A Preliminary Survey of the Genus Tripsacum

When Mangelsdorf and Reeves!demonstrated in 1931 that Zea could be hybridized with Tripsacum, it became evident that a detailed monograph of the latter genus was of practical and theoretical importance.When in 1938?they advanced the hypothesis that Tripsacum had played an important role in the development of North American maize, such a monograph became a scientific necessity.The available evidence, taxonomic, genetic, and cytological, suggested that the relationships of the various entities in Tripsacum were very poorly understood and that they might be quite intricate; extensive field work, cytological examination of living material, and routine taxonomic techniques would all be necessary if an adequate understanding of the genus was to be reached.A comprehensive program was accordingly outlined, and two successive grants from the Penrose Fund of the American Philosophical