th) of his Prodromus) to
{Mitella} nuda

You ask whether my Trisetum purpurascens is not identical with Dantho-
nia striata of Michaux — you probably meant Avena striata of that
author
It may be so — but his description is so imperfect that the matter
cannot be settled without a reference to his herbarium. I hope to
see that {herbarium} myself before many months when I expect to
clear up a number of doubts relating to N. American Botany.

The specimens which you numbered, & which you desired me to
examine appear to be as follows — (The Carices were in some
instances not sufficiently advanced to develop their characters)

No. 1. Andropogon furcatus
2 Eleusine indica
3 Staphylea trifoliata
4 Panicum nitidum — var —
5 {Panicum} species not determined — don't seem to be any of
those described in my book — but the Panicum vary greatly.
6 Poa serotina
7 Carex cruciata (young) 8 {Carex} scirpoidea 9 {Carex} hystericina (young)
10 {Carex} stellulata — scarcely distinct from {Carex} scirpoidea

It gives me great pleasure to learn that I am to be benefitted by
your future labors in botany & I hope that I shall be able
to assist you by the communication of such plants as are peculiar
to this region, as well as of foreign specimens. At the present
season I am much occupied but my labors are ended early in
the spring when I shall take the earliest opportunity of sending you
a collection of dried plants. In the mean time I beg you
will accept a small parcel of pretty rare Swedish, Lapland & Nor-
wegian plants put up for me Prof. Carling of Stockholm. I have
also added the Systema Algarum of Agardh, a small work by one
of the first Algologists of the day — containing all the species known in
1824 of the Dept. of Cryptogamia treated for. They shall be
left in charge of Mr. F. Brown, 27 Beekman St. who, I hope,
will be able to forward them to you in the course of the
winter. I shall always be thankful for good
specimens of the rarer plants of your neighborhood, as I
need a large stock to keep my friends in Europe supplied —

I remain
Yours truly
J. Torrey

Dr. Asa Gray.