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' I t 

( THE 

JOURNAL OF BOTANY, 

BRITISH AND FOREIGN. 

EDITED BY 

BERTHOLD SEEMANN, Ph.D., F.L.S., 

ADJFirCT OF THE IMPEHIAL 1. C. ACADEMY NATTTR^ CtlRIOSOEITJr. 

"Nunquam otiosus." 

VOLUME VII. ^^ 

m,it\) \)\aits ant) ffSHIootiruts. ^ ' 

LONDON: 

L. REEVE AND CO., b, HENRIETTA STREET, 

COVENT GAKDEN. 

Andrew Elliot, 15, Princes Street, Edinlurc/h ; J. Rothschild, Paris; 

Alphons Dueb, Leipzig ; Westeemann, New Yorlc. 

1869.

niVTED BT TATI.OB AND CO., 

tlTTM! QUKEN STIIKET, LINCOLN'S INN Fir.I.DS.

LIST OF CONTEIBUTORS 

TO 

VOLUMES I. TO VII. OF THE 'JOURNAL OP BOTANY.' 

T. Addison, Esq. 

T. AiKlerson, j\I.D., F.L.S. 

C. C. Babington, F.R.S., F.L.S. 

J. Backhouse, Esq. 

J. G. Baker, Esq., F.L.S. 

H. Ball, I^LD. 

J. Ball, Esq. 

H. Beigel, M.D. 

G. Bennett, M.D.. F.L.S. 

J. J. Bennett, F.R.S., F.L.S'. 

Rev. A. Bloxani, M.A. 

Cliarles Bolle, M.D. 

A. Braun, Ph.D. 

T. R. Archer Briggs, Esq. 

J. Britten, Esq. 

St. Brody, PIi.D., F.L.S. 

M. Alphonse de Candolle. 

M. Casimir de Candolle. 

Isaac Carroll, Esq. 

W. Carruthers, Esq., F.L.S'. 

H. J. Carter, Esq., F.R.S. 

A. H. Church, Esq., F.C.S. 

G. C. Churchill, Esq. 

B. Clarke, Esq., F.L.S. 

Jo.shua Clarke, Esq., F.L.S. 

W. Clifford, Esq. 

E. Coetnans, Esq. 

M. C. Cooke, Esq. 

Miss E. M. Cox. 

Rev. J. Crombie, M.A. 

F. Currey, M.A., F.R.S., F.L.S. 

jNI. a. Deseglise. 

G. Dickie, Esq. 

Alexander Dickson, M.D. 

VY. T. Dyer, Esq. 

A. Ernst, Esq. 

D. Enyp, Esq. 

\Villiani Fogitt, Esq. 

Tilbnry Fox, M.D. 

T. W. (iibsing, Esq. 

II. R. Goeppert, M D. 

A.sa Gray, M.D. 

J. E. Gray, Ph.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. 

Leo H. Grin don, Esq. 

G. Gulliver. Esq.. F.R.S. 

D. Hanburv, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. 

F. A. Hanbury, B.A. 

H. F. Hance, Th.D. 

F. Hegelmaier, Ph.D. 

W. B. Hemsley, Esq. 

J. E. Howard, Esq. 

G. Hunt, Esq. 

R. Hunter, Esq. 

R. Kippist, Esq., A.L.S. 

S. Kurz, Esq. 

E. Ray Laukester, Esq. 

M. A. Lawson, Esq., M.A. 

Ed. Lees, Esq. 

Rev. W. A. Leighton. 

F. Ley bold. IM.D. 

S..O. Lindberg, M.D. 

L. Lindsay, M.D. 

Rev. R. T. Lowe, M.A. 

J. C. Mansell, Esq. 

C. R. Markham, Esq.. F.L.S. 

M. T. Masters. M.D., F.L.S. 

G. Maxwell, Esq. 

J. Miers, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S. 

J. Milde, Ph.D. 

G. Milne, Esq., A.L.S.

IV LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS. 

W. Mitten, Esq., A L.S. 

M. iMopcrridjje, Esq., F.G.S., etc. 

J. r. Moggridge, Esq. 

D. Moore, Ph.D., F.L.S. 

T. Moore, Esq., F.L.S. 

A. G. More. Esq., F.L.S. 

W.Mudd, Esq. 

F. Mueller, Pli.D., F.R.S., F.L.S. 

J. ]\Iuell.T, Ph.D. 

A. Murray, Esq. 

Rev. W. W. Newbould, M.A., 

F.L.S. 

C. D. Paiva. . 

Rev. T. Powell, F.L.S. 

Ch. Preutice, Esq., F.L.S. 

Rev. T. A. Preston, ^LA. 

R. C. A. Prior, M.D., F.L.S. 

H. G. Reicheiihach, Ph.D. 

C. il. SchuUz-iJipoutiuus, i\LD. 

J. Schweinfurth, Ph.D. 

R. Seomann, Ph.D., F.L.S. 

John Shaw, Esq. 

Alexander Smith, Esq. 

W. G. Smith, Esq. 

J. Smith, Esq., A. L.S. 

J. Storck, Esq. 

F. Stratton, Esq., F.L.S. 

J. T. Boswell Syme, Esq., F.L.§. 

R. Tate, Esq. 

F. Townsend, M.A. 

W. Traill, Esq. 

H. Trimen, M.B., F.L.S. 

J. Triana, Esq. 

C. Walter, Esq. 

N. B. Ward, F.R.S., F.L.S. 

Hon. J. B. Warren, M.A., F.L.S. 

H. C. Watson, Esq. 

G. S. Wiiitle, Esq.

t 4^ 

\ .u/ 

^^ 

/ 

\ 

/;//' 87 

n

THE 

JOURNAL OF BOTANY, 

BEITISH AND FOREIGN. 

THE CALISAYA BARKS OF EASTERN BOLIVIA. 

By .J. E. Howard, Esq., F.L.S., etc. 

(PL.iTE LXXXYIL) 

This plate represents specimens brought by Don Pedro' Eacia of 

the (till recently) quite undisturbed Cinchonse growing on the slopes 

of the great chain of the Andes, which descend towards the rivers 

Bopi and Beni, and border on the little-explored but richly-wooded 

lowlands of the interior of the vast continent of South America. 

Senor Eada has departed for his native countrj", with the intention 

of again repeating bis importations of bark, and promises to bring 

specimens of the fruit and flowers of the sorts above mentioned. 

Nevertheless, I have thonght it best at once to record the information 

obtaiued, since much delav must attend on the fulfilment of this 

gentleman's promise. 

The specimens are of the variety called la morada, and of that 

known to him as la vegrilla, and do not include two other forms, la 

naranjada and la verde. 

The two first kinds are those which Senor Eada hold in most esteem, 

having been led rather to under-estimate the naranjada, if not also the 

verde. The drawing of the monida is from one of his specimens, 

and the colouring is given in accordance with living plants which 

were at once fixed upon by Senor E. as beinsr those of Bolivia. These 

VOL. VII, [JANUARY 1, iS69.] B

2 THE CALISAYA BAKKS OF EASTERN BOLIVIA. 

plants represent npparcntly the IcJm CaUsaya, or var. Josephiuna, also 

tlie morada, the zamba-morada, the naranjada, the verde, and two or 

three other forms. 

The bark of the negrilla is apparently the same of which I received 

specimens from Dr. Weddell, collected in his second journey in Bolivia, 

and called Calhaya zamba, negra, or macJia (see Histoire, etc., p. 35). 

(The negrilla of commerce is quite another thing.) Of this black sort, 

Mr. Fitch has given simply the outline of a leaf in the background. 

It must be considered a variety of Cinchona Calisaya, but it is a very 

marked form, approaching more nearly to the normal character of 

this plant than it does to the C. Boliviana. 

The morada seems to vary so much more from the C. Calisaya, that 

I hesitate to ascribe it to this source, only that the bark is imported 

and passes unquestioned as that of genuine Calisaya. If the bota- 

nical information given to me with the above specimens by Senor 

Eada be confirmed by subsequent investigations, it seems that the 

evident analogy of the plant is with the C. purpurea of Pavon (exclus. 

C. pnbescens), as this is represented in the 'Flora Peruviana' (R. and 

P.), in Heyne's ' Arzneigewiichse,' and in my ' Quinologia.' This is 

better seen in the strictly morada than in the nearly allied zamba- 

morada, wliich is, I think, the sort here described and delineated. 

If this supposed resemblance to the C. purpurea should be found 

correct, it will harmonize with information given under the head 

C. 'purpurea in the ' Quinologia ' respecting specimens gathered by the 

German botanist Lechler, and representing (as he tells us) the " Casca- 

rilla morada et Zamba morada incolarum." 

Ijcchler's specimens were gathered near the river of San Govan (pro- 

bably San Juan). I think them allied to those here described, but 

not exactly identical, since I believe that every marked district of the 

Andes has its own Cinchona;, and that those of Carabaya (in which it 

is probable San Govan is included) are not in all things exactly 

similar to those of Eastern Bolivia. 

The colour of the flowers, according to Seiior Eada, is purple in 

la morada, white in la verde, and the height of the trees great, not 

less in these virgin forests than from 40 to 50 varas {i.e. from 120 to 

150 feet), some falling short, of this Jiltitude, but others exceeding it. 

The great size of the trees must be concluded from that of the flat 

bark from the trunk which he has brought into this market. The

NOTICE OF A FOSSIL LYCOPODIACEOUS FRUIT. 3 

most remarkable circumstance is that the barks of trees so varvin2; in 

leaf and flower as are doubtless the negr'Ma, the morada, and the 

naranjada, should so far resemble each other as to pass under the 

general name of Calimya. But so it is;* and if the morada be at all 

allied to the C. purpurea, it must be remembered that, in the essential 

requisite of the bark- clothing, it differs widely from its Peruvian name- 

sake. The naranjada and verde (if, indeed, plants in my possession 

turn out to be of these kinds), diiier so widely in the leaves, that I 

shall not venture on their description here, except to remark that the 

naranjada has scrobicules not only at the axils of the veins, but also 

at their junction with the smaller veins, as in the Olea scrobiculata. 

To what possible cause, since imitation is excluded, can we ascribe 

that harmony which, as Dr. Seemann has remarked, seems to prevail 

even in these obscure departments of vegetable physiology ? The in- 

fluences of soil and climate would surely tell as soon upon the leaves 

as upon the bark, yet these barks assimilate, whilst the leaves do not. 

NOTICE OF A FOSSIL LYCOPODIACEOUS FRUIT. 

By M. Brongniaut. 

{Translated from the ' Comptes Mendus des Seances de VAcademic des 

Sciences,'' vol. Ixrii. ; Seance Aoilt 17, 1868.) 

The study of the vegetable fossils of the palaeozoic rocks presents a 

peculiar interest on account of their singular forms, which generally 

separate them in a very remarkable manner from the plauts now living 

on the earth. 

With the exception of the Ferns, which have a similar form through- 

out aE. time, the other plants of the coal period differ so greatly from 

those of the later periods, as well as those now living, that the most 

careful examination has failed to refer them to families of recent 

plants. 

However, since I began my researches, I have determined the affini- 

ties of several arborescent plants of this period to Equisetacea and Ly- 

copodiacece. 

* Compare Guiboui't, 'Drogues Simples,' 1850, t. iii. pp. 135, 136. 

B 2

4 NOTICE OF A FOSSIL LYCOPODIACEOUS FRUIT. 

Ill respect of the latter family, I united to tlie large stems and 

blanches which form the genus Lepidodendron certain spikes, or cones 

of fructification, which appeared to me to be the cones of these gigantic 

Lycopodiacece, and which I designated by the name Lejndostrohis. 

Since then, these relations have been completely confirmed by the 

observations of Dr. Joseph Hooker on several specimens of Lepido- 

slrobus* enclosed in nodules of carbonate of iron, from the English 

coal-field, the internal structure of which had been so well preserved 

as to exhibit, much better than T had seen, the form of tlie sporangia 

borne on the scales of these cones, and the nature of the spores con- 

tained in them. 

Another specimen, remarkably Avell preserved, the origin of wdiich 

was unknown, had been previously described by our illustrious asso- 

ciate E. Brown, under the name of Triplosporiies. His profound study 

of this specimen in 1847, and the additional observations made in his 

memoir in 1831,t after the examination of a beautiful specimen which 

I showed him in 1849, convinced him of its intimate relations to ie- 

pidoHtrubus, from which he hesitated to consider it as generically dis- 

tinct. 

But the specimen described by Robert Brown, ^ as well as that of 

the Museum at Strasbourg, half of which had been given to the Mu- 

seum at Paris, and which T showed him, presents only short portions 

of those cones ; that described by Robert Brown belongs evidently to 

the summit of a cone ; that which I had studied appeared to j)roceed 

from its base, but the perfect specimen which is the subject of this 

notice shows that it rather belonged to the middle portion of one of 

these spikes of fructificatiou. Indeed, the lower portion of these cones 

presents veiy remarkable differences of organization, which must mate- 

rially modify the characters ascribed to these fossils, and appear to in- 

dicate greater differences between them and Lepidoslrobus than one 

would have supposed, if the organization of these latter fruits has 

been fully understood from the specimens described by Dr. Joseph 

Hooker. 

^ 

* 'Memoirs of tlie Geological Survey of Great Britain,' vol. ii. p. 440. 

t "Some Account of JVv'^î/'o.vpor/fey, an Undeseribcd Fossil Fruit." Transactions 

of the Linnean Society, vol. xx. p. 469, 1851. (Read to the Society 

June 15th, 1817.) 

I This specimen was obtained from the collection of Baron Roger, and a 

transverse section preserved in the collection of the Marquis de Dre now forms 

part of the collection of tlie Museum of the Jardin des Plantes.

NOTICE OF A FOSSIL LYCOFODIACEOUS FRUIT. 5 

The numerous spikes of fructification—many of tliem, however, 

very imperfectly preserved— examined by this excellent observer are 

often very small portions of the cones ; some of them, however, seem 

to have been preserved in full, and there is no indication of difference 

of structure between the base and summit. All the scales bear spo- 

ranoîa of the same form, which appear to enclose bodies of the same 

nature ; this is, at least, what the figures and descriptions published by 

the learned English botanist indicate. 

These characters seem, then, to place Lepidontrobus among true 

Lycopodia, the sporangia of which are all alike, and enclose similar 

spores. 

The family of Lycopodiacece contains two other genera very different 

in this respect, Selagiuella and Isolates, which, on the same stem or in 

the same spike,—that is to say, on the same axis,—have two kinds of 

sporangia, the one containing very small spores destined to j)roduce 

antherozoids, and to become fecundating organs ; the other much 

larger spores, which germinate after being fecundated. These two 

organs have been designated by the names of miorospofes and macro- 

spores. 

There is nothing in the specimens described by R. Brown, or by Dr. 

J. Hooker, which indicates this double nature of the sporangia and 

spores ; but a very perfect and on the whole well-preserved specimen 

of a spike, identical in its upper part with the Triplosporites of R. 

Brown, throws a new light on this subject, and shows a modification 

in these points analogous to what we observe in living Lycopodiacece. 

This remarkable specimen was found in the drift at the entrance 

of the valley of Volpe, in Haute-Garonne, by M. Dabadie, apothe- 

cary ; 

it was given to me by M. Lartet, to whom M. Dabadie had en- 

trusted it, and the discoverer of this interesting specimen has been 

good enough to allow me to make a longitudinal section of it, and to 

keep the half of it for the Museum. 

This specimen, of which a cast was carefully taken before being cut, 

is completely silicified ; the organization of the different parts is well 

preserved in many points ; but the anfractuosities and the crystallized 

parts do not allow an equally complete examination throughout. 

It is a cone or cylindrical strobilus, 4 inches 8|- lines long, and 

2 inches If lines broad, showing on the exterior the summits of the 

scales of which it is composed ; these form twenty-seven perfectly


regular longitudinal ranges, which are disposed in a very elliptical 

helix, whose generating spire would be expressed by the fraction ^, 

an arrangement approaching that seen in several living Lycopodiacea* 

The scales or bracts whicli form the spike are borne perpendicularly 

on the axis, and are even a little reflected ; as they have exactly the 

structure so well described by R. Brown in his Triplosporites, it is un- 

necessary for me to repeat it. As in his specimen, they take an erect 

direction towards their apex, and terminate at the surface of the fossil 

in a hexagonal disk, which should, as in LepjicJoslrohns, be prolonged 

into a foliaceous appendix, biit this has been destroyed. 

On the narrow pedicels of these scales are inserted oblong sporangia, 

rounded at their extremities, as in Triplosporites ; those which occupy 

the summit and middle portion of the spike are filled with an innumer- 

able quantity of little spores, formed of three or sometimes of four 

spherical united cellules, which in some cases appear to separate into 

simple globular spores. 

On the lower portion of the spike we find sporangia similar in form 

and in their mode of attachment to the preceding, but which are ob- 

viously distinguished from them by the spores which they contain 

being simple, spherical, and of a considerable size, their diameter being 

ten or twelve times greater than that of the smaller spores. They are 

very distinct to the naked eye, their diameter being three-tenths of a 

line, and enable one at once to detect the sporangia containing the 

microspores. 

These larger and perfectly spherical spores have a thick, smooth 

covering ; they generally contain scattered globular granules, the na- 

ture of which it is difficult to ascertain, but which seem to indicate an 

immature state ; some, filled with an opnque matter, appear more ad- 

vanced in their development. 

This spike thus presents, as in the Lycopodiaceous genera Selaginella 

and hoHes, sporangia of two kinds, the one towards the summit con- 

taining microspores,—that is to say, antheridia ; the others, placed 

towards the base of the spifcp, containing macrospores, or germinating 

spores. 

The fonn and mode of attachment of these sporangia, their large 

size, the great numlicr of microspores they contain, the absence of any 

* I bare represented tliis arrangement of tlie leaves oi Lêojwdiacece in the 

' Iliitoire cks Vegetaux Fossilcs,' vol. ii. plate ii. 

—

NOTICE OF A FOSSIL LYCOPOUIACEOUS FRUIT. 7 

trace of a line of regular (lehiscence, are points iu Avbicli tliey resemble 

specially the sporangia of Isoeies ; but in this genus the sporangia are 

situated at the very base of the leaves, which are borne on a very short 

and bulbiform stem. 

In the fossils, on the contrary, the sporangia are borne on a kind of 

bracts, or squaniseform leaves united in a spike, which, like those of 

Selagindlu, probably terminated the branches. 

There is, then, here a singular combination of characters : sporangia 

analogous to those of hoUtes, arranged in a spike similar to that of Lyco- 

podlmn, but much larger. 

The great size of their organs is, indeed, one of the striking charac- 

teristics of these spikes. It iigrees with the arborescent habit of Lepido- 

dendron, compared with that of the living Lycopodlacece, but it is not on 

this account the less reraarkal)le, as the organs of reproduction do not 

generally follow the growth of the vegetative organs ; 

ferns have not greater sporangia than the smallest species ; 

the largest tree- 

and, in the 

same way, the flowers of our large trees are often smaller than those of 

the most humble herbaceous plants. 

In these palaeozoic plants the growth has been simultaneous in the 

two systems of organs. 

Thus, Lepidodeadron, a genus of arborescent Lycopodiacea;, had 

spikes of fructification agreeing iu their size with the cones of Firs 

and Cedars, containing very large sporangia, rather than with those of 

Isoetes, which they resemble in form and structure. 

And the question remains to be considered, have the fruits of true 

Lepidodeudron, i. e. Lepidostrohns, which have been described by Dr. 

J. D. Hooker, only one kind of spores, or has the imperfect state of the 

specimens prevented the true nature of the spores contained in the 

lower sporangia of the spike from being ascertained ? The form of the* 

spores of Lqndosti'obus diff"ers so much from those of the microspores 

of Triplosporites as to induce me to consider these plants as belonging 

to different genera, and that the genus Triplosporites of Eobert Brown 

ought to be retained. 

The three known specimens of this fossil do not enable us to esta- 

blish its true geological position. The origin of that described by K. 

Brown and of the one in the Strasbourg Museum is entirely unknown. 

That which I have just described was found in the drift iu a Pyrenean 

valley far from tlie formation in which it was originally preserved 

;


there can be no doubt, considering the group of plants to which they 

are related, that they have been obtained from deposits contemporary 

with the Coal or lied Sandstone formations. 

Eobert Brown, in his memoir, has not given any specific name to 

the plant he has described ; but the establishment of its generic value, 

and the probability that other forms of the same genus will be found, 

induce me to perpetuate the memory of his important observations by 

naming this species Triplosporites Brownii. 

I ought, in conclusion, to remark, that this very perfect specimen 

which I have described probably represents a spike not fully developed. 

Two things seem to indicate this : first, the microspores are, iu almost 

all the sporangia that contain them, immersed iu an opaque granular 

substance in which they show themselves by their transparency, and 

which appears like the cellular plasma that surrounds these organs be- 

ibre maturity ; second, the vessels which form the very distinct bundles 

in the axis of the cone, show only transverse striae or very indistinct 

rings, and not the decided lines of adult scalaridiform vessels. 

This immature condition has, perhaps, favoured the beautiful pre- 

servation of these fossils ; but it is possible, and even probable, that 

the microspores and macrospores, when completely developed, would 

present some differences, which need not be considered as proceeding 

from a really distinct organization. Some of the spores forming the 

triple microspore seem already disposed to isolate themselves, and 

might, perhaps, take the trigonal form indicated by Dr. Hooker iu the 

spores of Lepidostrobus. Some of the macrospores seem also to pre- 

sent in the interior a more complicated structure, w'hich may indicate a 

tendency towards the appearance on the trigonal summit of the macro- 

spores of Isoetes. 

New specimens, even simple fragments, but in a diffei'ent stage of 

development, may turn up to complete our knowledge ; but now the 

existence of gigantic Lycopodiacere, more completely cori"ehited with 

living forms of the Order, is indubitably established.

9 

NOTES ON LEMXACEiE AND ON THE DISCOVERY OP 

THE RAPHIDIAN CHARACTER IN SYSTEMATIC BO- 

TANY. 

By Geokge Gullivee, F.R.S. 

Aithough our knowledge of the comparative structure of the Duck- 

weeds has been much advanced during the last few years, we do not 

find a corresponding progress in the descriptions and tigures of these 

plants in our books* of systematic botany. The forthcoming plate of 

JFoljfia, under the care of the worthy editor of tlie third edition of 

' English Botany,' will, no doubt, be at least on a level with the pre- 

sent state of science. As yet there have been added in that work only 

the flowers of Lemna polyrrhiza to the old plates of the four species of 

this genus ; while those important details of structure which are now, 

through the memoirs by Hoffmann and others, well known as aflbrding 

valuable diagnostic characters, are not figured, and the large vacant 

space of each plate is left waste and \iseless. And hence, for a satis- 

factory exposition of our own familiar and useful Duckweeds, w'e are 

still obliged to consult, besides our great national Elora, the engravings 

and descriptions scattered through various foreign and native periodi- 

cal works, most of which have been so carefully specified in Dr. Trirnen's 

valuable paper on TFolffia, published in a former volume of this Jour- 

nal, as to relieve me of the task of citations. 

In short, a fair account of the British Lemnacets is now wanting in 

our books, and the present notes are intended as a small contribution 

towards this desirable object, which involves a few little additions to, 

and a revision of, some points respecting these plants and raphides 

in the sixty-fourtb number of the third edition of ' English Botany.' 

Use of Duckweeds.—As the popular and practical English mind is 

wont to raise this question at the threshold, 'English Botany' is ready 

there with its answer :— " Although pretty enough to excite general 

interest, we has'e nothing to record of the uses of the species oi Lemna." 

Too severe a sentence, surely, on even these abject and despised things, 

and withal in sad disregard of that plea for the Duckweeds, long since 

advanced in the case of L. minor, which proved the utility of one or other 

of these apparently mean and worthless plants in the economy of nature. 

For certain it is that the most common and abundant Duckweed may be 

found, and recognized by its cell-characters, in the stomachs of young

10 ON LEMNACE.E AND THE RAPHIDIAN CHARACTER. 

Waterfowl and AVater-Voles ; 

and I have elsewhere described the boun- 

tiful provision of its starch and calcareous raphides for a suitable ad- 

junct to the food of groAving animals. Indeed, to me, a Duckweed- 

patch always appears delightful from its very utility, both in this way 

and as a procreant cradle of those beautiful and mysterious organisms 

which live and move and have their being on the boundaries of the 

two great kingdoms of organized nature. In short, a Duckweed-patch 

is not only the home of many happy famdies, full of life and enjoyment, 

but it provides either nutriment or shelter, in one shape or other, to 

many creations, from Mammalia down to the Protozoa and Protophyta ; 

and is truly a prolific and provident field, with a little world of its own, 

emineiTtly valuable and useful, although its complete history yet re- 

mains unwritten. 

Lemna trisulca.—The late Dr. Lindley and other eminent botanists 

denied that there is an epidermis on plants which live habitually under 

water. "Whether this Lemna be always thus totally immersed might 

a(bnit of question, though it is fairly described, in ' English Botany,' 

as having its " fronds submerged." In the same great work we find 

oidy this plant under Staurofjeion, a section of which one of the cha- 

racters there given is "epidermis absent ;" and this, no doubt, accord- 

ing to the common view, which nevertheless needs further inquiry. 

I have often found an epidermis on parts of plants which are ahvays 

covered by water ; so, it would seem, have other botanists, for Schnetz- 

ler, in his memoir on Utricularia, remarks that " in entirely sub- 

merged aquatic plants the leaves are destitute of stomatn, and absorp- 

tion and exhalation take place through the whole surface of the epi- 

blema." But now we are only concerned with Leimiacece, on both 

sides of the fronds of which an epidermis is commonly present, as may 

be well seen in L. minor. And L. irimlca is thus invested with a 

distinct but very delicate and transparent epidermis, which resembles 

the same tissue on the other species of the genus, but wanting the 

storaata which belong to their upper surface.* The margins of the 

* Whilst these sheets arc in the i)rcss, our attention has been directed to 

JJr. ncKelmnicr's recently-published monograpli ' Die Lemnaceen,' which contains 

full descriptions and numerous figures of the structure of all the species 

of tl.e Order lemnat-e^. On tab. vi. fig. 8, the epidermis of an aerial frond 

ûfUproxs) of L. trisulca is figured with a stomate. The term epidermis is, 

by some botanists, restricted to- its perfect condition when provided with sto- 

mata, the thin membrane covering subterranean and subaciueous organs beinotermed 

epiblcma 

" 

or epithelium.—Ed. Jouen. of Box.

ON LEMXACEiE AND THE RAPHTDIAN CHARACTER. 11 

epidermal cells of i. trisidca are wavy or siuuous, while tlie margins 

of the underlying parenchymatous cells are straight or smooth ; so that 

the epidermis so far answers to a ' colpenchyma,' and the subjacent 

tissue to a ' sphccrenchyma.' Thus L. trisidca agrees with those other 

species of the genus, which are well known to differ, as judiciously 

described in ' English Botany,' in this form of epidermal cells, from 

fFolJfi,:!. 

Tiie epidermis of L. trisidca is so thin and pellucid as easily to 

escape detection, and requires for a satisfactory examination a magni- 

fying power of not less than two hundred diameters. If a suitable 

fragment of the plant be placed under an achromatic object-glass of 

one-eighth of an inch focal length, so as to show the parenchymatous 

cells with the clearest definition, and the focus be then slightly length- 

ened, the wavy edges of the epidermal cells wdl be distinctly seen 

covering the subjacent tissue. At least, I have never failed to find the 

epidermis of L. trisidca by this kind of procedure, and have often suc- 

ceeded, by maceration and a little manipulation with needles, in sepa- 

rating the epidermal cells from their underlying connection. But as 

the question of the presence or absence of the epidermis is important, 

both in au anatomical and physiological point of view, I have sub- 

mitted the plant to examination by an independent and competent 

authority, and, bv the kindness of Mr. Carruthers, am enabled to tjive 

his report, as follows : 

— 

" British Museum, Nov. BOtli, 1868. 

" I examined the specimens of L. trisidca, and saw distinctly the 

epidermal cells which you figure, but I could not detect any stomata, 

and I see you do not figure any. Does there exist in aquatic plants a 

delicate epidermis destitute of stomata ? And is the carbonic acid gas 

obtained from tiie water in which it is dissolved by endosmose through 

the epidermis, while in the air the carbonic acid gas has direct access 

to the parenchyma of the leaf by the stomata ?" 

The bundles of raphides in L. trisidca are so evident, especially 

towards the circumference of the frond, that they may be recognized 

with the aid of a pocket lens. At first sight, under a higher magnify- 

ing power, they seem to be within a distinct cell of their own ; but a 

nicer examination in the mature frond commonly fails to detect any 

other boundary to the space which contains them than the surfaces of

12 ON LEMNACEî; AND THE RAPIIIDIAN CHARACTKK. 

the surrounding parenchymatous and epidermal cells; and so, too, of 

the raphides of the other LemncB. The raphides of L. trisulca were 

used in " Class-Botany " and histological demonstrations by Professor 

J. 11. Balfour and Mr. George Lawsou some years before my descrip- 

tion of these objects in the system of rajjhidian characters. 

The root-sheaths of this plant are ciu'ved and sharp-pointed. 

Lemna polyirJdza.—In this species the raphides are scanty. The 

root-sheath is sharp at the tip. 

Lemna gibba.—Kaphides scanty. Eoot-sheath with a bluntish point. 

Lemna minor.—Bundles of raphides abundant, especially towartls 

the edges of the frond. Starch-granules very plentiful. Hoot-sheath 

with a blunt tip. 

TFo^ffia arrliiza,—Destitute of raphides, by which character simply 

this plant may be easily known from Lemna vimor. Starch-granules 

plentiful, jDarticularly in the escaping and escaped bulbils ; stomata 

very plain on these young bulbils. 

Fig-. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. 

Fig. 1. Epidermis on the broad part of the frond of Lemna trisulca. The 

epidermis jâsses immediately over a bundle of raphides. 

Fig. 2. Epidermis on the narrow part of the frond of L. trisulca. 

Fig. 3. Epidermis on the under side of the frond of L. minor, and passing 

over a bundle of raphides. 

Let us now review and elucidate some of these notes, and conclude 

with the historical point. 

Epidermis.—This tissue is present in the form of wavy-edged cells, 

on both sides of the fronds of i. trisulca, and on the under as well as 

on the upper side of the fronds of other Lemace. 

Itool-sheaths.— Of these curious and charactciistic " pilcorhizcc," no-

ON lemnacea: and the RAPHIDIAN CHABACTER. 16 

ticed in the fourtli volume of this Journal, there is neither an intelli- 

gible figure nor mention in 'English Botany.' Of morphological pheno- 

mena, the functional value may be none the less for its obscurity. In fresh 

Lemrue, the root-sheaths afford some good specific characters, and should 

be compared in all the species, native and foreign, as well as with the like 

sheaths in other genera and Orders, as Pisiia and Po7itecleracea. The 

calyptrate covering of the rootlets is beautiful in Fontedtria crassipes 

and P. azurea ; and, of Pistia, besides tlie rootlet-sheaths, there is a 

larger sheath on the tip of the root-axis. 

Raphidts.—These are small and fragile in Lemna. In the fourth 

volume of this Journal I have depicted theraphidian diagnosis between 

L. minor and TFolffici arrhiza. And after a careful examination of 

several preserved specimens of two species of Wolffia from Portugal 

and Angola, courteously sent to me by the eminent botanist Dr. A\ el- 

witsch, the exraphidian character was found very remarkable in every 

one of them. In some dried and colourless specimens of Lemna minor 

and L. Angolensis of the same collection, the fronds were so shrivelled, 

their cells fiiiling to freshen out in water, and being beset and obscured 

by adherent Diatoms, that the raphides escaped detection at first. 

But bundles of these crystals Avere afterwards plainly brought into 

view, by thoroughly drying suitable and macerated fragments of the 

plants under pressure between glasses, then treating the preparation 

witb turpentine, and subjecting it to a moderately high magnifying 

power. 

Of L. minor I have examined an immense number of fresh speci- 

mens from various localities, and never failed to find the bundles of 

raphides without the least difficulty. And having during this autumn 

and in the month of November got a plentiful supply of IFolffia arrhiza 

growing among Lemna minor, L. trimlca, and Riccia fluitans, in the 

neighbourhood of Canterbury, I have repeatedly and diligently gone 

over the examinations again, and always with the same positive results. 

The fronds of the two Lemnce invariably presented their bundles of 

raphides, while the IFolffia was as constantly destitute of them. 

These results are the more interesting, as all the plants were brought 

in the same bottle of water from one place, and thus confirm my for- 

mer observations on the specific value of the raphidian character in 

Lemnaceee, as well as the constancy of either the abundance, scarcity, 

or total want of raphides in different species of such nearly allied plants 

growing side by side in the very same pool.

14 ON LEMNACEyE AND THE RAPHIDTAN CHARACTER. 

To the same effect were the results of my experiments, formerly re- 

lated, in which raphidian and exraphidian plants, grown from seeds in 

one pot of identical earth, produced and preserved these characters re- 

spectively from the very seed-leaves onwards. Surely the whole facts 

are cumulative evidence of the intrinsic connection of raphis-bearing 

with the cell-life of the species. 

In short, as regards the Duckweeds, while Lemna trisulca and L. 

minor never fail to produce a good crop of raphides, these crystals are 

as regularly scanty in L. polyrrhiza and L. yihha, and so constantly 

absent from Wolffia arrliiza as to afford an excellent diagnostic cha- 

racter between this plant and Lemna minor. 

But there are Orders of plants, both native and foreign, as more 

particularly explained by me in the fourth volume of the ' Popidar 

Science Eeview,' truly distinguished as raphis-bearers ; that is to say. 

Orders of which every true member yet examined has been found more 

or less pregnant with raphides, while the species of the next and nearest 

allied Orders are as regularly exraphidian. This phenomenon I have 

verified so repeatedly in our own flora as to leave little doubt so far on 

the subject. For example, in Onagracea we have thus a raphidian 

Order ; while, on the contrary, in Hydrocharidacece we have an ex- 

raphidian Order standing betAveen its allied Orders which are not less 

constantly abounding in raphides. 

Endless confusion, however, will continue, unless we carefully bear 

in mind the difference between true raphides, spheeraphides, and ciys- 

tal prisms, as described in the ' Popular Science Review ' already cited. 

Thus, for want of such care, the sphasraphides which abound in some 

Telrarjoniacea, Chenopodiacece, and Ilaloi-agacea,—beautiful examples 

of which crystals I have described in Sesuvinm, Atriplex, Chenopodiiim, 

Loitdonia, and Haloragis, as well as the crystal prisms in the bulb- 

scales of certain Onions, often noticed in my papers,— are still some- 

times objected to my description of these plants as exraphidian. 

Again, the familiar sphEerapjiides and prisms of Cactacea are not true 

raphides ; neither are the sphaeraphides and sphferaphid tissue (Ann. 

Nat. Hist, for Sept. 1863, plate iv. fig. 13 ; and Aug. and Nov. 186.5) 

of Veratrum, Lyllirum and Geranium, Aralia and Rhamnus. 

Dhicovery of the RapJudian Character in Systematic Botany.—The 

account o"f raphides in the foreraentioned number of ' English Botany ' 

contains several errors, most of which may have been the compositor's

ON THE PHOENIX OF THE HONGKONG FLORA. io 

and all purely accidental. At present, it will suffice to notice that the 

quotation, as from me, under the head of " Lemnacea," was never mine 

either in spelling or meaning ; and that the opening statement, surely 

a mere inadvertency, is equally calcuLited to mislead. Here it is : 

" In a paper published in the ' Quarterly Journal of Microscopical 

Science,' Dr. Lankester called attention to the constant occiu-rence of 

raphides in certain Orders of plants, and since then Professor Gulliver 

has published a series of exhaustive obsei-vations on the subject." 

Now, so far from following, I preceded Dr. Lankester in this in- 

quiry, as plainly appears from his own paper, which was obviously 

Avritten merely to introduce the subject to the readers of the Journal, 

then edited by him ; but, though excellent for this purpose, without 

even a single original observation of his own concerning " the constant 

occuiTence of raphides iu certain Orders," while in that very paper he 

quotes one or other of my memoirs, previously published iu the ' Annals 

of Natural History,' in proof of the ordinal value of the character 

sometimes afforded by raphides in systematic botany. 

Canterbury, Deccmlcr 12th, 1868. 

ON THE PHCENIX OF THE HONGKONG FLOEA. 

By H. F. Hance, Ph.D., etc. 

The existence of a wdld Date-Palm in Hongkong was, I believe, 

first mentioned by Mr. Bentham, in his enumeration of the plants 

collected in the island by the late Lieut. -Colonel Champion ;* without, 

however, any attempt to determine the species. Two years later. Dr. 

Seemann t referred my specimens of the plant to P. ucauUs, Eoxb., 

remarking that the presence or absence of a stem afibrds no reliable 

cliaracter in the genus. Mr. Bentham subsequently, | whilst retaining 

this name with a mark of doubt, observed that the genuine plant has a 

short bulb-shaped stem, and that the Hongkong specimens at his dis- 

posal were undistinguishable from P. palndosa, Roxb. At a later 

date, I described § the plant more iu detail, pointing out that it 

* Hooker's Kew Gard. Misc. vii. 33. (1855.) 

t Bot. Vov. Herald, 416. 

X ' Flora of Hongkong,' 340. (1861). 

§ Ann. Sc. Nat. 5me ser. v. 247. (1866.) 

—

16 ON THE PHCENIX OF THE HONGKONG FLORA. 

differed entirely by its cylindrical caudex, 2-6 feet high, from P. 

acauUs ; whilst P. paludosa is described and figured by Griffith * as 

growing in dense tufts, with slender annulate trunks, 12-15 feet high, 

and a graceful diffuse habit, and is besides known by the embryo being 

placed at the base of the seed, near the hilum, and not, as in the 

Chinese plant, in the middle of the dorsal surface of the albumen. I 

was disposed to regard it as probably different from any of the Indian 

species, but nearest to P. silvestrls, E.oxb. 

I had then never seen it with fruit other than of a dull orange or 

vitelline colour, in which state it may even be met with exposed for 

Scde in the streets of Macao, wliere it is called " Areca de mato," and 

eaten by the little boys, who do not seem to be repelled by its astringent 

inky flavour. It is probable thnt it does not habitually ripen its drupes 

here, or else that these are nnich sought after by birds ; for, though 

common on the bare sterile sunny slopes of Hongkong, it was not till 

the summer of this year that I procured spadices laden with fully 

mature drupes ; in which state they are quite black and glossy, and 

with a very agreeable, sweet, and farinaceous, though rather scanty 

pulp. A renewed comparison of the specimens with tlie characters of 

Eoxburght and Griffith proves the Chinese Palm to be referable to 

P . furiuifera, Roxb. That author's character is as usual very accurate, 

except tliat I do not notice any elevation over the cavity in which the 

embryo is lodged, and that more than a single pair of the lower pinnae 

are reduced to spines. Whether the Anamese P. pusilla. Lour., be 

identical is as yet uncertain. 

The species is dispersed over a wide geographical area, being met 

with on both the western and eastern coasts of the Indian peninsula, 

extending to a yet undetermined limit along the east coast of China, 

and, if Jundiuhn's assertion t that it was introduced thence into the 

Buitenzorg Garden be reliable, occurring also in Japan. Drs. Hooker 

and Thomson § mention it as a native of Ceylon, but probably through 

an eiTor in determination, as P. nilvedfls is the only Singhalese species 

recorded by Dr. Thwaites^.H 

I may remark, that though this plant abounds along the coast, and 

* Palms of Brit. India, 141. t. 229 E. 

t 'Flora Indica,' iii. 785. 

X Quoted by Miquel, Fl. lud. Batav. iii. 63. 

§ ' Flora Indica,' Introd. Essay. 120. 

II 

Enum. n. Zevlan. 329.

CARL FRIEURICH PHILLIPP VON MARTIUS. 17 

on all the islands at the mouth of the Canton Eiver, a maritime 

atmosphere would appear absolutely essential to its existence ; for I 

have never met with it along the banks of the river, nor indeed any- 

where, except near the sea. This agrees well with Eoxburgh's state- 

ment, that " it is a native of dry, barren ground, particularly near the 

sea." 

As there is certainly but one Phoenix indigenous to Southern China, 

it is probable that Vachell's specimens, referred by Hooker and Arnott* 

to P. dactylifera, belong to this species. 

Partly at the request of M. Naudin, made at a time when the species 

was undetermined, I have transmitted fresli seeds to him and a few 

friends in Europe, with a view to essay its introduction in the neigh- 

bourhood of Nice, and at Hycres, where thei-e seems little reason to 

doubt it would grow readily, sub dio. 

British Vice- Consulate, Whampoa, 

October 28, 1868. 

CARL FllIEDRICH PHILLIPP VON MARTIUS. 

This great botanist, distinguished traveller, and most illustrious 

man died on the 13th of December, 1868, at Munich. 

He was born at Erlangen, on the 17th of April, 1791. His father, 

Ernest Wilhelra Martins, who died at an advanced age in 1849, was, 

with Hoppe, one of the founders of Eatisbon Botanical Society, and 

author of a natiu-al history ' Jouniey in Franconia and Thuringia,' 

and of the ' Memories of a Ninety Years' Life,' containing many in- 

teresting pictures of social life in Germany during the period embraced 

in it. 

Carl Martins pursued his natural history studies in Erlangen, under 

the direction of his father and his father's friends. He was the 

botanical pupil of Schreber, the disciple of Linnteus, and editor of the 

eighth edition of the ' Genera Plautarum,' and to him he was un- 

doubtedly indebted for the careful training in the fundamental prin- 

ciples of that science to which he was to devote his life, and which by 

his labours he was greatly to advance. But his studies were very 

Bot. Beechey's Voj. 219. 

VOL. VII. [JANUARY 1, 1869.] C

18 CARL FKIEURICII PHILLIPP VON MARTICS. 

general, and he prosecuted all of them with enthusiastic devotion. 

He studied zoology under Goldfuss, chemistry under Hildebraud 

philology under Harless, and philosophy under Mehmes and Vogel. 

He had as his fellow-student Theodore Nees von Esenbeck, the author 

of the ' Genera Plantarum Florie Germauicse,' and together they 

prosecuted their studies at the house of the elder Von Esenbeck, at 

Wurzburg. 

In 18 14-, he published his first work, 'Plantarum Horti Academic! 

Erlangensis Euumeratio,' and at this time he was engaged in collecting 

the materials which, in 1817, he gave to the public as a ' Flora Cryp- 

togamica Erlangensis.' 

When Professor Schrank came to Eriangen to remove the herbarium 

of Schreber, which the Bavarian Academy purchased after his death, 

he made the acquaintance of Martins, and recommended him to come 

to Munich. Acting on this advice, he became a pupil of the Academy, 

and in 1816, he was appointed to an office in the Botanic Garden. 

Maximilian, king of Bavaria, was interested in botany, and in his 

visits to the Botanic Garden observed Martins acting as director for 

Schrank, whose age incapacitated him for the duties. He accordingly 

selected him, with Dr. Spix the zoologist, to join as savants the 

embassy that was to accompany the young Austrian Princess destined to 

be the Empress of Brazil. On the 10th of April, 1817, he embarked in 

an Austrian frigate at Trieste. The plan of the expedition was prepared 

by the Bavarian Academy, and they resolved to explore as much as 

possible of that almost unknown region. They first visited the jn'O- 

vinces of Rio and St. Paul, and then reached Pernanibuco and Bahia, 

passing through the interior of the country, and enduring numberless 

difficulties, privations, and dangers. They made extensive collections 

in the province of Ilhcos, and soon quitted Bahia for a still more ex- 

tensive journey across the provinces of Piauhy and Maranham to the 

Amazon river, which they ascended as far as the confines of Peru. 

This expedition was completed, for the small sum of £2400, in three 

years, a distance of more than 4000 miles, through an untrodden 

region, having been travelled over without any serious accident. The 

collections brought home and deposited in the Munich Museum 

amounted to 3500 species of animals and 6500 species of plants. 

The travellers hastened to draw up an account of their journeys, and 

to publish the vast amount of materials they had collected. Dr. Spix

CARL FRIEDRICH PHILLIPP VON MARTIUS. 19 

had suffered severely from the tropical climate and the fatigues of the 

expedition, and survived his return only a few years, leaving the nar- 

rative of the jom"uey to be finished by Martius, and the systematical 

zoological memoii's to be superintended by him, in addition to the bo- 

tanical work which was properly his own. 

The narrative of the journey, ' Eeise in Brasilien,' consists of three 

quarto volumes and an atlas in folio. It is written in a clear and elegant 

style, and abounds with topographical and statistical details, descrip- 

tions of natural scenery and personal adventure. The specific descrip- 

tions of the plants and animals were reserved for special publication, 

but the work abounds with information on their geographical distri- 

bution. 

The Palms were the first portions of his collections with which he 

worked, and the first part of the ' Genera et Species Palmarum ' was 

published in 1823. This was intended to be confined to Brazilian 

Palms, but was ultimately extended so as to comprise a history of the 

entire family. The work was completed in 1850, in three large folio 

volumes containing 245 plates, most of them coloured, and some of 

them exquisitely finished landscapes, exhibiting the habits of the species 

in the scenery and among the plants with which they are in nature 

associated. The first volume treats of Palms in general, and includes 

a dissertation by Mohl on raonocotyledonous stems, and another by 

Unger on Fossil Palms. The second volume is devoted to Brazilian 

species, and the third is a complete monograph of the Order. The 

singular fidelity with which the descriptions were made, and the figuns 

drawn, make this noble work, although some portions of it are nearly 

fifty years old, equal to the most recently published monographs. 

On a similarly magnificent scale did he design his ' Xova Genera 

et Species Plantarum Brasiliensis,' the first volume of which, by 

Zuccarini, was published in 1 824 ; 

the only two other volumes of this 

work published were by Martius himself, the one in 1826, and the 

other in 1829-32. 

The volume on eryptogamic plants ' Icones Plant. Crypt, in Brasilia 

coUegit,' published between 1828 and 1831, belongs to the same 

series. To the descriptions of the Ferns by Martius was prefixed an 

elaborate dissertation on the structure of the stems of Tree-ferns by 

Mohl, accompanied with eight illustrative plates. 

The magnitude of these elaborate works, and the time necessarily 

c 2

20 CARL FRIEDRICH PHILLIPP VON MARTIUS, 

required for their preparation induced him to attempt the more speedy 

publication of his treasures in a series of octavo volumes, without 

pictorial illustrations, but only two volumes were published,— one on 

Grasses by Nees von Esenbeck, and the other on Cryptogams, by 

Martins and otiiers. 

In 1S29, he began the publication of his great work, the 'Flora 

Erasiliensis,' in folio, and from that time it may be said that the 

work of his life has been the carrying on of this publication. He has 

obtained the assistance of many of the most distinguished botanists to 

tindertake different families, and these have been published as prepared, 

irrespective of any systematic order in the separate monographs. In 

addition to the materials obtained by Martins, all Brazilian collections 

before and subsequent to his expedition have been, as far as possible, 

included in the ' Flora,' and as Brazil is strikingly rich in many 

Natural Orders, the various monographs are often nearly complete for 

the group in question. 

lie began the distribution of his rich collections in 1S37, in a series 

of fascicles under the title of ' Herbarium Florae Erasiliensis.' He printed 

an introduction to this publication in the ' Regensburg Flora,' contain- 

ing much interesting information on the labours of his predecessors, on 

the geographical distribution of vegetation in Brazil, and on the plan he 

had followed in determining his plants, and forming his herbarium. 

Besides the purely systematic works in which he was engaged, he 

prepared a valuable history of all that was known, and that he had 

himself ascertained of the medical properties of the plants of Brazil. 

This was published in 184'3, under the title ' Systeraa Materia^ 

Medica; Yegetabilis Brasiliensis.' He classified his information under 

the various properties for which the plants were useful, as Amylacea, 

Muc'dagiiiosa, SaccJiarina, Acida, etc. 

Von Martins early showed a predilection for linguistic studies. His 

correspondence Avith Nees von Esenbeck, his fellow-student, was cai'ried 

on in Latin, and his coma(and of this language is exhibited by the 

elegant and eloquent dissertations which are interspersed among the 

more formal descriptions of his systematic works. When in Brazil he 

paid considerable attention to the languages of the natives, and to other 

ethnographical questions, and amongst his numerous avocations he 

has published several works on these subjects, such as 'Von dera 

Rechtszustande unter den Ureinwohnern Brasiliens ' in 1832, 'Das

CARL FRIEDRICH PHILLIPP VON MARTIUS. 21 

Naturell cler Urbewohuer Brasiliens' in 1843, and tlie work, which we 

believe he last published, contains a systematic and exhaustive account 

of his observations on these subjects, together with vocabularies of the 

languaoês of the Indian tribes of Brazil. This work was published in 

1867, in two volumes octavo, under the title, 'Beitrage ziir Ethno- 

graphic und Sprachenkunde Amerika's zumal Brasiliens.' 

While yet a young man, he made his famous voyage to Brazil, 

second only, in the importance of its results, to that of the illustrious 

Humboldt,—and his long life has been devoted to the elaboration and 

publication of the vast amount of materials he collected and observa- 

tions he then made. Within the last few years he has been more 

than ever active in caiTving on the publication of his great work the 

' Flora Brasiliensis.' It is to be hoped that his decease will not inter- 

fere with the prosecution and completion of this great undertaking, 

and that the monographs now in progress—some of them nearly 

completed—will not be delayed in their publication. 

But while thus engaged with the natural history of Brazil, his at- 

tention was not confined to this subject. He published monographs 

on Lychnophora (1822), Fridericia (1827), AmarantaceaR (1825), 

Soemraeringia (1828), Ericocaulon (1833), Erythroxylon (1840), 

D'Orbigny's Palms (1843-46), and Agave (1855). 

As Director of the Botanic Garden at Munich, he published at 

various times a history of the Garden, descriptions and illustrations 

of its more remarkable plants, and an account of the E,oyal Herbarium 

there. 

Besides the officinal uses of plants, he investigated the bearings of 

his favourite science on agriculture. 

As Secretary to the Mathematico-physical section of the Munich 

Academy, he delivered a large number of orations on the decease of 

illustrious members of the Academy. His extensive acquaintance with 

botanists, his candour and benevolence, and his ability to appreciate 

the labours of others, make these eulogies valuable estimates of the 

character and work of their different subjects, as well as eloquent 

tributes to esteemed friends. Amongst others may be mentioned those 

on Schrank, Zuccarini, Ledebour, De Candolle, and Robert Brown. 

—

22 

ON THE ECONOMICAL VALUE AND APPLICATIONS OF 

THE LEAF-FIBRE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX (PHOR- 

MIUM TENAX, Forst.). 

By W. Lauder Lindsay, M.D., F.R.S.E., F.L.S., etc. 

Very various have been the estimates formed at various times of the 

economic value of the dressed fibre of the New -Zealand Flax-plant. 

On the whole, I fear its value has been much exag^gerated. The colo- 

nists have been in the habit of asserting, and on such excellent antho- 

rity as that of the late Professor Lindley, that the fibre in question is 

more than double the strength or tenacity of ordinary flax, and con- 

siderably stronger than Eussian hemp ; and they add, that the plant 

will yield in cultivation per ton at least a half more fibre than Russian 

hemp. But the truest criterion of its value is the actual price it 

fetches, or could commfind, in the British fibre-market. Nominal or 

estimated value is a most fallacious criterion, especially when the 

estimate is formed by interested colonial referees, or their agents or 

friends at home. 

Now, the Dundee fibre merchants of the present day—its jute and 

flax importers and spinners—rank New Zealand flax only with jute 

and the cheaper and coarser qualities of fibre. Unless it can be intro- 

duced here at £10 or £15 per ton, they say* it will not compete fa- 

vourably even with jute. The finest qualities of common flax are at 

present valued at £50 per ton ; 

and by the difference between £50 and 

£10 we may measure the estimate that has been on the whole formed 

in Dundee of the market value of New Zealand flax. A colonial paper 

states that a Dundee manufacturer estimated some " half stuft", sent 

from Otago, as worth £20 per ton for some descriptions of matting."t 

But isolated and individual estimates of such a kind are of little real 

or practical value. The Dundee spinners complain that New Zealand 

flax does not " tie ;" but this may be the result of mal-preparation, 

because strips of the greens leaf "tie" admirably. On the other 

hand, some specimens of New Zealand flax were produced at the New 

Zealand Exhibition of 18 05, from Napier, valued at £70 per ton. 

* My special informant was one of the jiarlncrs of the well-known house of 

Cox Brolhoi's, of Lochee. 

t ' Otiigo Daily Times,' March 20th, 1867.

THE LEAF-FIBRE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 23 

They were said to be as fine as Belgian flax, capable of beings spun into 

the finest cambrics, samples whereof were also exhibited.* As the re- 

sult of a series of comparative experiments with Russian hemp at £4 

per ton, the writer in the ' Catalogue ' (p. 156) says, " there can be but 

one opinion as to the superior strength " of New Zealand flax. He 

found trawl warps for fishermen made of that fibre successful in riding 

out a gale, while those made of Russian hemp gave way. " Samples " 

or selected specimens of the fil«e used by him were valued in London 

at £33 per ton. 

In the Auckland (New Zealand) market, flax dressed in its vicinity 

commands a market price varying from J630 to £30 per ton. In the 

Melbourne (Australia) market. New Zealand flax prepared in Otago, 

in the mills of Mr. Constable at Dnnedin, fetches £35 to £35 per ton 

for "hay-lashing." There it competes with Manilla hemp, which 

fetches £35 to £40 per ton. In Dunedin, the same locally-prepared 

flax-fibre brings 35s. per cwt. for mattress-making, while the plant is 

collected and laid down at the mill for 20s. per ton. 

That which really regulates or determines the market demand for 

New Zealand flax, however, is the cost of its production. Were this such 

that, adding the cost of freightage and the producer's and merchant's 

profits, the fibre could be presented to the British and other markets 

at a lower price than, or nearly equal price with, common flax, Russian 

hemp, jute, or Manilla hemp, it might hope to compete successfully 

with these at present cheaper and more abundant fibres. The cost of 

production has not hitherto, however, admitted of this. In the case 

of some, at least, of the samples of New Zealand flax shown at the New 

Zealand Exhibition of 1865, the cost of production exceeded the market 

value,—a circumstance, of course, ruinous to all hopes of its competing 

for the present with the fibres al)ove mentioned. The Jurors of the 

Exhibition, indeed, express an opinion that New Zealand flax cannot 

compete with European flax ; and they very sensibly and cautiously 

only venture the length of saying that it should successfully rival hemp 

for cordage and green cloths. 

t 

Nevertheless, New Zealand flax at one time formed a very considerable 

export from New Zealand. In 1831, this single item of export amounted 

to £21,000 in value ; and in the same year a manufactory for the pro- 

* 'Jurors' Eeports,' p. 119. t Ibid. p. 118.

24 THE LEAF-FIBRE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 

(luction of goods from New Zealand flax was establislied at Ormisby, 

Lincolnshire, though it was soon given up. In 1855, tlie value of New 

Zealand flax exports was between £5000 and £6000 ; in 1865, it had 

sunk so low as £75 ; while in 1866 it rose again to £996, whereof no 

less than £949 went from Auckland, and only £1 wortli from Dunedin. 

These exports are, of course, in addition to the quantity consumed in 

home manufactures, no proper estimate whereof can be exhibited. 

Tiiese extraordinary fluctuations have been deterniined by such circum- 

stances as native wars ; the gradual decrease of the natives from the 

diseases and other concomitants of civilization ; gold digging ; the 

introduction of jute, Manilla hemp, and other abundant and cheap 

fibres of a comparable kind ; the inferior preparation of New Zealand 

flax by Europeans ; the varying requirements of, and consumption in, 

the colony itself; and the vai'ying market demand for fibre of its class. 

Between thirty and forty years ago. New Zealand flax enjoyed in the 

European market a reputation which it has since apparently lost. 

There was a great demand for it, which was met by a corresponding 

supply, the Maoris engaging their women and slaves in the exten- 

sive cultivation of the plant and the preparation of its fibre. 

Successive colonial governments seem to have had visions of future 

wealth and greatness springing from an extensive local manufacture of, 

and export trade in. New Zealand flax. Hence they have endeavoured 

to stimulate the ingenuity and perseverance of settlers by off"ering sub- 

stantial premiums for success in the preparation of the fibre from the 

leaf. Such rewards are, however, scarcely necessary ; for, from the 

days of settlement to the present time, the anticipations of all classes 

of colonists as regards the future financial importance of the native 

flax have been of the most sanguine kind. Hitherto it has been popu- 

larly supposed that the chief obstacle to the easy preparation of the 

fibre for manufacturing purposes is the difliculty of separating the gum 

of the leaf ; hence Government rewards have been virtually offered to 

the " discoverer of a method^ of clearing the flax of its gum." But, even 

at the present day, there is no unanimity of opinion as to whether this 

is really the chief or only dilficulty of the flax-producer. Constable, 

of Dunedin, a flax preparer, professes to separate the gum readily " by 

strong chemical solvents;" while Spey, analyst to the geological 

survey of New Zealand, reports, as the result of a series of special ex- 

periments, that the ilifficulties in preparing flax-fibre for use are of a

THE LEAF-FIBRE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 25 

mechanical, and not of a chemical kind,*—that is to say, that specially 

adapted machinery is required, and not special chemical reagents. 

For myself, I believe that difficulties of both kinds exist ; and even 

were these successfully overcome, there remain many other " Obstacles 

to the Utilization of New Zealand Flax," which I have discussed else- 

where, f 

So long ago as 1856 (December 20th), the General Government of 

New Zealand offered seven premiums, amounting in all to £4000, 

the first or highest being £2000, the second £1000, and five of 

£200 each,— " to the person who shall, by some process of his own 

invention, first produce from the Phormimn tenax^ or other fibrous 

plant indigenous to New Zealand, one hundred to.is ol merchandise^X 

The competition was open till January, 1839. It was stipulated that 

there should be a hona fide sale of the merchandise in Europe at an 

advance of 20 per cent, on the actual cost of the article when landed 

at any European port,—that is to say, that there should be a demon- 

strable profit on the cost of production and sale. Subsequently, the 

Government of Canterbury offered a premium of £1000, with similar 

aims ; while, still more recently, the Provincial Government of Otago 

advertised a bonus of £530 to the person or company that shall first pro- 

duce, within twelve months, a ton oi paper from Phormium tenax, or 

other indigenous fibre, equal in quality and price to imported paper. \ 

Partly as a result of these offered rewards, partly springing from the 

high opinion of the value of New Zealand flax entertained by the colo- 

nists themselves, the experiments i| made 

— 

on the preparation of the 

* ' Jurors' Reports of the New Zealand Exhibition of 1865,' p. 372. 

t Proceedings of British Association, Section E. (Economic Science), 1867. 

Seemann's ' Journal of Botany,' 1867, p. 3il. 

\ ' New Zealand,' by Stines, 1859, p. 33,—an essay to which the London 

Society of Arts awarded its silver medal. 

§ 'Jurors' Eeports of the New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 236. 

II Some notice of the earlier experiments in question, and of the causes of 

their want of success, will be found in Ur. Thomson's 'Story of New Zealand,' 

1859, vol. ii. p. 260. Eeference may als.o be made with advantage to a work 

on Phormium tenax, by John Mm'ray, F.S.A., F.L.S., which possesses the additional 

interest of being printed on New Zealand flax-made paper. 1 have 

not been so fortunate as to see a copy of this work, which would appear to be 

rare. A copy was shown in the New Zealand Exhibition of 1865, by the Hon. 

Wm. Colenso, F.L.S., of Napier (' Catalogue,' p. 17). Details of the more recent 

experiments on the preparation of the flax-fibre, along with the most 

trustworthy information regarding the growth of the Flax-plant will be found 

in the ' Jurors' Eeports of the New Zealand Exhibition,' p. 429. Eeference 

may also be made to the section on " Fibrous Substances and Manufactures," 

in the same ' Eeport,' p. 112.

26 THE LEAF-riBKE OF KEW ZEALAND FLAX. 

fibre and its utilization in New Zealand itself have been legion. Pa- 

tents innumerable have been taken out; money has been expended by 

thousands of pounds.' Nevertheless, no award of any of these attrac- 

tive p^'emiums has yet been made! None of the host of experiments 

made, whether on the large or small scale, has yet come up, as respects 

market success, to the stipulated standard. The history offlax-experi- 

ments in New Zealand is the history of a series of humiliating failures. 

The colonist is forced to confess that he has notyet equalled nor im- 

proved upon the results obtained by the Maoris by mere hand-labour 

and processes of the most primitive kind. He has neither produced a 

finer fibre, nor has he succeeded in dyeing it with more brilliant or 

faster colours. Superior processes of preparation have yet apparently 

to be devised ; while too little attention has hitherto been given to the 

at least equally important subject of the cultivation of the plant, with 

a view to its yielding the best kinds of fibre. Hitherto the colonists' 

operations have been conducted almost exclusively on the wild plant 

though, as has been ab'eady shown, the Maoris have long recognized 

the superior value of the produce of the cultivated plant. There is, 

however, this other equally cogent reason for cultivation, if it be 

proved that the produce is of sufficient value to warrant the necessary 

expenditure of capital : the native Flax-plant is rapidly disappearing 

before advancing settlement and agriculture, with their concomitant, 

the development of an immigrant flora. Hence the fibre-supply must, 

at no distant date, if the demand grow at all larger, depend on 

the extent to which the plant is cultivated. The great anxiety of 

the settlers to utilize the fibre has arisen in connection with the ap- 

parent enormous waste of available material in the eradication of the 

y lax- plant from the soil, as a basis for agricultural operations, and its 

subsequent destruction by fire. But enough has been said, especially 

on the comparative advantages of using the cultivated plant, to lessen 

materially our regret that so much seemingly valuable fibre-stuft" has 

been virtually squandered or neglected. 

The recent Mew Zealand iixhibition at Dunedin, in 1865, appears 

to have assisted materially in revivifying, after such a series of dis- 

lieartening failures, the interest of the colonists in the preparation 

and utilization of New Zealand flax. The Exhibition in question con- 

tained several most instructive suites of specimens illustrative of the pro- 

ducts of Vhormium tenax, and their economic ap])lications. Of these. 

;

THE LEAF-PIBKE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 27 

probably the most complete and valuable were the exhibits of the Messrs. 

Davis, of Otaki, Wellington ;* my friend Walter L. Buller, F.L.S., of 

Eangitiki, Wellington, also, showed an excellent series of flax-fibres, 

hand-prepared (scraped by mussel-shellsf) by the North Island Maoris 

for the manufacture of their mats or cloaks.J These exhibits prove 

that the Maoris are still the best flax-dressers in New Zealand ; no 

machinery, no chemical manipulation of the skilled or educated Euro- 

pean, is yet able to compete with the hand-labour and the mussel or 

cockle-shell of the primitive native. It is indicative of the firm, un- 

shaken faith of the colonists in its value that, notwithstanding a con- 

tinuous series of failures and disappointments, experiments continue to 

be made, and capital sunk, in the attempt to render New Zealand flax 

applicable to the manufacture of cordage, textile fabrics, and paper. 

The failures in question have mostly happened in the liorlh Island, 

a circumstance that seems to inspire with hope the experimentalists of 

the SoxUh Island, for several of the most recent essays have been, or 

are being, made in the southern provinces of Otago and Canterbury. 

Not only so, but the northern colonists appear equally undaunted. A 

flax-mill was erected in November, 1866, at Whangamarua, Waikato, in 

the midst of a country as yet wild and abounding in flax-swamps ; 

various similar eiforts have been made from time to time in the pro- 

vince of Auckland. Nay, even at home there are still enthusiasts 

found to engage in the manufacture on the large scale of New Zealand 

flax produce. In the ' New Zealand Examiner' of June 13th, 1863, 

— - 

there is an advertisement or prospectus of a "New Zealand Elax, 

Hemp, and Cordage Company, Limited," to work the patent of Lieut. 

Col. Nicolle, in Jersey. It does not appear whether, in this case, the 

plant operated on is grown in Jersey, or is imported from New Zea- 

land, for it thrives vigorously as a hardy plant in our Channel Islands. 

Among the most recent local experiments, are those of Ed. M'Glashan 

and W. S. Grieve, in Dunedin, Otago, in March, 1867, on the appli- 

cability of New Zealand flax to paper-making. A New Zealand flax 

* ' Exhibition Catalogue,' pp. 75 and 125. 

t Appai'ently the Mytilus canal iculatus, Martyn (Dieffenbach, toI. ii. p. 258). 

Other authorities describe the Cockle {Cardium sp. ?) as the shell used. I 

found both shells abundant in all parts of New Zealand. They are common in 

the numerous " shell-mounds " that are distributed on its coasts. In all pi'Obabihty, 

sometimes the one shell, sometimes the other, is or was used in different 

districts and by different tribes. 

X ' Exhibition Catalogue,' p. 25. 

and

28 THE LEAF-FIBEE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 

manufactory was also recently established at Christchurch, by A. 

Caraeron, who exhibited specimens of his "half-stufl'" in the New 

Zealand Exhibition of 1865. Flax-mills have been of late erected in 

Otago, by Mr. Constable, at Pelichet Bay, Dunedin, and by Mr. Mans- 

ford on the Cluthe, Port Molyneux. The former mill was, in June, 

1867, examined and reported upon on behalf of the Otago Govern- 

ment by my friend J. T. Thomson, C.E., the provincial engineer : 

" The manufacture," he says, " I consider a cornplete success." Con- 

stable's mill turns out 3 cwt. of fibre per day, and can produce 30 

cwt. per wêk. The epidermis and gum are separated partly by che- 

mical, partly by mechanical means ; the resultant fibre is said to be of 

excellent quality, and to promise to he marketable at a moderate price.* 

But, alas ! similarly favourable reports have been made over and over 

again as to New Zealand flax, and yet it has no permanent place in 

the fibre market. Time alone can show how far, in this instance, these 

promises will be performed,—whether these anticipations are not, 

like so many of their predecessors, doomed to disappointment. 

ApplicahUliy to the Mmiufaciure of Cordage.—The value of New 

Zealand flax as a material for cordage, has been better tested and 

longer established than its applicability to the manufacture of textile 

fabrics or paper. E. W. Frent, of Brooksby Walk, Homerton, rope 

and twine spinner, exhibited specimens of the dressed flax and of rope, 

twine, etc., made from it in the International Exhibition of London, in 

1851; and in 1863 he gave much information as to its use in rope 

spinning, especially in contrast with Russian hemp, in the ' New Zea- 

land Examiner' (September 15th, p. 207). It is suitable especially 

he says, for bale-rope and bolt-rope. He regards it as unfair to employ 

the same processes of manufacture as in Russian hemp. He 

establishes, indeed,—apparently satisfactorily,—the strength and use- 

fulness of the fibre, when properly prepared ; but the question of cost 

of production of a markdahle article, such as to leave a profit and still 

be under the price of European hemp and flax, is still left—by such 

experiments as his—as the great question for determination by the 

colonist. Thomson regards Constable's Dunedin fibre as equal to 

Manilla hemp ; he anticipates it will compete with Manilla in the ma- 

nufacture of the better qualities of rope in the Melbourne market, 

* ' Otago Diiily Times,' July 27th, 1867.

THE LEAF-FIBRE OF NE^V ZEALAND FLAX. 29 

where the expected demand for this class of fibre for cordage alone is 

ten tons per week. The New Zealand Exhibition of 1865 contained 

an instructive suite of samples of cordage made from New Zealand 

flax, from tlie coarsest ship-rope to the finest thread, including clothes- 

lines, fishing lines and nets of twisted flax-fibre, and twine. Ships' 

cordage is reported to be excellent as to strength, but it does not ab- 

sorb tar freely. For cordage, especially, it is still supposed that the 

New Zealand flax fibre is deteriorated by the gum, from which it 

has hitherto been found impossible altogether to free it. A New 

Zealand flax ropery once flourished in Auckland, but its operations 

were stopped by the irregularity of the supply of the fibre conse- 

quent on the native rebellion of 18G3. Excellent ropes were shown 

in the International Exhibition of London in 1862, by Auckland 

patentees (Messrs. Purchas and Mimis). New Zealand flax-made 

cordage is now largely used in the North Island, both by settlers and 

Maoris. 

Applicability to the Manufacture of Paper.—B. M. Cameron, of 

Edinburgh, the editor of the ' Paper Trade Eeview,' and himself both 

a paper manufacturer and an ingenious experimentalist, reported very 

favourably of New Zealand tiax-made paper in a letter to the ' Times,' in 

September, 1863. He describes it as "superior, both in strength and 

capability of finish, to that made from most of the rags now used. 

From experiments I have seen made ... I am convinced there is 

not a better material to be had for the purposes of the paper-maker." 

On the other hand, the Chevalier de Claussen, in his experiments on 

the fibres suitable for paper-making,—the results whereof were laid 

before the British Association in 1855,—found that the fibre of Phor- 

viium lenax was both expensive to prepare and nearly impossible to 

bleach.* The paper on which Murray's work is printed is described 

as resembling that used for Bank of England notes ; in colour it is, 

however, brownish, and in texture coarsish, containing a considerable 

number of specks,—both the result, perhaps, of defective manufacture 

and bleaching. The paper in question was, however, manufactured in 

England from New Zealand flax sent home ; and paper made also in 

England so lately as 1866, from fibre prepared by M'Glashan and 

Grieve, has apparently similar characters. The latter paper is described 

* ' Atheni3eum,' September 29th, 1855, p. 1126.


in the colonial journals as " ratlier highly coloured," with a " singu- 

larity of texture," a toughness or tenacity, which suggest its use in 

documents intended to stand great wear and tear.* Hence it is ex- 

pected to become " a very excellent paper for bank notes and other 

special purposes ; while the paper, as sent from Britain, would as- 

suredly become an article of commerce, supposing that the cost of pro- 

duction is not excessive." The New Zealand Exhibition of 1865 con- 

tained various samples of native flax-made paper, and of books, etc., 

printed thereon, as well as " leaf-stutt",'' or other stages in the conver- 

sion of the half-fibre into paper. In 1859, an attempt—apparently 

unsuccessful— was made to establish in Wellington a manufactory of 

paper from New Zealand flax (Stone's) ; and we have already seen that 

a paper-mill of a similar kind has recently been erected in Canterbury. 

I believe the colonists entertain exaggerated ideas of the value of 

New Zealand flax as a paper material. There is no sufficient evidence 

that paper manufactured in English paper-mills, from selected samples 

of dressed fibre, possesses the qualities required in ordinary paper, and 

even were it proved that the New Zealand flax-made paper is of greatly 

superior quality to that produced from rags or straw, which are waste 

materials, and necessarily both abundant and cheap, or from esparto, 

which is also cheap in Europe,— the important question of the comparative 

cost of production of paper pulp, or "half-staft"" from New 

Zealand flax, remains unsolved. It is obvious that unless " half-stafl'," 

or some equivalent from New Zealand flax can be introduced into the 

European or Colonial market at a price lower than that from rags or 

straw, it has no chance of successfully competing with the latter as a 

paper material. The use of dressed fibre is evidently rendered impossible 

by its great expensiveness, but in the event of its utilization in large 

quantities in the manufacture of cordage or textile fabrics, the waste or 

refuse, such as refuse tow from the hacklers, or the waste of rope-spin- 

ning, might become available locally for some classes of paper. The 

jurors of the New Zealand Êxhibition of 1865 suggest that it would 

be more profitable to export, for manufacturing purposes at home, the 

New Zealand flax fibre half prepared, and that it might with greatest 

hope of success be used in combination with other less strong or coarse 

fil)res. All such anticipations or suggestions are, however, premature, 

* ' Jurors' Reports of New Zealand Exhibition of 18G5,' p. 124.

BOTANICAL NEWS. 31 

till it can be shown that the quality, on the one hand, and the cost of 

production on the other, entitle New Zealand flax to a sure footing in 

the fibre market. 

(To be continued.) 

BOTANICAL NEWS. 

Adalbert Schnitzlein, Professor of Botany, and Director of the Botanic 

Garden at Erlangen, died, aged fifty-five years, on the 24th October, 1868, from 

the result of an accident while botanizing in the Tyrol. Tlie author of a ' Flora 

of Bavaria ' and a ' Monograph of Typha,' he was better known by his ' Icono- 

graphia FamiUarum NaturaUum E egni Vegetabilis,' which is unfortunately left 

incomplete. 

Edward Pceppig, Professor of Zoology at Leipsic, died on the 4th of Sep- 

tember, 1868. He was born at Plauen, on the 16th of July, 1798. In the years 

1827-29 he travelled in Chili, Peru, and the basin of the Amazon, and, on his 

return to Europe, pubUshed a narrative of his expedition, and, with Eudlicher, 

an account of his plants in three folio volumes, with 100 plates in each. 

Franz Delessert, the surviving brother of Benjamin Delessert, and tlie 

possessor of his valuable herbarium, died at Paris on the 15th of October, 1868. 

Christian Friedrich Ecklon has recently died at the Cape of Good Hope. 

He was born at Apeurade, in Schleswig, on the I7th of December, 1795. After 

studying medicine he went to the Cape as an assistant to an apothecary, and 

during the four years he occupied this position he investigated the flora of the 

neighbourhood. At the end of this time he devoted himself entu'ely to botanical 

investigations. He brought his collections to Europe in 1828, and, after distri- 

buting them, he arranged to return to South Africa for further exploration. 

He visited the vicinity of Cape Town, and then made a journey into Caffraria, 

He returned to the same region afterwards in the company of Zeyher, and, 

having amassed a large and valuable collection, the two explorers returned to 

Hamburg, in 1832, to superintend their distribution, and to publish a descrip- 

tion of the novelties, which they did in their 'Enumeratio Plant. Africae 

Australis Extratropicae.' He returned again to the Cape, where, with the excep- 

tion of another short visit to Europe, he has remained, quietly pursuing his 

botanical investigations until his death. 

We undei'stand that the Horticultural Society of Russia has appointed Dr. 

M. T. Masters, Spring Grove, Isleworth, and Mr. H. J. Yeitch, King's Road, 

Chelsea, as its representatives in this country, with the object of promoting tlie 

interests of the International Horticultural Exhibition to be held under its 

auspices at St. Petersburg in May next. ,

32 BOTANICAL NEWS. 

Edinbttbgh BoTAmcAi- Society.—The first meeting of the Society for the 

thirty-thii'd session was held at Edinburgh, on Thursday, the 12th of Novem 

ber, when the President, Mr. Charles Jeuuer, delirered an opening address on 

botany as a means of mental culture. The following communications were 

read :— I. " Description of Bieracium collinum. Fries, a New British Plant." 

By Professor Balfour. Specimens and drawings of the plant were exhibited. 

(See 'Journal of Botany,' Vol. VI. p. 353, PL LXXXVI.)—II. "Notice of 

Grimmia contorta^ Schimper, a New British Moss." By Professor Dickie. 

This moss was discovered by Mr. John Sim, Strachan, growing in consider- 

able quantity on the great rock of Clochnaben, Kincardineshire, in June, 1868. 

Specimens were exhibited and presented to the herbarium.— III. " Extracts 

from Botanical Correspondence." By Professor Balfour. 1. From Mr. Shut- 

tleworth, Berne, giving an account of the botany of the Var and of the Alpes 

Maritimes, and part of Liguria. 2. From Professor Dickie, noticing the naturalization 

of Lujpinus perennis in several places on Deeside. 3. From Mr. 

Gilbert A. C. Stewart, enumerating the plants naturalized on the banks of tlie 

Tweed, the seeds having been introduced by wool brought to the Galashiels 

factories. 4. Mr. Archibald Jerdon, transmitting specimens of Polt/carpon 

tetraphylluni and Medicago denticulata, collected near Melrose. 5. From Mr. 

P. S. Robertson and Mr. Henderson, presenting specimens of potato tubers 

exhibiting the second growth, where numei'ous tubers are produced from a 

parent tuber. 6. From Mr. J. F. Robinson, giving a list of the ferns found in 

Cheshire. Professor Dickson gave a demonstration on the hard structure of 

the pith in the Ak/aga ordeal poison plant of West Africa. Specimens were 

shown under the microscope. 

Local Names.—It is desired to collect as many as possible of the local 

names of British plants ; and tlie assistance is requested of all who take an in- 

terest in the subject, or who may have the opportunity of ascertaining and re-, 

cording them. Any lists sent to Mr. James Britten, High Wycombe, or 

to Mr. Robert Holland, Mobberley, Knutsford, will be thankfully received 

and acknowledged.

K ^ \k\h^ 

vX \:w 

,-^v^/ '? \ ' 

/âr*' 

-^ 

Tal? 88.

33 

OX RUBUS BRIGGSTI, Blox., A NEW SPECIES FOUND 

IN DEVONSHIRE. 

By the Eev. Andrew Bloxam, M.A. 

(Plate XXXVIII.) 

Riibus Briggsii, sp. n. Stem fuscous, prostrate, angular, covered 

willi hairs and seta? ; prickles small, unequal, slightly declining, with 

a compressed base ; leaflets generally 3-nate, closely and not deeply 

dentate, hairy on the prominent veins beneath. Central leaflet broadly 

cordate ; 

basal leaflets nearly or entirely sessile, overlapping the central 

one. Panicle short and dense ; sepals adpressed to the fruit ; leaflets 

of the flowering stem all 3-nate, the basal ones sessile, overlapping the 

central one, which is cordate, quite as broad as long. 

The peculiar aspect of this species is very distinct from any that I 

have previously met with, either British or Continental, and in this 

opinion Mr. J. G. Baker, who has a most extensive collection of 

foreign as well as British specimens, coincides. It comes nearest to 

R. fusco-ater, VV. and N., but is quite distinct. I have named it 

R. Briggsii, from its discoverer, who has found several plants of it in 

the Vale of Bickleigh, Devon. 

STATIONS OF, AND NOTES RESPECTING, SOME 

PLYMOUTH BUBl. 

By T. R. Akcher Buiggs, Esq. 

For some time past I have had the pleasure of carrying on a cor- 

respondence with the Rev. Andrew Bloxam respecting the Rubi of the 

neighbourhood of Plymouth, and it is principally through his kind- 

ness in having named numerous specimens for me, sent from this lo- 

cality, that I am now enabled to give the following particulars respec- 

ting the local distribution of the Ritbi named below. It will be seen 

that my thanks ai'c also due to Professor Babington, for having kindly 

given me his opinion on a few ; and I am under great obligations to 

Mr. J. G. Baker, for the assistance he has afforded. 

It must not be supposed that the list is anything like a complete 

one of the Rnbi of Plymouth, for many doubtful plants, etc., are 

VOL. VII. [FEBRUARY 1, 1869.] D

34 STATIONS OF SOME PLYMOUTH KUBI. 

reserved for farther study. About these I may possibly be able to 

say sometliiug at a future time. 

R. Ida: us, Linn. Comuiou, and doubtless truly wild in many spots, 

but it springs so readily from seed, and is so much cultivated, that it 

is impossible to say in what localities it is indigenous. By the Cowsic 

river, on Dartmoor; remarkably common in hedges by the Tavistock 

and Okehampton road, within a few miles of the former place ; plen- 

tiful near Peter Tavy, where the yellow- fruited plant occurs ; in a 

wood at Torr, near Yealrapton ; Common Wood, etc. 

J{. snberectus, Anders. In open spots in many of our wooded val- 

leys, especially where the soil is moist. Also frequent among low 

copsewood on the hillsitles, but not a hedgerow shrub. In the valley 

of the Plym at Common Wood, Cann, etc., and by some of its tri- 

butary streams ; in a wood at Derriford, Egg Buckland ; in the vale 

of the Yealin, near Cornwood ; 

at Blaxton, etc. 

One of the earliest species to flower, in South Devon coming into 

bloom at the end of May or beginning of June. 

R..j)licatus, W. and N. Specimens so named by the Rev. A. Bloxam 

were obtained from a bog at Ivybridge and a bushy spot at Blaxton, 

near Tamerton Foliott. 

R. ajfiuls, W. and N. By the side of a road near Beer Ferris, 

leading towards Lopwell ; valley of the Yealm, Dartmoor ; some 

bushes on the right bank of the Plym, near Riverford. Mr. Bloxam 

considers the plants at the first aiul second stations this ; and Mr. 

Baker calls the Beer one and the last nffinls, but says that by this 

name he may not mean quite the same plant as do some botanists, 

since by it he understands one that is " apparently essentially the same 

as niiidiis, W. and N." 

R. rJinmnifoUus, W. and N. Probably common. In a waste spot 

i)y the Plymouth and Saltash road, near the ferry across the Tamar, 

etc. Many bushes of a small form of this occur in a waste but en- 

closed piece of ground on the right of the Saltash and Callington 

road, after you descend the hill below Ilatt, Cornwall. We probably 

have also R. cordlfolim, W. and N., included with this by Babington 

in his ' Maiuud of British Botany,' for a plant respecting which the 

Rev. A. Pdoxam writes, " I believe cordifolius," and Mr. Baker "one 

of the cordiJoUns set of forms,"— grows in a hedge by the Plymouth 

and Tavistock road, between Knackersknowle and Roborough, near a

STATIONS OF SOME PLYMOUin BUBI. 35 

house named Powislaud ; also on a bank close to where the South 

Devon Railway crosses the lane leading from the higher part of R'dgeway 

to Newnham. 

R. ramosus, Blox. Common in open spots in woods, and in bushy 

places in their neighbourhood. This plant varies but little, and seems 

very distinct from all our other species. The remarkably glossy upper 

surface of its frequently convex leaves, its lax, branched, abrupt panicle, 

and small, irregularly-formed fruit, are characteristic features. The 

Rev. A. Bloxam says of it, " Not uncommon in Warwickshire and 

Leicestershire ; I think closely allied to, if at all distinct from, 

ScJiUkumi, Wirtg., though my specimens vary a little ;" and Mr. 

Baker, *' No doubt ramosus, Blox., probably = ScJdikumi, Wirtg." 

By the Plymouth and Dartmoor "tramway," near the Leigham tunnel, 

at Maidstone, Fancy, and Wombwell ; in a bushy spot below the 

elvan quarry on Demford estate, and at Bircham, Egg Buckland ; in 

a hedge near Dedham Bridge, and in the neighbourhood of Beer 

Alstone; between Knackersknowle and Tamerton Foliott ; in the lane 

between Elfordleigh and Newnham Park ; 

mon Wood, near Plym Bridge, and about Rumple ; also at Blaxtcn ; 

near Inchers, etc. 

in the Plyra valley at Com- 

R. dlscolo7; W. and N., inclusive of R. fi-uticosiis, Sm. The plant 

now usually called R. discolor h\ British botanists, the R. fn/ticosiis of 

Smith, is probably the commonest hedgerow bramble of the neigh- 

bourhood of Plymouth, and often occurs in very exposed situations. 

Sometimes the petals are of a very bright pink. It continues to pro- 

duce its hard, regularly-formed, but poorly-flavoured fruit until frost 

sets in. With reference to specimens of this from Wembury and 

from Fursdon, Egg Buckland, the Rev. A. Bloxam observes "the 

common form of what is called discolor in this country ;" and Mr. 

Baker, " the common form of discolor all over England. Genevier and 

Mercier call it rust icons. ^' 

Respecting a more robust plant, with larger and broader leaves, and 

a few aciculi on the barren stem and panicle, gathered by the Ply- 

mouth and Ivybridge road, the latter say?, " probably what those who 

call the last ruslicans would regard as true discolor ;" Mr. Bloxam, 

" the true discolor of Weihe and Nees, as I believe." Forms occur in 

a waste spot by a quarry near Ford, Devonport, and l)y tlie tramway 

near Marsh House, Crabtree, etc. A curious plant, with very deeply- 

D 2

36 STATIONS OF SOME PLYMODTH RUBI. 

cut leaves, grew some years ago on a bank at the top of Crown Hill, 

Knackersknowle ; but works in connection with the new fortifications 

around Plymouth having, since then, rriade it necessary for the bank 

to be levelled, it was entirely destroyed a few years ago. Mr. Bloxam 

at first regarded it as a variety oi fruticosHS, W. and N., but now, I 

believe, considers it was the R. laclniatus of Willdenow, and distinct. 

I incline to his first opinion as to its being a variety. 

R. lencostacJiys, Sm. In waste spots by roadsides. The typical 

plant is easily recognized, but puzzling ones near it often occur. In 

a quarry by the Plymouth and Saltash road ; in a waste spot between 

Knackersknowle 

Womb well, etc. 

and Taraerton Poliott, near the abandoned mine 

R. Salteri; a. Salteri, Bab. Man. Brit. Bot. ed. G. "Bloxam." 

Eather frequent in low but open situations. On the right bank of the 

Plym, in a marsh below Crabtree, also on the same side of that river 

near Leigham Lodge ; 

by the Egg Bucklaud road, near Plym Bridge ; 

under some trees, forming a small grove in one of the marshes between 

the Laira estuary and Plympton St, Mary church ; in a waste spot 

near Newnham, close to the bridge over Tory Brook, and by the lane 

leading up by the latter place out on Crownhill Down ; in the vale of 

the Yealm, by the path leading from the village of Cornwood to the 

waterfalls ; by the Plymouth and Yealmpton road, near Brixton, just 

beyond the fourth milestone from Plymouth ; between Ivybridge and 

Ermington ; a bush on a hedgebank by the Plymouth and Tavistock 

road, between Powisland and the George Hotel, etc. The wavy 

edges of the leaves, and, as Mr. Bloxam observes, " sepals at right 

angles with the flower," give this a peculiar appearance. He has had 

specimens of me from many of the stations named above, and says that 

this plant is quite distinct from his calvatus ; but Professor Babington 

firmly maintains the contrary, for, after examining specimens that I sent 

him from the station near Brixton, he wrote, " I think your SaL'eri, 

from ]5rixton is the )8. of that plant, viz. calvatus o^ illoxnm.', certainly 

not the true 7?. Salteri of the Isle of Wight." 

R. ciilratus, Blox. The Bev. A. Bloxam says that a plant that 

grows rather plentifully in hedges near Beer Alstone is this. It occurs 

also in- a hedge between Eoborough and Lopwell, near a house named 

Axtcr Gate, but seems to be a local plant. Mr. Baker also has had it 

of me from the former station, and he regards it as the true Salteri, a. 

;

STATIONS or SOME PLYMOUTH KUBI. 37 

of Babin^^tou's ]\Ianual, ed. 6, for he says of it, " Good SuUeri. 1 

studied this at the original locality for Salleri in the Isle of Wight 

(Apse Castle Wood) last autumn, and your plant is just the thing." 

The panicle of this is long, leafy, narrow, and very lax, with long, 

sliglitly declining prickles. The leaflets are not so much narrowed to 

their bases, or so deeply cut, as are those of the Saltan of this list. 

They ditter also in being not at all, or only slightly, wavy at the edges. 

The barren stem is copiously furnished with long, strong, and nearly 

patent prickles, whereas those of the other are comparatively short and 

declining. 

R. vlllicauUs, W. and N. In woods and bushy places. By the 

roadside, near Looseleigh toll-gate, between Knackersknowle and Ta- 

merton Foliott ; by a path tlirough a wood in the Plym valley, near 

the river, between Plym Bridge and Rumple, and about the latter 

place. Mr. Baker is inclined to refer other plants, sent from several 

places near Plymouth, to this species. 

R. carpinifalius. W. and N. " Bloxam." R. macrophyllm, a. um- 

broms, Arrh. " Babington, Man. Brit. Bot. ed. 6." In hedges in 

many localities, but not one of our commonest plants. At Ham and 

Pennycross, near Plymouth ; about King's Tamerton, and between 

that place and Swilly ; in a lane leading from Knackersknowle toll- 

gate to S. Budeaux, and between the former place and lloborough 

oa Saltram Embankment. By a path leading from the heights at 

JNIaker (this parish is in Devon, but across the Tamar) into Kingsand 

village, and in a lane between the latter place and Milbrook ; at 

Combe, near Saltash, Cornwall. 

It will be seen that Professor Babington and the Rev. A. Bloxam 

differ in opinion about this plant. 

R. macropliyllus, AVeihe. By the Plymouth and Yealmpton Road, 

near Brixton, about four miles from Plymouth, growing with R. 

Salteri of this list ; about Plympton ; in a lane leading into the Cole- 

brook and Plym Bridge Road from the Crabtree and Plympton Road 

on a bank by the Tamerton Road, between the abandoned mine and 

Looseleigh toll-gate. 

R. miicronulatus, Bor. ; R. miicronatus, Blox. On hedgebanks 

between Roborough and LopweU, and on one by the Plymouth and 

Tavistock Road, between Down House and the George Hotel ; 

; 

by the 

side of the Plym Bridge Road, between Fancy and the cross lane that

38 STATIONS OF SOME PLYMOUTH UUBI. 

leads from Thornbury to Common Wood ; near Bickleigh. Mr. Eloxam 

has had specimens from all these localities, and says of them, " all, I 

think, miicronatus ;" ]Mr. Baker, referring to the same, " may do for 

macronatns, but they look to me a stage nearer villicaulis than 

Bloxam's original plant, and one exactly identical, which is common in 

Yorkshire." In a hedge at Ford, near Devonport. 

R. Bloxamii, Lees. By a roadside, near Marsh House, Crabtree 

also in a waste spot on the Saltram side of Laira bridge. 

R. rudis, Weihe. Apparently rare in the neighbourhood of Ply- 

mouth. In a hedge between Beer Ferris and Morwelham. A short 

time ago I sent specimens of this plant, labelled " rudis," to the Rev. 

A. Bloxam, and he agreed with me as to its being this ; but Mr. 

Baker says of it, " what you call rudis is about halfway between the 

true plant and Radnla in leaf and prickle. I have seen something 

very like it in Yorkshire." The leaves are certainly less dentate than 

those of rndis sometimes are, but the nearly equal aciculi, sctaj, and 

hairs of the barren stem seem to me quite characteristic. 

R. Radula, Weihe. The commonest plant of the Radnla set in the 

neighbourhood of Plym.outh. Above " The Combe," Egg Buckland ; 

in a hedge by the Plymouth and Tavistock road, close to the entrance 

gate of Down House; on a limestone rubble-heap at Pomphleet ; be- 

tween Plymouth and Saltash, about two miles from the former place 

on top of a hedgebank at Fuzzet Hill, Lipson, etc. 

R. KoeJileri, Weihe, inclusive of R. palUdus, Weihe. A variable 

plant, connnon in and about woods. On a bank below the wooded 

mound overlooking Plympton on the S.W. ; near Colebrook village, 

by the side of the hedge between the field path and the road leading 

towards Newnham Lodge ; in hedges by the Plymouth and Tavistock 

Eoad, between Fancy Lane and the entrance to Wombwell Farm ; in 

various waste spots at Common Wood ; in the lane between Bickleigh 

village and Combe Park Farm, etc. 

R.fusco-aler, Weilie. Plentiful by' a path leading from the "tramway" 

at Common Wood towards Bickleigh Vale. The Eev. A. 

Bloxam has pronounced this to be the above species, and Mr. Baker 

says of it 

*' good Babingtonian fasco-ater." A coarser plant, with 

stouter barren stem, and a mOre rigid racliis to its longer and less com- 

pact panicle, which is less uniformly hairy and setose than in the 

Common Wood fusco-ater, is quite a common bramble in open spots 

;

STATIONS OF SJME PLYMOUTH RUBI. 39 

noar woods, on liedgebanks, and by roadsides. I have noticed it at 

Crabtrec ; by the Plymouth and Yealmpton road, near Brixton, about 

four miles from Plymouth, close to where Bloxam's Salteri and macro- 

phyllus occur ; on a bank between Plymstock and Knighton ; in a 

lane at Newnham ; between Tamerton Foliott and Eoborougli, etc, 

I have specimens from all these localities in my lierbarium, and Mr. 

Eaker, referring to some from several of them, says that they are iden- 

tical with a plant that he has often gathered in the north of England, 

which is about intermediate between fnsco-ater, as figured in ' E.ubi 

Gerraanici,' and macrophyllus. Weak specimens of this often look 

nuich like pyramidalis, Bab. 

R. dlversifalius, Liudl. Local, having apparently a partiality for 

calcareous soils. In hedges by Puslinch Lane, near Kitley Lodge ; 

by the turnpike road between Yealmpton and Ermington, near Yealra 

Bridge ; in a waste spot, near a limestone quarry, on the left bank of 

the Yealm, just opposite the Kitley cavern. 

The white blossoms of this are large and handsome, and the light 

hue of its foliage is remarkable. 

Ji. pyramidalis, Bab. By the Plymouth and Dartmoor " tramway," 

near where it spans the Plym Bi idge Eoad, and in a wood beyond this 

spot, between Eumple Quarry and Common Wood ; in a bushy spot 

close to the elvan quarry on Derriford Estate, EggBuckland ; 

sparingly 

in hedges by the lane leading out on Crownhill Down, from Colebrook ; 

in a bushy lane between Newnham Park and Elfordleigh, and in a 

waste spot iu the same neighbourhood, near Loughton Mill ; in Bick- 

leigh Yale, near Common Wood ; in a lane between Bickleigh village 

and Combe Park Earm ; at Ham, near Plymouth, etc. The Rev. A. 

Bloxara, on receiving specimens from x)ne of the Plj'm localities and 

from Derriford, wrote, " pyrumklalis, Bab. I have seen this from only 

one locality before, Llanberis, N. Wales;" and Îr. Baker "excellent 

pyramidalis, I have seen the Llanberis plant growing there." This 

will, I think, prove to be a rather common woodland bramble in the 

neighbourhood of Plymouth. 

R. Guntheri, Weihe. A good deal of what Mr. Eloxam calls " very 

characteristic," and Mr. Baker, "excellent GuntJteri," grows by the 

path leading from the " tramway," across Common Wood, towards 

Bickleigh Vale, but it is not a common plant. A Rubus near this 

occurs on a hedgebank below Bircham Cottage, Egg Buckland.

40 STATIONS or SOME PL'S MOUTH KUBI. 

E.foUosiis, Weihe. In hedgerows by the Plymouth and Ivybridge 

road, near the Lyuham Inn, and in the lane leading from Ivybridge 

towards C

41 

NOTE ON PANICUM MANDSHURICU.U, Maxim. 


The grass which, under the name of Fanicum Willianmi, (Ami. Sc. 

Nat. 5me. ser, v. 250), I dedicated to my esteemed correspondent, Dr. 

S. Wells Williams, at present United States' charge d' affaires at Peking, 

proves, on comparison with a specimen gathered by M. Maxiniowicz 

himself on the river Schilka, to be identical with tlie typical Ibrm of 

the above-mentioned species, which I also possess from Jehol, from 

Pere David. Though I have long had from Dr. WLlliams the variety 

Pekinense, Maxim., which I had no difficulty in determining, it is so 

imlike the typical form in appearance, with its hirsute vaginse and 

short whorled panicle-branches, with crowded small spikelets, that I 

never even suspected their specific identity, nor should 1 probably have 

done so now, but for my recognition of that of the Schilka plant, with 

the smooth, long-panicled one from Peking and Jehol. In illustration 

of the extreme difficulty of deciding on affinity in this most intricate of 

«rrass-o:enera, I mav notice that M. Maximowicz, characterizing P. 

Mandshiiricum as very distinct, believed its nearest allies to be P. 

amarum, Ell., and some other North American species, whilst I was 

myself disposed to consider it akin to P. excurrens, Trin. My iVicud 

Dr. Thwaites, on the other hand, to whom I sent a specimen, wrote to 

me that it was " very closely allied to, if not a form of P. leptochloa, 

Nees." Though I do not doubt its claim to specific rank, I am equally 

satisfied that the judgment of Dr. Thwaites as to its relationship is 

more correct than that of either its accomplished discoverer or of my- 

self. 

NOTE ON THE CAPPARIS MAGNA, OF LOUUEIRO. 

By H. p. Hance, Ph.D., etc. 

In a small collection of plants made in the interior of the island of 

Haenan, in March last, by Mr. Kobert Swinhoe, and submitted by that 

gentleman for my examination, amongst which I may merition as re- 

markable the rare Harrisonia Bennettu, Benth. and Hook, fil.,* 

* I find in tliis plant the staminal scales quite entire, as figured by Bennett 

(PI. Jav. Rar. t. 42) ; not bifid, as described in the 'Genera Plantariun :' the 

flowei's have sometimes six petals and twelve stamens.

42 NOTE ON THESIUM DECUKRENS AND T. CHINENSE. 

( = Lasiolepis pancijnga, Bennett), liitherto recorded only from Java 

and the Pliilippines, there occurred one or two good specimens of the 

Capparis magna, of Loureiro, rightly referred by De Candolle to the 

genus Cralccva. It is evident, however, from the character assigned 

by Wight and Arnott to Hamilton's C. Nurvala, tliat this is the same 

plant. De Candollc's name of C. magna vms, published in 1824, in 

the first volume of the ' Prodromus,' and has therefore, I believe, two 

years' priority over that of Hamilton, given in the fifteenth volume of 

the ' Linnean Transactions,' which it must of course supersede. 

NOTE ON TIIESIUM DECURRENS, Bl, AND 

T. CHINENSE, Turcz. 

By H. r. Hance, Ph.D., etc. 

Professor Micpiel, in his 'Prolusio Plorre Japonicse ' (Ann. Mus. 

Lugd.-Bat. iii. 132), records both of the above species from Japan, 

referring to the former Maximowicz's Yokohama specimens, and to the 

latter those gathered by Oldham at Nagasaki, and distributed under 

n. rjB'J, and adding " Superiori omnino simile, sed perigonii pars libera 

brcvior, cjusque pars indivisa in flore lobos tcquans ; hi in fructu 

sistunt coronulam apice vix iuHexam brevem (breviorem quam in 

superiore), in illo dein partim involutam ; bracteolas (qure vero in su- 

periore etiam variabiles), multo breviorcs, nuce depresso-globosa breviores," 

Both of these plants are now before me; the first sent me 

from Yokohama by M. Maximowicz himself, and labelled " T. de- 

currens, Bl., ?^. lovgihracteatum, A. De Cand.," the latter from Kevv, 

with the above-mentioned number and Turczaninow's name with a ? 

prefixed. From a very careful comparison of these, I am quite satisfied 

that they are both in flower and fruit in every respect identical, and 

tliat no dependence can be placed on the characters on which Miquel 

relies for their distinction, which in fact do not hold good in my speci- 

mens. And not only so, but they are both undistinguishable from a very 

fine specimen gathered in sandy places around Jehol, for which I ara 

indebted to Father Armand David, and which is unquestionably refer- 

able to Turczaninow's species. Nor do I see any characters to sepa- 

rate a plant sent me from Tara-suy in the island of Formosa, by the

THE LEAF-FIBRE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 43 

late Mr. Oklliam, though the perigone-lobes in the only ripe fruit 

seem somewhat deeper cut and more involute ; but in all I possess, 

while the bracts are very long, the relative length of the bracteoles is 

subject to considerable variation, even on the same specimens. In 

none that I have examined, however, can I find a quinquefid perigone, 

the lower free portion in all cases equalling, or nearly so the lobes. 

And if the ditferences in this respect relied on by Miquel are incon- 

stant, and there seems little or nothing else in the diagnosis of Alph. 

De CandoUe to distinguish the two species, though he makes the 

depth of division of perigone-lobes a sub-paragrapliie character, it may 

be open to question whether they should not be united. If the plant 

taken by Miqiiel for T. decnrrens, be really identical with that of A. 

De Candolle, I cannot doubt that such must be done. 

OX THE ECONOMICAL VALUE AND APPLICATIONS OF 

THE LEAF-EIBRE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX (^PHOR- 

MIUM TENAX, Fursi.). 

By W. Lauder Lindsay, M.D., F.Il.S.E., F.L.S., etc. 

{Concludedfrom p. 31.) 

Some years ago, at a time when there was considerable agitation in 

Britain, on the subject of scarcity and dearness of paper in the 

European market, and when the ' Times ' had offered a premium of 

£1000 to any enterprising experimentalist, who should introduce a 

new marketable material,— a successful competitor (especially as re- 

gards price) to rags, I was led to study the subject of " substitutes for 

paper material." My inquiries brought me into correspondence with 

Charles Cowan, M.P., of Valleyfield Paper Mills, and Robert Craig, 

of Newbattle Paper Mills, both near Edinburgh ; E. M. Cameron, 

editor of the ' Paper Trade Review;' Thomas Routledge, of the Ford 

Paper Works, near Sunderland,—the introducer of " esparto ;"* P. 

L. Simmonds, author of works on ' Waste Products,' and the ' Com- 

mercial Products of the Vegetable Kingdom ; 

' the late Professor 

* Mr. Routledge writes me (March, 1866), that liis sales of "esparto," 

during the preceding year, liad been over 30,000 tons. No other material is 

used in the Ford Works, and it is now also largely used by almost every paper 

manufacturer in Scotland.


Henslow, of Cambridge ; Dr. Hooker, of Kew ; M. C. Cooke, of the 

India Museum, and other eminent authorities on paper manufacture, 

or paper material. Among other results I was somewhat surprised to 

find that the amount of non-utilized material, quite equal in value, I 

believe, to New Zealand flax as paper stufi", is enormous. Fibres suit- 

able for paper-making, as well as for the manufacture of cordage and 

textile fabrics, abound in all parts of the world, that are characterized 

to any extent by higher vegetation, especially in all tropical, warm, or 

temperate climates. Many of the British Colonies are hence most 

prolific, especially the East and West Indies, Mauritius, and Natal. 

All these colonies, however, have this advantage over New Zealand, 

that labour is abundant and cheap,—that of negroes, coolies, Kaflirs,* 

or other natives of the tropics, being largely available in all of them. 

These colonies are, besides, nearer England, and they have many 

other advantages over a distant young colony. From all which it fol- 

lows, that there is little likelihood, I fear, of New Zealand flax com- 

peting with other fibres as a paper material, unless in the local market. 

Olher Economical Applications of the Fibre.—In the New Zealand 

Exhibition of 1865 there was shown a complete series of flax-made 

fabrics from the coarsest to the finest, including railway cloths, sail 

cloth, canvas, duck, twill for cavalry trousers, and cambric; but such 

specimens have a very limited value ; they show what can be made of 

New Zealand flax, under certain exceptionable circumstances, but they 

do not exhibit the cost of production. In point of fact, such speci- 

mens can only be regarded as " fancy " articles " got up " for exhibi- 

tion,—mere curiosities of local ingenuity and industry. They have been, 

for the most part, manufactured with great care from fibre dressed 

with great laljour and at great cost. Articles similar to the samples 

could not be produced at prices nearly equal to those of jute or hemp. 

Eriant regards New Zealand flax as suitable for coarse bagging, corn- 

sacks, wool-sheets and bands, hop-bags, and similar articles, which, 

liowever, in this country a^ least, can be made infinitely more cheaply 

from jute, even though the latter is itself at present somewhat dear. 

The " tow," or refuse flax, from cordage-making (in the form of an 

avvled fibre like "corn") has been found suitable for stuffing mat- 

* In the soiiili island of iNevv Zcalaufl there are very few natives, about 

2200, ill Olago only 500, and in the north, where there are still 53,000, their 

laboui' ia much more valuable tliau that of negroes or coolies.

THE LEAF-FIBKE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 45 

tresses, sofas, and cliairs ; and for tliis purpose it has been largely used 

in the North, and is also coming into use in the South Island. It has 

been found to preserve its elasticity for ten years. The fibre, or " pre- 

pared leaf," is used by the Otago settlers for caulking canoes and 

boats (copies). In the North Island especially', the fibre is still, to a 

considerable extent, manufactured by the natives into rugs, floor-mats, 

cloaks, and other articles of dress, or house furnishings, which are 

used equally by settlers and Maoris. 

Properties and applicationa of other products and parts of the New 

Zealand Flax plants.— The ioregoing do not by any means represent 

all the economical applications of this most useful plant. Indeed, in 

pre-colonization times especially, it was to the Maoris what the Cocoa- 

Nut Palm is to the'Singalese and Pacific Islanders, the Bamboo to the 

Chinese, or the Thuja gigantea to the Indians of British Columbia 

and Vancouver. 

The green leaf, torn into strips of varying size, subserves an infinity 

of uses, in lieu of cordage especially. 

The shafts of the gold mines in some of the Otago diggings are 

built by a method " as instructive as it is novel, consisting of a frame- 

work or skeleton lining of timber, interlaced or plaited vertically and 

horizontally with New Ze-iiand Flax."* The timber used is the small 

or " scrub " timber, in many jilaces comparatively abundant, and hence 

inexpensive. Tlie flax leaf not only binds together the timber sup- 

ports, but prevents the loose or " detached stuff" from falling on the 

miners while at work. With thongs of the same kind, in pre-coloni- 

zation times, the Maoris lashed together the framework of their wlieves 

and the palisades of their pahs. The settlers of the present day use 

strips of the leaf—of various breadth, according to the strength de- 

sired—in lieu of all fornis of thong and cordage, straps, or other 

fastenings, e.g. as stock-whips, ropes, straps for conveying loads on the 

back, after the fashion of knapsacks (these flax-straps being knoAvn to 

the Maoris as " kehaki," or " kawe"). The drayman, or stockman, 

as he goes along, improvises the .strong pliant fibre of the green leaf 

into a variety of useful articles ; and I have myself, in the form of 

flax-straps and in other shapes, repeatedly experienced its utility. 

The Maoris make baskets, or " kits," of the split leaves, dyeing them 

with "hirau " or "inau" bark {El(Socarpus dentatus, Vahl). These 

* Tincent Pjke : Gold Fields' Report for 1863.

46 THE LEAF-FIBUE OF NEW ZEALAND FLAX. 

native-made ])askets arc in great demand among tlie settlers. About 

Auckland I saw them constantly In use for the conveyance of fruit and 

vegetables, especially of the peaches,* which are there so common in 

Maori cultivations. The generic name of the New Zealand. Flax 

plant— " Phormium "—is said to be derived from this economical 

application of its leaf, viz. (ôp/xos, a wicker basket, but the same term 

signifies also a mat, and a seaman's cloak made ,of coarse plaited stuff 

so that, as regards the economical applications of the plant products, the 

generic name seems to have been appropriately chosen. 

Tbe dried ilowering stem is not only largely used both by settlers 

and Maoris for walking-sticks (I have so used it myself), but 

it was at one time commonly used by the Maoris in tlie construction 

of rafts,—known to the South Island native as " mDkihi"t (Haast), 

especially in localities where large forest- timber for canoe construction 

was absent. In the Chatham Islands, where there is now no such 

timber, flax-stems are still so used, lashed together by thongs of llax- 

Icaf or l)y " bush-ropes " % of some kind. Rafts, or canoes, or 

" catamarans," are still octjasionally improvised by travellers or ex- 

plorers in primitive parts of New Zealand, e. g. by Haast, who reports 

constructing " catamarans " of dead trees when flax-sticks were not 

obtainable. The same dried flowering stems are still employed by the 

Otago Maoris in the construction of eel-pots (" punga ") for snaring 

eels in the larger rivers. I remember accompanying my friend Mr. 

Shaw, of Finegand, to a Maori village on the lower Chithe, for the 

purpose of giving an order for the construction of a couple of eel-pots. 

The wooden war-clubs of the Maoris were occasionally ornamented 

with dyed flax. The essential feature of the "taupe" mat was flax 

strips, dyed, but not otherwise prepared ; it was held in great estima- 

tion as being quite impervious to rain. • 

A gummy or gluey matter pervades the plant,—most abinulunt, 

however, at certain times and in certain parts. It exudes naturally 

from the cut leaves, and is\also artificially separable. The settlers de- 

* Ripe in February, 18G2 ; the usual substitute there for apples in tarts and 

stews, 

t Williams defines " moki" (or " mokihi," East Cape dialect), as a "canoe 

made of 'flags' or 'rushes' ;" so that other materials tlian flax-sticks (tliough 

their exact character docs not here appear) are sometimes apparently also used 

in their construction. 

\ Climbers or creepers on forest trees ; species of Rhizoffontim, Parsonsia, 

Riilus, rieyianlhu-1, Me/roxideros, Clematis. 

— ;

THE LEAF-FIBRE OF NEV.' ZEALAND FLAX. 47 

scribe it as secreted by the base of the leaf (or leaf-sheatli), and it was 

certainly there that I found it myself in any quantity. The gum in 

question resembles gum arable in some of its properties, and as a 

substitute, therefore, it is used by the settlers. 

It becomes invested with a high degree of interest in connection 

with the preparation of the ilax fibre ; for to it all testimony has 

hitherto concurred in ascribing the main difficulty in the separation 

and utilization of the latter. This gum also bears the reputation, in 

some parts of the colony, of being poisonous to cattle.* Were the 

New Zealand Flax plant extensively cultivated for the sake of its fibre, 

it is probable this gum might be separated and utilized. 

The flowers secrete a watery honey, a familiar dainty of the settlers 

of all ages, of some of which I have frequently partaken while wading 

in the llax-jungles of Otago. On the first evolution of the flower, the 

large tubular perianth is found full to the brim of a clear, sweet fluid ; 

at the same time the anthers are most copiously discharging their 

pollen,—so that the faces of the juveniles or adults who drain the 

flower-cups by direct application of their lips, generally bear the marks 

of that procedure in the yellow pollen-dust which adheres to their 

eyebrows, or besmears their faces. The plant contains 1 to 1 j 

per cent, of Grape sugar, as well as a pure intense bitter princii)lc ; 

and these, when a strong infusion is subjected to fermentation (addi- 

tional sugar being supplied) with yeast, yield a kind of bitter beer 

(Skey).t The bitter principle, the same chemist further suggests, 

might be used as a substitute for hops in communicating a bitter fla- 

vour to ordinary beer. J 

The root is said to be purgative, diuretic, sudorific, expectorant, and 

to possess the properties of sarsaparilla (Buchanan). So lately as 

December, 1862, I find it recorded in the ' Tarawaki Herald,' that for 

a virulent epidemic of smallpox at Kawliia on the west coast of 

Auckland, and Mokan in Taranaki, the native doctors were using with 

success an ointment made by boiling the root-ends of flax leaves to a 

pulp. The seeds, also, are said to have been used medicinally by the 

natives. 

* Tîde my paper on "The Toot Plant and Poison of 'New Zealand," Brit, 

and For. Medioo-Chirurg. Review, July, 1865, p. 176. 

t Jurors' Reports of the New Zealand Exhibition of 1SG5, p. 433. 

X Ibid.

48 

NEW BRITISH LICHENS. 

By the Rev. James Cro.mbie, M.A., F.G.S. 

No. I. 

Amongst many rare and previously undetected British Lichens met 

with in the course of my botanical rambles, during the last three years, 

the following neio species have rewarded my researches. They have, 

with one exception, been named by Dr. Nylander, of Paris, and have 

been duly recorded by him in the ' Elora ' for 1868. As several of 

them are from well-known localities, such as Ben Lawers and the New 

Forest, which have been repeatedly searched by some of our ablest 

Lichenologists, it is evident that Great Britain is still far from being 

exhausted, and that many hitherto undescribed species will be detected 

on further investigation. 

1. PyrenopHis Jwmceopds, Nyl. ; thallus brown, thin, effuse, sub- 

granulose ; apothecia concolorous, lecaiioriue, small epitheciura colour- 

less, paraphyses slender; spores 0011-18 mm. broad, O'007-IO ram. 

thick ; hymeneal gelatine reddish vviue-coloured or yellowish wine- 

coloured with iodine. 

On micaceous boulders above Loch-na-Cat on Ben Lawers. August, 

1867. Apparently very rare, and seen by us only in small quantity. 

It is allied to P. grumnliftra, Nyl., a Scandinavian species, from 

which it is sufficiently distinguished by the above characteristics. 

2. Lecidea suhturyidula, Nyl. ; thallus greenish-white, very thin, 

effuse ; 

apothecia more or less livid, opaque, convex, small, imraarginate, 

hypothecium brownish ; spores 8 in thecal, colourless, oblong, simple 

or slightly 1-3-septate, 0'008-14 mm. long, 0-003-4 mm. thick, pa- 

raphyses not discrete, epithecium yellowish-wliite ; hymeneal gelatine 

blue, and then yellowish with iodine. 

On the decaying wood of an old decorticated Holly in the New Forest, 

near Lynd hurst Railway Hotel. May, 1868. Very rare, and found 

sparingly only on a single tree, notwithstanding a somewhat extended 

search. Its systematic place is near to L. apochroeella, N\l., a species 

not yet detected in Britain. 

3. X. mfudida, Nyl. ; thallus greyish, thin, depressed, subgranulate 

or evanescent ; apothecia black, minute, plane or convex, numerous 

and crowded, usually imniargin;ite, colourless within; spores 8 in

NETV BRITISH LICHENS. 49 

thecfe, colourless, elliptical, simple, 0'007-8 mm. loug, 00025-35 mm. 

thick, parapliyses not discrete, epitheciura colourless or obscure, liypo- 

thecium obscurely brown throughout ; hymeneal gelatine wine-red 

with iodine. 

On old rails in the New Porest, near Lyndhurst, on the road to 

Menstrie. September, 1866. Abundant, and likely to occur else- 

where in that neighbourhood. It is allied to L. wyriocarpcAdes, Nyl., 

and approaches also to L. dhpanm, Nyl., and L. turgidula, Fries. 

4. L. leptostigmo, Nyl. ; thallus (if proper) dirty^ white, rimulose ; 

apothecia brownish-black, innate, small, gregarious ; 

spores 8 in thecse, 

globose or ellipsoid, uniseriate, 0"005-9 mm. in diameter, parapliyses 

of medium thickness, hypothecium scarcely yellowish ; hymeneal gela- 

tine not colouied with iodine. 

On a micaceous weathered boulder, near Loch-na-Cat, on Ben 

Lawers. August, 1867. Apparently extremely rare, and gathered 

only very sparingly. It is allied to L. resinix, Fries, and L. tantilla, 

Nyl. ; all three British species being with difficulty separated from 

the Fungi. 

5. L. mesotropa, Nyl. in Flora, 1867, p. 328 ; thallus greyish, verru- 

coso-areolate, indeterminate, of medium thickness ; apothecia brownish- 

black or black, opaque, somewhat plane, adnate, the margin obtuse or 

evanescent, white within; spores 8 in thecje, ellipsoid, 0'009-13 nun. 

long, 0'005-6 mm. thick ; paraphyses slender, usually not discrete, 

apothecium brownish, hypothecium colourless ; hymeneal gelatine blue 

with iodine. 

On a gneissic boulder on the descent from Ben Lom,ond to Loch 

Ard. August, 1865. Probably not unfrequent in Highland dis- 

tricts, though not found by me since. It belongs to L. contigua. Fries, 

and its allies, with which, unless the spores are examined, it may 

readily be confounded. 

6. L. Crombiei, Jones ; thallus greenish sulphur-coloured, of me- 

dium thickness, unequal, rimoso-diffractate or subareolate, limited by 

the black hypothallus, which is everywhere visible between the areolae ; 

apothecia black, of medium size, innate, somewhat convex, imraargi- 

nate, obscurely gi'cyish within ; spores 8 in thecfe, colourless, elliptical, 

0-010-12 mm. long, 006-7 ram. thick, apothecium bluish-black, pa- 

raphyses not well discrete, hypothecium colourless or faintly reddish 

hvmeneal gelatine blue with iodine. 

VOL. VII. [FEBRUARY 1, ISfiS.] E 

;

50 NEW BRITISH LICHENS. 

Oa serpentine rocks of the Klioil, in Braemar. July, 1865. This 

species was first distinguished as such by the late Admiral Jones, 

was subsequently gathered by Mr. Can-oil, on Mangerton, in Ireland, 

and last autumn was again found by me in pretty fair quantity on the 

Khoil, and also sparingly on schistose boulders in Glen Callater. Its 

systematic place is intermediate between the preceding and L.theiodea, 

Sommerf., which may also occur in the Grampians, 

7. L. postuvia,'^\\.; thallus greyish, thin, evanescent; apothecia 

black, minute, plane, margined, concolorous within ; spores 6-8 in 

thecae colourless or brownish, elliptical-oblong, 3-septate, 0-015-16 

mm. long, 0-006-7 mm. thick, epithecium and hypothecium brownish; 

hymeneal gelatine deep blue with iodine. 

On calcareous stones, in gravelly places near the summit of Mor- 

rone, in Braemar. July, 1865. Probably not very rare, though but 

a single specimen was then gathered. It approaches very closely to 

L. 'petrfBa, Plot., of which it perhaps ranks only as a subspecies. 

8. Rlmularia limborina, Nyl. ; thallus greyish, thin, rimulose or 

subareolate ; apothecia black or brownish-black, rugulose, somewhat 

depresso-convex, roundish, depressed in the centre and radiatcly 

fissured, greyish within ; 

spores 8 in thecae, colourless, at length brown- 

ish, elliptical, simple, 0-018-25 mm. long, 0-011-16 mm. thick, 

paraphyses slender, irregular and often branched, perithecium black 

above, brownish-black below ; hymeneal gelatine tawny-red with 

iodine. 

On weathered calcareous stones on Craig Guie, Braemar. August, 

1865. This new genus and species is described by Nylander from a 

specimen gathered, about the same time as my own, by Ripart in 

Haute Yienne. It is allied to the genus Mycoporus, and along with it 

may be considered as constituting a separate tribe, which Nylander 

proposes to call Peridld. Further research may discover this lichen 

elsewhere in mountainous regions. 

Besides these I hav^N also met with the following new forms of 

other Lichens, viz. : 

— 

1. Parinella launta, var. subciliala, Nyl., " with the thalline lacinise 

and apothecia ciliated at margins."—On limestone rocks of Morrone, 

in Braemar, rare. 2. Lecanora varia, var. symmicta, f. livescens, Nyl., 

with small livid apothecia. 

— 

Oq old trunks of trees, at High Beech, 

Epping Forest, sparingly. 3. Ferrucarla c'merella, var. megaspora,

JAMES BACKHOUSE. 51 

Nyl., " with spores 0-023-36 mm. long, 0-009-13 mm. thick."— On 

bark of Hollies in New Forest, perhaps not unfrequent. 

JAMES BACKHOUSE. 

'We have, this month, to mourn the loss of one of our veteran 

]?ritish botanists, a keen field-observer at home during nearly sixty 

years, aud one of the pioneers in the exploration of our southern 

colouies,—Mr. James Backhouse, of York, who died at his residence, 

Holgate House, in the suburbs of that city, on the 20th of January, at 

the age of seventy-four. 

He belonged to a family well known in Durham and the neighbour- 

ing counties, during several generations, as members of the Society of 

Friends, and for the prominent part they have taken in promoting 

the commercial prosperity of that now thriving district, three of the 

centres of Avhich are amongst the newly enfranchised parliamentary 

boroughs,—the one to which Mr. Backhouse belonged, Darlington, 

having returned a member of his family as its first representative. 

Under the encouragement of his relative, Edward Roljson, known as a 

correspondent of Sir J. E. Smith, he and his brothers learned, when 

very young, to take an interest in the plants of their neighbourhood, 

aud formed a herbarium. He was apprenticed to a chemist and 

druggist in Darlington, but a severe cold, caught whilst distilling 

Mint, developed into pulmonary consumption, and for some time his 

life was despaired of, but by complete cessation from work, change of 

air, and a lengthened stay with a relative in a healthy country district, 

this was fortunately arrested. Left too delicate to follow any sedentary 

occupation, his love of botany led him to gardening, and he went to 

learn his business at Norwich, and stayed there a year or two. Here 

he made the acquaintance of Sir William Hooker, and sometimes 

shared his botanical rambles, as on au occasion of which we have 

heard him tell when they went to seek Hippopliae, near Cromer, and 

forgot to take any sandwiches, and had great difficulty in getting any- 

thing to eat and drink. 

Between 1820 and 1830 he married, and began business at York 

as a nurseryman, in partnership with one of his brothers, and he considered 

the old cathedral city as his home for the rest of his life. He 

gradually began to take an active part as a volunteer minister in the

52 JAMES BACKHOUSE. 

religious body to which he belonged, often travelling irom home fo 

religions work, at first principally through the thinly-po[)ulated agri- 

cultural parts of Yorkshire and the neighbouring counties. In 1831, 

he undertook an extensive missionary tour, in company with a com- 

panion, which occupied him altogether more than ten years. First 

they visited Australia, where they remained seven years. The scope 

of their journey, as he explains in his published account of it, was pri- 

marily to preach everywhere where there vvas an opportunity amongst 

the colonists aiul convicts ; 

to visit the penal settlements, gaols, schools, 

and other public institutions, to see in what state tliey were, and what 

improvements they needed, to do all that lay in their power to ad- 

vocate a humane treatment of the residue of the aborigines, and to 

promote the spread of teetotalism. The greater part of the seven 

years they spent in Tasmania and New South Wales, and then they 

visited Western Australia and Mauri titis, and sailed for the Cape Colony, 

where they remained for three years, in the course of which they visited 

all the towns, and the villages and missionary stations in the interior, 

as far as Naraaqua Land and the Orange Kiver, travelling upwards of 

six thousand miles in wagons and on horseback. It would be alto- 

gether beyond our scope here to enter en any details of the way in 

which the travellers fulfilled the objects of their mission. Three large 

octavo volumes, amounting in aggregate to not less than two thousand 

pages, contain a complete account of what they saw and did, and what 

they attempted to do, — one devoted to Australia, the other to the Cape 

Colony, and tiie third to a biography of his companion in travel, which 

Mr. Backhouse wrote after the death of the latter, not many years 

ago. Suffice it to say, that with regard to penal discipline they gave 

their warm adhesion to the plans for its amelioration with which the 

names of Captain Maconochie and Sir Jolin Franklin (who was then 

governor of Van Diemen's Land) are connected, and that a temperance 

society in Tasmania and a school for poor children, which they origi- 

nated in Cape Town, stilly after the lapse of nearly thirty years, remain 

in active operation, the latter supported by funds sent out annually 

from England. Of what ]Mr. Backhouse did for botany during his 

expedition, we cannot give a better idea than by a quotation from the 

introductory essay to Dr. Hooker's ' Flora Tasmanica,' and may adduce 

also the testimony of the gentleman to whose labours in the field that 

magnificent work was more than to those of any one else indebted.

JAMES BACKHOUSE, 53 

Dr. Hooker writes as follows in his history of the exploration of tlie 

island:— "Mr. James Backhouse visited Australia in 1832, and spent 

there six years. The journey was undertaken, as his narrative informs 

us, ' solely for the purpose of discharging a religious duty,' but owing 

to his knowledge of botany, his connection with a fine horticultural 

establishment (The Nursery, York), and his love of observing and col- 

lecting, the results of his journey have proved extremely valuable, in 

a scientific point of view, and added much to our familiarity with 

Australian vegetation. Mr. Backhouse first landed at Hobarton, and 

then, and on two future occasions, visited numerous parts of Tasmania, 

on the Derwent and Clyde, Macquarie Harbour, Port Arthur, Spring 

Bay, various stations on the north coast, and in the mountainous interior. 

He also twice visited New South "Wales, and made excursions to the 

Blue Mountains, Bathurst, Moreton Bay, Newcastle, Maitland, Port 

Macquarie, lllawarra, and Goulburn j and afterwards went to Port 

Phillip, Adelaide,îng George's Sound, and Swan River. The journals 

of these various extensive journeys are extremely good, and though 

specially devoted to philanthropic objects, they omit no observations 

on natural history, and especially on botany, that their talented author 

considered might be worthy of such a record. Mr. Backhouse formed 

a considerable herbarium, and made copious manuscript notes (now in 

the Hookerian library) which he liberally gave where he thought they 

would be most useful."—Introductory Essay, ' Flora Tasmauica,' p. 

cxxv-vi. 

The following is a memorandum attached to a specimen of Blaiid- 

fordia grandijlora , 

gathered by Mr. Gunn, now in the Hookerian her- 

barium :— " Very abundant at Eocky Cape, Avhere I collected it in full 

flower, December 16, 1836, and in fruit in February and 1st of March, 

1S37. Soil very poor, quartz sand, but it appears to like moisture to 

a moderate degree. I had hoped, and, indeed, do still, that this may 

be found difl'erent to the B. nobilis, and that you will confer the name 

of our friend James Backhouse on it. It could not bear a worthier. 

It is also intimately connected with my first acquaintance with that 

truly good and amiable man. In January, 1883, I first met Mr. 

Backhouse and his worthy companion and fellow-labourer, George W. 

Walker, at a farm of my brother's, about thirty-five miles west from 

Launceston. They were then on their way from the Hampshire and 

Surrey hills, with one horse between them, and asked me how far it


was to Westbury, where they pin-posed remaining for the niglit. In 

the course of a short conversation, 1 mentioned who I was, and that I 

was in searcli of a s];)lendid liliaceous crimson flower, wliich had been 

described to me, and which I had not seen, Mr. Backhouse at once 

told me that it was the BlmuJfordia, and that he had found it abun- 

dantly on llocky Cape, and also at Port Darcy. It at once led to a 

botanical conversation, and from that period till the present a warm 

friendship has existed between us. The little knowledge I possess I 

may say I derived solely from Mr. Backhouse, whose assistance I can- 

not sufficiently acknowledge. He added largely to my collections, as 

my specimens to you show, and his knowledge of the botany of this 

region sui-passes by far that of all others, except, perhaps, the great 

Brown, for whom I have a profound veneration. I sincerely hope that 

one who has done so much, and who may indeed receive the praise for 

the little I have done, will not long be left without having his name 

given to some genus in this land, and it ought to be^ genus of no in- 

significant character, one of the princes of the forest, like 178 (if not a 

Faffus), or some of the coniferous trees I found on the western moun- 

tains. His botanical knowledge is, however, one of the least remark- 

able traits in his character. His general goodness and amiability will 

long endear him to every inhabitant of these colonies, connected as he 

was with everything good, devoting his time to the cause of Christianity 

and temperance. I can only as one say that many of his words have 

sunk deep in my heart, and that I shall always cherish his name with 

the fondest recollection." 

The genus selected by Sir Wra. Hooker to bear Mr. Backhouse's 

name was a fine Myrtaceous shrub, with curious conspicuous petal-like 

calyx-segments, gathered by hiiuself in New South Wales, which is oc- 

casionally but not frequently grown in greenhouses. Professor Har- 

vey (who, at the time of his visit to the Cape Colony, filled the office of 

treasurer to the colony) desired to join in standing sponsor for the 

name, and Backhousia wa§ duly characterized, and figured at tab. 4133 

of the ' Botanical Magazine ;' up to the present time, three species 

have been discovered. 

Mr. Backhouse returned to J'^ngland in 1841, and his companion 

went back to Van Diemen's Land, and settled there till his death. 

During the twenty-seven years that intervened between his return from 

the Cape and his death, a large proportion of his time was spent in


religious work and travel, but his journeys never extended beyond 

Norway, where there is a consideral)le body of Friends, principally 

amongst the farmers and fishermen along the coast, whom he visited 

three times, and in whose welfare he took a warm interest. He lived 

at York, at first in the centre of the city ; but afterwards, when the 

business firm, of which, through the death of his brother, he became 

the senior partner, purchased more extensive grounds on the south- 

west side of the city, he removed to the village of Holgate, in the im- 

mediate vicinity of their nurseries, and occupied there for many years 

the house that formerly belonged to Lindley Murray, the grammarian. 

At Holgate he and his son laid out upwards of a hundred acres of 

ground in such a way that theu* garden is one of the regular recog- 

nized attractions of York. They were amongst the first to build a 

large glazed fernhouse, in which the exotic species could be grown in 

the crevices of rock, and streams of water introduced. Latterly, they 

have paid special attention to the cultivation and importation of Hy- 

menophyllaceae, and have introduced a great many new species, and 

planned a special house for this beautiful tribe, ingeniously constructed 

like a natural cavern, glazed over the top, with graduated temperatures 

to accommodate the inhabitants of dift'erent latitudes. But their spe- 

cial forte has always been rockwork gardening and the culture of 

alpine plants, and we believe that their collection in this department 

has long been the finest in the country. 

Mr. Backhouse was, in botany, entirely what we understand as a 

field, in contradistinction to a closet, botanist ; and so far as we can 

remember, he never published a technical description of a genus or a 

species in his life. His special delight was in alpine plants. There 

is probably no one amongst British botanists who has explored more 

thoroughly the mountainous tracts of our own islands,—from Sutherland 

southwanl to Derbyshire and Snowdon, from the Whitby and Scarbo- 

rough moors westward to Counemara,— than he and his son. For 

several years they interested themselves particularly in the genus 

Hieracium, which was very badly understood in England till they took 

it up,—collecting all the forms they encountered, and taking thera 

home to cultivate; and Mr. James Backhouse, jun., duly published the 

result of their joint investigations in his ' Monograph of the British 

Hieracia,' which has been substantially adopted both by Babington 

and Syme. Upper Teesdale, which is easy of access from York, and


where we liave probably a greater number of interesting alpine plants, 

including Ilieracia, gathered together within a small space than any- 

where else in Britain, was his favourite district for a holiday ; and lie 

was the discoverer, or one of the discoverers, of almost all the interest- 

ing plants that have been found there of late years,— as, for instance, 

Arenaria uli/jinosa, Polygaln idlglnosn, and Viola arenaria, all three of 

which were additions to the British flora. 

In person, Mr. Backhouse was below the average stature, and his 

long flowing grey beard, worn since the date of his travels, made him a 

man upon whom the eye hxed in a crowd. We are told that it was 

only by practice that he became fluent as a speaker, but that was before 

the time of our own knowledge of him. The great characteristics of 

his public addresses were earnestness and simplicity. He possessed a 

wonderful command of detail, and power of elucidating his ideas by 

apt illustrations and reminiscences ; always clear, always practical, 

never aiming at ornament of style or soaring aloft to transcendental 

heights, or losing sight of the plain facts of life ; in doctrinal theo- 

ries as ready to maintain his own opinions as to respect the sincere 

convictions of others ; skilful, when controversy became unprofitable, 

with his pithy common-sense and ready illustrative faculty to pour oil 

upon the troubled waters. In private life he always seemed equally at 

home with old and young, and with people of all grades of education 

and conditions of station; free, as few are free, from taint of dogma- 

tism or worldlincss or perversity orhnstiness of temper, his unaffected 

sociability and geniality, and wide range of knowledge and sympathy, 

made his presence welcome wherever he caine. 

The following anecdote of a botanical excursion, in which the present 

writer was his only conipanion, is eminently characteristic. We 

went to stay for a few days at a little village in tlie centre of a tract of 

rocky hills which had never been searclied botanically,—a hamlet of 

some two or three hundred inhabitants, so isolated that the post only 

came there twice a we^ ; and when a plot of strawberries were 

planted there a few years before our visit, threc-fuurf lis of the inhabi- 

tants were (piite ignorant of what the fruit was like. The landed 

proprietor was non-resident, and we found that the mines on which 

•the inhabitants principally depended had been very unproductive for 

several years. The only ])lace of worship was an Independent chapel, 

with the minister of which the religious and mental culture of the


population seemed to rest. Out of veiy scanty resources he had built 

a chapel and a school-house, and now he wished to establish a reading- 

room for the grown-up young men. We had an introduction to this 

minister, and called upon him the evening after our arrival, and talked 

about the village and its condition, and took his advice (and very 

good advice we found it) as to the best botanizing ground in the 

neighbourhood. After expressing his sympathy with him at parting, 

my companion said, " I hope thou wilt write and tell me how the 

reading-room goes on." That was all I knew at the time ; but after a 

few years this minister died and his biography was published, and I 

read in his address at the opening of the reading-room the sequel of 

our conversation,—how that out of £118 which the room had cost, 

Mr. Backhouse had gathered and sent £45. 

He kept his activity of body and mind scarcely impaired till past 70 ; 

but, after this, attacks of intermittent angina pectoris obliged him to 

restrict his jouueys, and incapacitated him from mountain-climbing. 

The last time we called upon him, about a year ago, though we found 

him very feeble in body, he was able to go with us round his garden, 

and was as interested and enthusiastic as of old in showing us his acquisitions, 

and was reading the Duke of Argyll's ' Eeign of Law 

with warm approbation, and writing out for a journal the notes which 

it suggested. Since, just after his return from the Cape, he at our first 

meeting laid his hand upon the head of the writer of this notice, then 

a little boy at school, with " ^lind and get up to the top of the class 

the finest apples always grow high up on the tree ;" and a few years later 

encouraged him in botany at a time when he had no one else to encou- 

rage him, and gave him the first set of Highland plants which he pos- 

sessed,—we have had the privilege of a continuous acquaintance with, 

him ; have stayed at his house, and received him as a guest at our 

own ; have been lost with him in mountain mists, and stranded with 

him in the parlours of little country inns in pouring rain ; have had 

his sympathy in times of rejoicing and misfortune ; have heard him 

rivet the attention of crowded meetings in London by his words of 

earnest patriarchal authority, and rivet no less the attention of a room- 

ful of rough uneducated Yorkshire men and women by his pithy anec- 

dotes, with teetotalism as the moral of the story, and his shrewd 

straightforward common-sense. And we bear our testimonv, now that 

he is gone, to his thoroughness and his consistency in all these so varied 

VOL. VII. [FEBRUARY 1, 1868.] F 

; '

58 

' >iEW PUBLICATIOKS. 

spheres of life and labour,—a man who, through the years of a long 

life, devoted his best energies, with unflagging persistence, to the highest 

objects, whom none knew but to love, and none named but to praise. 

NEW PUBLICATIONS. 

J. G. B. 

Flora of Devon and Cornwall. By J. "\V. N. Keys. Part 2 : 1867. 

Part 3 : 1868. 

In our fourth volume, pp. 381-383, we noticed the first part of 

this Plora, which contained the Orders RanunculacecB to Geraniacets ; 

in the present parts the enumeration is continued to the end of the 

CoiiipositcB. 

Several suggestions made in the above-mentioned review have been 

adopted by the author, and the two parts now under notice are in 

many respects considerable improvements on their predecessors. Many 

more local works are quoted, and the list of contributors is much in- 

creased ; the arrangement of the localities has been altered for the 

better, and more care is taken in quoting authorities, though there is 

still room for improvement in this respect. 

About 375 species are enumerated in these two parts, Babingtou's 

' Manual ' being the standard employed ; there are, however, several 

doubtful natives, and probable errors of observation, included in this 

number. 

A search through the ante-Linnsean authors would probably add a 

few more species to the Flora ; e.g. dL Cornwall locality for Diotis riiari- 

iima is given by Eay in the first edition of his Catalogus Plant. 

Auglia?, p. 136. 

We hope Mr. Keys will be able to finish his work ; would it not be 

better to page continuously, instead of beginning a fi'esh paging ^vith 

new parts as is done in Part 3 ? 

Enliten Projlit pa Namnforbhtring . By 

1867. 

S. 0. Lindberg. Helsingfors : 

In this contribution to correct nomenclature its author does that 

justice to S. F. Gray, author of the ' Natural Arrangement of British 

Plants,' for one genus of Hepuiicce, which had already been done in

MEMOKANDA. 59 

our pages (Vol. III. p. 297) by Mr. Carruthers for all the genera of 

that tribe. Iii his iuvestigatious, Dr. Lindberg discovered that Bhjttia 

of Endlicher was identical with Gray's older genus Pallavacinia, and 

in accordance with the nile always acted ou by botanists, he rejects 

the newer name. We notice that Milde approvingly refers to tlie cor- 

rection in a recent number of ' Hedwigia/ but he seems to have over- 

looked the fact, that this correction had already been made in that 

very journal in an abstract of Mr. Carruthers's paper by Gottsche. It 

is true that Gottsche disapproved of accepting Gray's names, because 

of the numerous changes vvhicli their adoption woidd necessitate. The 

uniform practice must, however, in the end prevail, and future workers 

entering ou the study of the Eepaticce, without the prejudices in favour 

of the present nomenclature which must exist in the mind of one who 

has so largely formed it as Dr. Gottsche has, will restore the names of 

Gray, and accord to him that credit which is certainly h.is due, but 

which, even the botanists of this generation seem very loath to bestow. 

MEMORANDA. 

Pinus Banksiana and Pinus rubra.—It is remarkable that two of oiir most 

beautiful native trees, the uames of which head this article, should not be in 

cultivation. On referring to botanical works, it is clear no one knows how 

beautiful they are. Of Pinus BanJcsiana, Dr. Gray says, "a low sti-aggling 

bush or a small tree, from two to twenty feet high." Michaux, Nuttall, 

Richardson, Loudon, and others give about the same character of it. This is 

as much as may be said of it in the outskirts of its proper locality. Eecently 

we had the opportunity of examining it through what we suppose the heart of 

its home. The woods between Lake Michigan and Lake Superior are mostly 

composed of Pinus Banksiana, and are generally from twenty to forty feet 

high,—at Escanauba we handled one which was probably sixty feet high and 

four and a half to five feet in circumference,—httle inferior in height to a very 

fine specimen of Pinus rubra alongside of it. Richardson says, towards the 

North Pole the thickness of the trunk is out of usual proportion to the breadth 

of the branches. Not so here. The trunk had a very long tapering slender 

appearance as compared with the branches. Occasionally specimens would 

be seen standing by themselves ; and nothing could be prettier than the slender 

straight stems, clothed with its slender feathering. We have nothing from 

Europe or Asia that would make a more beautifiil ornamental tree than the 

Gray or Banksian Pine of this region. The Red Pine is very much like the 

Austi-ian in appearance. Growing in thick woods, no one can appreciate their 

beauty; but occasional specimens, standing by themselves, show that the

. 


— — 

Red Pine is by no means inferior, if not much prettier, than the Austrian. 

We hope to see them some day generally grown. MeehatCs Gardeners' 

Montlily {PJdladelpJiia) 

Oblique Leaves.— In the volume of the Proceedings of the Boston Society 

of Natural History jvist published. Dr. Wilder shows that in the Elm the 

larger portion is in the upper or most elevated side,—the leaves not lying with 

their edges horizontally,— in the Hornbeam the outer or lower portion is the 

largest. De Candolle and Herbert Spencer have both tried to account for obliquity 

in leaves, but Dr. Wilder showed their reasoning insufficient. Dr. W. 

believed it to be caused by no external agency, but by an inherent constitu- 

tional force. Professor Agassiz remarked that German Botanists, especially 

Schimper and Braun, had long since investigated the development of leaves in 

connection with the general subject of phyllotaxis. They had found that each 

leaf was primarily a swelling or wave of growth, freeing itself from the axis of 

the embryo ; and that differences in size between the sides of a leaf were 

caused by the greater force of the wave in its upward or downward descent. 

Such peculiarities as liave been pointed out betvreen the leaves of the Elm and 

Hop Hornbeam existed therefore in the earliest formation of the leaf, while 

yet connected with the axis by a broad base, and before any construction for 

the petiole had taken place. Professor Agassiz thought the word ' antistrophe' 

better expressed the inverse relation of corresponding parts on the opposite 

sides of a line than ' symmetry.' Dr. Wilder had shown that the correspond- 

ing leaves on each side of a shoot were symmetrical. 


Ihid. 

At a recent meeting of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, T. J. Bennett, 

Esq., F.R.S., of the Brilisli Museum, was elected one of its six British Honorary 

Fellows, and Professor W. P. Schimper, of Strasbourg, one of its Foreign 

Honorai'v Members. 

The chair of botany in Trinity College, Dublin, vacant by the appointment 

of Professor Dickson to the similar chair in the University of Glasgow, has 

been bestowed on Dr. E. Perceval Wright by the Provost and Fellows of the 

College. Dr. Wright has for some years occupied the chair of zoology in the 

same college, and is favourably known by his researches in the animal kingdom. 

During the last illness of Professor Harvey, Dr. Wright discharged for him 

the duties of his cliair. Hp has also written several memoii's on botaiiical 

subjects, and among the collections made by him during his recent visit to 

Seychelles were several interesting new plants, which he has described in the 

Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. 

Dr. T. C. Wyville Thomson, Professor of Natural History in Queen's College, 

Belfast, whose numerous memoirs on zoological subjects have made him ex- 

tensively known among naturalists, has been appointed to the chair of botany 

in the College of Science at Ptephcn's Green, which was held along with the 

professorship in Trinity College by Dr. Dickson.

Tah. 89.

61 

NEW AND KAEE BRITISH HYMEXOMYCETOUS FUNGI. 

By WoRTHixGTON G. Smith, Esq., F.L.S. 

(Plates LXXXIX. and XC.) 

During the abnormal summer and autumn of last year (1868) a 

large number of new British species of hymenomycetous Fungi ap- 

peared in various parts of the country : of these several were noticed 

in this Journal at the time, while others remain at present undescribed. 

I select for illustration and description the following four species : 

Lactarius controversus, Fe)-s. ; stem stout, swollen, one or two 

inches long, sometimes eccentric, pruinose at tlie top, never marked 

with pits or depressions ; gills decurrent with an obscure tooth ; pileus 

fleshy, compact, rigid, convex, then depressed and subinfundibuliform, 

at first dry, but after rain viscid in all its parts, margin at first invo- 

lute and villous ; stem and pileus more or less covered with blood-red 

spots and smears ; flesh very firm, like L. piperatus, Fr., milk white, 

imchangeable, plentiful. Odour fiiint, but pleasant, taste exceedingly 

acrid. 

This noble addition to our Cryptogamic Flora was found by Dr. 

D. M. Î'Cullough at and near Abergavenny, and forwarded through 

Dr. Bull, of Hereford, to tiie Exhibition of Fungi at the Eoyal Hor- 

ticultural Society last autumn ; the specimens sent to Loudon grew 

under Poplars, about a mile and a half from Abergavenny ; it also 

grew in great luxuriance (again with Poplars) at Abergavenny, forming 

a semicircle of some twenty feet in diameter. The specimens were 

crowded together in great numbers, and several attained a diameter of 

more than a foot ; the specimen selected for illustration was one of the 

smallest, in order to get it on to the plate. In general appearance it 

considerably resembles several other Lactam, as L. vellereus, Fr., and 

L. insiilus, Fr., but it differs in many characters ; it is highly acrid, 

and feels and looks soapy. 

PoLYPORUs sanguinolentus, Fr.; nodulose, then confluent, effused, 

soft, white, or cream-coloured, when touched becoming rosy brown ; 

margin byssoid and fugitive ; pores small, subrotund, unequal, at 

length torn. 

This species, new to this country, I found growing in abundance on 

the perpendicular sides of a disused sawpit in Mr. Hebb's yard, ]\Iild- 

VOL. VIT. [march 1, 1869.] F 

—

62 NEW AND RARE BRITISH HYMENOMYCETOUS FUNGI. 

niny Park, in August 1807. It grew upon naked clay, and on rotten 

wood in the last stage of decomposition, completely covering the four 

sides of the pit. Mr. Broome found it the following November on a 

wet bank in Epping Forest ; its duration was short in the sawpit, and 

in neither locality has it since appeared. 

Agaricus (Entoloma) jubatus, Tr. ; stem fleshy, glossy, striate, 

and shilling, white at the base, stuffed or hollow, clothed with minute 

sooty fibres; pileus fleshy, campauulate, at first acutely then obscurely 

umbonate, clothed with fibres, glossy, not hygrophanous ; gills slightly 

adnexed, inclined to be ventricose. 

This species was also shown at Kensington last autumn by Dr. Bull 

he found it growing in great abundance on Merryhill Common, and in 

and near Haywood Forest, near Hereford, where I afterwards found it 

myself. It grew in dense clusters, some of them taking a circular 

form : young 

specimens are acutely campauulate, and full-grown plants 

attain a height of five or more inches, and a diameter of three or four 

a small specimen is, however, selected for illustration to meet the re- 

stricted size of the plate. The taste is watery, and like many other 

pink-spored species, very disagreeable. I am not aware that this spe- 

cies has been before published as Britisli, but I understand it was found 

by the Kev. M. J. Berkeley at Ascot, a year or two ago, and Mr. Currey 

informs me he found specimens on October 13, 1868, in a meadow 

adjoining a house called Twisden, between Goudhurst and Kilndown, 

in Sussex. Mr. Currey was kind enough to forward me several speci- 

mens which precisely coiTespond with the Hereford plants. 

Hygrophorus CALYPTRiT:roRMis, B. and Br. ; pileus thin, acutely 

conical, lobed below, minutely inuato-fibrillose; stem white, smooth, 

slightly striate, hollow ; gills rose-coloured, at length pallid, very nar- 

row, acutely attenuated behind.— OutUues of Futujoloc/i/, p. 202. 

This distinct and beautiful species occurred in abundance in Holme 

Lacy Park last autumn^ when the first specimens were gathered by 

J. Griflnth Morris, Esq., during the excursion of the Woolhope Club; 

it grew amongst furze, and in open places bordering the plantations. 

As it has not been figured before, our Plate may perhaps lead to its de- 

tection elsewhere. It was first found, many years ago, by Mr. Broome, 

on Hanham Common, near Bristol, but the habitat is now destroyed, 

and the plant has disappeared from that district. 

Explanations of Plate LXXXIX. : 

Fig. 1, 2, 3, Lactarius coniroversus, 

;

Pers. ; 4, spores, X 700diam. 

— 

NOTE OX THE GENUS ARTHROSTYLIS. 63 

Plate XC. : Fig. 1, Agaricus {Entoloma) juba- 

tus, Fr. ; 2, section of ditto ; 3, spores of ditto, X 700 diam. ; 4, 5, Ilygrophorus 

calyptrteformis, B. and Br. ; 6, section of ditto ; 7, spores of ditto, X 700 diam. 

NOTE ox THE GENUS ARTHROSTYLIS, R. Br. 

By H, F. Kaxce, Ph.D., etc. 

In the 'Flora Hongkongensis,' Mr. Bentham, following Brown, as- 

signs to this genus all " the characters of Rhynchospora, except that 

tliere are no hypogynous bristles, and the style is articulate upon the 

ovary below the dilated base." I may remark, however, that both in 

the Singhalese ArtJirostylis JUiformis, Thw., and the Hongkong 

A. Chinensis, Benth., I find the squamae distichously imbricate, as, in- 

deed, they are described by Steudel (Synops. PL Cyper. 138), not 

imbricate all round, as in RUynchospora. In this respect, therefore, 

the two genera stand towards each other in the same relation as Tim- 

bris/ylis and Abildgaardla, which, on account of various transitions, 

Dr. Tbwaites has, with his usual jiulgment, united ; ami it is certain 

that some Rhynchosporce show a tendency to a bifarious arrangement 

of the scales. In the Ceylon species I can detect no hypogynous 

setse ; but they were certainly present and very conspicuous in all the 

flowers of the Hongkong one I examined some years back ; and Mr. 

Sampson, who is a very careful and trustworthy observer, finds the 

same in specimens gathered by him last autumn, an observation I have 

myself verified. The instability of this character in very many genera 

of the Order is now, however, fully established, so that Parlatore, Asa 

Gray, and most other eminent modern botanists concur in the pro- 

priety of reducing Isolepis to Scirpus, the two merely difi"ering by the 

absence or presence of these organs. Apart from the distichous ar- 

rangement of the squamae, more or less observable, as just remarked, 

in some Rhynchosporce, Arthrostylis differs from that genus by the 

style being, as in Fimbrklylis, articulated below, instead of above the 

bulb-shaped base,—a distinction .of small account morphologically, I 

think. On the other hand, I do not see that there is any single cha- 

racter by which it can be distinguished from Schcexiis (including 

Chtjetospora), and in habit it is exceedingly like S. ferrnginens, L. I 

believe there is probably no single Order in which, in proportion to 

the number now universally admitted, so many of the genera will, on 

f2

64 ON THE SEXUAL OKGANS OF THE CYCADACE^. 

a tliorough revision, be found untenable, the characters relied on being 

either inconstant, or at most of merely sectional value, and the so-called 

genera being linked with each other by all kinds of gradations. Par- 

latore, who is by no means indisposed to recognize genera based on 

comparatively slight characters, provided these are constant, writing of 

those employed for the dismemberment of Scirpus, well observes,— 

" Geneve immeritamente diviso in molti, fondati sopra caratteri falsi 

della presenza o mancanza delle sete del perigonio, dello stilo bifido o 

trifido, deir achenio triangolare o schiacciato, caratteri tutti variabili 

in questa faraiglia, non solo nelle specie di uno stesso genere, ma an- 

cora negl' individui di una stessa specie, e fino nelle spighette di uno 

stesso individuo." 

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE^. 

By r. A. W. MiQUEL. 

{Translated hy W. Thiselton-Dyer, Xj^., B.A.,/rom the author's French edi- 

tion of the paper puhlished in the 'Archives Neerlandaises,^ t. iii. 1868.) 

In 1845, when I published some researches on the ovules, em- 

bryos, and male organs of the Cycadacffje (Ann. des Sciences Nat. 

3me serie, t, iii. et iv.), Gottsche published in the ' Botanische 

Zeitung' an important investigation of the same subject. The results 

of these wholly independent researches were, in many points, identical 

but Gottsche had taken a more comprehensive point of view by in- 

cluding the Coniferce as well. At that time I had already completely 

abandoned the morphological views which I liad previously published 

(' Monographia Cycadearum ') on the axial nature of leaves, as well as 

llichard's theory of the ovule. Eobert Brown, by his investigations of 

the genus Plnus (" On the Plurality and Development of the Embryos 

in the Seed of the Coniferce," Annals of Nat. Hist., May, 1844), had 

ensured still more suppo;i't for his theory of gyranospermous ovules 

first stated in 1826 (Appendix to Captain King's ' Voyage ').* 

It is well known how much the labours of Mirbel, Spach, Schleiden, 

* Previously read at the British Association Meeting at Edinburgh. Robert 

Brown afterwards added a note, to the etrect tliat the credit of the first idea of 

tiiis theory does not belong to Mirbel; and he states that Aiibert du Petit- 

Thouar.s had already noticed various points in the structure of the ovules of 

Cycas, without deducing from them the notion of gymnospermous ovules. 

(Histoire des Vcget. des lies d'Afrique.) 

; •

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE.E. 65 

Schaclit, and especially of Hofmeister, liave cleared up the history of 

gymnospermous ovules, their mode of fertilization, and the develop- 

ment of the embryo. The Cycadacees only remain almost completely 

excluded from these investigations ; and if this may be accounted for 

by the remoteness of the native country of these plants, and the rare 

occasions of their flowering in our botanic gardens, it is the more to be 

regretted, as their ovides are of the simplest form, and, from their size, 

the best adapted for examination. 

Without treating the subject in detail, I propose to notice and dis- 

cuss the reproductive organs of the Cycadacea. I adopt the morpho- 

logical identity of ordinary leaves with the structures which bear the 

ovules and pollen as the basis of these remarks,—with this physiolo- 

gical distinction between the latter, that in Cycas the male organs, 

collected into a cone, arrest the terminal growth, like the male and fe- 

male organs af all other Cycadacece, so that growth must be continued 

by lateral buds ; while the ovule-bearing leaves in the same genus are 

collected into a large terminal tuft, in the centre of which is a leaf- 

bud. We have here the representative of a primitive type ; structure 

and function reach their most simple expression ; 

the ideal arrangement 

of the organs of reproduction, which has been established in the higher 

plants by the doctrine of metamorphosis, is realized in an actual ex- 

ample. 

In comparing different genera of the Cycadacece with one another, it 

is easy to recognize the homology of the sexual apparatus. From the 

carpophyll of Cycas, which retains in every respect its leafy characters, 

there is a gradual passage, through Dion* and Macrozamia, to the 

squamose and peltate organs of Zamia and other genera. The same 

tiling holds good, as I have previously shown at greater length, with 

the male organs. The male and female cones, or the terminal tuft of 

carpophylls, each represent a single male or female flower, composed 

merely of the simplest sexual organs, anthers, and carpels. 

While the homologous organs of plants often ditter wadely, both in 

their anatomical relation and in their external development, a definite 

anatomical resemblance may be traced in the Cycadacece. The carpo- 

* Continental authors have been in the habit of quoting Lindley's genus 

Dion as having been thus spelled by error (lliq. Prod. Syst. Cyc. p. 22; " Dioon, 

DC. Prod. xvi. 2, p. 537, " Dioon (errore 

Lmdl. Bot. Eeg. ubi Dion vocatur" ; 

Dion)" etc.) ; but he intentionally omitted one of the o's, and invariably wrote 

it Dion, and be has classical authority for thus contracting it. 

— 

Ed.

66 ON THE SILXL'AL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE^. 

pliylls (and .nlso in many points the andropliylls *) are composed of 

the same kinds of tissue as the leaves, Avascular bundles leaving tlie 

stem penetrate them in a semicircle, and following their longitudinal 

axis, pass parallel to one another through the petiole and midrib, curve 

outwards towards the segments of the barren laminae in Cycas, and 

traverse each segment without dividing, exactly as they are distributed 

in the leaflets of the ordinary leaves. They turn in just the same way 

towards the point of insertion of the ovules into which they penetrate 

(Plate XCI. fig. 1. C. revoluta). An analogous arrangement of bundles, 

parallel in the petioles, and diverging at the upper part, occurs in the 

carpophylls of Dion, Maci-ozaniia, E)icephalartos, and Zamia ; only in 

consequence of the contraction of the upper parts, and their conversion 

into large plates or shields, the bundles take a direction more curved, 

and are usually less developed. In all these genera the bundles which 

penetrate the ovules may be seen very distinctly.f More or less 

cylindrical in a transverse section, they exhibit at the exterior or pos- 

terior side a layer of liber-cells, on the opposite side woody tissue. 

Laticiferous canals are regularly distributed, and traverse the tissues 

just as in the leaves. Chlorophyll cells exist uniformly in the external 

layers of parenchyma when young. The epidermis presents no essen- 

tial distinction, and tlie stomata which are deeply situated and have 

the appearance of little holes, are easily distinguished. 

The morphological interpretation of the component parts of the ovule 

is not yet completely made out. Botany does not possess as yet any 

theory of the ovule which is generally adopted. The attempts which 

have been made to frame one, have been summed up Avith great clear- 

ness by Eraun (' Polyembryonie und Keimung von Ccelohocjyne^ 1860, 

p. 186). Braun himself was inclined to think that the coats might 

be regarded as developments from the funiclc. Caspary (" Vergriinun- 

gen der Bliithe des Weisklees :" Physik. (Econ. Gesellsch. zu Konigs- 

bcrg, 2nd year) raised objiections against his view, as well as against 

* It is convenient to adopt this term instead of an expression like Lindley's 

" antlicriferous cone-scales."— W. T. ]). 

f 

1 use the expression vascular bundles for vvliat are only the equivalents of 

bundles composed of true vessels, for anions; the Cy

ON THE SEXUAL OKGANS OF THE CYCADACE^. 67 

that of Uossmanu. According to this observer (Bot. Zeitung, 1855, p. 

666) from the examination of a monstrous Aquilegia, the border of the 

carpellavy leaf divides into as many lobes as there are fiinicles. These 

are the equivalents of the lobes, and bear the ovules which originate in 

the parenchyma of the lobes, but the nucleus is a new and distinct 

{NeubiUhing) production, giving rise also to the formation of the coats. 

According to this view, the coats would neither be a product nor a pro- 

longation of the edges of the carpel. Brongniart had previously based on 

a monstrous Delphinimn the following theory :—An ovule is the equiva- 

lent of a lobe or tooth of a leaf. The funicle with the raphe, as far as 

the chalaza, are formed by the vein of the lobe. The nucleus is an in- 

dependent formation which makes its appearance on the upper surface 

of the lobe, but the coats are nothing more than the folded extremities 

of the lobe ("Lobe foliace replie sur lui-meme en formant une sorle 

de capuchon," Archives du Museum d'Histoire Nat., iv. 1844). 

For anatropous ovules there is something seductive about this theory, 

but it leaves unexplained the existence of double coats, and does not 

determine the precise point from which the formation of the nucleus 

starts. The observations on which it rests as well as those of Wesmael 

(Bulletin de I'Academie de Bruxelles, xviii. p. 12) of the replace- 

ment of ovules by leaflets or leafy lobes, are of great value as ar- 

guments against the theory of axile placentas, but they do not at pre- 

sent appear to be able to supply an adequate explanation of the 

formation of the ovules themselves.* 

The production of ovides on the edges or upper surface of carpellary 

leaves has been well compared to the formation of buds in the same 

positions on ordinary leaves,—a phenomenon which is far from being 

uncommon, either in cultivated or uncultivated plants, and which, con- 

sidering the low differentiation of the tissues in the vegetable organism, 

is not very remarkable. The unintermitted production of a succession 

of buds and axes, which remain united, or separate as distinct indi- 

viduals, is the essential character of all plants. Although as yet it has 

eluded direct observation, we can only picture to ourselves the forma- 

tion of a bud as originating in a cell differentiated from neighbouring 

cells. In this cell therefore the bud, that is the new individual, is 

* The observations of Marchand (Adansonia, iv. p. 159), and of Kiraehleger 

(Pollicliia, xsviii. p. Ill), on ovules partly transformed into leaves, as well 

as those of Cramer, are only known to me from quotations.

68 ON THE SKXUAL OllGANS OF THE CYCADACEtE. 

already potentially determined. Tlie final result of the formation of 

an ovule is the differentiation of one of the cells situated in its axis, 

which produces the new individual ; in this vvay the embryo-sac is to a 

certain extent the equivalent of the parent-cell of the bud. The em- 

bryo-sac is fertilized by the absorption of matter contained in another 

cell which places itself in contact with it ; and if we inquire the cause 

of the individualization of the parent-cell of a bud, it must be looked 

for also in the phenomena of nutrition, of which the adjacent parts are 

the seat. Modifications of the movements and distribution of the nu- 

tritive juices are the means of exciting the production of buds. The 

destruction of a terminal bud causes the production of numerous lateral 

ones. Incisions, by accumulating the supply of food at particular 

points (of a leaf or root, for example) cause the production of buds 

there. The ovule is usually considered as distinct from the carpel, and 

the line of separation drawn at the origin of the funicle ; but would it 

not be more philosophical to regard it as a stage in the development 

of a particular part of the carpel, and to look upon the embryo-sac 

alone as a new and independent structure ? 

The search amongst monstrous structures for the key to the true 

meaning of the parts of the ovide is a proceeding which encounters 

serious difficulties in the circumstance that the parts are very frequently 

so altered in position and form as to be scarcely recognizable with suf- 

ficient certainty. The normal organogeny of carpels and ovides, which 

has been chiefly studied in Angiosperras, supplies good information as 

to the external aspects of the phenomenon, and reveals to the eye its 

anatomical characters, but it will always be extremely difficult to pene- 

trate in this way into the morphological interpretation of organs re- 

duced to their minimum of development. Besides this, the complete 

history of the evolution of the leaf is still wanting ; even after the 

a(bniral)le researches of Eichler, it has not been distinctly ascertained 

in all its bearings. Und^r these circumstances the consideration of 

the carpopliylls of the Cycddacem, which are less modified by metamor- 

phosis than the corresponding organs in all other Phanerogams, Avill 

perhaps supply some explanation as soon as their development has 

been completely studied,—a labour for which unhappily the materials 

cannot be obtained, except in the native country of the plants. 

I have consequently confined myself to calling attention to the fol- 

lowing points : 

—

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE^. 69 

1. In Cycas the vascular bundles of tlie carpophyll penetrate both 

the barren leaf-segment and the ovules in the same way (Plate XCI. 

fig. 1, C. remluta). 

2. The place where a leaf- segment should be developed is occupied 

by an ovule.* 

3. The surface of the ovule is continuous with that of the carpophyll, 

and has the appearance of a lateral expansion of it. The same epi- 

dermis covers both.f 

4. The leaf-segments of the sterile part are not entirely flat, but 

more or less swollen and cylindrical, which is an approach to the form 

of an ovule. This approach it is true is very slight, and the compari- 

son between the hardened points of the segments and the hard sum- 

mits of the ovules may also seenn too forced. Tliis comparison, how- 

ever, adds greater value to a monstrous development of the carpo- 

phylls of Cycas Rumphii, which I have previously studied. In many of 

them all the ovules were replaced by long leaf-segments. J A carpo- 

phyll of the same flower, however, exhibited some ovules, but one of 

the sterile segments immediately succeeding the ovules was much more 

swollen than the others, and became hollow in its upper part.§ More- 

over it was evident by making a section that the vascular bundle did 

not remain simply central, but divided a little above the base into 

several branches placed all round the axis, and not in the axis itself. 

All the other carpophylls exhibited deviations more or less distinct in 

the same direction, and I was mistaken in regarding these carpels as 

normal, and characteristic of one particular species. Connecting forms 

have since convinced me that it must be referred to C. Rumphii (as 

that species has been defined by me). 

5 

. 

In all the species of Cycas the ovule is more or less flattened, 

being compressed parallel to the plane of the carpophyll, and having 

an upper and under surface. This character agrees with the arrange- 

ment of the vascular bundles, which are collected together on the two 

opposite sides of the external layer of the coat ; when further deve- 

lo[)ed, the internal woody layer is' also seen to consist of two halves, 

united by lateral sutures, which in C. Rumphii even form two sharp 

* See figure of Cycas Rumphii (Lintisea, xxv. tab. ii.). 

t See Aualecta Bot. Ind. ii. tab. iy., and figures of the carpophylls of Cycas 

generally, especially of C. revohita. 

X 

Linnaea, ssv. tab. ii. fig. 1. 

§ Loc. cit. fig. 3, the first segment to the left, then i-egarded by me as normal.

70 ON THE SEXUAL OKGANS OF THE CYCADACE.E. 

edges. The same structure may be recognized in the biovular carpo- 

phylls of other Cycadacere, and we see that in them the flattened form 

gives rise to tetragonal forms in consequence of the opposing mutual 

pressures. 

6. Anatomically the ovule resembles a thickened leaf-segment, in 

wliich tlie tissues are arranged round a centre instead of being drawn 

out in a plane.* I pointed out this homology in 1842 (Monog. p. 13), 

and Heinzel (Diss, de Macrozamia) has taken a similar view. 

The external layers of the carpophyll are composed of parenchyma, 

becoming more merenchymatous in the interior. At the same time 

elongated cells with thickened walls frequently appear in this region. 

The same arrangement of the tissues occurs in the coat of the ovule in 

every Cycad which I have examined, ^'he two layers, as I have else- 

where shown, ^ and as is now generally admitted, § form morphologi- 

cally only a single coat. TiiC external coat, which is filled with juices 

later on, is green when young, but frequently coloured red when ma- 

ture. The internal layer represents the more prosenehyraatous part of 

the carpophyll. It soon becomes woody, the points where afterwards 

what are called the sutures occur, becoming so last. The two layers 

are reduced to their least thickness in the tubular exostome at the 

summit ; || both play a more or less important part in the formation of 

* M. Casimir de Candolle in a recent paper on the theory of the leaf 

(Archives des Sciences, May, 1868, translated in 'Student,' Aug. 1868), considers 

leaves as branches with tlie side turned towards the axis undeveloped. 

The ovules of Cycads may be looked upon as reversions to a more complete 

structure of particular portions of tlie carpophyll.—W. T. D. 

t As in otlier plants, it then anatomically diverges a little from the leaf (see 

above, and Kraus in Pringsheim's Jahrb. t. iv). 

I " Structura inlegumenii peculiaris est, et ab ilia ovulorum, qualia hucus- 

que novimus, aliquomodo diversa. Inde ab initio oU'ert : 

" 1. Stratum exlernum carnosum, cellulis parencliyniatici.s rcgularibus con- 

fiatum, eadem epidermide ac carpophyllum vestitum . . . . , apex hujus strati 

tubulosus. 

"2. Stratum secundum, ligneum vel osseo-lignenm, cellulis parenchymaticis 

et clongatis compositum, materia deposita inde a prima origine lignescentibus." 

I quote this passage because an entirely different opinion has been recently 

attributed to me (C. A. J. A. Oudemans in Vers, en Meded. der Koninkl. 

Akad. vol. ii. p. 255, et Arch. Neerl. vol. ii. p. 395). The fact that the two 

layers are entirely Mended and are developed simultaneously is suiBcient to 

show the absurdity of regarding them as two distinct coats. 

§ See Eiclder in Martiu.=


the exostome, and lience it often happens in ripe fruits that the sum- 

mit of the woody part is prolonged into a tubular point.* 

The vascular bundles, which are direct prolongations of one of the 

vascular bundles of the carpophyll, pass through the cellular layer 

nearly to the summit, and in ripe fruits are closely applied to the 

woody portion. Thev do not anastomose, and their number varies in 

different genera and species, but usually they are grouped, as has 

already been stated, on opposite sides. Frequently they leave impres- 

sions on the woody layer. 

It seems, however, that in the formation of the coat all the tissues of 

the carpophyll are not equally developed. In Cycas revoluta, for ex- 

ample, and in the genera Zam'ia and EncepJialartos, the epidermis is 

evidently continuous from one part to the other (Plate XCI. fig. 1) ; 

in C. Rumpliii the epidermis of the ovules is not densely hairy, like that 

of the carpophyll, and the ovules are surrounded at the base by a 

hairy ring, or cup- shaped dilatation of the carpophyll.f Up to what 

point the external layer of the coat is composed, on one side of a por- 

tion of the parenchyma of the carpellary leaf, and on the other of the 

whole, could only be determined when the development has been 

completely studied. From a superficial examination it might be sur- 

mised that the hairy cup of the ovule in the species belonging to the 

second division of the genus Cycas is of the same nature as the hairy 

surface of the o\aiIes in C. revoluta. I have akeady (Analecta Bot. 

Indica, ii. p. 31) pointed out this distinction, which is not an unim- 

portant one. But in using the terras integumentum externum and in- 

tertmm, I had no intention, in opposition to the opinion which I my- 

self have expressed as to the simple structure of the coat, of distin- 

guishing morphologically two distinct integuments. These expres- 

sions, possibly badly chosen, only apply to the external and internal 

layers. 

I have already pointed out that the nucleus in Cycads is not deve- 

loped before its coat, but contemporaneously with it. J I have never 

observed its first appearance. In the course of its development both 

it and the embryo-sac pass through very different stages, and I was 

* (Plate XCI. fig. 4, 5.) This has also been stated by Karsten to be the case 

with Zamia muricata. 

t See, amongst others, the figure of C. Rumpliii, in Linnsea, xxv. tab. 2. 

X Karsten has confirmed this point in Zamia muricata. The nucleus and 

its coat appear simultaneously. (Monatsb. Berlin. Akad., Dec. 18th, 1856. )f 

but

73 ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE^. 

niistaken when I regarded (in tlie memoir quoted) the cavity of the 

embryo-sac, which soon loses its membrane, as formed by absorption 

and dilatation in the nucleus. The same error had ah'eady been com- 

mitted by others in the case of the Coniferce, and the point has only 

been cleared up by the researches of Pineau. 

The free conical summit of the nucleus, in which I formerly looked 

for the embryo-sac, is situated above it, and rests upon its membrane. 

I considered as belonging to the nucleus a special vascular expansion 

formed of bundles which, after penetrating the ovules, rise above the 

external bundles, perforate the woody layer of the coat (producing the 

holes in its base ; 

see Plate XCI. fig. 16), and distribute themselves, by 

ramifying and anastomosing, on the interior surface of the coat. They 

terminate above just at the point where the nucleus becomes free ; it is 

consequently blended with the coat for two-thirds of its height. I 

had noticed this internal vascular system in all the CycadacerB, but it 

escaped my notice at first that it exists previous to fertilization. It 

has since been also made out in the CotiifercB.* Guided by analogy, 

I considered myself justified in terming it an expansion of the cha- 

laza.f 111 the ripe fruits it appears much more distinctly ; and when 

the remains of the nucleus which cover it are reduced to a thin mem- 

brane, as in Macrozamia and in a Cycad from New Holland, it is seen 

through it, and produces reticulated impressions on the surface of the 

endosperm. (Plate XCI. fig. 13 and M, fig. 15 and 17 ; Plate XCII. 

fig. 11.) 

As these e vuloc perforate the coat, and are situated between it and 

the enlarged part of the nucleus, it seems that they cannot be regarded 

as belonging to the coat. Heinzel (Diss, de Macrozamia) states that 

the vascular network is included between two membranes ; but this 

view does not seem altogether accurate, since these cellular lavers 

* The analogue of these yascular bundles may be seen at the base of the 

micleus in WelintscMa (Iloofcer ' On Welwitschia,' p. 33, tab. 9, fig. 11 and 12 ; 

Trans. Linu. Soc. vol. xxiv.). Tliej become afterwards more developed (1. c. p. 

37). 

f Aim. des Sc. Nat. iii. p. 196. A vascular network which seems to be 

of the same nature has been observed more recently in some Evjihorliacece. A. 

Gris. has studied it carefully in liivinus. He also adopts the name ibr it of 

expansion of tlie chalaza, and I am astonished that its resemblance to what 

exists in the Cycadcan ovule has escaped his attention. Just as in it, the nucleus 

is united to the coat, wjiich the endospei'm in its enlargement reduces by 

compressio nto the state of a spongy membrane. (Ann. des Sc. Nat., ser. xv. 

p. 1 pi. ii. fig. ; 8.)

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE.f:. 73 

cannot be regarded as actual membranes existing as such originally. 

The outer one is intimately blended with the woody portion of the 

coat, and seems to form pai t of it ; the inner is nothing more than the 

compressed remains of the nucleus, mentioned above, combined with 

what has been termed the epithelium of the nucleus. As soon as the 

embryo-sac is for the second time tilled with cells for the formation, 

properly so called, of the albumen, and its cavity has attained in con- 

sequence a considerable enlargement, the tissues of the nucleus are 

pushed out and compressed in all directions, especially laterally, and 

transformed into a kind of membrane. This compression, in most 

of the species, is least towards the base ; 

and in many of them, such as 

C. Ruinphii and C. spliaj-'wa, a thick brown layer remains, on which the 

broad base of the albumen rests. 

In Macrozamiu, Dion, Encephalartos, and many species of Zamia, 

on the contrary, this layer is entirely converted even at the base of 

fruit into a sort of membrane (Plate XCI. fig. 15 and 17 c).* The de- 

gree of conversion is very variable in the same genus, and even in the 

same species, especially when the fruit has not been fertilized. In C. 

atiffulaia, for example (Plate XCI. fig. 14 c), the layer is completely 

wasted by compression ; 

in C. revoluta the enlargement which the cavity 

undergoes to make room for the endosperm takes place unequally, so 

that the tissues of the nucleus may be more or less preserved or effaced 

at the base. Modifications of the entire fruit result from this, and the 

fruit becomes ovoid, elliptical, or obovoid (Plate XCI. fig. 2-6). Gene- 

rally speaking, this membrane (the remains of the nucleus which in 

its earliest stage is intimately united with the internal layer of the 

coat, but which gradually separates as this layer becomes woody) is so 

pressed by the dilation of the endosperm against the inner layer and 

the vascular network, that it can only be detached by maceration and 

boiling. In its earliest state, and in a living condition, it is often yel- 

lowish in colour. Later on, if still existing in sufficient quantity, it 

is brown when dry, and exhibits between the parenchymatous cells 

others of an elongated form.f 

When the nuclear tissue has been removed in ripe seeds, the vas- 

* G-ottsche (1. c. p. 384) states that in Uncephalartos a thin white membrane 

covers the vascular layer. Possibly there may have been in this case some of 

the cells of the first endosperm in addition. 

t They suggest the spicular cells which Hooker has found in certain tissues 

of WeliL'itscTiia.


ciilar layer is not generally completely exposed ; there still adheres an 

excessively thin layer of cellular tissue which may belong (as has been 

already stated) to the epithelial layer of the nucleus, or perhaps is 

formed of the first cells of the endosperm. 

It is generally known that the nucleus of Cycads, which is more or 

less ovoid, is united for about two-thirds of its height with the coat, 

but that it terminates above in a free summit, which is more or less 

couical (Hooker calls it the cone in Weiwitschia). This free portion 

is sometimes higher, sometimes shorter, but generally it is only slightly 

projecting at first, and rises as the nucleus grows, so as to have its 

summit sometimes immediately below the tubular exostome. Ordi- 

narily conical in form, it is sometimes abbreviated, sometimes pro- 

longed into a tube. When the endosperm increases in breadth, it is re- 

duced to a lower level, but in the latter period of the formation of the 

seed, the endosperm pushes it completely upwards, and in this case it 

presents itself under an entirely ditferent form. Near its base the cone 

is intimately united wîth tiie coat, the internal surface of which, where 

it is not united with the nucleus, is lined with a kind of epidermis, 

which ultimately forms a brown and smooth layer. Externally the 

cone is covered with a layer of dense cells (Schleiden's epithelium of 

the nucleus, Grundzuge, ii. p. 349 ; Gotlsche's covering of the nuclear 

protuberance, 1. c. p. 380). This becomes less distinct towards the 

base, on the part of the nucleus which is adherent to the coat, but may 

be recognised on the surface of the nucleus after boiling. Although 

this layer, at the point where the nucleus becomes free, is intimately 

united with the free internal surface of the coat, one cannot, especially 

when taking the independent existence of the niicleus into considera- 

tion, regard it as a continuation of the external epidermis ; «inoo-lliey« 

j'^J< would thuo bo a structure >>i addit i on- of wh'ch I know no other ana- 

•^ logue.* 

At the summit of the cone this layer rises a little above the internal 

r 

' tissue, and surrounds it like a ring (Plate XCI. fig. 7/, and fig. 8 and 9). 

The apex of the summit which is not covered by this epithelium, and 

on which the pollen-grains fall to complete their development, and 

* I must on this point differ advisedly from Oudemnns (Archives Neerl. ii. 

p. 395)^ Tho point is mo ro cvifk -wt on oomii timi p tho ovviloo of Coniforfl' ; see 

fop-elample, Schaclit, Flora, o. 13ot. Zeit. 1855, pi. ii. and the numerous figures 

'whicli occur in the writings of Hofmcister.

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE.T;. 75 

which therefore performs the function of a stigma, is entirely naked, 

and secretes a viscous fluid. After a short period, the internal capacity 

of the cone is entirely filled with cellular tissue, which afterwards 

softens, and is partially reabsorbed. Mucilaginous channels (the paths 

taken by the pollen-tubes) are formed in it, which terminate below the 

wall of the embryo sac, in what have been called the areohe, beneath 

which are situated the opercular rosettes of the corpuscles. (Plate XCI. 

fi"-. 1-3, lU and 11, a section of the free summit in the direction of its 

length.) The upper wall of the embryo-sac being situated at the level 

where the nucleus becomes free, and where the base of the cone is 

solidly united to the coat, the cone is anatomically separate from the 

adherent portion of the nucleus, and as that becouies forced outwards 

and compressed by the dilatation of the endospermic cavity, this trans- 

verse separation becomes more and more distinct. Finally it witliers, 

and it is afterwards found, particularly in fertilized fruits, applied as a 

cap on the top of the endosperm. In this condition it formerly re- 

ceived from some authors the very inexact names of vitellus or scittel- 

lum. (Plate XCI. fig. 13 a, Plate XCII. fig. 11.) 

The history of the embryo-sac or amnios is very complicated, and it 

was not till after Hofmeister, Pineau (Annales des Sciences Nat., 

3me serie, ii. p. 83), and others had unravelled it in the Goniferce, that 

I found it intelligible amongst the Cycadace/s. The exact time of the 

first appearance of the embryo-sac I do not know, but it is quite certain 

that it takes place at a very early period in the existence of the ovule, 

and in the upper half of the adherent portion of the nucleus, termed 

by Hooker the corpus nuclei. From its first appearance, the cavity of 

the embryo-sac is filled with cells. At this period it is small and 

spherical, antl its wall may be seen to consist of simple cellular mem- 

brane. I have only twice had the opportunity of examining it in this 

state, once in a Cycas, and once in a Zamia, The interior cellular 

tissue next disappears, and the cavity enlarges, and becomes filled with 

a mucilaginous fluid; from analogy with what takes place among 

Conifei-cB, one would be led to believe that the period of fecundation 

approaches at this point. The second stage now commences, and 

as it is also completed in unfertilized ovules (fertilized ones have 

not yet been observed in botanic gardens), there is no reason for 

doubting that it is independent of fertilization. The free and rapid 

development of cells produces a highly developed albumino-plastic

76 ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACEiE. 

tissue, a true endosperm. It is now no longer possible to dis- 

tinguish the true wall of the embryo-sac ; the space whicli it oc- 

cupies is bounded by the dense, smooth, and shining surface of the 

dilated nuclear tissue, to which perhaps the debris of the original 

amniotic membrane adhere.* It is this which has previously led me 

into error, in regarding the embryo-sac as a free cavity in the albumen 

which I regarded as deiived from the nucleus, so that I could not 

recognize the morphological meaning of the true nucleus, although I 

had observed figured and described the different stages of development, 

(Ann. des Sc. Nat. 1. c. p. 199 ; Monogr. plate i. iig. r, s.) In nu- 

merous unfertilized seeds the endosperm occurred just as in those that 

were fertilized ; to my great astonishment, however, I have observed 

several isolated cases where it was wanting, though the cavity for its 

reception existed. 

I know nothing of the changes which take place in the upper part 

of the embryo-sac at the first appearance of the second endospermic 

formation, nor of the way in which the corpuscles of Brown originate. 

I only know the period at which the corpuscles already exist both in 

tlie unfertilized ovules and in the ripe seeds containing an embryo. The 

vault or upper part of the embryo-sac is very persistent, and becomes 

a soft pulpy, often yellowish membrane, to which adheres above, the in- 

ternal tissue of the conus nuclei, below, the tops of the corpuscles. 

Plate XCI. fig. 12 ^, where the corpuscles do not yet exist; Plate 

XCII. fig. 9 a, the remains of the cone with the amniotic membrane ad- 

herent, below which are the corpuscles; fig. 10, the part removed with 

the corpuscles, which are attaciied to it; fig. 1, the embryo-sac with 

the cone removed and viewed from above, with the six areolae or places 

where the interior canals of the cone terminate, and to which are 

attached on the opposite sides by their opercular rosettes the tops of 

the corpuscles ;t fig. 2, tops of the corpuscles situated at this level 

fig. 8, corpuscles whose tops exhibit regularly arranged fragments of 

tissue! (opercular rosettes (?) or shreds torn from the part where ad- 

* Hooker has observed the same thing in ' Welwitscliia,' I. c. p. 32. 

f " Juniore a-tate inciiibraua tenuis iiioUissima fere gelatinosa saccos obtegit 

et eorum apieibus adha^ret, pimctis obscnris vel areolis paruniper elevatis extua 

instrueta,qu£c cum saecorum subjacentium apieibus correspondent," etc. (Ann. 

des Sc. Nat. I.e.). 

J " Fragmenta regularia, bases probabiliter canaliuni conductorum coni 

nuclei exhibentia." Description attached to plates.—W. T. I). 

;

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE^,. 77 

liesion exists with the amniotic membrane). At this point a total 

absorption of the membranes probably takes place, so that the policn- 

tube can penetrate to the top of the corpnscles. 

The nnfertilized corpuscles at this time appear entirely filled with 

cellular tissne, or with a mass of protoplasm regularly divided by 

vacuoles. With respect to this I do not feel quite certain, but when 

the membrane is torn the included mass has pretty much the appear- 

ance represented in Plate XCII. fig. 5. I have found the same slate 

in fertilized seeds which possess a normal embryo. It is probable that 

all the coi-puscles which exhibit it (Plate XCII. fig. 4) have remained 

unfertilized ; 

for I have always met with one or two at the same time, in 

which a small group of larger cells, from which the suspensor originates, 

could be observed free in the middle of the cavity. I imagine that 

this group at first occupies the base of the cavity, and that it is 

not till afterwards that it is elevated to a higher level by the pressure 

of the suF'pensor. It jnay be that this displacement has been simply 

the effect of the preparation which the object has undergone. The 

membrane of the corpuscles is relatively dense and resisting, and by 

transmitted light it seems composed of small cells with thick Avnlls 

(Plate XCII. fig. 2 a, fig. 6, very much enlarged). I formerly stated 

that this was actually the case (Ann. des Sc. Nat. 1. c. p. 198), and 

Gottsche held the same view (Bot. Zeit. 1845, p. 400), but we have 

really here what Schleiden has observed in the corpuscles of the Coni- 

fers. The external surface of the cellular membrane of the corpuscle 

is covered in its whole extent with a layer of very small cells, formino- 

a kind of epithelium (Hofraeister, Vergleichende Untersuch. pi. 28 

and 29). Gottsche has found the total thickness of the wall in Ma- 

crozamia to be O'Ol mm. In ripe seeds the corpuscles are situated in 

the upper part of the endosperm. They may be more or less flattened, 

sometimes free above, at other times attached to the lower surface of 

the areolae. When the top of the nucleus or dried cone is torn off, 

the corpuscles usually follow with it, with the suspensors coiled up- 

Avards by the embryo. I have not been able to ascertain if the cor- 

puscles are perforated at the summit. In those which I look upon as 

unfertilized, not a trace of opening can be seen. In those which have 

been fertilized, the fragments of cells which have been already spoken 

of (Plate XCII. fig. 8) are seen at the extremities. It is possible that 

amongst these debris a passage exists for the pollen-tubes. I have, 

VOL. VII. [aIARCH \, 1869.] G

78 VARIATIONS IN EPIG.EA REPENS. 

however, never met with any vestige of the tubes in the numerous 

seeds which I have examined. 

(The Plates and the remainder of the Paper will he given in next numher.J 

VARIATIONS IN EPIGJÂ REPENS, Linn. 

{Read before Philad. Acad. Natural Sciences, May, 1868.) 

By Thomas Meehan. 

There are yet many botanists who regard variations as accidents. 

They speak of a normal form as something essential ; and departures 

from their idea of a type, they refer to external causes, independent of 

any inherent power of change in the plant itself. Hence, when a 

change of form occurs to them, it is usually referred to shade, to sun- 

light, to an unusual season, situation, or some geological peculiarity of 

the soil. Cultivation is denounced as interfering with botanical sci- 

ence ; 

introducing and originating innumerable forms, defying the skill 

of the botanist to classify or arrange. My experience in plant culture, 

and as an observer of j^lants in a state of nature, leads to the conclu- 

sion that there is no greater power to vary in the one case than in the 

other ; that there is as much variation in the perfectly wild plant, as 

in those under the best gardener's skill. To illustrate this, I gathered 

a great number of specimens of Antennaria plantag'mifulla. Hook., 

wliich, though I do not believe it has a greater average power of 

variation than any other plant, aftbrds a good example for the follow- 

ing reasons :—The small seeds, I believe, require a clear surface of 

ground to vegetate, and young plants therefore never appear in a 

meadow or grassy place. In such positions plants only exist tliat 

had a footing in advance of the grass. They then propagate exclu- 

sively by runners. After being two or three years in tliis situation, 

they form patches of one or several square feet each. Now it is not 

easy to appreciate a minute dift'erence between one single specimen 

and another; but when a score or more of specimens of one are 

matched against a similar number of the other, the minutife m.ike 

an aggregate which is readily estimated. So we shall find in the 

case of a two or three year old meadow, filled with this plant, that

VAKIATIONS IN EPIG.EA REPENS. 79 

not only are tio tico patches alike, l)ut that the eye convinces us of the 

fact on the first ghince over the field. Plain as the differences thus 

presented were, I found, however, some difficulty in describing them 

in language ; and besides being a dioecious plant, there might be 

brought in the objection of intercrossing between allied species of this 

or neighbouring genera, if not of the individuals of the opposite sexes 

themselves, to account for so many forms. I therefore chose JEpujrea, 

as belonging to a Natural Order exclusively hermaphrodite ; containing 

only one natural species ; not very closely allied to any of the neigh- 

bouring genera, Andromeda, Clethra, GauUheria, etc. ; none of which, 

at any rate, flower at the same time with it. 

On the 19th of April I gathered specimens from sixteen diff'erent 

plants on the Wissahickon, without taking any pains to make any 

particular selection of varieties. The following descriptions show their 

variations :— 

1. Tube of the corolla half an inch long, contracted in the middle : 

segments of the corolla broadly ovate, one- third the length of the tube, 

incurved, pure white. Scales of the calyx two-thirds the length of the 

tube, narrowly lanceolate, interior ones white and membranaceous with, 

a crimson base. 

2. Tube half an inch, regularly cylindrical ; segments half as long 

as the tube, triangularly ovate, light rose, incurved. Scales one-third 

the length of the tube, white coriaceous. 

3. Tube quarter of an inch, thick (one-eighth wide), cylindrical ; seg- 

ments rather longer than the tube, triangularly ovate, incurved, deep 

rosy pink. Scales three-fourths the length of the tube, rosy red, with 

white margins. 

4. Tube nearly half an inch, contracted at the summit ; segments 

very short, scarcely one-sixteenth of an inch, forming nearly five 

ovate repand teeth, purplish-white. Scales greenish-white, simply 

acute. 

5. Tube quarter of an inch long, one-eighth wide ; segments lanceo- 

hite, erect, two-thirds as long as the tube, rosy purple. Scales brown, 

not margined, drawn out to a long fine point. 

6. Tube quarter of an inch, cylindrical; segments oblong-ovate, re- 

cuiwed, as long as the tube. One of the anthers slightly petaloid. 

Scales prolonged into almost an awn. 

7. Tube much narrowed at the summit, quarter of an inch long; 

G 2

80 VARIATIONS IN epig.I';a repens. 

segtnents less than one-sixteenth of an inch long, pale purple. Scales 

greenish-brown, very narrow. 

8. Tube near half an inch, contracted in the middle ; segments 

quarter of an inch, linear lanceolate, bright rose. Scales half the 

length of the tube, broadly ovate, membranaceous, simply sharp- 

pohited. 

9. Tube half an inch, cylindrical; segments quarter of an inch, of 

which there are but three broadly ovate, white. 

10. Tube nearly tlirce-quarters of an inch, cylindrical; segments 

quarter of an inch, narrowly ovate. Scales as long as the tube, linear- 

lanceolate, pale green. 

11. Tube less than quarter of an inch, and shorter than the luxuriant 

foliaceous, mucronate scales. Segments of the corolla two-thirds as 

long as the tube, broadly ovate, pure white. 

12. Tube quarter of an inch, increasing slightly in width upwardly 

(funnel-shaped), one-eighth thick at the top of the tube; segments 

short, ovate, reflexed, light pink. Scales longer than the tube, green, 

white margined. 

13. Tube quarter of an inch, much contracted in the middle; seg- 

ments quarter of an inch, broad ovate. Scales half the length of the 

tube, brown, with white margins. 

14. Tube under half an inch, thick, perfectly cylindrical ; segments 

quarter of an inch, broad linear, and rounded at the apex, waxy 

white. Scales quarter of an inch long, brown, with membranaceous 

mnrgins. 

15. Tube full three-quarters of an inch, cylindrical; segments quar- 

ter of an inch, triangularly ovate, pale rose. Scales half an inch, 

narrow and drawn out to an awn-like point. 

16. Tube half an inch, cylindrical. Scales less than one-sixteenth 

of an inch, broad ovate, green, and barely pointed. 

On again examining No. 12, after making these notes, I was sur- 

prised to find no trace of stamens, but with the pistil perfect ; and on 

examining the other specimens, I found three out of the fifteen were 

pistillate also. Another remarkable fact was that all these pistils had 

the fine cleft stigmas strongly recurved, exposing a glutinous surface; 

Avhilc the hermaphrodite ones kept the apex of the pistils closed. The 

ovaries of tlu; pistillate forms were also evidently better developed than 

those in the hermaphrodite condition, and the inference was that the 

plant was practically dicecious.

VARIATIONS IN EPIGyFA REPENS. 81 

Oq the 3rd of May I returned to the locality and found this hypo- 

thesis in all probability correct. The pistillate plants were in propor- 

tion about one-third that of the hermaphrodite, and could be readily 

distinguished after the flower had faded by the recurved stigmas above 

noted. All the plants that had shed their corollas were pistillate ; the 

apparently hermaphrodite plants having their corollas dry on the re- 

ceptacles, from which it was not easy to separate them— the scales of 

the calyx and a part of the stem coming away with them. This is so 

well-known a feature of impregnation in the development of a fruit, 

that I need not dwell much on the importance of this fact, as showing 

the fertility of the pistillate, and the sterility of the opposite form. 

I engaged friends to furnish me specimens from other places. Dr. 

James Darrach finds them, as I have above described, in another locality 

on the \Vissahic;kon. Miss Anderson sends me ten specimens from Edge 

Hill, ]\Iontgomery County, Pa., amongst which two are purely pistil- 

late, the rest varying much as in the Wissaliiekon specimens. Mr. 

Isaac Burk finds pistillate plants abound at Mount Ephraim, New 

Jersey, but there are abortive filaments without antliers, and he sends 

me one specimen of this character. Mr. Charles E. Sniitli sends me 

a dozen or so specimens from Haddonfield, hermaphrodite, and so ex- 

actly alike that they probably all come from one plant. Mr. E. Dif- 

fenbaugh sends ten specimens from another place in New Jersey, all 

with anthers, but varying from nearly none to filaments three-eighths 

of an inch long; varying also in the proportionate lengths of scales, 

tubes and segments; but not near as much as in the Wissahickon sne- 

cimens. Professor Cope sends samples fron] Delaware County, Pa. 

These are varied like the Wissahickon ones; and Mr. Cope remarks to 

me that the pistillate forms are so distinctly characterized, by the vasi- 

form recurved corollas and other characters, that he can readily distin- 

guish them as he walks along. 

Has this peculiarity of Hpigaa repens been overlooked by the many 

botanists who must have critically examined it heretofore ? Or has 

the plant reached a stage of development when genus of new forms 

spring actively into life ? 

In a paper on Lopezia, published in the last volume of the Proceed- 

ings, I showed that the sexual organs of that genus were admirably 

arranged to prevent the pollen of a flower falling on its own stigma. 

This behaviour of Eplgaa a^lds another to the list of plants, now so

82 PLANT EEMAINS IN NORTH AMERICA. 

extensive, known to have an abhorrence of self-fertilization. It may 

not be out of place to hazard a reason for this course 

There would seem to be two distinct principles in relation to form 

going along together with the life of a species. The tendency of the 

one force is to preserve the existing form ; the other to modify, and 

extend it to newer channels. The first we represent by the term in- 

heritaijce, the other we understand as variation. Inheritance struggles 

to have the plant fertilize itself with its own pollen ; whilst the eiForts 

of variation are towards an intermixture of races or even neighbouring 

individuals, rather than with members of the one brood or family. 

May it not be possible that at some time in their past history all spe- 

cies of plants have been hermaphrodite ? that Dioecism is a later triumph 

of variation, its final victory in the struggle with inheritance ? 

There are some difficulties in the way of sucli a theory, as there are 

with most of these theories ; but it seems clear from this case of Epigeea 

that cultivation has not as much to do with changes as it gets credit 

for, and we may readily believe that, independently of external circum- 

stances, there is a period of youth and a period of old age in form as 

well as in substance, and that we may therefore look for a continual 

creation of new forms by a process of vital development, just as ra- 

tional)}' and as reverently as for the continued succession of new indi- 

viduals. 

The discovery of dicecism in Epigaa is interesting from the fact that 

it is probably the first instance known in true Ericacece. In the Eri- 

cal suborder of Erancoacecr, abortive stamens are characteristic of the 

family, and in the FyrohicucB antherless filaments have been recorded. 

Meehans Gardtner^s Munilihj, February, 1869. 

ON THE PLANT EEMAINS FOUND IN THE CRETACEOUS 

AND TERTIARY STRATA OF NORTH AMERICA. 

The Cretaceous flora of Britain, and indeed of Europe, presents an 

assemblage of i)laiits very different from those which succeeded them 

in the same area, either in Tertiary or recent times. The fruits of 

Fandanett, arborescent Liliacea, several genera of Cycadece, species of 

Jrancarin and Sequoia, with numerous Ferns and gigantic Eqidseta, 

are found in the Cretaceous beds of Britain. M. Coemans has de- 

: 

—

PLANT REMAINS IN NORTH AMERICA. S3 

scribed a singular collection of coniferous fossils from strata of Calca- 

reous age occurring in the Belgian province of Hainault, but with 

them is associated a Cycad belonging to an extinct tribe of the Order. 

No trace whatever remains of these Cretaceous plants in the existing 

flora of the regions where they are found. A corresponding/tfc/es of 

vegetation can be found at the present day only in tropical regions, 

and to a considerable extent the same may be said of the vegetation 

of the Tertiary strata. The tropical character is not so strongly pro- 

nounced, but the Orders and genera represented are more southern 

forms than those now living in Europe. Two or three Palms, species 

of Smilitx, Cinnamonium, Llquidcwibar, Llriodendron, etc. ; numerous 

forms oi Proteacea, referred to the modern genera Banksla, Dryandra, 

Hcikea, and Persoonia, and coniferous forms belonging to Sequoia, 

Tcixodmm, Glyptostrobiis, Frenela, etc.,—form a group of plants the mo- 

dern representatives of which, must be sought sometimes in America, 

sometimes in Australia, and at others in Asia or Africa, but least of all 

in Europe, and, in the few cases that do occur in Europe, only in 

the Mediterranean region of the Continent. The Tertiary flora is 

much further removed from the existing vegetation of Britain than 

it is from the Cretaceous flora, and yet from this it is very clearly 

distinguished. 

In America the relations of these successive floras are very different. 

Many genera ai'e common to each of the three periods, and no very 

mai'kedline of distinction can be drawn between either of them. Pro- 

fessor Newberry has just given us the means, of forming an approximate 

estimate of the facies of the two extinct floras,* in a recent Essay, whicli, 

besides containing much new and original labour, gives a narrative of 

all that has been done before. The plants found in Cretaceous rocks 

were at first believed to be of Tertiary age, on account of the modern 

character of the genera found among them. The true stratigraphical 

position of the rocks in which they occur has, however, been esta- 

blished, beyond a doubt, from the discovery of unmistakable Cretaceous 

shells in them, like Grypluea Pitcheri and Tnoceramus prohlematictts. 

The forms enumerated by Newberry contain only a few, which have 

disappeared from North America, such as Cinnamomum, Clssus, Ficus, 

* Notes on the Later Extinct Floras of Korth America, with description of 

some new species of Fossil Plants from the Cretaceous and Tertiary Sti-ata. 

Annals of the Lyceum of Xat. History in New York, vol. ix. 1868.

84 PLANT REMAINS IIS NOKTH AMEKICA. 

Arancar'ui, and Salisburia ; tkey especially abound in genera still 

bulking- largely in the flora of the United States. Among these may 

be enumerated 7 sjiecies of Popnlus, 4 of Sallx, 6 of Quercus, 2 of 

MofjnoUa, 2 of Plalanm, together with representatives of Biospyros, 

Aridolochio, Sasftnfras, Liriocletiilron , Taxodium, Cupressus, etc., some 

of which aie confined, as living plants, to the American continent, 

though they are found in Europe in Tertiary strata. The genera in- 

dicating a warm climate, like Sabal and Cinnamomum, are from the 

west coast ; while the Cretaceous beds of Kansas, Nebraska, and New 

Mexico have hitherto yielded no fossils of a tropical or even of a sub- 

tropical character. This difierence in the character of what wâs pro- 

bably contemporaneous floras, is supposed to have been caused by the 

existence of an elevated central region separating the two sides of the 

broad continental surface on which the plants grew. This would give 

physical conditions, not uidike those of the continent at the present 

day, the isothermal lines being siniihirly curved over the surface. It 

would thus happen tiiat Palms and Cinnamons would, from the con- 

ditions of temperature, be restricted to the western region of the Creta- 

ceous continent. 

IMany of the genera found in these Cretaceous beds are represented 

in the Tertiary strata, and they are accompanied with numerous other 

forms, linking them still more closely with the vegetation of the pre- 

sent day. These comprise such genera as Co^'nus^ Neguiido, Carya, 

Sapindits, AraVia, Amelanchkr, Pluntra, Rhus, Sequoia, and Thnya. 

The resemblance which this fossil flora bears to the living vegetation 

of the United States is veiT obvious. It agrees also to a considerable 

extent with the present flora of Japan and China, and with the fossil 

plants from the Miocene beds of Europe. Among the American Ter- 

tiary plants is a species of G lyploslrodiis, o? which there is a large num- 

ber of specimens, and which cannot be distinguished from G. Enropcpiis ; 

aiul other species (Taxodium dnbium, Ser/uoia Langsdorfii, etc.) are 

very closely allied to European fossils, if they are not indeed identical 

witli them. 

From the Tertiary flora, w hen looked upon as the precursor of that 

\\hich now occupies North. America, several important genera are want- 

ing, which will most likely be yet discovered. Among the most 

striking of these deficiencies may be mentioned Acer, Quercus, Lirio- 

deiidioii, Liqiiiduinbar, Sumafras, etc., some of \\hich appear among the

CORRESl'ONDENCE. 85 

vegetation of tlie Cretaceous period, and all of them are members of 

the European Miocenes. 

Among the Ferns from the Tertiary strata is an Onoclea, which 

Professor Newberry cannot distinguish from the living American 0. 

sensibilis, and whicli he considers the same as Fillcitis ? Hehridicus, 

Forbes, from the Miocene beds of Mull. 

COERESPONDENCE. 

Wllkomm and Lange's Sjjanisk Flora. 

W. Cakruthers, 

"Terra ferax Cererej miiltoque feracior uvis."—Ovid, Aia., ii. W. 7. 

Dear Sir,— At page 239 of jour fourth volume you state tliat, unless a few 

more subscribei-s can be obtained, the publication of Wilkomm and Lanfje's 

' Prodromus Florse Hispanicse ' must be discontinued. 

It is now exactly thirty years since the late Philip Barker Webb expressed 

a hope that Spanish botanists would at length awaken from their virvov \T]Qapyov 

fiadvv, and endow science with a complete CMtalogue of what he rightly cha- 

racterized as "tlie richest acd most varied flora in Europe." 

This appeal has been partially responded to by Colmeiro, Costa, Graells, and 

a few others, whilst Webb, Boissier, Reuter, Kunze, Cosson, and Gay have 

done still more towards the description of Spanish plants. Nevertheless, wiiile 

the vegetation of every other Europeau country is critically illustrated, in one 

or more standard works, Spain and Portugal alone have no Flora, tlie extensive 

and valuable collections made of late years, amongst wliich the magnificent 

ones of Bourgeau stand pre-eminent, though worked up more or less completely, 

having never been brought together and revised by a competent botanist, 

familiar with the country. 

To collect these disjecta memhra, and study them comparatively from a uniform 

point of view, was the task undertaken by Professors Wilkomm and 

Lange ; and, so far as the work has progressed, it must be admitted that, as 

regards scientific accuracy in the diagnoses, fulness in the indications of geo- 

graphical distribution, and neatness in tlie typography, it has been admirably 

executed. 

It seems scarcely credible, and is a reproach to European botanists, that a 

work of this nature, of inestimable value for the study of the statistics of the 

vegetation of our continent, should not have met with sufBcient support to 

cover the expense of publication. If Boissier's ' Flora Orientalis ' proceeds 

with the steadiness and rapidity which the circumstance that the material 

must already, to a great extent, be prepared and arranged, gives fair reason to 

expect, we sliaU in a few years— unless some effort is made to prevent the 

abandonment of an undertaking for which the materials exist, and whereof the

86 . MEMOUANDA. 

susceptors seek only to be secured from personal loss— possess a more complete 

manual for tlie floras of Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Syria, and Western 

Asia, than for that of the Iberian penhisula ; whilst Italy, so long distracted 

and misgoverned, besides innumerable local Florulas, and the works of Moris 

and Gussone for Sardinia and Sicily, has given us a complete Flora of the 

country in ten volumes, and another in course of publication which will pro- 

bably attain equal length. 

My object in addressing to you this communication, which I earnestly hope 

may meet the eyes of Prof. Wilkomm, is to point out that, under the altered 

political circumstances of Spain, and with a growing desire for enhghtenment, 

an application to the Government to subscribe for 50 or 100 copies, to be 

placed in the principal libraries, could scarcely fail to meet with a ready and 

favourable response. 

I trust my suggestion will not be neglected, and that its success may prevent 

a calamity which would demonstrate too clearly that, whUe many talk of the 

progress of our science, there can be comparatively few who take a real interest 

in it. 

Whampoa, China, Decemher 11, 18G8. 

MEMOEANDA. 

H. F. Hakce. 

The Rev. J. E. Leefe requests us to announce that he is now prepared to 

send off copies of the 6.vst fasciculus of the ' Salictum Exsiecatum,' postage paid, 

on the i-eceipt of 8*., either in stamps or by Post Otlice order. Address, 

Cupwell Vicarage, Morpeth. 

The Wollastyn Fund has been awarded by the Council of the Gcolooical 

Society to Mr. W. Carruthers, of the British Museum, in consideration of his 

researches in fossil botany. 

A Memor of the late Professor Harvey, of Dublin, has just been published 

by Messrs. Bell and Daldy. 

Dr. H. C. Wood lias discovered a plant growing in a hot spring at Benton, 

Owen's Valley, California. The temperature of the spring is often 160 degrees. 

The plant he names Nosioc caladarium. It not only grows freely in water of 

this very great temperature, b\it supports on itself a simpler structure, which he 

has designated Chroococcus thermophilus. 

The Pinks of Califoiima.—At a recent meeting of the Cahfornia Academy 

of Sciences, Dr. Bolauder said there were but fifteen species indigenous 

to the State. Of Firs there were but four. He said Mr. Murray had a fifth, 

which he called Picea magnijica, which was but P. amabilis. He thought the 

European botanists multiplied species in the interest of seedsmen, as there was 

such a demand in Europe for seeds oi new things. 

Thuja and Libocedrus.—We have been requested, by Mr. Robert Brown, 

to correct au error which has crept into liis " Monograph of the Coniferous


Genus Thuja, Linn., and of the Xortli American Species of the Genus Z,z6o- 

cedrus, Endl." in its passage through the press. At page 363 of the volume 

in which it is contained (Trans. Bot. Soc. Edin. ix.), the parallel columns 

containing tlie characters of the two genera should be transposed, and the word 

" the," fifteenth line from foot of p. 362, last word in the line deleted. This 

error is evident both from the context and the preceding and following matter, 

but as it stands is apt to be confusing. 

Dr. Masters lately exhibited, at a meeting of the Scientific Committee of the 

E.oja! Horticultural Society, a specimen of a monoecious Mistleto, sent by 

Mr. George Thomson, gardener at Stansted Park, Sussex. The same main 

trunk bore short, stiif, compact shoots, with small leaves of a dark green colour, 

and ripe berries, and, at the same time, long, slender, pendulous, whip-like 

slioots, with larger yellow-coloured leaves, and perfect male flowers in full 

bloom. Dr. Masters stated that he had never before seen or heard of a similar 

instance in the Mistleto, though analogous cases in other ordinarily dioecious 

plants were not unfrequent. Professor Oliver, who had paid much attention 

to tlie LoranthacecE, had also informed Dr. Masters, that he had not seen any 

record of monoicism in the Mistleto, though such a condition was common in 

some of the other genera of the Order. Professor Oliver also remarked that 

the present case was the more remarkable from the fact that the sexual cha- 

racteristics of Mistleto are usually, so well marked that it is possible to distin- 

guish the male from the female plants at a distance by their colour or general 

aspect. It was suggested by some members of the Committee that tliis might 

be a case of natural grafting, owing to a seed having fallen on the male plant, 

and there germinated—a parasite on a parasite!— but tliis view of the case was 

not borne out by a section of the branch. 

Mr. Wilson Saunders, at the same meeting, exhibited a Hyacinth of the 

variety called " Robert Steiger," in which the flowers, instead of being of their 

usual carmine colour, were all green. The diiference in colour was associated 

with still more important variations in forrii and direction, the flowers having 

aU of them an elongated tubular form, and an erect direction. It was stated 

that the anthers were of a pink colour, and somewhat deformed. The Hyacinth 

in question had been grown imder precisely the same conditions as others 

which were unaffected. Mr. Berkeley alluded to similar instances of vires- 

cence or phyUomorphy in Colchicum autumnale, and Dr. Masters to the like 

phenomena in some species of Convallaria. 


Edinbue&h Botanical Society met on Thursday, 14th January, 1869, at 5, 

St. Andrew Square, Dr. Cleghorn, President, in the chair. The following communications 

were read :—T. Biographical Notices of Carl Friedrich PhiUipp von 

Martins, M.D. ; and Adalbert Schnizlein, Ph.D., late members of the Society. 

By Dr. Cleghorn. II. The Lichen Flora of Greenland. By Dr. Lauder 

Lindsay. The author stated that his attention had been drawn to the lichen


flora of Greenland by being requested in the winter of 1867-8, by Mr. Robert 

Brown, to examine and determine the lichens collected in West Greenland in 

the course of the "'West Greenland Exploring Expedition'' of 1867. On 

studying in connection with tlie determination of the species so submitted, the 

literature of Greenland lichenology, he was surprised to find that there was no 

recorded modern list of the lichens of that country. Accordingly, the author 

had drawn up a list of all the lichens which to the present day had been found, 

or recorded to have been found, in Greenland, compiled from all the sources of 

information accessible to him. The list included 26S species and varieties. 

III. Notes on Diatomacede from Danish Greenland, collected by Mr. Robert 

Brown. By Professor Dickie. No. 1. All the species recorded were British, 

with the single exception of Hyalodiscus suhtiUs, originally described by the 

late Professor Bailey, from Halifax ; found also on the shores of North-west 

America, and now on the shores of Greenland. IV. Mosses collected by 

Mr. Jenneraiid Mr. Howie in Ross-shire in July 1868. By Mr. Charles 

Howie. The autlior described the parts of Ross-shire visited, and enume- 

rated the different species of Mosses collected, with special reference to tlie 

situations and conditions of growth. Tlie paper was illustrated by dried 

specimens of the plants. Y. On the Staining of Microscopical Preparations. 

By Dr. W. R. M'Nab. The author enumerated a large series of experiments 

he had made by staining certain microscopical structures with acetate of 

mauvine and Scale's carmine solution. He showed that by means of staining, 

the high powers of the microscope can be used to bring out points of structure 

not easily demonstrated without being so treated. The process of staining does 

not seem to be attended with any great difficidty, and the autlior believes that 

very important results may be obtained by careful study of its action on ger- 

minating plants. VI. Letter from Dr. R. O. Cunningham to Professor Bal- 

four. "H.Î.wS. Nassau, Valparaiso, 3rd November, 1868.—Rather more than 

a year ago I wrote to you, describing our experience during the first season we 

spent in the Strait of Magalhaens, and possibly you may be interested by a 

few notes of our proceedings during the past year. I shall confine myself prin- 

cipally, in the following remarks, to what I have observed in tlie way of botany. 

We entered tlie strait on the 17th of November, 1867, and reached Sandy 

Point two days later, on a lovely spring moniing, recalling the month of April 

at home. T!ic fresh green foliage of Fagnx antarctica was really refreshing to 

tlie eye after our sea cruise, and a considerable number of ilowering plants 

were hi bloom. The Berheris empetrifolia covered the ground in many places 

with its prostrate stems, thic'tly covered with blossoms which diffused a faint 

perfume, and the Primula M

BOTAN.'CAL XEWS. 89 

coccineutn, Geiim M'igellanicum, and a variety of other plants. Shortly after 

that, a long and tedious period ensued, the officers being occupied in deep 

soundings, and as the ship lay a long distance from land, and there were gales 

without number, I was very much confined on board. Towards tlie end of 

December, we visited tlie Gallegos River, about thirty miles to the north of 

Cape Virgins, in search of a deposit of fossil bones of manimalia, but were un- 

successful in our quest, and about the middle of Januaiy we went across to the 

Falkland Islands to provision and coal. We remained in Stanley Harbour 

about ten days, and I was more favourably impressed with the surrounding 

country than I was on my first visit. Callixine marginata, Chabraa suaveolens, 

Drosera vniflora, Pratia repens, Empetrum rubrum, Gentiana sp., Serraria 

Magellanica, S. alpina, and Aspidium mohrioides, and various other plants 

were procured. On our way back to the strait we passed through Falkland 

Sound, visiting the Tyssan group of islands, where I saw the Tussac {Dactylis 

ccEspitosa) in great luxuriance, and found the ripe fruit of Ruhus geoides. We 

also spent a day at Fox Bay (West Falkland Islands), and there I obtained 

two Orchids which I had not previously met with. We had very blowy 

weather for some time after our return to the Cape, which greatly retarded 

operations. I spent a week during that time tented-out in Patagonia, but got 

very little in the way of specimens for my trouble, the most interesting ' find ' 

being Cranfzia lineata, whieli does not appear to have been previously re- 

corded from the Strait, though it is recorded in the ' Flora Antarctica ' as oc- 

ciu-ring in the Falkland Islands. I forget whether I mentioned in my former 

letter, that Apium graveolens is extremely abundant on both sides of the 

eastern portion of the strait, wherever the land is at all damp, and, as Dr. 

Hooker has observed, is perfectly wholesome. The survey of the eastern por- 

tion of the strait was at length brought to a close, and after a few days' sojourn 

at Sandy Point in tlie fir^t week of March, we set out to get a fresh supply 

of provisions at Chiloe, passing through the western part of the strait and the 

cliannels leading northwards from it to the Gulf of Penas. We halted at various 

places on our way, and I made use of all the opportunities that came of going 

ashore and hunting for specimens. At Playa Parda Cove, in the western part 

of the strait, I obtained, among other plants, Philesia huxifolia, Desfontainia 

spinosa, Escallonia macrantha, and a Myrtaceous plant, which seems to be 

Metrodderos stipularis, and which does not seem to have been previously met 

with to the north of the Chonos Archipelago. It is, however, abundant in the 

channels, and constitutes a well-marked feature in the vegetation, frequently 

forming a distinct belt where the precipitous land dips into the water. At 

Poll Bay, where we spent two or three days, I found Gaultheria antarctica, 

generally growing along with Myrtits Nummularia, and easily mistaken for it 

at first sight, and Tetroncium Magellanicnm. Here, as in most places in the 

channels where there was any open ground, a solid turf was formed of plants 

of Gaimardia,Astelia,?mdiCaltha dionewfolia ; and a species of Prestonia 

was plentiful in the shallow pools of freshwater. At Eden Harbour, in the 

Messier Channel, I met with Podocarpus nuUgenus, foi-ming handsome trees, 

and a curious little dwarf conifer, which also occurs on the mountains of Yal-


divia (and wliich Philippi has described under tlie name of Lepidothamnium), 

as well as Mltraria coccinea, not before obtained to the south of the Chpnos 

Archipelago. We arrived at the fort of San Carlos, Cliiloe, at the close of 

March, and remained there about a fortnight, and I was greatly interested in 

the striking character of the yegetatiou. Here I saw for tlie first time thickets 

of an arboreous grass of the genus Chusquea ; Myriacea, Bromeliacete, Escal- 

lonias, and Fuchsias constituted a very prominent feature. The trunks of 

many of the trees were covered with Sarmienta repens, and their branches with 

a scarlet Loranthns ; and Gunnera scabra covered mauy of the sandstone cliffs 

with its large Rhubarb-like leaves. Other conspicuous plants were a yellowflowered 

Loasa and Berberis Darwinii, and last, but not least, our common 

Digitalis, which has completely naturalized itself. We left the Bay of San 

Carlos on the 12th of April, to return to the channels, passing between Chiloe 

and tlie mainland, and calling at two forts in the island on our way. At the 

first of these (Cava Oscura) I found Tricuspidaria in flower, and was consider- 

ably puzzled as to its affinities (Dr. Hooker has since set me right with regard 

to it). The drooping crimson flowers give tlie tree a most remarkable appear- 

ance. Our next halting-place was Port Otway (Cape Tres Montes). I 

spent an afternoon on shore there, and found Veronica decussata growing 

6 to 8 feet high, and a beautiful Gcsneraceous creeper, wliich I took for a 

species of Brymonia, but which I am inclined to suppose to be a Colum- 

nea. We entered the Messier Channel on the 17th of April, and remained 

thei'e for about a month, sxu-veying the harbours, during which we 

had almost perpetual i-ain. I was interested by procuring in several locali- 

ties specimens of a handsome Bignoniaceous creeper with rose-coloured flowers, 

and was in hopes that it might prove new, but have since found that it has 

been previously procured from Valdivia, being Philippi's Tecoma Valdiviana. 

It does not appear to have been met before to the south of Valdivia, so this 

di-covery of it in the channels extends its distribution several hundred miles. 

I have not said anything yet about the Cryptogamic plants of the channels. 

There are some very beautiful ferns (chiefly HymenophyllecB), Musci and 

Licliens : but the greater number of them occur also in Chiloe and the south 

parts of Chili, and I did not meet with such a great number of species as I was 

led to expect. One, a species of Sypopterygium, greatly delighted me by the 

beauty of its growth, resembling that of a miniature Palm-tree. We left the 

channels in tlie middle of May, as tlie weather was so inveterately bad that 

surveying operations were reaidered impossible, and, after a short stay at 

Chiloe, set out for Valparaiso, calling at Lota and Concepcion on the way. At 

Lota I saw for the first time that splendid creeper, the Copigne {Lapageria 

rosea). It was in great glory, flourishing even in the vicinity of the copper- 

smelting works, where almost all other plants were killed by the sulphureous 

smoke. We reached Valparaiso on the 12th of June, and remained till the end 

of July, having an extensive experience of northerly gales, accompanied by 

rain. As it was winter when we arrived, but few plants were in flower. A 

little yellow Oxalis, known to the Chilians by the title of ' Flor de Perding,' 

formed bright-coloured patches on the hills, and a Fuchsia with small pink


flowers was blooming abundantly. I made a short excursion to the small town 

of Santa Rosa de los Andes, at tliefoot of the Cordillera. There the lower hills 

bristle with tall Cacti, usurping the place of all other vegetation, and in 

many cases covered with a parasitic leafless Lorardhiis, with bright scarlet 

flowers. We spent the month of August very agreeably at Coquimbo, and 

there I made the acquaintance of the NolanacecB for the fii-st time ; Jlona 

ccelestis covering the lower slopes of the hills, and two species of Sorema being 

abundant on the lower gi'ound. There, also, I saw for the first time the Ari- 

stolochia Chiliensis, the beautiful little Schizopetalon, Carica jiyriformis, 

Llagunoa glandulosa, Schizanlhiis fimbriatus, two species of Caladenia, a 

Trichopetalum, etc. We returned to Valparaiso in the beginning of September, 

and liere we have been since. Thei-e is now a wonderful variety of plants in 

flower on the hills and intersecting quenadas,— Tropceolum tricolorum, two 

yellow Calceolarias, a yellow and a deep purple Oxalis, a scarlet Alonsoa, 

several species of (Eiiothera, Plsathea ccerulea, Puga coarctata, a Veriena, 

Adesmia salpiglossis, Argemone, Tupa, Schizanthus, Anemone, Polggala, etc., 

being specially plentiful. To-day we start for the south, there to remain for 

the next six or eight months. Excuse the hurry with -which this letter lias 

been written, and believe me, my dear Sir, most truly yours, Robeet O. Cunningham." 

YII. Report on the Open Air Vegetation at the Royal Botanic 

Garden. By Mr. M'Nab. VIII. Report on the Botanic Gardens of Natal. 

By Mr. J. M Ken, Curator. 

Thursday, February 11.— Cliarles Jenner, Esq., Vice-President, in the chair. 

The following communications were read :— I. Experiments on Colour-Re- 

action as a Specific Character in Lichens. By Dr. Lauder Lindsay. Tlie 

author remarked that the colour-reactions of heheus, the efiects of certain 

chemical re-agents applied to their thalhis or apotliecia, had recently acquired 

considerable importance, in consequence of tlie strong assertions of Dr. Nv- 

lander and the Rev. Mr. Leighton, as to the value of the reactions in question 

in specific or botanical diagnosis. These observations had led the autlior to 

make a special series of experiments, in order to test the accux'acy of the state- 

ments, and the following are the general conclusions to which he has arrived : 

1. The same specimen, in the hands of the same opei'ator, in its difierent parts, 

at different times, frequently exhibits colour-reactions different at least in degree. 

2. The same species, in the hands of tlie same operator, and, still more 

so, in those of diSerent experimenters, in different specimens from the same or 

different localities, differing in freshness of collection or age, occurring in 

diffei'cnt varieties or forms, or in different conditions of growth (fertile or 

sterile, hypertrophied or degenerated), frequently shows colour-reactions differ- 

ing equally in kind and degree. 3. Colorific quality is determined by circum- 

stances (not fully understood) connected with (a) locality of growth in relation 

to climatic, geogi-aphical, topographical, geological, or other conditions. (6) 

States of development, in relation to sterihty, hypertrophy, or degeneration of 

the vegetable tissues proper. 4. Tliis inconstancy of colorific property leads 

the arcliil manufacturer never to depend on laboratory testings in the purchase 

of his " orchella weed," or in determining its commercial value ; for it not un- 

—


fi'equentlj happens that a most pi'omising Roccella even proves worthless, and 

is, as such, cast aside. 5. Colour-reaction, though interestuig in itself in con- 

nection with the general suhjeet of lichen colorific or colouring matters, affords 

no aid that can be depended on, either {a) to the SA'steniatist in defining species, 

or {h) to the dye manufacturer in determining the value of his " orchella weed." 

II. Notice of a Journey from Dcyrah Dhoon to Jumnotri. Part 1. By Mr. 

William Bell. III. Remarks on some Deep-Sea Dredguirrg, transmitted by 

Captain William Chimmo. By Professor Dickie. The dredgings, which were 

taken by Captain Chimmo from great depths in the Atlantic, immediately 

under the Gulf stream, at 2000 fathoms, in lat. 47° 3' N. ; long. 23° 21' W., 

and at 600 fathoms in lat. 45° 42' N., and long. 47° 39' W., had been minutely 

examiued by Professor Dickie. He found that in the matter from 2000 fathoms 

there were two Diatoms, one identical with Coscinodiscus minor, and the other 

a species of Cocconeis, which he had not yet determined. lie had treated 

some of the material with weak acid, in order to judge, from the amount of 

sarcode left, whether the forauiinifera (which were abundant) were living, or 

merely the shells after death and decay. He had come to the conclusion that 

they were living, but whether the Diatoms mentioned were so he could not 

say. Among the material he found several species of Poli/ci/s/ida. Specimens 

of the dredgings were shown under the microscope. IV. Notice of the Occurrence 

o? Amhlystegimn confervoides, Bruch and Scliimper, in Westmoreland, by 

Mr. J. M. Barnes. Communicated by Mr. P. N. Fraser. Mr. Barnes gathered 

this moss in 1867, in considerable abundance on loose stones in damp wood 

near Levens. He has gathered it in many ditferent places since. It always 

occurs on limestone, and is apt to be overlooked for a small form of A. serpens. 

Specimens were exhibited and presented by Mr. Barnes to the herb:irium. V. 

Report on the Open Air Vegetation, at the Royal Botanic Garden. By Mr. 

M'Nab. VI. Miscellaneous Communications. 1. Aster sal/gnus.—A note 

was read from Miss Becver, recording the occurrence of Aster salignus on the 

shore of Derwentwater, where it was collected by Miss Edmonds, in 1868, in 

flower. This plant also occurs near Cambridge, and in several places on the 

banks of the Tay, between Dalguise and Seggieden. In one locality below 

Perth, Dr. White remarks that it is associated with several introduced plants, 

such as Linaria repens, Petasites alba, Sanguisorba Canadensis, Mimulus 

luteus. Crocus vernus, and Karcissus Pseudo-narcissus, which are all more or 

less common, and well established along the banks of the river. In France, 

Aster Novi-Belffi seems to ho^d the same place as A. salignus does in Britain — 

that of an exotic plant, well established on the banks of several rivers, as near 

Strasbourg, Laugre, and Lyons. 2. Rare British Mosses.—A note was read 

from Mr. James Hardy, Old Cambus, enclosing specimens of Dicramim elon- 

galv.m, which he collected near the summit of Hedgeiiope, Nortlumiberland, 

in July last ; and recording the occurrence of Bicranodontium, aristatum, in 

Roxburghshire, where it was first gathered by Mr. Jerdon in 1864, and Orimviia 

contorta, on the Cheviots, collected by himself in May, 1868. Mr. Hardy 

is at present engaged in drawing up a list of the Berwickshu-e Mosses, which 

will shortly be published.

Tcub. 92. 

W.G. SiTuth.liLh. Vincent Brooks.Day&Son.Imp

Tab. 91. 

"WG.SmithJith Vincent Brooks ,Day

G-, Smitii, del et lith 

. 

TcLb9G. 

Vinnflnt.RmAlrQ TlflirJt ?v^ri T>nn

93 

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OP THE CYCADACEiE. 

By F. a. W. Miquel. 

Translated hy W. Thiseltox Dyde, B.A. 

(Plates XCI. and XCII.) 

{Concluded.) 

The suspensors spring from the base of the corpuscles. They are 

more or less spirally twisted, and descend at first to penetrate into 

the central cavity of the endosperm, but afterwards they are more or 

less pushed upwards by the embryo. I have not succeeded in ascer- 

taining if the suspensors of neighbouring corpuscles can coalesce with 

one another. It often happens that only one suspensor is well de- 

veloped, and this produces the embryo. This is shown in Plate XCII. 

fig. 2 and 4-, where the suspensor proceeds from a corpuscle which 

appears lacerated, or has been destroyed in making the section. Its 

remains are still visible at the base of the sterile corpuscles. In fig. 8 

however, there are two twisted slispensors, the longest of them bearing 

the embryo. The suspensors produce lateral branches which terminate 

in rudimentary embryos in the form of tubercles (fig. 4 and 8). 

These filamentary bodies represent the structure which the older car- 

pologists called the flum suspensorium, and which E. Brown called 

the suspensor. T have proposed for it, in consideration of its function, 

the name embryoblastanon. Others had applied the ievm proerabryo to 

it. In no other group of plants is this structure so complex as in 

Cycads. It is more or less cylindrical in shape, and composed of an 

aggregation of numerous elongated cells (Plate XCII. fig. 7). The 

remains of a delicate membrane may be distinguished on its surface 

I am not able to give any explanation of it, but it may possibly be 

caused, like the membrane on the surface of the embr^-o, by a slight 

adhesion to the eudospermic tissue. Such an adhesion might easily 

take place between the superficial cells of organs which are in contact 

during the time of their growth. ' 

The consistence of the filament is 

firm and solid. It is only at the point of junction with the embryo 

that it breaks readily. 

The endosperm, in the axis of which the embryo is tightly packed, 

is entirely unattached in the cavity which it occupies (Plate XCI. fig. 

17 ; Plate XCII. fig. 11-13). At its surface the appearance of the 

VOL. VII. [APRIL 1, 18G9.] H 

;


tissue is slightly different, but there is no definite membrane admitting 

' of separation. I cannotcl early comprehend what Gottsche means by the 

yellow membrane which, according to him, covers the endosperm (Bot. 

Zcit. 1. c. p. 398), unless he has m view the remains of the nucleus. 

It is not unusual to see germination commence iu the undetached 

seed itself; the radicle pierces the remains of the summit of the nucleus 

and appears externally (Plate XCII. fig. 11). We must interpret in 

this way the figure of the embryo of Maa-ozomia which I published in 

1845 (Ann. des Sc. Nat. 1. c). In this instance the embryonic con- 

dition had been passed and the first leaves developed. 

It must be remarked that in all Cycads the plumule is only composed 

of a few scales. On this and other points I may refer to my 

communications in the Ann. des Sc. Nat. 1. c, and in ' Linnaea ' xix. 

p. 5. The parts which produce the pollen,* and which compose 

the male cone, are in every point the morphological equivalents of the 

carpophylls. It would be perfectly correct to call them anthers, but 

from their analogy to the female organs, and to avoid the risk of con- 

founding them with their loculi (which many authors continue very 

improperly to call anthers), it will be perhaps preferable to adopt the 

terra androphylh. They are always smaller and simpler in shape than 

the carpophylls, !)ut their structure presents no essential difference. 

Tlie polygonal cells of the epidermis are much thickened, and the sto- 

mata are deeply situated among them. 

The principal point which arises here relates to the development of 

the numerous polliniferous loculi (' lotjettes ') which are situated on 

the under surface of the androphylls, and which were formerly looked 

upon as distinct anthers.f Mohl has observed with reason that the 

way in which I had explained in my monograph the evolution and 

morjihological meaning of these loculi was not consistent (' A'êrmischte 

Schriften,' p. 57). 

They are placed on the lower face of the androphyll (which is also 

their situation in the peltate forms) and on either side of the median 

line, and they spring in groups of two to four, or rarely of five from a 

* The numerous figures wliic-li exist of these ovgans may be consulted. 

t Tills was the opinion of Kichai'd (Diet. Class, d'ilist. Nat. tome v. p. 

21G). Other views as to their nature are discussed by R. Brown in the Appendix 

to Captain Kiug's Voyage (Miscellaneous Bot. Works, vol. i. p. 

459, et seq). Lindley (Veget. Kiugd. p. 223), adopting Richard's view, terms 

tiie androphylls " antheriferous cone scales."— W. T. D.

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACEii;. 95 

common "point of attachment. In tlieir earliest stages they appear as 

slightly elevated protuberances or papillae, green in colour, and covered, 

by the epidermis, which they do not rtipture. They are, in fact, ex- 

crescences of the parenchyma which are formed at particular points^ 

and their internal tissue is consequently wholly cellular. Little by 

little they assume their elongated rounded form, and the entire mass 

of cellular tissue becomes pollen-generating tissue, because in the 

cavity, when matm'ed, nothing but pollen can be found. Each cell 

[' parent cell '] produces four other cells, and each of these forms a 

pollen-cell. They are comparable to the regions where, in the loculi 

(' loges ') of ordinary anthers, the production of pollen takes place 

and should receive, therefore, the name of loculi. 

The formation of pollen does not take place over the whole organ as 

in angiosperms and most gymnosperms, but only at a considerable 

number of points on either side of the median line. The wall of the 

loculi is very firm. Its colour is brown at a period a little more ad- 

vanced, and its exterior is marked with short linear impressions. It 

opens from the top to the bottom on the inner side or that which 

is turned towards the other loculi of the group, and sometimes the 

slit is prolonged beyond the summit on to the opposite side. Pur- 

kinje (' De cellulis antherarum fibrosis ') was not wrong when he 

termed the wall " mere epidermidalis," since the loculi are nothing more 

than erupted portions of the tissue of the androphyll, covered with the 

same epidermis as the rest. I may remark, however, that two cellular 

lavers mav be distinauished in this wall which mav be also recoy-nized 

in Purkiuje's figures (Plate I. and Plate XVIII., belonging to Zamla 

media and Eaccphalartos lotifjifolim). The external layer is the epi- 

dermis, the inner one is a parenchymatous layer of peculiar appearance, 

composed of porous cells. 

The cells of the epidermis have a very narrow lumen. This gives 

rise to the superficial stripes mentioned above. The pollen grains ex- 

hibit a great uniformity throughout the whole family : they are more or 

less elliptical, with a deep longitudinal fold which does not entirely disap- 

pear in water. Thus, as Schacht first pointed, out (Pringsheim, Jahrb. 

ii. p. 145, plate xvii. fig. 26-28), two secondary cells are also formed 

in the intine among the Cycads, so that the structure of the pollen is 

comparable in all respects to that of the Coniftrce. 

If the views which have just been explained on the subject of the 

h2 

;

96 ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCAUACE^. 

reproductive organs of Cycads have any foundation, the two kinds of 

organs seem to follow the same course in their development and nieta- 

moi-phosis. Generating-cells 'originate at determinate points in the 

parenchyma of the leaves ; the embryonal vesicles in the nucleus of 

the ovule, as the third generation (" cellules jâtites-Jilles'") from the 

transitory amnios; tlie male cell, that is the pollen-tube or included 

cell of the intine, as the third generation from the androphyll or its 

loculi. Among Angiosperms the generating-cells are formed by a 

shorter course, as immediate products (" cellules fdles''). 

The generatiiig-cells have, like macrospores and microspores, their 

proper period of life. Produced, as the result of nutrition, by an indi- 

vidual of more elevated organization, although sexless, they each run 

through the phases of a brief existence ; finally, they unite to produce 

the proembryo. It is only, indeed, among the Alges, and perhaps 

some other lower plants, that fecundation produces the plant properly 

so-called—that is to say, the embryo ; the embryonal vesicle, after fe- 

cundation, developes into a distinct structure, an individual wholly 

composed of cells (united in a linear direction, in one or more ranks). 

This is an axial product, the last cell of which, tliat of the summit, 

divides and produces the embryo by the repeated formation of new 

cells. The embryo is therefore its terminal bud, destined to produce, 

by its further development, the complex sexless individual, the plant 

properly so-called. The embryo, according to this, is not the germ of 

the plant, but the plant itself, which, after a period of physiological 

rest, will commence a fresh evolution, whence will spring a complete 

vegetable organism,— that is to say, an individual of a higher grade, 

composed of axes and buds, forming, as it were, as many single indi- 

viduals. 

" Gemmae totidem herbse " (Linnaeus). 

The two successive forms of the plant have, in the same way, a very 

unequal duration of existence. The first, the proembryo, dies as soon 

as the embryo is definitely constituted ; the vascular, sexless plant ex- 

hibits, on the other iiand, an unlimited existence, at least apparently 

so, because in reality the circumstances are different. Each biid or 

axis is, in eft'ect, a distinct individual. An axis which does not pro- 

duce flowers only continues to exist as a point of insertion for siicces- 

sive axes ; and an axis which has flowered, which has produced leaves 

with microspores and macrospores, lives no longer. Among gyrano- 

spennous plants in general, and especially among Cycads, the pro-

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CTCADACE.E. 97 

embryonic form persists much longer than usual. It is also much 

more complex ; for, whilst among Angiosperms the proembryo only 

forms a simple axis, represented sometimes by a single cell, and only 

gives rise to a single bud, a single embryo, a single individual,—the 

proembryo of Gymnosperms divides into branches, and produces, or 

might produce, numerous buds or embryos. It imitates, to some ex- 

tent, the higher sexless form, by its ramification and the production of 

multiplied buds combined into one whole. If we consider the life of 

the generating cells, the microspores and macrospores, as terminating 

at the moment of their mutual union, a view which admits of support, 

there woidd then be a triple alternation of forms within the limits of 

the individual. But it seems more simple to consider the sexless in- 

dividual of more perfect organization as producing by generation, or 

dift'ereutiation, into two distinct states, a more simple organism of 

short duration, returning finally to the original form with higher or- 

ganization, and life indefinitely prolonged. 

Among the vascular Cryptogams, alternate generation manifests it- 

self more clearly, because the two forms appear distinctly at the exte- 

rior, whilst among Phanerogams the cellular transitory organism is 

enclosed in a portion of the higher organism. The spores produced by 

the vascular sexless plant develope into organisms simple in structure 

and wholly cellular {prothalUum), which produce the generating-cells. 

Among the lower vascular Cryptogams, both sexes originate from the 

same spore ; among the higher, from diff'erent spores,—the one set 

microspores (male), the other macrospores (female). In both cases, 

however, a new individual results from their union, which possesses 

vascular bundles, is difi"erentiated into stem and leaves, and is destitute 

of sex. Yet here the embryo does not proceed directly from the cen- 

tral cell of the archegonium ; the first product is a proembryo, the ter- 

minal cell of which becomes the embryo. Thus, then, among Phanero- 

gams, the generating-cells occur on the higher essential form, among the 

Cryptogams on the lower form. 

Hofmeister has made the remark that the Coniferce (the Gymno- 

sperms) are with respect to the development of the embryo, intermediate 

between the higher Cryptogams and the Phanerogams. Among 

the Gymnosperms, the embryo-sac soon becomes free and detached 

from the tissues which surround it ; the formation of the endosperm is 

comparable to the production of the prothallium ; the corpuscles are

98 ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE.5:. 

completely analogous to the arcliegonia. The embryo-sac of Gvmno- 

sperms holds, therefore, the same position as a spore which remains 

contained within the sporangium ; the prothallium, which it produces, 

does not make its appearance externally ; the fertilizing matter, in 

order to reach the archegonia, has to make its way through the tissues. 

The corpuscles, however, indicate by their numerous vesicles, of which 

only a single one is fertilized, a much more complicated condition 

than exists among the vascular Cryptogams. In these, or at any rate 

in the Ferns, there is only a single vesicle, the parent cell of the em- 

bryo, or rather of the pro-embryo. 

Hofnieister sees, rightly, a great distinction in the fact that in Gym- 

nosperms fertilization takes place, as in other Plianerogams, by means 

of a pollen-tube, whilst among the vascular Cryptogams this function 

is performed by spermatozoids. The contrast is certainly very marked, 

anatomically, but it seems less so from a physiological point of view. 

The matter which the male element conveys into the female element, 

through which it becomes the seat of a new vegetative evolution, is really 

of an analogous kind in the two cases. The difference affects more the 

external conditions of the function. Among the Phanerogams, an en- 

tire cell, the pollen-tube, deprived of its secondary envelope, moves 

towards the female cell, to which its fertilizing fluid must be transmitted 

by osmotic penetration. Among Cryptogams there are numerous se- 

condary cells (spermatozoids) which proceed from the antheridium, and 

which— by means of the power of progression possessed by them, and. 

under the influence of surrounding conditions—insinuate themselves 

into the archegonium, and penetrate into the interior of the female 

generative cell. But as to an essential and fundamental opposition be- 

tween the contents of the pollen-tube and those of the spermatozoids, 

one cannot admit its existence after having learnt, especially from the 

researches of Schacht, to ujiderstand the nature of spermatozoids better.* 

We must add to this, that amongst the ConifercB, it is not rare to see 

the pollen-tube penetrate into the corpuscle after having perforated 

its summit. 

The parallelism which thus exists between the vascular Cryptogams 

* Schacht, 'Die Spcrmatozoiden im rflanzenreicli, 18C4.'— I have no kuowledge 

of precise data as to the chemical propertii'S of spermatozoids. It 

would not be without interest to ascertain if phospliorus enters into tliem in as 

great proiiortiou as into the pollen (compare Corenvvinder in the Ann. des 

ycieuccs Is'at. 4nie ser. xiv. p. 49.

ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF TUE CYCADACE^. 99 

and the Gymiiosperms, not only fills up, to a certain extent, tbe gnp 

which has hitherto separated the Phanerogains and the Cryptogams (a 

point which has been lately developed by Kirchhoff in a note full of in- 

terest inserted in the ' Botanische Zeitung,' 1867, Nos. 42, 43), but it 

renainds us that it was precisely the vascular Cryptogams and Gym- 

nosperms which, up to the Cretaceous epoch (omitting from conside- 

ration a small number of Monocotyledons), represented the higher 

plants. The passage to the more complicated forms of Phanerogams, 

with hermaphrodite flowers and angiospermous structure, is exhibited 

to us by existing types of Gymnosperms. This is shown in the 

genera Ephedra and Gnetum (the last having two ovular coats) l)y the 

structure of their stem, by their leaves, and by the nidimentary perigo- 

nial envelopes of the still naked ovules. TFehcitscJua, the structure of 

which has been so completely made out by the excellent work of 

Hooker, though reminding us of Cycads by the form of its stem, of 

tropical Coniferae by its leaves, and of Gnetum. hs its inflorescence, 

makes, on the other hand, the first step towards hermaphroditism (as 

yet unknown amongst the earliest Phanerogams up to the Cretaceous 

period, and perhaps even later) by the development of male organs 

within the same perigonium as a naked ovule. From this point organi- 

zation advances a step in passing to the group of Loi-antJiacete, re- 

garded with the inter])retation that Baillon has attached to it (' Me- 

moire sur les Loranthacees '). In TFthoitschia hermaphroditism is 

still incomplete ; in the LorantJiacece we find its stage of development 

more advanced Looked at in this way, rudimentary organs appear not 

as atrophied parts, but as the first step towards a more complicated 

plan of organization, which is only realized slowly in the progress of 

time. 

In agamic generation, individuals are reproduced with all their cha- 

racters; they form, as it were, an indefinite chain of identical ramifica- 

tions, and it is rare for this mode of reproduction to give origin to a 

deviating form.* In sexual generation this constancy of forms and 

characters is not possible. The two individuals which give origin to a 

* "We must not accept this statement without limitation, if it is to include 

all cases of agamic reproduction. In Bud variation in plants we have instances 

of new forms originating independently of sexual reproduction. The 

production of fleshy peach-like fruits by the Double Almond (Darwin, ' Animals 

and Plants under Domestication,' vol. i. p. 338), and of nectarine-bearing 

branclies by Peach-trees (Darwin, p. 37 J^) are examples.—W. T. D.

100 ON THE SEXUAL ORGANS OF THE CYCADACE.i;. 

new being, are not in every respect and in every case in a uniform re- 

lation. If we measure the fertile 'pollen grains of any one species, we 

find them, it is true, to have an average size, but they may diifer one 

from the other in dimensions, not to speak of difference in contents. 

It is the same with the parts of the female organ. The fertilized 

embryonal vesicles ought equally, therefore, to differ from one another 

in the same individuals. They combine the characteristics both of the 

male and female parent, as is shown in a striking manner by the pro- 

duction of hybrids, but these characteristics are combined, in each 

case, in a slightly varied relation. This law, the effects of which are 

so decided in hybridizing, ought also to make itself felt, although in a 

less degree in the conjunction of microspores and macrosjiores belong- 

ing to the same species, but to different individuals. The dimorphism 

and triniorphism of flowers, digamic fertilization,—originally pointed 

out by Sprengel, in his admirable work (' Das entdeckte Geheimniss 

der Natur,' etc.), and which Darwin and many other writers in the same 

direction have placed in a more striking light,—must convince us that 

even among hermaphrodite plants, the sclf-fertiliziition of flowers is 

much more rare than had previously been believed.* 

The change of form of the species is thus involved in fertilization ; 

and in the succession of individuals, over which this function presides, 

we establish the law, that in each case the last generation must differ 

a little from that Avhich precedes it. Ought we not to attribute to this 

intrinsic principle of variation, in addition to the action of natural selec- 

tion, and of external conditions, a considerable influence in the progres- 

sive development of the vegetable kingdom ? If such is really the case, 

the maximum of modification, the greatest variety of forms should be 

met with in the dioecious and moucecious gTOups, and generally among 

plants which are not self-fertilizing. The ascent of organization to a 

higher grade of complication is a law written in the history of the 

organic world, and the true cause of which resides in organization itself, 

just as the development of the individual is invariably determined iu 

the conditions of the fertilized embryonal vesicle. 

* Fr. 'Hildebrand, ' Die Gfeschlechtsvertheilung bei den Pflanzon,' 1867. 

f Among wholly inexplicable phenomena, we must incontestably include the 

law that many hermaphrodite ilowers cannot fertilize themselves, and that 

they need the intervention of another flower of the same, or even, in some 

cases, of a different 8i)ecies. " Nature tells us, in the most emphatic matter, 

that she abhors perpetual self-fertilization" (Darwin). Has there been in the 

f


In the economy of nature we find numerous and intimate relations 

between the vegetable and animal kingdoms, by which they mutually 

influence one another. Having recognized the fundamental law that 

the chemical compounds which serve to build up the animal structure 

have been elaborated by plants, we now see that, on the other hand, 

the animal kingdom forms an indispensable condition for the existence 

of vegetables. Fertilization, in the majority of cases an essential con- 

dition to the reproduction of vegetable species, is usually only pos- 

sible among angiospermous plants by means of the intervention of 

insects. Where, formerly, it was only seen in isolated cases to which 

little importance was attached, modern science has discovered a natural 

law. At the same time it has shown that it is especially the Diptera 

and Lepidoptera, that is, sucking insects (Haustellata), which, luicon- 

scious .fertilizers of plants, perform in nature the important duty of 

maintaining the existence of the vegetable kingdom, at least as far as 

the higher orders are concerned. 

We may also consider this relation in connection with time, and 

inquire from what epoch it dates. The researches on fossil insects 

which we owe to Germar, Unger, Oswald Heer, and others, have 

shown that all the Orders of insects have not appeared simultaneously. 

In the Paleozoic epoch, when angiospermous Dicotyledons did not yet 

exist, Coleoptera, Orlhoptera, and Newroptera lived. These are man- 

dibvdate insects, which do not visit plants for their nectar. The first 

Diptera date from the Jurassic epoch, but the appearance in great 

numbers of haustellate insects occurs at and after the Cretaceous epoch, 

when the plants with pollen and closed carpels (Angiosperms) are 

found, and acquire little by little the preponderance in the vegetable 

kingdom.* 

evolution of organic nature a tendency to arrive at the possibility of this selffertilization 

? The separation of the sexes exists in all the lower plants ; the 

vegetable kingdom commenced with it, and has held to this character in all 

past periods. Hermaphroditism has been established, and physiologically it 

exists at present but rarely. See on hermaplu'oditism, in its perfect form, 

Hildebrand, 1. c. p. 57. 

* The Upper Chalk of Aix-la-Chapelle is stated to be the oldest formation 

in which Angiosperms have been found. Among them species of Querctis, 

Fictis, Jufflans, and of several Myrtaceous genera, with sixty to seventy species 

oi ProteacecB, have been ascertained by Dr. Debey (Lyell, 'Elements of Greology,' 

p. 330). As the proportion of Dicotyledons is nearly the same as in the vegetation 

of our own times (Lyell, 1. c), it is hardly possible to regard these remains 

as fixing the lower limit to the range in time of Angiosperms. And the 

Flora may have been still more varied. In our own indigenous vegetation.

102 ON THE SEXUAL OEGANS OF THE CYCADACE^. 

When we examine the relations of the sexual organs in plants, it 

seems in many cases that the function of fertilization has been rendered 

in some manner difficult or even impossible. It might be said that 

nature does not wish to see its end attained except circuitously ; as far 

as Angiosperms are concerned, a more precise knowledge of insect- 

agency has already to a considerable extent penetrated the mystery. 

But there are other sreat divisions of the vegetable kingdom in 

which this agency has no place, and it is these which were already in 

existence before hausteUate insects. I regard as such all the Crypto- 

gams ; among these the spermatozoids move towards the female 

organ by means of humid surfiices, drops of water, etc. Among the 

dicEcious and monoecious Phanerogams which have preceded herma- 

phrodite species on the surface of the globe, their pollen is carried 

in excessive abundance by the winds, and the chances are greatly in 

favour of one of the millions of grains arriving at its destination. 

As to Cycads, I do not at present know any property which would 

be of a nature to attract insects in particular towards their female 

cones, either from nectar in the flowers, colour, or odour; at the same 

time, when one takes into consideration their being dioecious, and the 

complete occlusion of their female cones (except in the Cycads, where 

the ovvdes have the exostorae outside, which would allow access to the 

pollen-grain), it becomes almost impossible to comprehend how the 

for example, our most conspicuous species or trees hold, for tlie most part, a 

lower position than a large proportion of our herbaceous plants, whose perisliable 

tissues would leave no trace in deposits, which might, however, contain 

fruits and leaves of CinpidifercE in abundance. Without a knowledge to the 

contrary, these miglit lead an observer in examining such a de])osit to the conclusion 

that the Cupuliferce almost wholly composed our vegetation. Even 

without this consideration, it will hai'dly be admitted that Angiosperms had at 

tlieir first appearance the same preponderance that they now possess. In America 

plants so modern in character, as to be at first believed to be of Tertiary 

age, have been found in Cretac-eous rocks of even a lower horizon. ('Journal 

of Jiotany,' pp. 82-83, ISGO.), 

Tiie .connection between the periods of appearance in time of Angiosperms 

and haustellate insects is undoubtedly interesting. It must, however, be remembered 

that it rests on negative evidence, wliich in geology is necessarily far 

from conclusive. Their interdependence may be tlie cause of our finding them 

associated in time, but not necessarily so, as one of them may have preceded 

the other, witliout our having at present evidence of the fact. Theories as to 

evolution should only bo sparingly illustrated from geological phenomena, and 

can draw but little support from them. For example, Dr. Debey has obtained 

about ten s])ecies of insects from the Aix-la-Chapelle beds. Yet these belong 

to the families CureulionldcB or CarabidcB, which are mandibulate insects. 

—W. T. D.


pollen can penetrate into the inverted ovule, from their opening, instead 

of being directed to the periphery, being applied against the axis of 

the cone. The difficulty increases when it happens, as in certain spe- 

cies of Dioon and Encephalartos, that the entire cone is covered with 

a compact pubescence,—is as if it were enveloped in a tissue of wool. 

Nature, however, finds its way, as is proved by the numerous seeds 

provided with an embryo which the ripe cone exhibits, as well as in 

Conifers, where it is common to see in our climate pollen fixed on the 

nucleus. The groups of plants whose origin extends to the palaeozoic 

time, show themselves therefore to be independent of insects. They 

remain now as at the earliest period of their existence, and we see that 

nature adopts other means to bring the microspores into contact with 

the macrospores. 

Note by the Translator.— In page 74, line 30, the last clause of the 

sentence should have been rather more correctly rendered, " It would 

be, besides, a structure of which I know no other analogue." 

The meaning of the whole passage admits of being made clearer by 

a reference to Oudemans' view of the matter which Miquel controverts. 

The former writer states that " the epidermis of the entire ovule" (in- 

cluding its coat) " penetrates into the micropyliferous tube" (exostome), 

" and descends at first vertically, then oblicpiely, to the foot of the 

conical protuberance, to the sumnut of which it is reflected so as to 

cover it exactly, with the exception of its extremity (' Archives Neer- 

landaises,' ii. 1867). 

Miquel considers that the epidermis of the coat, and the epithelium 

of the nucleus are distinct structures, although intimately united up 

to the point, where the cone of the nucleus detaches itself from the 

coat.—W. T. D. 

EXPLICATIO TABULAEUM. 

(Si niliil adnotatum, figui'asnat. magn. deliiieatas intelligas.) 

Tab. XCI. 

Fig. 1. Pars carpophylli Cycadis revolutce longitudinaliter secta, vasorum fascicules 

et canales guramiferos monstrans ; a, pars nuclei libera ; b, cavum 

amnii altero stadio incijiiente. 

Fig. 2. Ejusdein ovulum, amnii cavitate jam magis aucta. 

Fig. 3-4. Eadcm auctiora, nuclei textu ; c, jam partim repulso. 

Fig. 5. Idem provectius ; a, integuiuenti stratum exterius molie ; b, stratum

104 ON THE SEXUAL OUGANS OF THE CYCADACE-ffi. 

interiiis lignescens exo3tomium pro parte constituens ; c, nuclei residuum 

membraniforme ; d, nucleus. 

Fig. 6. Idem, magis oblongura exemplar, nuclei textu copiosiore ; a, b, c, ut 

supra. 

Fig. 7. Ovulum valde juvenile Ci/cadis Rumphii, magnitudine aucta delineatum 

; a, stratum ext. ; b, internum integumenti ; c, nuclei tela euperstes ; 

d, amnii cavum, membrana propria in vertice videnda ; e, nuclei pars libera 

seu conus ; f, ejus apex. 

Fig. 8 et y. Apex nuclei valde auctus, strato extimo firmiore excedente quasi 

tubulosus, C. Rumphii et C. revolutce. 

Fig. 10 et 11. Nuclei apex C. Rumphii, longitrorse sectus, canalibus ex telse resorbtione 

ortus. 

Fig. 12. Idem C. revolutce tela nondum resorbta ; a, vertex amnii ante corpusculorum 

formationem ; b, ejus membrana propria ; c, nuclei conus. 

Fig. 13. Endospermium Cycadis media, impi-essionibus fasciculorum vascularium 

extus pictum, apice; 

operculi instar obtectum. 

a, nuclei couo nunc depresso collapso exsiccato 

Fig. 14. Facies interior integumenti ejusdem seminis vasorum fasciculis percursa 

; b, pars lignea integumenti ; c, membrana fusca ex residuo nuclei orta. 

Fig. 15. Eadem MacrozamicB Fraseri ; a, epitlielium integumenti partis liberae 

internum ; inferne ubi vasorum reticulum desinit nuclei conus adiiatus erat. 

Fig. 16. Pars lignea seminis Encephalarti speciei incognitse, a basi visa, foraminibus 

e fasciculis vasorum intrantibus perfossa. 

Fig. 17. Ejusdem semen, demto strato extimo ; a, radicula progerminans ; b, 

conus nuclei exsiccatus, endospermium apice obtegens ; c, stratum membraniforme 

nuclei superstes ; d, endospermium uli in fig. 13. 

Tab. XCII. 

Fig. 1. Vertex endospermii Cycadis media', rejecto nuclei cono residuo, cum 6 

areolis, quibus corpuscula subjacent auct. niagiiit. delin. 

Fig. 2. Sectio endospermii perpeiulicularis, aucta mognitudine delineata ; a, 

areola ; b, cavuium quo corpusculum amplectitur ; c, corpusculum non 

fecundatum ; d, residua seu fragmcnta corpusculorum fertilium, e quibus 

prodeunt embrjones ; e, cavitas endospermii centralis, in quam descendit 

proembryo seu suspensor embryonis. 

Fig. 3. Corpusculum, auct. magn. ante fcecundationem. 

Fig. 4. Macrozamim Fraseri corpuscula quatuor; a, continentia massam subceUularem 

exsiccatam ; b, probabiliter sterilia ; c, fragmenta basium corpusculorimi 

disruptorum ; d, proembryo embryones steriles tuberculiformes ; 

e, undique exserens, e ])arte ima (liic resecta), embryonem normalem exserens 

(e semine in Tabula XCI. fig. 17, delineato), auct. maguit. 

Fig. 5. Massa subcellularis e corpusculis (fig. 4, ad h) desumta et aqua emollita, 

auct. magnit. 

Fig. 6. Paries corpusculoruni valde auctus. 

Fig. 7. Sectio longitrorsa suspensoria seu axeos proembryonis, valde auct. 

magnit- 

Fig. 8. MacrozamitB Fraseri corpuscula, quorum apicibus adhserent fragmenta 

regidaria, bases probabiliter canalium coitductorum coni nuclei exbibentia; 

niassa ccllularis nunc in media cavitate, proembryones sive embryonis suspensorem 

exserens, auct. magnit. 

Fig. 9. ZamicB cujusdara endospermium, apice nuclei cono depresso operculatum, 

Fig. 10, cui deprompto corpuscida retracta inferne adbairent. 

Fig. 11. Encephalarti incogniti endospermium apice nuclei cono exsiccato obtectum, 

radicida progcrminaute exserta, (e scmiue Tab. XCI. fig. 17, de- 

lineato).

NEW BRITISH LICHE5S. 105 

Fig. 12. MacrozamicE Fraseri endospermium longitudinaliter apertum cum 

enibryone, cujus radiculge exsei-tte apparatus proembryonis exsiccatus adhteret 

(e semine Tab. XCI. fig. 15 et 17, delineato). 

Fig. 13. Endospermium Cycadis mediae, lougitudinaliter apertum, cum embryone 

et suspensori.* parte. 

Fig. 14, 15. CarpophjUa a facie antica et a latere, post florationem, quorum 

ovula vel exsiceata vel viva tumidaque. (' Linna;a,' vol. xxv. tab. ii. fig. 3, 5.) 

NEW BKITrSH LICHENS. 

By THE PiEV. J.AMES Crombie, M.A., r.G.S. 

{^Continuedfrom page 51.) 

No. II. 

In addition to tliose species recorded in a previous number of tliis 

Journal, as having been recently detected by me in Great Britain, the 

following have now to be enumerated. With two exceptions they 

were gathered last autumn in the Highlands of Braemar and the 

maritime tracts of Kincardineshire, and have been duly noticed by Dr. 

Nylander in the ' Flora ' for 1868 and 1869. 

1. Sj)ilonema Scoticim, Nyl. ; thallus black, forming small, compact, 

convex, pulvinate patches ; apothecia black, very minute, the epithe- 

cium impressed or convex ; spores 8 iu thecse, colourless, oviform-ob- 

long, 1-septate, 0-010-14. mm. long, about 0-0045 mm. thick, 

paraphyses discrete, slender ; epithecium vaguely obscure, hypotheciura 

hymeneal gelatine blue with iodine. 

On micaceous rocks of Ben Lawers, above Loeh-na-Cat. August, 

colourless ; 

1867. Kare, and but sparingly fertile. It is allied to -S'. revertens, 

Nyl., but is suflniciently distinguished by the size of the apothecia, and 

the character of the spores. 

2. Collema Uchbiodeiim, Nyl. in litt. ; thallus linear-laciniated, 

small, the laciuise obtuse and turgid at the apices, which are twice or 

thrice divided ; the thallus iuternally nearly as in Ephebce, but with 

different gonimia (although in colour almost corresponding), these being 

small, and often joined in moniliform alveolse ; 

apothecia unknown. 

On schistose soil in crevices of rocks, and amongst decayed mosses 

on boulders on the summit of Ben Lawers. August, 1863. This 

somewhat peculiar species was first discovered by the late Rear- Admi- 

ral Jones, and subsequently gathered by myself and j\Ir. Carroll. It 

occurs in fair quantity, but without the least trace of apothecia, and


tliouli its discoverv has been recorded bv Mr. Carroll in this Journal, 

it has not hitherto been anywhere described. 

3. Lecidea lithophiUza, Nyl. ; thallus greyish-white, firm, unequally 

deplanate, areolate-diftVactate or areolate-rimose, thin ; apothecia 

brownish-black, brown when moist, somewhat plane or convex, immar- 

ginate, white within ; spores 8 in thecae, colourless, oblong, simple, 

0-009-0-017 mm. long, 0-0035-0-0045 mm. thick; parnphyses of 

medium thickness, livid-brown at top ; hypotheciura chalky-white in 

the middle, and black in the lower stratum ; hymeneal gelatine dis- 

tinctly blue with iodine. 

On micaceous stones of a wall near Portlethen, in Kincardineshire, 

south of A_berdeen. August, 1868. Though plentiful in one spot, 

I vainly searched for it elsewhere in that neighbourhood. Its specific 

name would seem to indicate its propinquity to L. Uthophila, Ach., a 

species common on the granitic mountains of Braemar, but Nylander 

observes, that it ought rather to occupy a place amongst the Biatorcr^ 

near, to L. phceops, Nyl., a plant of Ben Lawers and Cader Idris. 

4. L. sarcogy)iiza, Nyl. ; thallus obscurely greyish -green, or sub- 

olivaceous, opaque, thin, indeterminate ; apothecia black, plane, mar- 

ginal, the margin usually flexuose, obscure within ; spores 8 in thecse, 

colourless, oblong, 0-007-0-Ull mm. long, about O'OOS mm. thick ; 

thalamium colourless, paraphyses of medium thickness, club-shaped, 

and blackish at apex ; hypothecium under the hymenium distinctly 

brown ; 

perithecium blackish or black. 

On quartzose stones of wall by railway, a little beyond the Bay of 

Nigg in Kincardineshire. August, 1868. Apparently very rare, but 

may be found elsewhere in that district, as it is very apt to be over- 

looked as a mere state of L. Uthophila. The plant follows the de- 

pressions and chinks in the stones. 

5. L. commaculans, Nyl. ; thallus brownish-black or black, thin, 

subarcolate, depressed, \usually scattered, indeterminate ; apothecia 

black, small, convex, scarcely margined, concolorous within ; spores 8 

in thecsc, colourless, oblong, 0-008-0-011 mm. long, 0-003-4 mm. 

broad ; paraphyses not discrete, epithecium blackish, hypothecium 

thickish, reddish-brown ; 

hymeneal gelatine blue with iodine. 

On "hard fclspathic boulders of Morrone, in Braemar. August, 

1868. Apparently rare towards the north-west brow of the mountain, 

amongst heaps of broken rocks, and, from the nature of the stone.

NEAV BRITISH LICHENS. 107 

specimens were with difRcuIty obtained. Its systematic place is near 

L. dispnnsa, Nyl., from which it is well distinguished by the above 

characteristics. 

6. L. aphanoides, Nyl. ; thallus obscurely olive-grey, thin, sub- 

verrucose or subgranulose, unequal, indeterminate or subevanescent ; 

apothecia black, small, couvex, immarginate, naked, white within ; 

spores 8 in thecse, colourless, elliptical, simple, 0"009-0-013 mm. long, 

OOO^.o-O'OOoD mm. thick; paraphyses not discrete; thalaniium 

bluish, hypothecium colourless, or vaguely reddish below ; hymeneal 

gelatine blue, and then violet-reddish with iodine. 

On calcareous rocks of Craig Guie, near Crathie Church, in Braemar. 

August, 1868. Apparently rare, and gathered only very sparingly 

beside the limestone quarry. It is allied to L. apliana, Xyl., a species 

found in Ireland by Mr. Carroll, both belonging to the group of L. 

farvdla, Nyl. 

7. L. meluphcuM, Nyl.; thallus black, thin, opaque, unequal, some- 

what diifractate ; apothecia black, small, convex, immarginate, obscure 

within; spores 8 in thecse, colourless, oblong, simple, 0"011-19 mm. 

long, 0004-5-00055 mm. thick; paraphyses not discrete, epithecium 

with the upper portion of thalamium blue, hypothecium slightly 

brownish below ; hymeneal gelatine blue with iodine, and then partly 

of a violet colour. 

On granite boulders of Craig Guie, in Braemar. August, 1868. 

Like the preceding, to which it is closely allied, this species occurred 

but in very small quantity amongst the boulders which lie thickly 

scattered on the lower slope of the hill. In both the specimens 

gathered, it was associated with Lecanora fuscata, var. Sinopica. 

8. L. imereua, Nyl. ; thallus obscurely cinereous, rimoso-areolate, 

the hypothallus black, visible or denudate ; 

black within ; 

apothecia somewhat tumid, 

paraphyses not discrete, epiihecium bluish-brown, hypo- 

thecium with white opaque stratum beneath; spores ellipsoid-oblong, 

0'014-17 mm. long, 0'006-8 mm. thick ; 

hymeneal gelatine blue with 

iodine. 

On calcareous rocks of Craig Guie, in Braemar. August, 1868. 

This species, which belongs to the group of L. tenebrosa, Flot., occurs 

also on Morrone, according to specimens in my herbarium gathered 

there in 1861, but not correctly named. 

In addition to these, I may here notice the two following sub- 

species, only one of which, however, is a new one : 

—

108 ON THE FLOKA OF SKYE. 

Lecnnora badia* picea (Dicks.), Nyl. This dift'ers from the type by 

the thallus and the apothecia being pitch-black, spores oblong, 

0-009-0-011 mm. long. It is evidently Lichen piceus of Dickson's 

Crypt. Fasc. 4, p. 22, t. 12, fig. 5, but does not appear to have been 

noticed since as a British Lichen, till I gathered it last autumn ou 

Morrone. 

Lecidea ocellata* praponens, Nyl. ; thallus yellow, areolate or gra- 

nulate-verruculose, apothecia subinnate, rugulose, immarginate; spores 

0-015-7 ram. long, 0"008--0"010 mm. thick. Not uncommon on 

stones of the railway wall between Nigg and Cove, on the coast of 

Kincardineshire, south of Aberdeen. July, 1868. 

ON THE FLOEA OF SKYE. 

By M. a. Lawson, Esq., M.A., 

Professor of Botany, Oxford. 

Notwithstanding the number of people who yearly travel through 

the Isle of Skye, there has never yet appeared any published list of its 

indigenous plants. The following, while it makes no pretensions to 

completeness, may, it is hoped, aflbrd to future travellers in those re- 

gions some assistance in determining what species are new, and what 

to be expected. 

Our party consisted of Professor Oliver, Mr, Fox, and myself; and 

our stay in the island a fortnight, the last week in July and the first of 

August. We took the steamer from Glasgow to Portree ; thence by a 

small boat to Steinscholl, a little village situated a short distance from 

Loch Staffin, a shallow bay in the north-east of Skye. From this 

place we botanized the Quirang and Storr, together with the range of 

mountains stretching between the two. 

Thence by Uig to Dunvegan, which we made our head-quarters 

while investigating the botanical treasures of M'Leod's Tables, Dunve- 

gan Head, and the woods surrounding the castle. 

From Dunvegan we joiu'neyed by mail to Sligachan, and, while 

there, devoted two days .to the Coolins, and two to the red cone and 

ridge of Glamaig and Glamer. One day at Broadford, and three at 

Kyle Akin, finished our tour. 

The following are the results which a comparison of our list with

ON THE FLORA OF SKYE. 109 

Mr. H. C. Wtitsoa's records of the same or neighbouring districts has 

afforded : 

— 

The total number of species in our list is 389, and of these 

1st, 120 have never been recorded from the " Outer Hebrides." 

2ud. 51 have never been recorded from the " Inner Hebrides," 

i. e. including Islay, Mull, Skye, and the neighboming islands. 

3rd. 31 have not yet been recorded from the " Inner Western 

Highlands," including West Inverness, Argyll, etc. 

Lastly. 56 species have been recorded from the " Outer Hebrides," 

by Professors Babingtou and Balfour, that we did not find in Skye ; 

but many of these we, no doubt, should have found had our stay been 

longer in the island. 

This, be it remembered, is only the result of a hurried walk through 

the tourist-trodden Skye. It follows that the less frequented islands, 

such as Islay, Mull, and many others, would yield still greater results 

to a careful search. 

Thalictnim alpinum. 

Anemone nemorosa. Portree and 

Sligachan. 

Ranunculus Flammula. 

R. Flammiila, var, reptans. 

R. repens. 

R. acris. 

Caltha palustris. 

Trollius Europseus. 

Nvmphsea alba. Sligachan and the 

neighbourhood. 

Corydalis claviculata. Kjle Akin. 

Nasturtium officinale. Broadford 

and Kyle Akin. 

Arabis petrsea. 

Cardamine sylvatica. 

C. hirsuta. SteinschoU. 

C. pratensis. 

Sisymbrium thalianum. 

Sinapis arveusis. 

S. alba. Uig. 

Draba incana. Quirang and Storr. 

Cochlearia officinalis. 

Capsella Bursa-pastoris. 

Viola palustris. 

V. sylvatica. 

VOL. VII. [APRIL 1, 1S69.] 

V. tricolor. 

Drosera rotundifolia. 

D. intermedia. SteinschoU ? 

D. Anglica. 

Pamassia palustris. Fells between 

the Storr and SteinschoU. 

Polygala vulgaris. 

SUene maritima. 

S. acaulis. Quirang, Storr, and 

CooUns. 

Lychnis Flos-cuculi. 

L. diuma. 

Sagina procumbens. 

S. subulata. Dunvegan and SUga- 

chan. 

S. nodosa. Loch SUgachan and 

Broadford. 

Honkeneja peploides. 

Cherleria sedoides. Abundant on 

the range of mountains between 

the Storr and Qiiirang. 

SteUaria media. 

S. graminea. Poi'tree. 

S. idiginosa. 

Cei-astium glomeratum. 

C. triviale.

110 ON THE FLORA OF SKYE. 

C. alpinum. Coolins. 

Tilia Europsea. Planted in woods 

about Dmivegan. 

Hypericum quadrangulum. 

H. pulclarum. 

Acer Pseado-platanus. Plantations. 

Geranium molle. Broadford. 

G. Robertianum. 

Linum catharticimi. 

Oxalis Acetosella. 

Ulex Europoeus. Orbost, Broadford, 

Kyle Akin. 

Sarothamuus scoparius. Orbost, Broad- 

ford, Kyle Akin. 

Trifolium pratense. 

T. medium. 

T. repens. 

Lotus comiculatus. 

Authyllis Vulneraria. 

Vicia liirsuta. 

V. Cracea. 

V. sepium. 

V. sativa. 

Lathyrus pratensis. 

L. macrorrhizus. 

Prunus Padus. Kyle Akin. 

Spiraea ulmaria. 

Alchemilla vulgaris. 

A. arvensis. Steinscboll. 

A. alpina. 

Potentilla anserina. 

P. Tormentilla. Said to be used for 

tanning nets. 

Comarum palustrc. 

Fragaria vesca. 

Eiibus Idteus. 

R. cordifolius. Broadford. \ 

R. umbrosus, Arrh. Loch StafEn. 

R. corylifolius. Dunvcgan. 

R. caesius. 

R. saxatilis. 

Geum rivale. 

Rosa spinosibsima. Dunvcgan Head, 

Sligachan, Kyle Akin. 

R. tomcntosa. 

Crataegus Oxyacantha. In various 

places, especially in the south of 

the island ; apparently generally 

planted. 

Epilobiiim angustifolium. Rocks 

facing the sea, SteinschoU. 

E. parviflorum. 

E. montanum. 

E. tetragonum. 

E. palustre. 

E. anagallidifohum. Common on 

the mountains, especially in the 

south of the island. 

E. alsinifolium. Quirang and Storr, 

Coolins. 

Circasa alpina. Quirang, close to 

the sea at SteinschoU, Kyle Akin. 

I\Iyriophyllum alteruiflorum. 

Montia fontana. 

Lepigonum marinum. 

Spergula arvensis. 

Sedum Anglieum. 

S. Rhodiola. 

Ribes spicatum, Robs. Uig, rocks 

about Dunvegan Head, abundant. 

Sasifraga stellaris. 

S. aizoides. Quirang and Storr. 

S. hypnoides. 

S. nivalis. Quirang and Storr. 

S. oppositifolia. Ouirang and 

Storr. 

Chrysosplenium oppositifolium. 

Hydi'ocotyle vulgaris. 

Sanicula Europaea. Dunvegan, Sli- 

gachan, Kyle Akin. 

Apium gi'aveolens. 

^gopodium Podagraria. Dunvegan, 

Kyle Akin. 

Buiiium flexuosum. 

(Enanthe crocata. 

Haloscias Scoticum. SteinschoU. 

Angelica sylvestris. 

Heracleum Sphondylium. 

Dauuus Carota. 

Torilis Anthriscus. 

Anthriscus sylvestris. 

Hedcra Helix.

Sambucus nigra. Generally in tlie 

vicinity of houses. 

Viburnum Opulus. Sligachan. 

Lonicera Periclymenum. 

Asperula odorata. Sligachan. 

G-ahum boreale. 

G. Aparine. 

G. verum. Bank, close to Dunvegan 

Castle. 

G. saxatile. 

G. palustre. 

G. uliginosum. 

Valeriana officinalis. 

Scabiosa succisa. 

Eupatorium cannabinum. Dunvegan 

Head. 

Petasites vulgaris^ 

Tussilago Farfara. 

Aster Tripoliura. 

BeUis perennis. 

Solidago Virgaurea. 

Achillea Ptarmica. 

A. Millefolium. 

Anthemis nobilis. Steinscholl. 

Matricaria inodora. 

Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum. 

C. segetum. Abounding in every 

cultivated patch of ground. 

Artemisia vulgaris. 

Tanacetum vulgare. 

Gnaplialium uliginosum, 

G. svlvaticum. Uig, Dimvegan. 

Antennaria dioica. 

Senecio vulgaris. 

S. sylvaticus. Steinscholl. 

S. Jacobaea. 

S. aquations. 

Saussurea alpina. Quirang, sparingly ; 

abundant on the CooUns. 

Arctium minus. 

Centaurea nigra. 

Carduus nutans. Broadford .' 

C. lanceolatus. 

C. heterophyllus. 

C. arvensis. 

Lapsana communis. 

ON THE FLORA OF SKYE. Ill 

Hypochoeris radicata. 

Apargia hispida. 

A. autumnalis. Broadford. 

Leontodon Taraxacum. 

Sonchus oleraceus. Kyle Akin. 

S. asper. 

Crepis virens. 

C. paludosa. 

Hieracium Pilosella. 

H. AngUcum. Orbost, Coolins. 

H. iricum. Uig. 

H. murorum. 

H. vulgatum. 

H. boreale. Steinscholl, Dunvegan. 

Lobelia Dortmanna. 

Campanula rotundifolia. Near Sli- 

gachan. 

Arctostaphylos Uva-ursi. Storr, Qui- 

rang, Coolins. 

Calluna vulgaris. Abundant on the 

limestone about Broadford and 

Kyle Akin. 

Erica Tetrahx Ditto. 

E. cinerea. 

Vaccinium Myrtillus. 

V. Vitis-Idgea. 

V. Oxycoccus. Loch Brittle, Dr. 

Webster. 

Pyrola secunda. Sligachan. 

Ilex Aquifolium. Sligachan, Kyle 

Akin. 

Geutiana campestris. 

Menyanthes trifoliata. 

Lvcopsis arvensis. Between Stein- 

scholl and the Storr. 

Myosotis csespitosa. 

M. arvensis. 

Digitalis purpm-ea. 

Scrophularia nodosa. 

Melampyrum pratense. 

Mimulus Inteus. Naturalized in 

woods and ditches about Dunvegan 

; also in many open marshy 

places between Sligachan and 

Broadford. 

Rliinanthus Cri?ta-galli. 

Ditto.

112 ON THE FLOBA OF SKYE. 

Euphrasia officinalis. Ditto. 

E. Odontites. Ditto. 

Veronica scutellata, Steinscholl. 

V. Beccabunga. 

V. Chamaedrys. 

V. montana. Duuvegan. 

T. officinalis. 

V. serpjllifolia. 

V. arvensis. 

Mentha aquatica. 

Thymus Serpyllum. 

Scutellaria galericiJata. On the shores 

of Salt lochs, etc. Steinscholl, 

Uig, and Seavaig. 

Prunella vulgaris. 

Lamium pm-pureum. 

Galeopsis Tetrahit. 

G-. Ladanum. Steinscholl. 

Stachys Betonica. Steinscholl. 

S. sylvatica. 

S palustris. 

S. arvensis. 

Teucriuni Scorodonia. 

Ajuga reptans. Dimvegan, Sligachan, 

Kyle Akin. 

Pinguicula vulgaris. 

P. Lusitanica. 

TJtricularia minor. In brackish pools 

near Steinscholl ; abundant about 

Sligachan. 

Primula vulgaris. 

Lysimachia nemorum. 

Glaus maritima. 

Samolus Valerandi. Loch Seavaig. 

Armeria maritima. 

Plantago maritima. 

P. lanceolata. X 

P. major. 

Littorella lacustris. 

Suffida maritima. Loch Ainort, Kyle 

Akin. 

Salicomia herbacea. Loch Ainort, 

Kyle Akin. 

Atriplex deltoidea. 

Eumcx conglomcratus. 

R. obtusifolius. 

R. crispus. 

R. Acetosa. 

R. Acetosella. 

Oxyria reniformis. 

Polygonum viviparum. Storr 

Coolins. 

P. Persicaria. 

P. Hydropiper. Broadford ; Kyle 

Akin. 

P. aviculare. 

Empetrum nigrum. 

Euphorbia Helioscopia. Broadford 

Kyle Akin. 

E. Peplus. 

Mercurialis perennis. Loch Brittle, 

Dr. Webster. 

Callitriche platycarpa. 

Urtica dioica. 

Ulmus montana. Planted in groves. 

Salix aurita. 

S. repens, var. argentea. 

S. herbacea. 

Populus tremula. 

P. nigra. Planted in groves. 

Myriea Gale. 

Betula glutinosa. 

Alnus glutiuosa. Dunvegan, Kyle 

Akin. 

Fagus sylvatica. 

Quercus Robur. 

Corylus Avellana. 

Juniperus nana. 

Pinus sylvestris. In plantations. 

Orchis latifolia. Loch Ainort. 

O. macidata. 

Gymnadenia conopsea. Steinscholl. 

Habenaria viridis. Quirang. 

H. chlorantha. Steinscholl. 

Listera cordata. Kyle Akin ; in dense 

woods. 

Malaxis paludosa. Sligachan ; plen- 

tiful. 

Iris Pseudo-acorus. 

Allium ursinum. Amongst fallen rocks 

on the coast at Steinscholl, and 

other places. 

; 

;

Endymion nutans. 

Eriocaulon septangulare. In many of 

the loclis and peat pools about Sli- 

gachan. 

Nartheciimi ossifragum. 

Juncus effusus. 

J. conglomeratus. 

J. triglumis. Storr and Coolins. 

J. biglumis. Sparingly on the range 

of mountains between the Storr 

and Quirang. 

J. trifidiis. Coolins. 

J. lamprocarpus. 

J. supinus. 

J. squamosus. 

J. compressus. Loch Ainort. 

J. G-erardi. 

Luzula sylvatica. 

L. campestris. 

L. spicata. Tops of the moimtains 

about the Storr and Shgachan. 

Triglochin maritimum. 

T. palustre. 

Sparganium ramosum. Steinscholl. 

S. natans. 

Lemna minor. Uig. 

Potamogeton polygonifolius. 

P. heterophyllus. 

P. perfoliatus. SteinschoU. 

Schoenus nigricans. 

Hhynchospora alba. 

Eleocharis palustris. 

E. multicaidis. SteinschoU. 

Scirpus maritimiis. Uig. 

S. lacustris. 

S. csespitosus. 

S. fluitans. Shgachan, Kyle Akin. 

Blysmus rufus. 

Eriophorum raginatum 

E. angustifolium. 

Carex pulicaris. 

C. pauciflorus. M'Leod's Tables. 

C. vulpina. Uig. 

C. stellulata. 

C. ovalis. 

C. vulgaris. 

. 

ON THE FLOKA OF SKYE. 113 

C. pallescens. Dunvegan, Kyle Akin. 

C. panicea. 

C. limosa. Sligachan. 

C. pilulifera. 

C. glauca. 

C. flava. 

C. binervis. 

C. ampullacea. 

Phalaris arundinaeea. 

Anthoxanthum odoratum. 

Phleum pratense. Uig, Sligachan, 

Kyle Akin. 

Alopecnrus pratensis. SteinschoU, 

Uig._ 

A. geniculatus. 

Nardus stricta. 

Phragmites communis. 

Agrostis vulgaris. 

A. alba. 

Holcus moUis. Dunvegan. 

H. lanatus. 

Aira caespitosa. 

A. flexuosa. 

A. caryophylla. 

Akin. 

A. prsecox. 

Avena pratensis. Uig. 

An'henatherum avenaceum. 

Triodia decimibens. 

Mollinia caerulea. 

Poa annua. 

P. nemoraUs. 

P. tfivialis. 

P. pratensis. 

Glyceria fluitans. 

Catabrosa aquatica. 

Cynosurus cristatus. 

Dactylis glomerata. 

Festuca ovina. 

F. rubra. 

gan, Kyle Akin. 

Triticum repens. 

Dunvegan, Kyle 

Broadford ? 

Serrafalcus mollis. Uig. 

Brachypodium sylvaticum. Dunve- 

T. repen.s, var. httoreum. SteinschoU. 

Lolium perenne.

114 DE NOVA RHAMNI SPECIE. 

Equisetum arvense. 

E. maximum. Steinscholl. 

E. sylvaticum. 

E. palustre. 

E. limosum. 

Cryptogram me crispa. Coolins, Broad 

ford, Kyle Akin. 

Polypodium Phegoptcris. 

P. Dryopteris. Orbost, Kyle Akin. 

P. vulgare. 

Lastrea Oreopteris. 

L. Filix-mas. 

L. dilatata. 

L. semula. Kyle Akin. 

Polystielium Loncliitis. Quirang and 

Storr. 

P. aculeatum. 

Cystopteris fragilis. 

Atliyrium Filix-fcjcmina. 

- 

Asplenium Adiantum-nigrum. 

A. Trichomanes. 

A. marinum. 

A. Euta-muraria. Sligachan, Kyle 

Akin. 

Blechnum boreale. 

Ptei'is aquilina. 

Hymenopliyllum Wilsoni. 

Osmunda rcgalis. Orbost, Loch Sca- 

vaig ? 

Botrychium Lunaria. Quirang. 

PHularia globulifera. Steinscholl. 

Lycopodium clavatum. Storr, Dun- 

vegan. 

L. alpinum. 

L. Selago. 

L. selaginoides. 

Chai'a flexilis. 

C hispida. 

DE NOVA RHAMNI SPECIE. 

Auctore H. F. Hance, Ph.D., etc. 

Rhamnus (Frangula) oreigenes, n. sp. ; inermis, cortice cinereo-pur- 

pureo, ratnulis petiolis pedunculis pedicellisqiie tomento denso flavido- 

cinereo obtectis, foliis alternis subcoriaceis breviter petiolatis subbipol- 

licaribus circ. 10 lin. latis e basi obtusiuscule cuneata obovatis siibito 

caudato-acuminatis minute creuato-seiTolatis cvenis apice giandulosis 

versus folii apicem magis approximatis atque couspicuis supra prfeter 

venas pilosulas pilosque in lamina sparsos demum glabratis subtus dense 

cinereo-tomentosis costulatis costulis utrinque 7-8 cum costa subtus 

prominulis margine ipso arcuatim conjunctis, floribus axillaribus 3-8 

subumbellatim dispositis, pedunculo petiolo subrequali pedicellis paulo 

brnviore, calycis tomcntosi tubo campanulato lacinias semiovatas 

acutiusculas erectas intus fortiter carinatas ada:;quantc, petalis cucul- 

latis ex uiigue brevi obcordatis (apice ncinpe sinu latiusculo semi- 

bifidis) stamina a^quantibus laciniis calycinis duplo brevioribus, fila- 

mcntis crassis complanatis, anthcris didymis sequilongis, stylo simplici 

ovario globoso 3-4-loculari paruni longiore sursum 3-4-sulcato apice 

inconspicue 3-4-lobo papilloso apices filamentorum attingente, ovulis 

minutissimis luteis non sulcatis basi eniarginatis, fructu . . . ?

NOTE ON DELIMA. 115 

In lierbosis ad cacumina montium Pakwan, supra Cantonem, ipse 

legi, (1. 12 Julii 1867 (Exsicc. n. 14,113). 

Plantam nostram, induineuto foliorumque forma certe distinctissimam, 

iion tantum cum speciebus continentis Indise et Zeylaniae, sed 

etiam cum plerisque earum ab amico Maximowiczio, ia cgregia com- 

mentatione ' De Etamneis Orieutali-Asiaticis ' * recensitarum, com- 

paravi. Fructu licet etiamnum ignoto, de sectioue,—habitu, stylo 

indiviso, ovulorumque fabrica (difficile ob minutiem tandem explorata) 

ponderatis,—miuime dubito ; 

ac inter commilitones probabiMter magis 

R. TramjulcB nostrati quam aliis est affinis, nisi forte R. graudifoUce, 

I", et M.,— raibi qiiidem non notse,— 

propior. Petala fere qualia R. 

caroUn'uma a Spragueo depicta (A. Gray, Gen. PI. U, S. ii, tab. 167), 

sed sinu profuadiore ac paulo angustiore lateribusque extus magis ob- 

lique truncatis invenio. 

NOTE ON DELIMA, Linn. 

By H. F. Hance, Ph.D. 

Bentham and Hooker, in the ' Genera Plantarum,' retain the genus 

Belima, distinguishing it from Tdracera by its 2-3 ovules and soli- 

tary carpel. But Delima sarmentosa, as remarked by Planchon and 

Triana (Ann. Sc. Nat. 4me ser. xvii. 20), has very frequently a large 

number of ovides, as I have repeatedly observed ; and it vras, indeed, 

from noticing this circumstance, and relying on the accuracy of the 

character assigned to Delima by authors, that fifteen years ago, when 

my acquaintance witli plants was far more limited than at present, I 

described the plant under the name of Leontoglossum. Since, more- 

over, several genuine Tetracerts have only 3 or 4 ovules, whilst in 

others they are indefinite, and T. sesv.lifioi'a and T. (Delimojjsis) liir- 

suta have a solitary carpel, it is manifest that these genera must be re- 

united, as proposed by Planchon and Triana. 

* Dolenclura est, hac in laudatissima diatribe, virum ornatissimum, casu 

quodam R. ntilem et R. cJdorophoram, a docto Decaisneo in Rondotii opusculo 

quod inscribitur ' Notice du Tert de Chine ' deseriptas, ibidemque a solerti 

Riocreuxii mauu nitide depictas, omniuo preetennisisae.

116 

NOTE ON THE CHINESE NAME OF ELEUSLNE 

CORACANA, Gaertii. 

By H. F. H^nce, Ph.D. 

In the ueighbourhood of Canton, where this cereal is sometimes 

sparingly cultivated, the common native name, as obtained from the 

peasantrj^ by Mr. Sampson, is Kai-keuk-kuk, literally " fowl's-foot 

arrain." I have thought this worth noting;, because, bv a curious 

coincidence, the closely allied Eleusiiie Indica Vjears in Spain, according 

to Willkomm (Prodr. Fl. Hisp. i. 46), a precisely similar name, 

" Pie de gallo." 

These are various instances of similar nomenclature amongst Ch-a- 

miue(s, t.y. our own " Cock's-foot grass" (^DactyUs), and Leptochloa 

arabica, Kunth, which, according to Bertoloni (Fl. Ital. i. 579), is 

called "Pie di gaUo raspeUone" in Italy; but in no genus is the 

popular term so appropriate as in Eleimne, and it is, doubtless, to this 

circumstance that we must ascribe the coincidence just alluded to. 

NOTE ON HYGROPHORUS CALTPTRjEFORMIS. 

The first time that I met with this beautiful Hygrophorus was in 

November, 1847, when a few specimens of it were gi-owiug on the 

mossy lawn at Wick House, between Brislington and Bristol, a station 

which, as far as I know, remains undisturbed, although the Hauham 

one is destroyed. T showed my drawing of it at the time to the late 

Mr. H. O. Stephens, but he could give me no information respecting 

it, and it was not till some years later that I leamt its specific name. 

Since then I have seen it\three several seasons, and in three different 

localities near Kenilworth. Is it, therefore, so rare a species as is 

supposed ? The last time I met with it was in 1866, but I never saw- 

more than a few plants in each spot. It is very lovely, and might 

almost be mistaken, at a little distance, for buds of Cohhicum auiiim- 

iiale, so pm'e and delicate is its colour. 

Kenilworth, March IQth, 1869. 

Akna Russell. 

—

117 

A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 

Br WILLIAM E. GUILFOYLE. 

[We are indebted to the kindness of our correspondent, Dr. F. von Mueller, 

for a copy of the following very interesting narrative. Ed.] 

I. 

On the twenty-fourth day of May last we left Sydney in H.M.S. Challenger, 

Commodore Lambert, C.B., for a cruise among the islands of the South 

Pacific. During the whole of the trip we experienced calm and dehghtful 

weather, with the exception that at the Samoas we found it excessively hot. 

Our first anchorage was in the dehghtful harbour of Pango-Paugo, in the 

island of Tutuila, Samoas. Nothing could be more delightfid or beautiful 

than this place. The landlocked harbour has all the appearance of a lake 

the charms of which are heightened by lofty precipitous mountains, densely 

clothed with the most luxuriant vegetation. Soon after we had anchored I 

went ashore with the Commodore and several of the officers (whose kindness 

to me during the cruise I shall never forget), but, as it was getting late, we 

contented ourselves by walking through several provision -grounds, which were 

enclosed with walls, fom- or five feet in height, built of pieces of scoria and 

stone of various kinds. In many of the islands the provision-grounds, or 

gardens, often extend over ten or twelve acres ; they contain cocoa-nut, 

bananas, plantains, yams, taro, and everything useful as food. In Tutuila I 

was struck witli the richness of the vegetation, and with the great depth of 

volcanic soil. The graceful Coeoa-ni;t Palm {Cocos nucifera) is hei-e very 

abundant in the villages, in fact, it is plentiful in all the islands, and it is wi.ll 

known that where this beautiful plant is to be found, it betokens the presence 

of native habitations. I left the si dp early the next morning, with the full 

determination, knowing that our stay would be short, of going as far inland as 

possible. A young ofiicer accompanied me, and taking with us fom* natives, 

we commenced to ascend the mountain stee]Ds, and after a difficult ascent 

through thickets of Carica Papai/a (Papau Apple), Citrus Limonum, and 

Plantains, occasionally interspersed with Aleurites triloba, Cocos, and some 

interesting Araliaceous plants, PAaêoZiw albiis, and several species oilpomoea, 

matted with, and growing over, the decaying vegetation and blocks of scoria ; 

we reached a cultivated patch of Taro {Arum esculentum), about 700 feet 

above the level of the sea. Here we sat to rest under a Breadfruit-tree {Ar- 

tocarpus incisa), the grateful shade of which was much needed. I noticed 

even on the tops of those precipitous mountams, which are 1500 feet above 

the level of the sea, several fine specimens of the Cocoa-nut. Along the 

valleys, and upon some of the low ridges, two species of Sida were often con- 

spicuous objects. An ^sehynanthus and a species of Niphobohis were to be 

found upon the stems of the Calophyllum, Inocarpus, and on many of the 

larger trees, in such thick masses as to hide them from view. An Indigqfera, 

together with a Gossypium, and several varieties of Saccharuni, would some- 

VOL. Vll. [APRIL 1, 1869.] K 

— 

—

118 A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 

times form an impenetrable mass, especially when an Ipomcea, of which I 

noticed several species, had found its way into the midst of them. Among 

the Ferns, Nephrodiitm, NephroJepis, Asplenium, Pteris, and Lomaria, were 

more plentiful upon the mountain sides, while groups of Marattia elegans, 

and a species of Alsophila, were common in moist places. 

Our next anchorage was at Apia Upolu, which is also one of the Samoau 

group. Here the vegetation is much the same, and the natives quite as mild 

and good-humoured in aspect as those at Tutuila. Although the weather was 

exceedingly warm, I had some very pleasant walks during our stay at Apia, 

and through the kindness of H.M. Consul (Mr. Williams) and tlie mission- 

aries, who sent guides with me into the interior, I experienced no difSculties, 

save the work of travelling up and down the steep mountains, which is often 

rendered less laborious by the many trailers and climbers that hang around 

almost every stem, and which enables one, by catching hold, to pull up or 

lower himself down at pleasure. The Artocarpus incisa is more plentiful in 

Upolu than in any other island we visited, and there are said to be there sixteen 

sorts of that useful and ornamental plant. This I cannot doubt, when 

in a walk of twelve miles I met with eight distinct varieties. In a valley near 

to the cascade grew one of the finest specimens I have ever seen. The leaves, 

which are not incised, measured two feet by eighteen inches in width. The 

fruit was not so large as that of some of the other varieties, but the foliage 

and the form of the tree were truly magnificent. In the island of Tana, New 

Hebrides (of which I shall speak in due course), about five miles in a north- 

easterly direction, I found an immensely large fruiting variety, and succeeded 

in getting a few young plants, which have arrived safely. The fruit measured 

exactly 18 inches in lengtli, and 12 inches in circumference, while the tree 

itself was not more tlian 20 feet in height. But by far the largest Breadfruit- 

tree I have met with anywhere, was also in Tana ; 

its trunk was 7 feet in cir- 

cumference five feet from the ground, while it could not have been less than 

65 feet in lieight. The Tannese, however, seem to care less for the fruit than 

any of the other islanders. At the Samoas and at Vavou it seems to be the 

principal diet. The refreshing green of its foliage, the large and beautiful 

fruits that hang down from its branches, together with the pleasant shade it 

affords, all contribute to render it one of the most attractive trees to be met 

with in the islands. At Upolu, as also in most of the islands, the Inocarpus 

edidis, or " South Sea Chestnut," is to be found ; but it is nowhere so plentiful 

as n\ the Fijis, where it often grows to a heiglit of more than 50 feet. The 

trunk presents a very remarkable appearance, having projections like buttresses 

standing out from it on all sides, and extending from the root to the branches. 

The leaves are of a dark green, and the flowers, although small, are very fragrant. 

The fruit somewhat resembles a chestnut, and when roasted is much 

used as food by the natives; Near to the Breadfruit-tree, with fine fohage 

(described as being near to the cascades), were the finest sjjecimens of Inocarpus 

I have met with. Tliey presented a rather novel but beautiful appearance, 

being literally covered with Dendrohiums, of which there were three species. 

The beautiful Sapindus pinnalus, which is closely allied to, and not unhke the

A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 119 

Lichee of China, although a much larger and more delicious fruit, occurs here, 

as also in the Fi-iendly Islands and the Fijis. It is caUed by the Samoans 

Tara, at Tavou (a group of the Friendly Islands) it is known as Dava, and 

in the Fijian dialect Lauva. When first I met with the tree at Upolu, I was 

a beautiful specimen, about 45 feet high, 

standing on the side of a mountain ; 

was towering above the dwarf, but pretty shrubs that surrounded it in the 

valley beneath. Not knowing at the time that a great peculiarity of the tree 

is its fiery I'ed, immature leaves, which, contrasted with the grassy-green of 

the full-grown ones in the distance, are really charming, more especially when 

the dense foliage of a Calophi/Uum, or a Eugenia Malaccensis, forms a back- 

ground,—I quickly descended, thinking that I had discovered something new. 

My native guides kept close to me, saying, Tava tava, at the same time 

putting their hands to their mouths and smacking their lips, to signify that the 

tree I so eagerly rushed to, bore an edible fruit. Eugenia Malaccensis is also 

an excellent fruit, and, Uke Sapindus pinnatus, it is to be found in most of the 

South Sea Islands. I have seen several fine varieties of it in the Fijis, vei-y 

different from the one called Fekeka in the Samoas, and wliich I believe is the 

same as the one at Yavou, Friendly Islands, called Fegeka. At Burretta, the 

private residence of Mr. Thurston, H.M. Consul at Fiji, my attention was 

called to a scarlet and a yellow fruitjng variety growing side by side, and both 

had flowers corresponding in colour with their fruit, which were the same in 

size and taste, and the trees themselves were about the same lieight. The Ti- 

apple (Eoea dulci-o) seems to be more plentiful in Upolu than in most of the 

islands ; it is an excellent fruit, and a very ornamental tree. Some very fine 

specimens of it occur in the mountains above Apia, and at the time of my 

visit the ground was strewed, even for a distance, with their delicious fruit, 

which is of a golden-yeUow colour, perfectly oval, very juicy, and weighs gene- 

rally about three-quarters of a pound. The tree bears two crops in the year. 

The Plantain and the Banana are common almost everywhere. Musa Caven- 

dishi, of China, which I have found in many of the islands, Mr. Williams, 

H.M. Consul at Samoa, informed me was first introduced by his father (the 

Rev. John Williams), from the Duke of Devonshire's garden many years ago. 

It has been introduced into most of the islands by native missionary teachers. 

There are a great many varieties of the Plantam and the Banana among the 

islands, and there were at least twenty-five kinds among those we visited. I 

met with a very remarkable species in a plantation in the Fijis. The foliage 

was of a rich purple, and had a most beautiful effect, mingled with the varie- 

gated foliage ai'ound. I attempted to take up a small plant of this beautiful 

variety, but was immediately prevented by the natives. Tobacco, calico, and 

even money, were offered for it, but to no purpose. I afterwards learnt from 

a settler, that it is customary with the Polynesians to plant ornamental foliage 

near to their houses in honour of their deceased relatives, and that to break 

one of those plants is considered an atrocious crime, punishable by death. I 

recollect, at Tutuila, having attempted to pull up a small plant oiAralia, near 

to a village, when a yoimg chief rushed forward, bawling as loudly as possible, 

Tabu tabu (forbidden), and from his excited appearance I should think that,


had not the Commodore and some of the officers been present, he would have 

attempted to handle me roughly. Another fact worthy of notice is, that the 

natives of many of the islands—and particularly those of Tana and Vate, 

New Hebrides—ornament their houses by planting around them the prettiest 

variegated plants they can find. Crotons and Dracaenas are great favourites 

with them, as also are plants with strong perfume, such as the Evodia, and 

others. It may appear strange to some that even those naked savages have a 

taste for the ornamental and beautiful, but I believe that there is no one in 

existence who could, without a feeling of delight, pass by a group of those 

most striking of all variegated plants, the Crotons and Dracaenas. No bouquet 

could produce a more varied display of brilliancy than I have seen in them. 

Imagine what a dazzling effect a Croton must produce, from 12 to 15 feet m 

height, having a mass of foliage, striped or spotted with the most glowing 

colours,—bright scarlet, vermilion, or yellow, reticulated with purple, green, 

orange, or pink. The Dracseuas, not less beautiful, are generally found upon 

the mountain slopes, and it is a strange fact, with regard to the latter, as well 

as with several other plants I have met with, that the colom-ed variety found 

ill one spot may not be found elsewhere upon the island. There is no general 

distribution of any but the green varieties, and those occur in all the islands. 

The Samoas seem to be well suited for the growth of sugar and coffee. Kice 

and cotton, too, would thrive in certain situations. Mr. Williams, the Consul, 

has several extensive plantations of both. In the garden of the Kev. Fathers 

Eondelle and Violette (French missionaries), I noticed many other introduced 

plants growing to great perfection. Their garden is well worthy of mention. 

It occupies altogether about sixty acres, and is situated upon a rich alluvial 

flat. The Mango {Manyifera Imlica), the Lichee {JUiiphonia Lichee) , Averrhoa 

Bilimbi, Achras sajôta, Anona squamosa, and many other beautiful fruits, 

were here tln-iving most luxuriantly. The Vanilla aromatica had climbed up 

the stems of many of the Breadfi-uit and Cocoa-nut trees witli which this 

garden is studded. There is no very great display of artistic decoration in the 

garden itself, but it might justly be termed an Eden, from its picturesque situ- 

ation ; its running streams and small lakes ; its avenues and groups of Bread- 

fruit and Cocoa-nut ; its plantations of Banana, and thickets of Paiidanus. 

The growth of everything is exuberant. The pi'cttiest hedge I have ever seen, 

surrounded a fancy-garden near the house, it was formed of a dwarf, bright 

scarlet, large, double-flowering Hibiscus (indigenous to the Samoas), about 4 

feet high, which was literally covered with flowers, and presented indeed a 

gorgeous sight,—the glossy bright leaves occasionally peeping between the 

flowers. As we remained for nearly a week at Upolu, I was enabled to travel 

over a great portion of the island. The vegetation everywhere is indescribably 

rich, and consists principally of the Orders Malvacem, Myrtacea, Tillacece, 

Sapindacece, Guttiferce, AraliacecB, Aurantiacece, Leguminosce, Liliacece, Eu' 

phorbiacecE, Compositce, and Urticacece, 

{To be continued.)

^ \ 

lyîî^-.':. 

V 

'-^ 

s fll ^ 

^'i«*^^ 

ri^m 

TaJb 93

121 

A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 

BY WILLIAM E. GTJILFOTLE. 

IL 

In Yarau's beautiful harbour we next dropped anchor. Yavau is the only 

one of tlie Friendly Islands we visited. The harbour is an exceedingly picturesque 

place, and in this respect it may be second only to Pango Pango 

in Tutuila. The scenery charmed me much, although, in all my rambles 

and I believe that I wallied over the greater portion of the larger islands of 

this group—I found nothing very i-are or new in the way of plants. Yavau is 

less mountainous, the surface having more of an undulating nature than any 

of the other islands. I think it would be admirably adapted for the growth 

of Cotton. In no other place have I seen the Cocoanut so abundant. There 

are six distinct varieties,—a fact which rather surprised me, as I had never 

heard of more than two. Having collected specimens, I soon obtained from 

the natives theii- respective names as follows -.—NiuJcafa, a very large nut, the 

husk of which is about eighteen inches long ; Kafahula, an almost roimd nut, the 

milk of which is very sweet ; Taokave, a very small nut, the milk used only by 

the chiefs : the tree itself is much taller and more slender than any of the other 

varieties, and bears a much greater quantity of nuts, the average being eighty 

in one bunch ; Paagania, nut of moderate size, but having a very thick shell, 

which the natives cut into round pieces about thi-ee or four inches in diameter, 

with which they play a game called " lafo ;" I\imnea, a very handsome variety, 

with a red husk; Ninule,\s the variety common throughout Polynesia, the 

nut is the same in size as the last, but of the ordinary colour, and is a remarkably 

sti'ong grower. In a village about two miles inland I came across 

a species of Shaddock, bearing fruit of exti'aordinary size, averaging thirty 

inches in circiimference, the rind one inch in thickness, and exceedingly bitter. 

Near a native burial-place, not far from Talau, the highest mount of Vavau, and 

which is only 400 feet above the level of the sea, I met with some very fine spe- 

cimens of the beautiful Barringtonia speciosa, which is not common in Yavau, 

but is met with vei-y freqiiently in the Fijis and the East Indies. Its com- 

pact spreading branches, thickly clothed with large dark green foliage and rich 

rosy -pink sweetly scented flowers, entitle it to a place among the more beauti- 

ful of ornamental trees. The gi'ound is often covered for a considerable dis- 

tance with its large quadrangulate seed-vessels, which, while in the green state, 

are used for poisoning fish. About a mile from the burial-place I was not a 

little surprised to find myself under the shade of a magnificent Tamarind-tree 

{Tamarindus Indlcns) fully thirty-five feet in height. I inquired of some natives 

who could speak English tolei-ably well if they knew where the tree was 

brought from. They answered that "Papelangi"— "white man"—had put it 

there. Several varieties of the Orange-tree are plentiful about the villages, but 

the Tahitian predominates. There are also a Lemon and a Lime, the latter 

being the same species that I met with at the Samoas. The Carica Papaya, or 

" Papau apple " (often called " Mammcy apple ") is very abundant here. Piper 

tÔL. VII. [jULY 1, 18G9.] L 

—


methysticum, the plant of which the Kava is made, is cultivated extensively ; 

but in this, and in many other islande where missionaries have taken up their 

abode, the practice of drinking that beastly beverage has ceased much of late 

years. The under-scrub of Vavau consists principally of an AruncUnaria, the 

reed of which the houses and fences (decidedly the neatest and best I have seen 

anywhere) ai'e made. A Fhaseohis, several species of Ipomoea, and a Kenney- 

dia [? 

— 

Ed.] are to be seen trailing along and forming iinpenetrable masses over 

hundreds of acres. Sometimes they find their way into the plantations of 

Broussonettia (the plant of which " Tapa," or native cloth is made), and soon 

destroy them. The graceful Cocoa-nut towers majestically above, and waves 

its feathery fronds in the breeze, as if defying its enemies beneath. I found 

the vegetation more varied, with few exceptions, near to the water's edge, where 

Malvaccous, Rubiaceous, Araliaceous, and Leguminous plants seemed to be 

more numerous than others. I was taken all round this very dehghtful 

harbour in the French missionai'ies' boat, and was not only charmed with the 

scenery and the perfume of Jasminum gracile^ occasionally resting itself upon 

the shrubs on the banks that margined the shore, but also with the fish and 

coral of all colours to be seen in its waters. The pretty Paritium tiliaceum, 

with its heart-shaped leaves and large golden-yellow flowers, a Sernandln, a 

Calophyllinn, an Uri/tlirina, and a Casuarma were among the vegetation that 

clothed the banks. AnEchites and a white-flowering Sbyrt grow in such thick 

masses as to hide from view their helpless supporters. Tacca pinnatifida, of 

which the natives make arrowroot, was also plentiful. There were few Orchi- 

daceous plants ; a JDendrollum might, perhaps, be discovered in the midst of a 

bunch of Dry7iaria, upon a stump or in the fork of a tree, and occasionally a 

Bletia and a Dluris would be seen in the long grass. Grrowing around their 

habitations in the villages, the natives have many Fijian plants. Among the 

more conspicuous of these were the Acalypha tricolor, a Euphorhiacea, some 

Dracaenas and Crotons, and the beautiful Palm Prilcliardia Pacifica, whose 

bright green umbrageous fronds (the same in form but fully twice the size of 

Latania Bourionica or Corypha Australis) might be seen in sevei'al places 

spreading gracefully over a native hut. Near to the chief's house (who, by 

the way, called himself the "governor") I saw a small plantation of a very 

fine species of Tobacco {Nicotiana), which is not indigenous to the island ; 

some fine trees of Cedrela vehitina of the West Indies were gi'owing close by. 

A variety of Mimosa sensitiva, and Qnamoclit coccinea (a well-known pretty 

little annual climber from Sou^h America) were to be found in patches about 

the villages ; the latter was plentiful in a small garden in front of the gover- 

nor's house. The governor, David , a fine-looking fellow about six feet 

two inches in height, is a son of old " King George," of Tongatabu, which is 

another of the Friendly Islands, a day's sail from Vavau. He can speak 

English very well, and I was- surprised to find him so intelligent. His house 

is certainly worthy of inspcclion. It contains four rooms, is of simple but 

neat construction, being built of weatherboards and reeds, thatched with 

sugar-cane tops. In the principal room there was a handsome suite of furni- 

ture, which I learned had been brought fi-om Sydney a few months previous


to our visit. It consisted of two tables, a sofa, some chaii's, a chiifonier, and, 

if I mistake not, a Brussels carpet covered the iloor. A large min-or, and 

some pictures representing sacred subjects, were hung over the mantelpiece, 

upon which were a few neat ornaments. When my friend and I were about 

to leave, " his Excellency " asked if we liked brandy or wine, and immediately 

placed iipon the table two decanters, together with some new pipes and to- 

bacco. He paid a visit to the commodore on the morning we left, he having 

only returned from Tonga the day before in his father's schooner. When he 

was leaving the ship he was honoured with a salute of seven guns, a mark of 

consideration with which he was highly delighted. It is due to the commo- 

dore to observe that the courtesy he invariably paid to the chiefs of the various 

islands, seemed likely to engender good feehng and favourable relations. 

Eespect and kindness, in whatever form, must tend to induce those uncivilized 

people to throw off then* savage character, and aspii'e to a higher humanity. 

It was by the consideration and good will of previous visitors, together with 

assiduous missionary labom* (and this has done more good than many credit) 

that the Grovernor of Yavau and his father, the King of Tonga, and the 

Friendly Islands generally, have advanced so far in civilization. The " governor" 

was decidedly the most civilized chief we met with during the cruise. 

The worst feature of Yavau is that it is badly watered. Notwitlistanding this, 

however, it is always moist and fertile, owing to its rich soil, occasional 

showers, and the dews which fall at night. 

A few days' steam took us safely to Ovalau, Fiji Islands. Our first port 

there was Levuka, and our next anchorage was at the mouth x»f the Eewa 

Eiver, in Viti-levu, or Big Fiji. Levuka gives one but a very vague idea of 

the beautiful scenery of the Fijis, although I must say that the vegetation 

around it is rich ; and, without doubt, the island of Ovalau contains a greater 

variety of plants than any place of its size in the Fijis. But one must go 

round to the other side of the island, and thence across to Bau and up the 

river if he wishes to see ti-opical verdure beautifully displayed. I was never 

more delighted, however, than with a trip to the island of Wakaya (eight miles 

to the windward of Ovalau), belonging to Dr. Brower, the American consul, 

who resides there, and who certainly deserves great praise for the manner in 

which he has turned his attention towards the growth of cotton, coffee, and 

sugar, which succeed admirably. His plantations of Sea-island cotton are 

extensive, and the quality the best I have seen anywhere. This paradise is 

seven miles long by two miles in greatest width. It is well watered by several 

I'unning streams, and thi'ough its charming green hills and park-Uke forests 

may be seen several hundi-ed head of fine cattle and sheep. They need 

neither stock-keepers nor shepherds, and, revelling in the best of pastures, 

they seem to be quite at home. The doctor informed me that eight years ago 

he introduced ten head of cattle, which have now increased to nearly two hun- 

dred head. He has several well-bred horses, as well as goats, pigs, and fowls 

in quantity. 

I had some very laborious, though truly interesting, tours through the moim- 

tains of Ovalau. The highest peak here is said to be about 2080 feet, which I 

L 2


managed to ascend with difficulty. The thickets of scrub, reeds, and climbers, 

among tlie latter two species of Smllctx and a Ruhiis,—were often exceedingly 

troublesome. Sometimes my guides and myself had to crawl upon our hands 

and knees, and, after an hour's work in getting through one of those labyrinths, 

tripping and tumbling over the rocks hidden in the long grass, trailers, and 

decaying vegetation, a huge mass of rock and scoria cemented perliaps would 

present itself. There was no other alternative but to surmount it, or to encounter 

the same ordeal of crawling back through the almost impenetrable mass 

previously passed. Although those huge walls of rock are often nearly vertical^ 

yet, from the soft nature of the volcanic matter, a rank vegetation springs from 

every projecting ledge, and, but for tlie oft-recurring interstices, by the aid of 

which the natives clamber up with the agility of monkeys, it would be utterly 

impossible to scale those barriers, which are often more than eighty feet in 

height. Amongst tlie thickly-matted vegetation which clothes the mountains 

to their summits one meets with many fine species of Ficits, which are often 

of gigantic size, and rendered extremely beautifid by a large mass oi Polt/podium 

diversifolium in almost every foi'k and upon every branch. Cassia ocei- 

dentalis and C. ohtusifoUa, together with several species of Piper, Asclepias 

Cttrassavica, Plumbago, Phyllanthns, and Sida liniphylla have spread them- 

selves over large tracts along the ridges. 3[orinda citrifolia and laurifoUa, 

whose large glossy green foliage often contrast beautifully with the purple 

heart-shaped leaves of PariUum purpiirascens, are pleasing objects. Pa- 

rifium liliaceum, with its bright green foliage and yellow flowers, is not less 

beautiful, and occurs more frequently in the valleys or close to the shore. A 

species of Euriia, a Coprosma, a MediniJla, and a Geissois are very abundant 

upon one of tlie mountains overlooking the beautiful valley of Livone, in 

which place I met with four species of SelagineUa growing so luxuriantly from 

the shade and moisture as to measure often five feet in height. Very abundant 

were varieties of AspJenitim, Durea, Davallia, Doodia, Nothoclena, Adianlum, 

IFtjpoIepis, Pteris, Microhpis, Drynaria, Todea, Litobrochia, Puli/podium, 

Nephrolepis, Nephrcdium, Lomaria, a Lygodium, a Marattia, and many other 

species of Fem. Davallia Fijietisis and a Tradescantia often clothed the rocks, 

and the former with a Aiphoholus, an âcliynanthus, and a Ramelina, the 

stems of many of the larger trees, particularly the Inocarpus edtdis, an EIcbo- 

carpus, or a Calophyllum. The stems and branches oi Lumnitzera and Thespesia 

pojndnea were often literally hidden by a matting of Niphobolus, whose 

pendent ribbon-like fronds, Imnging gracefidly down, gave them a novel but 

beautiful appearance. Scarcely less singular and beautiful is the aspect of the 

larger trees when covered with a Freycinetia, of which I noticed two species, 

whose numerous tufts of lanceolate leaves up the stems and along the branches 

would suggest a climbing Pandanus, to which genus it is closely allied. 

Two species of Rkaphidophora often occur in the same manner, quite eclipsing 

the trunks and branches of the larger trees. The Pandanus is rarely met with 

far inland, but is found generally close to the sea. Its strong aerial roots pro- 

truding from the stem and descending in succession towards the ground, bear 

on their tips a loose, cup-like coating, which preserves their absorbents from 

—

A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 125 

injury until tliey i-each the earth, in which they quickly bury themselves, and 

act as stays to prevent the stem being blown about by the wind. I was fre- 

quently startled during my walks, which were often long and tedious, though 

always interesting, by the rattling of the huge pods of Mucima glganiea, or 

"Big Bean," which are often two feet in length, and as broad as one's hand. 

Occasionally on the Liocarpus edtiUs, " South Sea Chestnut," whose singular 

stem I have described, and also growing on the branches of Artocaipus incisa, 

I have met with two species of Loranthus and a Viscum. These parasites are 

very interesting and ornamental. 

I was struck with the beautiful and picturesque scenery at Burrcta. From 

the consul's liouse (Mr. Thurston's), which is situated upon a hill from wliich 

a charming view may be had of the port of Ovalau, looking nortliwards, that 

wilderness of beauty in the valley of Livone,—a garden, in fact, with its 

towering Cocoa-nut-palms and lofty Ferns, together with clumps of Plantain 

and Banana studded about here and there, through the other rich and varied 

vegetation,—would alone present a truly magnificent picture. Turning round, 

the eye looks upon the long, low, and narrow but pretty island of Moturika, 

with its islets, distant a couple of miles, the big Fiji, " Viti-levu," being in the 

distance as a background ; the unrippled surface between and beneath as a 

foreground is an expanse of vegetation of emerald green, margined with the 

white Sflndy beach and coral reefs, or by belts more or less broken of the 

never-to-be-forgotten Cocos nucifera. 

Mr. Thurston's cotton plantations are among the best I have seen, great 

care having been taken to keep the various sorts of Cotton apart, a pi-ecaution 

which mvist be obsei'ved if one desires to have good varieties. It often liappens 

that when the sorts are planted in too close proximity the pollen is transmitted 

from one to the other, and the result is of course hybrid between tliem. Tlie 

settlers say that the hybrid is inferior to eitlier. I cannot help thinking, liow- 

ever, that a very good sort of Cotton might be obtained between the Egyptian 

and the Sea-island. The silky substance of the one and the long staple of the 

other sliould make a good variety for commercial purposes. 

Nearly everything might be grown in the Fijis. I noticed some yavy good 

vegetables in a settler's garden. Mr. Thurston's very excellent overseer (Mr. 

Loinbergh) assured me that the Indian-corn frequently bears three crops in 

the season, and that tliere are often sis cobs upon a single stalk. After leaving 

Bun-eta, I proceeded in the consul's boat up the Rewa river, the mouth of 

which is distant about forty miles. I was pleased to have so good an oppor- 

tunity of seeing this part of Fiji, and I was not unsuccessful in my botanical 

explorations. 

Twenty miles or more from the mouth the river is often more tlian a quar- 

ter of a mile in width, and along its banks are some extensive cotton and coffee 

plantations ; among the more important of wliich are those of the Messrs. 

Storck. Sugar, too, in small cultivated patches, occurs in places. 

For miles inland, along the river, the country is generally of an undulating 

nature, and the soil remarkably productive. It consists in many places of a 

mixture of pulverized volcanic rock and vegetable deposit, which, saturated


with the heavy dews at night and frequent showers, hecomes extraordinarily 

fertile. Indeed, thi-oughout my rambjes in the Fijis I did not meet with an 

acre of land that might not be cultivated. The soil everywhere is covered 

with a dense mass of vegetation. During my ascent up the river I called upon 

several of the settlers, whom I found to be exceedingly kind, and through 

whose plantations I had the pleasure of walking. 

With regard to cotton-growing upon the Rewa, -I should think that it 

would be less remunerative tlian sugar ; the lieavy dews at night and the 

frequent showers occuri'ing nearly every other day, cannot benefit cotton, 

especialh' during the season for gathering. On the other hand, sugar-cane 

is benefited by the rich soil and constant moisture. Perhaps it will be considered 

an exaggeration by some, but I was informed that it is by no means 

uncommon to see Sugar-cane growing to twenty-five feet in height. I myself 

measured a cane in Ovalau which was exactly twenty-two feet in length. In 

the windward islands, or close to the coast on the big lands, I have no doubt 

that cotton will pay the planter much better than sugar would at present. 

Through the rich green mantle spread over hill and valley, on either side of 

tlais most delightful river, the Palms and Tree-ferns first catch the eye. The 

graceful Cocoa-palm is not to be seen, but its loss is compensated for by Kentia 

exorrliiza \_VeitcMa,— Ed.], and the beautiful Pritchardia Pacifica. The 

Cocoa-nut will seldom grow well far away from the sea, although in the island 

of Vate, one of the " New Hebrides," I found several fine specimens in a village 

about nine miles from the coast. Next in importance, the eye nmst rest upon 

the bouquet-Uke display of colour of certain flowers and foliage. The bright 

scarlet flowers of 'Eryihrina Indica are often rendered still more brilliant by 

a mass of golden-yellow— the dying foliage of Evea dulcis, or the flowers of 

Taritium tiliaceum— tlie latter perhaps backed up by the dark beautiful green 

of a Calophyllum, a Barringtonia, or an Inocarpiis. And by the side of 

Sapindtis pinnafa, witli its fiery red shoots resembling spikes of flowers in the 

distance,—that finest of all tropical foliage when unbroken by the wind,—the 

Plantain's large grassy-green leaf often presents a charming contrast, especially 

when laden witli its dense clusters of orange-coloured fruit. This gorgeous 

display of colour is rendered stiU more magnificent by the sombre green and 

purple tints of the distant hills and mountains in the background. Such is 

the landscape, and could anything be more beautiful ? But a few hours cannot 

suffice to examine all the treasures beneath those gorgeous canopies. A 

hurried glance was my lot in\ places where I would have sacrificed much to 

have been able to remain for a day—nay, half a one. 

In moist places, a short distance in from the banks of the river, such plants 

as Coix Lachrima, a Canna, an Arundinaria, a Tradescantia, Vigna lutea, 

Smilax, several species of Ipomoea, Clerodendron inerme, Dracaenas, Crotons, 

Crinums, Allocasia, Blelia., Angiopteris, Alsophila, Acrostichum, etc. etc., 

are to be found in such exuberance, aided by the constant moisture, as to be 

almost impenetrable. In isolated spots, Bioscorea alata (Yam), Jatropha 

Manlhot, and Ipionioea Batatas (Sweet Potato), are to be found in cultivated 

patches. I must say that even the wild Fijian teaches a lesson as regards the


culture of tlie first-mentioned vegetable. He generally chooses a spot in the 

flat or sometimes upon a gradual slope. Holes are dug with pointed sticks to 

some fire or six feet in diameter, three feet apart, and about the same depth. 

The soil is pulverized and thrown back into the hole ; some more soil is pul- 

verized iu the same way, thrown on top, and built up in the form of a cone to 

about three feet six inches, and is smoothly patted over with the hands. A 

small shoot is then cut off a Yam and inserted in the top of this pyramid 

about three inches. The result is, in five months afterwards, a Yam five feet 

or more in length, and in weight often from 20 to 25 lbs. The Taro, too, 

seems to be more extensively cultivated in the Fijis than in any of the other 

islands. The species most used is the aqviatic, but the water of the swamps 

and marshes in which they cultivate it is seldom used. The dry-growing 

species is said to be less wholesome, and is always to be found upon the moun- 

tain sides, where in cultivated patches it helps to make an interesting picture 

when margined round with plantations of Banana, over which may often be 

seen waving to and fro the graceful frouds of a Palm or of a Tree-fern. Taro 

tops boiled are an excellent substitute for Spinach, and to my taste are far 

more delicious. 

I have met with JiJxcoecaria Agallocha (" Sinu gaga," or poison sinu of the 

rijians) at New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, but it is moi-e common in 

the Fijis. I have seldom seen it growing to more than twenty feet ; it occurs 

close to the shore, and is seldom seen inland. The smoke of its decayed wood 

and green leaves is said to be a certain cure for leprosy, a disease which is 

very prevalent throughout Polynesia. The dense habit and compact form of 

this tree render it a pleasing object. Ipomcea maritima will occasionally be 

met with iu patclies matting down the sandy beach to the water's edge. In 

the island of Lathoba, which is near to the mouth of the Eewa, I met with 

great quantities of this plant, as also of Acroslichum aureum and Clerodendron 

inerme, wliich have spread over many acres. Two species of RMzopliora (I\Iau- 

grove) margin the coast for miles ui many parts of Fiji, and particularly near 

to the Eewa river. 

III.. 

After leaving the Fijis, we visited the New Hebrides, of which group we 

called at Aueitum, Eromanga, Tana, and Vate or Sandwich Island. On en- 

tering the harbom' of Aneitum, you see several clear green spaces upon the 

hills, which liave the appeai-ance of beautiful lawns, surrounded by a mass of 

rich foliage. On the whole, the scenery of the New Hebrides is less striking 

than that of the other groups we visited. The island of Vate, however, should 

perhaps claim some special mention. To give Aneitum and Tana their due 

(I cannot say much for Ei'omanga, as we were tliere only a few hours), it must 

be admitted that the variety of plants is something marvellous. The variegated 

fohage at every few paces, of the richest tints imaginable, striped and 

spotted with all the most glowing and briUiant colours, Croton, Bracxna, 

Acalypha, Uranthemum, Graptophi/llum, Fandanus, Hibiscus, Anectochilas, 

and I coidd enumerate a score of other plants, also variegated,—call upon the 

—


real lover of plants to pause at almost every step of his ramble to admire their 

singular beauty. And who is there tliat could pass by those gorgeously attrac- 

tive treasures of the vegetable kingdom—the Crotons and Draceeuas— vrithout 

being filled with wonder and admiration ? I was so fortunate as to find upwards 

of thirty-five new varieties of DraccBna during the cruise, and was often 

agreeably surprised to find some in size and colour of foliage out-doing my 

previous idea of what might be in existence. 

Aneitum may be considered perfectly safe for the traveller as regards the 

natives, who are certainly the most miserable-looking of any of the Polynesians 

I have seen. Traversing the island, I met with some fine specimens of Dammara 

ohtnsa. Both in Yate and in Aneitum the Dammara is by far the 

finest timber-tree, and it sometimes attains a height of about a hundred feet. 

Many species of Santalum occur in the mountains, but a large specimen of this 

tree is very rarely met with. Impenetrable thickets of Anacardiaceous, Acan- 

thaceous, Malvaceous, Araliaceous, Rutaceous, Euphorbiaceous, Myrtaceovis^ 

and Fabaceous plants, seem to be the predominating Orders among the under- 

scrub. Two climbing Ferns of extraordinary beauty, 

— 

Lijgodwtion and a 

Mertensia,—sometimes entwine themselves around and upon the stems of the 

larger shrubs in the jungles, and form a perfect network, often fifteen feet over- 

head. Several species of Cerhera (a very poisonous tree) are very plentiful 

in the New Hebrides, particularly near to the shore. The flowers are white 

and emit a i:)erfume, which at night is very strong and not unlike that of a Jas- 

mine. I was surprised in one of my rambles through tlie mountains to meet 

with two nearly full-grown specimens of Araucaria Cookii growing close to a 

village. They were no doubt introduced many years ago from New Caledonia, 

of which island the tree is a native. A Bamboo somewhat resembling Bam- 

busa Arundinacea, though quite distinct from that species, is sometimes to be 

found in clumps upon the mountain sides ; and very pretty it is when curving 

its feathery shoots over a Sar/us or a Livistonia, beautiful Palms which are 

frequently met with inland. Advancing towards the other side of the island, 

I met with two spocies of Areca, Palms of exquisite beauty. Adorning the 

banks of a stream that meandered its way towards the sea, upon the rocks, 

above the water, and upon the decaying timber partly imbedded with them, 

Ferns of all kinds were to be seen. Two of these, more numerous than others, 

Lomaria attehuata and L. undulata,—their stems often three feet in length, 

were suggestive of a Lilliputian grove of Tree-ferns. Close to the shore upon 

the other side were forests of the finest Pamlanus I have seen. Some of them 

were beautifully variegated, their drooping fronds catching the spray, and their 

roots washed by many a billow. Night came on before I had quite reached 

the coast, after a toilful journey across the mountains. Sailing orders had 

been given for the following day,, or I should have been inclined to bivouac for 

tlie night. It soon became qiiite dark, and the rocks, which are almost impassable 

along the coast, caused me many a severe tumble. To prevent this my 

guides lit toi'ches of the dried stems and leaves of an Arundinaria, which were 

a great assistance. Night, however, had nearly passed over before I reached 

the mission station. 

—


Tana is also very thickly covered with vegetation. Wliile there we beheld 

many interesting scenes, the most impoi'tant of which, and one that will never 

be forgotten by me, was the volcano ; and it is perliaps the most sublime sight 

Polynesia can present. This wonderful object is situated between five and six 

miles from Port Resolution, where we were anchored. The volcano is very 

active, an explosion taking place every five or ten minutes, that can be heard 

many miles away. My visit was a very hui-ried one, for I had been out some 

eight or ten miles the same day in another direction in search of plants, and, 

after parting with my guides, I agreed with two other natives who were along- 

side the sliip to take me to the volcano. Accordingly, getting into their canoe, 

I was paddled to the shore. A narrow, and in many places rugged, path led 

the way through a succession of dense gloomy forests and gullies, and through 

several villages, in one of which, although it was getting late, I could not i-esist 

the temjjtation of making a sketch of a very fine species of Fig, which, from 

its small leaves, not more than an inch long, I have ventured to name Ficus 

micropliylla. I found its gii'th to be about forty-five feet around the trunk. 

Its width, from the extremes of the ojaposite branches, as near as I could judge, 

was at least 260 feet; its height 100 feet. Several huts stood beneath its 

shade. Like tlie Banyan-tree of India, it throws down hiuidreds of roots to 

the earth, which soon grow and become props to its far-extended lateral 

branches. Long before I reached the volcano I had a ghmpse of it from the 

tops of several hUls. The smell of sulphur was strong three miles off", and I 

could notice it upon my clothes. The vegetation, therefore, becomes less dense 

or luxuriant. Many trees, aided by the rich soil and moisture, appear to be 

struggling hard to live, but scores of others are minus their leaves. A mile 

further, and the hills are denuded of everything. At length an undulating, 

sandy, parched-up plain, radiating from the mountain, opens to view. Travel- 

ling along towards the right, and within about half a mile from the crater, 

smoking hot springs are seen to the left ; and rather better than a mile from 

here, after crossing a sandy ridge, large masses of sulphur and brimstone come 

into view in the valley beneath. Quite close to the foot of the volcano there 

is a small lake, covering an ai'ea of several lumdred yards. This volcano is said 

to be about 1300 feet above the level of the sea, but I should have thought 

that it was much higher. The ascent is steep and very toilsome, owing to the 

loose character of the pulverized lava, sand, and sulphurous matter, that gave 

way under foot. The only relief is an occasional piece of scoria, whicli gives 

one foot-hold as he anxiously toils upward. My guides kept up a constant 

chatter between themselves, and would occasionally make signs to me when an 

explosion took place to look out for- the heavy masses of red-hot lava, often 

several hundredweight, driven almost out of sight, but occasionally falling near 

to us. When we had reached the south-eastern side of a ridge which formed 

one edge of what was once the crater, some two or three hundred feet from tlie 

top, my guides, in spite of all inducements, declined to go further, and appeared 

teri-ified at the idea of my doing so. At first I thought that I had come to a 

dangerous side of the mountain, or that the natives regarded it with a sort of 

religious dread. I learned afterwards from a missionarv in one of the other


islands that there is a traditional story among the Tanese to the effect that a 

number of natives, among whom were several great, chiefs, were once looking 

down, when the mountain, displeased with the acts of the latter, caused the 

side upon which they were standing to give way, and all were precipitated into 

the yawning gulf. The mouth is oblong, and in its great width rather more 

than a quarter of a mile. In this chasm, at not less than six hundred feet, can 

plainly be seen a huge burning mass, and apparently only a few feet below this 

tlie crater seems to be divided into two orifices, from one only of which is there 

eruption. Before an explosion, warning is given to the beholders by an out- 

burst of smoke, which ascends quickly to the top. Scarcely has it reached the 

mouth of the crater, when a terrible rumbhng, almost deafening, noise is heard, 

and the explosion forces into the air, several hundred feet higher than the top 

of the crater, tons of burning lava, in pieces varying from the size of a marble 

to several hundredweiglit. Sometimes the lava conies down vertically, but 

more frequently cin-ved outwards from the mouth of tlie crater, and assumes 

various forms by reason of its soft doughy nature. I should have remained at 

least an hour, gazing in wonder and admiration at this most sublime spectacle, 

but, unfortunately, a strong south-westerly affected the regions below, and the 

air was at once filled with a dense sulphurous smoke which was almost unbear- 

able. I descended to my guides, who, in the meantime, had been indulging iu 

a pipe of tobacco. After leaving the volcano a couple of miles, again my eyes 

wandered over the vegetation. Strange to say, the Commodore at the time of 

his visit discovered a small Fern near to the mouth of the crater, which was 

the only scrap of vegetation, living or dead, within at least a mUe and a half of 

it. This Fern, although not yet in seed, I believe to be a new Nephrolepis 

but whatever generic name for it we may be able to determine, it shall bear 

the specific one Lamherti, in honour of its cUscoverer. 

During my journey to tlie volcano, I found several new and interesting 

plants, t^vo of which were an Erylhrina and an Eranthemum. But during my toilsome 

ramble in the forenoon, some eight or ten miles into the interior, I found, 

what, without doubt, for beauty and magnificence is unequalled in the flora of 

Polynesia, and perhaps not surpassed for elegance and splendoui- in any part of 

tile world. It was a single tree of a species of Inocarpus, growing to about fifteen 

feet, probably its full height, its leaves were long and graceful, and of so intense 

a golden yellow, and its stem scarcely less so, as to almost charm me as I stood 

beneatii it in silent admiration. But, alas ! tliere were neither seeds, seedlings, 

nor suckers. In vain did I look for them and for other specimens of the tree, 

but there were none near, and what did I not offer to my guides to take me to 

where they could be found ? Tlie natives indicated by signs and a few words 

of broken English that there were other trees of it upon the other side of the 

mountain, but were we to venture further the natives would kill me. I liad, 

tlierefore, to content myself with cuttings, which I helped myself to pretty 

freely, but which, I regret to say, in spite of all my care, died a week or two 

after we left Tana. My guides and myself rested for half an hour beneath 

that most beautiful and indescribable object (with reluctance I left it), whose 

fohage in the bright sun cast over us a shade of golden yellow. I had heard of 

;

A BOTANICAL TOUE AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 131 

the existence of this tree at least tliree miles away from the valley in which it 

was growing. The fii'st hint was by a native pointing first to a piece of yellow 

cahco (which I carried with other things for the pnrpose of payment), and then 

to a tree, by which I immediately understood what was meant. Dm-ing our 

jaunt back in another direction, I found many other treasures, one in particular 

belonging to the Order ATtisacecBja, genus between Seliconia and Strelitzia, bear- 

ing immense leaves beautifully striped with almost every colour. 

The Tanese are, of the New Hebrideans, although not the tallest, the most 

muscular, and mentally the superior race. Two natives who could speak En- 

ghsh well enough to be understood, while going with me in search of plants, 

expressed themselves thus :— " Spose missi-on-a-ry come live Tana plenty Tana 

man come down kill it missi-on-ar-y like it pig." And I believe they would be 

savage enough to do so. 

In many places in Tana, but not in any other island of the New Hebrides, 

a fine species of Mynstica was plentiful. On either side of the track to the 

volcano, some specimens of it were gi-owing to fifteen or sixteen feet, and be- 

neath them the ground was covered with their fruit. 

In Eromanga we remained only a couple of hours, but in Vate or Sandwich 

Island several days. 

Having first visited Havannah hai'bour, and afterwards Tela harbour, I had 

a good opportunity of penetrating for a considerable distance into the mainland. 

It was late wLen we anchored in the first-mentioned harbour, and so no canoes 

came alongside tiU morning. A Loyalty Islander, however, who called himself 

" Jimmy Charcoal," came to us that night in a boat. He could speak English 

and several of the native dialects fluently, and, as soon as the natives came in 

the morning, I was enabled to speak, through him, to a chief— an old whiteheaded 

fellow, who promised faithfully to take me into the interior under his 

protection. Accordingly, I accompanied him in his canoe to the shore, where 

we were soon joined by about thirty other natives, three only of whom seemed 

willing to follow the chief and myself. But, much to my astonishment and 

discomfiture, the old chief feigned tired after we had walked about five miles 

inland. The other three, when they saw that I wislied him to go further, signified 

by touching theu- lips and beating the ground that he was both hungry and 

tired, whereupon I ofiered him some bread, which he accepted, and ate with an 

appetite. He walked for a few hundred yards further, and then lurked oS" into 

a tiiicket. The other natives, however, seemed to be good-liumoured-looking 

fellows, and so \^'e proceeded on some three or four miles further, greatly en- 

couraged by the appearance of the distant vegetation, which consisted prin- 

cipally of dense, more or less broken, belts of Castiarlna, Melaleuca, Barriny- 

tonia, Erythrina, forests of Plantain, the fruit lying in heaps upon the ground ; 

park -like spaces of hundreds of acres in extent ; groups of Palms and Tree- 

ferns of great beauty, wliich gave to the landscape a peculiarly charming effect, 

such as I had not previously witnessed in other islands, but in pai'ts of Yate 

I found the vegetation poor and scanty, as it formed a garden of beauty and 

fertility in others. On the wliole, however, I should think that Yate, from its 

being admirably adapted for the gi'owth of cotton, woidd not be a bad locality

132 A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS, 

for some enterprising company. After we had passed through several places 

such as I have endeavoured to describe, we came to a large village which was 

bordered on one side with a hedge of a gigantic Heliconia, growing from 

twelve to fifteen feet higli, and which at first sight I mistook for a Musa. 

Beside this hedge I noticed upon a long pole that rested upon two forked sticks, 

among others, a number of human jawbones. We had not proceeded far, 

when a number of natives in a state of nudity, souie with clubs upon their 

shoulders, others with bows and arrows in their hands, rushed from several 

huts bawling lustily at my guides, who at once stood, and a great conversation 

was immediately entered into between them, during whicli conversation I could 

liear the word " man-of-war" was very frequently used. I need not say how 

I felt as I stood in their midst, ignorant of their language, the savages scru- 

tinizing me the wliile from head to foot. Several cautiously attempted to 

handle my revolver,—a liberty which, of course, I declined to allow. The 

crowd soon after began to disperse, and we passed on without further inter- 

ruption for a few paces, wlien I tliought it advisable to return, which we did 

by another track. I invariably made a practice of being as jovial as possible 

with the natives of the various islands, and I found it to be an excellent plan. 

To make them laugh, which is a very easy matter, and to give them a small 

present of calico, tobacco, etc., soon causes a sort of attachment, and they will 

do as nuich for you in return. They are, however, generally covetous, and I 

have found among them (particularly in the Fijis) some arch rogues. 

IV. 

T visited Protection and Deception Islands, which form one side of Havannah 

harbour. In many places the harbour is three miles wide, and, looking 

from the entrance, it reminds one of a beautiful river. The vegetation of both 

these islands presents an appearance somewhat Australian. Every tree upon 

them seemed to be suffering from drought. The forests of Melaleuca resemble, 

in some measure, Uiicali/plns, and beneath them patches of Murraya 

paniculala, the fragranre of whose Orange-like blossoms fills the air with a 

delightful perfume, sometimes occur. The Murraya was the only genus of 

Juruiitiacem I met with in those islands, while upon the mainland, the other 

side of the hiu-bour, several other genera occur. The predominating Orders 

were Malvacem, Asclepladacca, Ruhlacea, Aeaidhaoece, Mijrtacece, LiliacecB, and 

GramiiiecE, of which latter, li>^d time permitted, I could liave made a large col- 

lection of dried specimens. During m^' rambles upon these islands I did not 

meet with a drop of water. As a substitute for water the natives use the milk 

of the cocoa-nut, which may be had in abundance. The natives here are far 

more filthy-looking, the women particularly, than in the other islands of Vate. 

In the mainland I found three species of Citron, one with very small fruit, 

another identical with Citrus niedica, and the other, which was of rare occur- 

rence, bore a fruit of extraordinary size, more than three times that of the 

ordiuaiy Citron. A species of Cookia was plentifid, but there were neither 

Oranges, Limes, nor Lemons. A few hours' steam took us roimd to Tela

A BOTANICAL TOUU AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS. 133 

harboui", wbei*e I again had an opporhmity of going ashore, and afterwards 

across to Pango Bay, in the neighbourhood of which I was very successful in 

my botanical discoveries. Mr. Kosh, a missionary, who resides there—the 

only one in Vate—kindly sent out with me some natives as guides, and they 

took me some six or seven miles inland. Dui'ing my walk I found several 

splendid varieties of Hibiscus, two of which for their immense gorgeous flowers 

and compact liabit arc, I venture to say, the most beautiful of the genus ever 

yet discovered. The larger flowering variety is of a glowing scarlet colour, 

the flowers averaging seven inches in diameter, and from the manner in which 

the petals overlap each other, each flower is suggestive of a perfectly double 

Camellia. I found this inland, about five miles at the foot of a ridge, beside a 

group of Casuarina equisetifolia. The bright scarlet of its immense flowers 

contrasted with its vivid green foliage, and, added to its vei'y compact habit, 

render it a truly noble object, justly meriting, as its popular name, the not 

very inappropriate one of " the Cliallenger Hibiscus." The scientific name 

must be Hibiscus Lambertii, in lionour of the Commodore. The flowers of 

the other species are of a beautiful bright vermilion, the petals aro double, 

after the style of the Anemone, and it is quite as large as a fah'-sized Dahlia. 

This I have named Hibiscus fFriffJdii, in honour of Mr. Wright, of Hunter's 

Hill, Pai-amatta River, to whom I feel indebted for its discovery, he having 

visited Pango Bay, where he saw it some three or four years ago. I regretted 

much that my native guides would not venture further than a few miles inland 

from the Pango Bay side. One of them, a Rarotongan native teacher, who 

could speak good English, told me that to go further would be " to never 

return," as the natives were great cannibals, and exceedingly savage towards 

white men. Returning by a different track, we passed through some forests of 

CalopJiyllum, and through some extensive plantations of the Cassava root of 

Western America {Jatropha Matiihot), and Tacca pinnatifida, of whicli the 

natives make arrowroot. Passhig through a thicket, consisting principally of 

Anacardiaceous, Myrtaceous, and Araliaceous plants, we suddenly came upon 

a native village, in which an Amaranthus, prettily variegated, an Aralia and 

an JSvodiu, were growing in quantity around the houses. All are used medicinally, 

particularly the latter, which is remarkable for its strong perfume 

Tills plant is to be found almost in every village throughout Polynesia. It has, 

I think, been introduced into the other islands from the Samoas and the Fijis. 

Along the coast the vegetation principally consists of several species of 

Taiir/hinia, Pamlanus, Excoecaria, HIernandia, Cocos, Paritium, Calophyllum, 

and others. The under-scrub was not so dense near the coast as I had found 

it at Havannah harbour. It consisted'of several genera of Compositce, of which 

the more conspicuous were a WoUastonia, with pretty yellow flowers, and a 

Cineraria. Many varieties of DraccEiia (of which genus I must here remark I 

have seen upwards of a hundred varieties during the cruise, and of which more 

than fifty were green-leafed), a Greicia, and a Jasmine, while a Portulaca 

and a Talinum, together with Ipomcea maritima, and several others carpeted 

the sandy beach in many places. 

Port de France (Noumea), New Caledonia, was the last port we visited pre-


vious to GUI' return to Sydney- If I had not known something of the richness 

of the vegetation of this place before going there, my impression on entering 

the harbour would have been that it was the most barren place in existence. 

Tlie harbour is well slieltered, and the township large, considering the age 

of the settlement ; but the bare-looking hills which surround it, destitute of 

vegetation, save a coarse grass, render Noumea anything but prepossessing or 

jiicturesque. There is, I think, a want of- taste on' the pai-t of the French 

Government, having the facilities which they possess,—convict laboui*, etc., for 

the improvement of the appearance of the place. They would only have to 

send seven miles to find a collection of large and truly ornamental trees, such 

as it would be impossible to equal elsewhere ; 

they could be procured in a few 

hours, and planted upon those barren-looking hills which are composed of 

really good soil. Kew Caledonia will yet, I think, from its fine genial climate 

and its suitability for the growth of almost anything, be a centre of attraction 

for thousands. Even now men of small means might soon gain an independ- 

ence by industry. Land can be had at a cheap rate, and convict labour too. 

In a botanical way New Caledonia wiU, I have no doubt (and it is my inten- 

tion to visit it soon again), produce a greater variety of plants than most 

islands in the Pacific. Unfortunately I spent but one day, and that a pouring 

wet one, in the mountains a few miles above the " Model Farm." In spite of 

the rain, however, I succeeded in collecting some interesting plants. A suc- 

cession of very pleasing cascades occiirs between two very steep mountains to 

the right of the farm. These steeps are literally covered with vegetation, which 

in every respect is far more luxuriant than any I have seen in the Samoas. 

The rugged pavement of stones embedded in rich volcanic or vegetable soil 

clothed with Mosses, Lichens, and Fungi ; climbers covered with moss, like 

ropes hanging loosely, or binding the decaying vegetation with the living 

Selaginellas, and Ferns of all kinds, 

— 

Bletia, Crinum, Dianella, and a variety 

of other plants under foot, and luxuriant beyond description, are here to be 

met with; and overhead, at considerable height, tlie massive green boughs of 

tlie taller trees, whose stems and larger branches profusely ornamented with 

parasites and epiphytes, together with numerous climbers, form a canopy 

beneath which the sun seldom or never gleams, and presents a picture of vege- 

table luxuriance such as language cannot describe, nor the talents of an artist 

do justice to. Conspicuous during my walk through more open spaces were 

the Elceocarpus persicifoUa, with its large blue berries ; a Psychotria, with 

ricli rosy-pink blossoms ; the^yellow flowers of Oxera pulchella, and the snowy 

white ones of Eranthemum tuherculatum, and also of a species of Murraya, 

having a perfume stronger than that of Orange blossom. These, togetlier 

with numerous individuals of Oeissois, Erythi-ina, Grewia, Windmannia, 

HarUyhsea, Desmodium, Acacia, Cycrostema, Asclepias, Melodinus, and 

Eugenia, also masses of Ileiiconia and of Marattia, added much to interest 

me during my ramble. 

At the " Model Farm " many branches of industry are cari-ied on by convicts. 

In one of the granaries I was shown by M. Boutan, a gentleman who manages 

the whole establishment, some ten or twelve tons of rice, of good quality, whicli 

;

— 


had been grown on the farm. The average yield there per acre is said to be 

three tons, and there are two crops in the year. A rice-field requires to be in 

a very moist situation; and although at the "Model Farm" they have gone 

to some labour in bringing the water in sufficient quantity upon the ricefields, 

yet I noticed (even in my one day's walk) many places suitable for its success- 

ful culture without entailing much trouble or expense. Sugar and coffee too 

should, I think, be worth attention in Isew Caledonia, especially as the best of 

land can be had at so cheap a rate from the Grovernment. Convict labour also 

would be a matter of great moment to some. I paid a visit to the Botanical 

Gardens, which, considering the age of the settlement, are very creditable indeed. 

They are situated upon the side of a hill that overlooks the town, and 

command an excellent view of the harbour. Along the side, facing one of the 

principal streets, is a row of well-grown specimens of the beautiful " Gold 

Moh " of India and Madagascar Poinciana Eegei—which, when in flower, 

must indeed be a magnificent sight. 

On either side of the principal walks leading up to the governor's house, 

which can be seen from the gate, are some Orange-trees that appeared to be 

very unhealthy. At nearly every corner, where walks cross each other at right 

angles, the Acalypha tricolor, with its large fiery crimson, brown and green, 

striped or spotted leaves, lent a brightness to other beautiful foliage with which 

it was backed up, and appeared more beautiful than I had seen it in the Fijis, 

its native place. Facing the house a row of "Dracsena ferrea rosea," planted 

alternately with some beautifully variegated Crotons and Pomsettia, pid- 

cherrima (tlien in flower), was also a gorgeous sight. The garden extends over 

some eiglit or ten acres, aud may soon be enlarged. It, however, deserves 

honourable mention among the botanical gardens this side of the Equator. 

Among the plants that claimed my more especial notice during my huri-ied 

walk through were some native Cassias and Acacias, several small but wellgrown 

specimens of the recently discovered Araucarias, a Melochia, and a 

Limonia, also indigenous. Vanilla aromatica seemed to be in its glory grow- 

ing along a rustic bridge, near to which grew a fine specimen of Guettarda speciosa, 

which I had met with in many of the other islands. Pavettia Indica and 

Eugenia horizontalis, two pretty shrubs, were worthy of admiration, while some 

plants in flower of Poinciana fulcherrima were cliai'ming. ParJcinsonia 

aculeata and Stachytarpheta Fischeriana, and a small specimen of Lafania, 

formed a background for some Crinums beautifully flowered. A strange-look- 

ing Sanseviera and a Tradescantia claimed a glance, and some fine specimens 

of Anona muricata and squamosa, Lvxuma, Mangifera Indica (Mango), Zizy- 

phtis, and other fruit-bearing trees, formed a group of great interest. Coffea 

Arabica, with its pretty berries, caught the eye instantly along a back walk, as 

a background for which specimens of Ficus prolifera, Acacia Farnesiaiia, 

and lavrifolia occurred. Abelmoschus sabdalifera, GlocTiidion, Agati grandi- 

flora alba, Guilandina, Bombax, Cinn'amomum, Yitex, and many other plants 

of st!ll greater interest, no doubt, might have been seen, but time was precious, 

and a few hours afterwards we left Port de France for Port Jackson, which we 

readied in eight days : 

thus terminating to me a salubrious and most interest-

136 REPORT OF THE LONDON BOTANICAL EXCHANGE CLUB. 

ing tour. Our stay in most places, as I have stated in the beginning of this 

Tery meagre account of my rambles during the ' Challenger's ' four months' 

cruise, seldom exceeded tliree days, but for which limitation I should most 

certainly have made a larger collection of living botanical treasures. Never- 

theless, as it was, I have been successful enough to bring with me in good condition, 

I have no hesitation in saying, the largest collection of choice and 

beautiful plants ever yet collected in the islands of the South Pacific. 

EEPOllT or THE LONDON BOTANICAL EXCHANGE 

CLUB. 

By J. Boswf.ll-Syme, F.L.S., Curator. 

In the following Eeport, I have confined myself to remarks on the 

plants sent for distribution by the members of the Botanical Exchange 

Club, or those which have come under my own observation. 

ThaUctrum saxatile, Schleich. Little Trees Hill, Grogmagogs, Cam- 

bridge ; ]\Ir. r. A. Hanbury. Li the third edition of ' English 

Botany ' I expressed a suspicion that the flowers of this plant were not 

erect, and that it might be the T. collmmn of Wallroth. I am now able 

to say that this is the case; the flowers are drooping. In 1863 I 

brought a root, gathered before it flowered under the guidance of Pro- 

fessor Babington, in the station mentioned above. This root I culti- 

vated until 1 came to Scotland last year, so that I was able to observe 

its flowers for several seasons. The pedicels are thicker and less 

flexible than in T. minus and T. Kochii, but the flowers always droop 

when ex])anded. The Cambridge plant cultivated beside T. Kochii, 

Fries (received from Mr. H. C. Watson, who brought it from the 

Lake district), produced far fewer and much shorter stolons than the 

latter, which increased rapidly, new plants appearing on its subterra- 

nean stolons one or even two feet from the parent. The fruit of these 

two plants is very similar, and strikingly different from that of T. 

minun. 

Rnwincnlus aquatiUs, Linn. Several of the forms, including var. 

Psendo-JJidtans, near Warwick ; Mr. H. Brorawich. In the third 

edition of ' English Botany ' I arranged four subspecies under R. 

aquatiiis. I now believe these ought to be reduced to two ; the first, 

R. peltalus, with its varieties vulgaris, floribundus, and Psendo-flui- 

tans ; the second, to which I propose to give the name R. steuopeta- 

lus, under which R. Jieterophyllus, Bab. ; R. Drouettii, Schultz ; and

REPORT OF THE LONDON BOTANICAL EXCHANGE CLUB. 137 

R. trichophyllus, Auct. Angl. {^R. paucislamineus, Tausch,) must be 

arranged as varieties. These three plants differ from R. peltatus in 

their narrower non-contiguous petals, which give a star-like appear- 

ance to the expanded flowers, and have the nectariferous pore with a 

nearly straight, not horseshoe-shaped border. I have seen no British 

specimens of the plant called R. trlchophi/llus by the Belgian botanists, 

which has short rigid leaf-segments, somewhat resembling in the dried 

state those of R. circinatus, Sibth. Probably R. Baudotii, Godr., 

ought to be added as a third subspecies of R. aquatilis, as I have 

observed transition states closely connecting it with R. stenopetalus, 

var. paucistumineus. 

Ranunculus Flammttla, Linn., vai". Pseiido-reptans. Isle of Wight, 

Mr. F. Stratton; and Couiston Lake, Cumberland, Mr. A. G.More. 

The Isle of Wight plant is intermediate between the ordinary form of 

R. Flammula and the slender plant sent by Mr. A. G. More. The 

latter is precisely similar to examples which d possess from Brauuton 

BuiTows, Devon, collected by Mr. G. Maw, but is certainly not the 

same as my specimens of the Loch Leven plant. The latter locality 

still continues to be the only British station known to me for the sub- 

species R. reptans. I hope in the ensuing summer to procure this 

plant, and try if, by cultivation, it will pass into R. Flammula. 

R. Stevetii, Reich. In the list of desiderata for 1869 I have 

entered the name of this plant, and should be much obliged if any of 

our members who should meet with a form of R. acris with an 

elongate, oblique or horizontal creeping rhizome would send speci- 

mens. I believe that R. acris consists of two very distinct subspecies, 

or possibly, ver-species. 1st, R. Steveni, " Andr." Keich., with a 

horizontal or oblique elongated creeping rootstock ; and, 2nd, R. Bo- 

rcBanus, Jord... with a very shoi-t perpendicular and usually premorse 

rootstock. Of the first of these subspecies I have no certainty that it 

occurs in England, though it is that represented in Sowerby's ' En- 

glish Botany,' ;/ the rootstock teas drawn from a British specimen. 

About London, Edinburgh, and in the south of Fife, the only form of 

R. acris is R. Boraearius, .Jord. The typical R. Borreanm I have not seen 

in Britain, but my R. acris, var. vulgatus is a variety of R. Borcpanus. 

It is the R. tomopliylliis of Jordan (' Diagnose d'Espcces nouvelles ou 

meconuues,' p. 71), not the R. vulgatus of Jordan ; and my R. acris, var. 

rectus is not the R. rectus of Boreau, but apparently R. tomophyltus, 

VOL. Vn. [JULY 1, 1869.] M


growing in a shady place. I fell into these errors from not having 

access to British specimens of R. acris witli complete rootstocks at the 

time (November) when I was called upon to write the description for 

' English* Botany,' ed. 3. In tlie case of common plants, herbarium 

specimens are usually few and imperfect, and, unfortunately, I had 

only a month's notice before the publication of the third edition com- 

menced on the 1st of January, 1863. The double yellow Eanunculus, 

cultivated in gardens under the name of " Yellow Bachelor's-buttons," 

is a good example of R. Sleveni. It has usually the lower leaves less 

deeply divided, and with broader ultimate lobes than M. Boraanus. 

Fumaria Borail, Jord. Auchtertool, Fife ; and Aberlady, Had- 

dington ; J. Boswell-Syme. This is the only one of the forms of 

F. capreolata, Linn., which I have seen in Scotland. It is certainly 

distinct from F. imllidifiora, Jord., which is a mere variety of his 

F. specioaa, and is a much more southern plant. I have seen British 

specimens of F. ptdlidijlura only from Somersetshire, communicated by 

Miss Gifford. 

Oxalis strida, Liun. Garden at " Tilehouse, Denham, near Uxbridge, 

Bucks, where it comes up spontaneously," Miss Drummond. 

Communicated by Mr. J. Britten. 

TrifoUum hybriihnu, Linn. Roadside between Long Niddry Station 

and the sea, Iladtlington; J. BoswcU-Syme. Very abundant along 

the sides of the road between the footpath and the causeway. Tea 

years ago the plant was not there. 

Epilohinm anri/jallidifoliitm, Lam. High ground between Storr and 

Quirang, Isle of Skye ; 

Professor M. A. Lawson and Rev. H. E. Fox. 

I mention this because the distribution of the true E. alpinmn and 

this plant is not yet known, though there can be little doubt that 

E. unagall'ulifolium, is much the commoner of the two. 

ilerniaria ciliatn, Bab- Garden examples. " The root was sent to 

IT. C. Watson from the Cambridge Botanical Garden as being certainly 

the //. c'diata, Bab. It was kept in a flower-pot some few years ago, 

producing very short branches and comparatively few flowers, ex- 

amples of it in that state having l)een dried and distributed heretofore. 

In the spring of 1868 the root was turned into the open ground, 

where it throve vigorously in loose mould, and produced the more 

elongate branches and denser clusters of flowers, as now sent for distribution."— 

H. C. Watson. The specimens sent show no disposition


to approach the habit of H. glabra of the eastern counties, as defined 

in the eighth volume of the third edition of ' English Botany.' 

Aster salignus, Willd. ? Shores of Derwentwater ; Miss Edmonds. 

Concerning this plant, Miss Edmonds writes, " It has been seen formany 

years by a local botanist, but has never been noticed at the 

flowering season, till this autumn. T visited the spot immediately on its 

being made known to me, and found the said plant in great luxuriance, 

established in a bed of sedges, perhaps to the extent of the eighth of 

an acre, and full of blossom, though passing into seed ... It seems 

that the plant was known b\ Miss Wright and her late father, for 

thirty years past, but, although puzzled about it, they were content 

to suppose it some stray production, and the reason of their never 

having seen it in flower may be that the said reedy spot is very gene- 

rally under water. There have been drains lately cut across it, and, 

the late summer favouring it, the locality has been more readily ac- 

cessible. The colour of the flowers when fresh was a delicate lilac." 

—Mary Edmonds. 

Mi-. H. C. Watson and Mr. J. G. Baker concur in considering this 

as A. salignm, Willd. Professor Bahington says it is not that plant. 

Having now no herbarium but my own within reach, for consultation, 

I am unable to decide the question. I do not think it is the same as 

the plant which I have from the Rhine, near Strasbourg, under the 

names of " A. salignus, Willd.," and " A. sallc'ifoUus, SchoUer," which 

is the common American A. longifolius, Lam. ; but Wirtgeu, in his 

' Flora of the Khine Provinces,' intimates his doubts of the Rhine 

plant being A. salignus, Willd. The Derwentwater plant has a tnore 

hispid stem, and the leaves scabrous all over the upper surface. I 

have not seen specimens of the so-called A. salignus from the banks of 

the Tay, or from Wicken Fen, but judging from Professor Babington's 

description, the Cambridgeshire plant is the same as the Rhenish one. 

If I might venture to apply a name to the Derwentwater Aster, it 

vio\x\6.he A. puniceus, Linn., but my American specimens of this plant 

are poor, and it belongs to the most puzzling group of that very intri- 

cate genus.* 

* I must confess myself unable, aftei" examining specimens from many distant 

localities, to draw any clear line of distinction between the European 

Asters, which have been called salignus, on the one hand, and on the other, tlie 

American A. simplex, Willd., and A. longifolius. Lam., both very common and 

well-known as wild plants in the United States and often cultivated in gardens. 

M 2

140 REPORT or THE LONDON BOTANICAL EXCHANGE CLUB. 

Senecio viscosus, Linn. Kailvvay banks, near Frant station. Not 

previously recorded from Sussex, but the locality, " railway banks," in- 

dicates its being an introduced plant. 

• Andromeda polifolia , Linn., var. carta, Tate. Coombes Moss, Derby ; 

Ilev. Augustin Ley. In the 'Journal of Botany,' for 1866, p. 377, 

Mr. Kalph Tate called attention to a variety of Andromeda polifolia, 

with the pedicels about as long as the flowers, for which he proposed the 

name A. carta. At the time when I wrote the description of A. poli- 

folia for the third edition of ' English Botany,' all the specimens 1 had 

seen had the pedicels twice or thrice as long as the flowers, and I sup- 

posed that the plate in ' English Botany,' in which they were repre- 

sented, as only equalling the flowers, had been drawn from a specimen 

in bud,—the buds in J. polifolia appearing of a large size long 

before the flowers are open, and then having short pedicels. The 

Eev. A. Ley, however, has sent specimens of A. polifolia with the 

flowers fully expanded, in many of which the pedicels are only as long 

as the flowers, and in none more than twice as long, so that in this 

plant the pedicels really vary from the length of the flowers to thrice 

their length. In no other particular, however, do the short-pediceled 

plants differ from those which have long pedicels. 

Gmtiana Pneumonanthe, Linn. 

" On the heath, eastward from the 

paling of Woking Cemetery, Surrey ; a locality not recorded in the 

' Elora of Suirey,' but within very few miles from that of ' Whitmoor 

Common, Worplcsdon,' given in the Flora."—H. C. Watson. 

Linaria vulgari-repens, E. B., ed. 3. West Cowes, Isle of Wight; 

Mr. F. Stratton. This form of the hybrid plant is apparently the same 

as that found by Mr. H. C. Watson at Shirley, Southampton, men- 

tioned in ' English Botany,' ed. 3, vol. vi. p. 143. 

A. simplex and lonfjifolius axxite covvesTônd iu the size of tlie heads, tlie general 

liabit of the plant, and the \8hape of the leaves. The character principally relied 

upon to separate tbem is in the involucre, tlie scales of which are narrower, 

more distinctly bordered with white, and more distinctly raultiserial in simplex. 

A great many of the so-called species of Aster have been described from garden 

specimens, and never matched with wild plants. J.puniceusia generally distiuguisliable 

from longifolius, with which it agrees in the involucre, by its roughly 

hairy stems, broader and more distinctly cordate-amplexicanl leaves and larger 

heads. To me, of the three American species, Miss Edmonds' plant seems 

nearest lonr/ifolius, and Wimmer's Silosian plant, which he first c-AlcA salignus 

and afterwards pw/cArefm, to have just the scales o^ simplex.— J. G. Baeer. 

{A. simplex has the leaves scarcely at all amplexicaul, and usually much 

narrower than those of .4. longifolius, and I am convinced the Riienish A. " saiif/nus 

" is not A. simplex, but the latter from the Elbe under tlic name of "A. 

mlicifolius."—J. Boswell-Syme.)


" Mentha Nouletiana, Tiinbal-Lagrave, Essai Mon. Menth. p. 11. 

Dr. St. Brody sends from Cranlram Hill, Gloucestersliire, a Mint, just 

intermediate between the ordinary forms of sylvestris and viridis, of 

which the following is a detailed description. Stem square, dark 

purple in exposure, erect, nearly or quite naked downwards, clothed 

upwards with short, soft, white, cottony, crisped hairs, which are very 

dense towards the top. Leaves quite sessile or the lowest with a very 

short petiole, the blade oblong-lanceolate, 1^-21 inches long, 12-14 

lines broad, acute or subacute, with C-9 sharp, erecto-patent teeth ou 

each side, the upper surface bright green, nearly naked, the lower paler, 

generally, especially in the upper leaves, furnished with a moderately 

dense coating of adpressed cottony pubescence, the veins often purple. 

Flowers in a dense spike, half inch thick when expanded, quite con- 

tinuous, or the lowest whorl with a short space above it. The lower 

bracts lanceolate, slightly exceeding the whorl. Pedicels purple, half 

aline long, very slightly pubescent. Bracteoles conspicuously ciliated. 

Calyx between campanulate aild tubular, three-quarters of a line long, 

thiidy covered with short spreading shining hairs ; teeth lanceolate, 

rather shorter than the tube. Corolla one-eighth of an inch long, gla- 

brous or very slightly pubescent. 

" This form comes under the M. viridis, var. puhescens of Grenier and 

Godron, and is almost precisely tlie plant described by Timbal- 

Lagrave. So far as we are aware, it has not been gathered in Britain 

previously."— J. G. Baker. 

I have not seen this plant, so that I can add no notes to Mr. Baker's 

description. I hope Dr. St. Brody may be able to send specimens for 

the next distribution. 

Calamintha rnenthifoUa, var. Briggsii ; 'English Botany,' ed. 3. 

Carisbrook Castle, Isle of Wight ; Mr. F. Stratton. These specimens 

show the worthlessness of the character deiived from the length of the 

peduncle compared with the length of the pedicel of the central flower 

of the cyme. In some the peduncle of the lowest cymes is as long as 

or longer than the primary pedicel, as in the Devonshire plant, but in 

others it is shorter. These plants all agree in being larger, more hairy, 

and with deeper-coloured flowers than ordinaiy G. mentliifolia,—in this, 

agreeing with the Devonshu'e plant. 

Galeopsis Tetrahit, Linn., var. hijida. Auchtertool and Pitkinnie, 

Fife : J. Boswell-Svme.

142 KEPOKT OF THE LONDON BOTANICAL EXCHANGE CLUB. 

In the potato fields round Balmuto, tin's small -flowered form of 

G. Tetrahit exclusively prevails ; 

"the large-flowered form, var. genuitia, 

I have seen only once in a wood not far from Balmuto House. The 

var. bifida is rarely above a foot high, varies with red or white flowers, 

with the lower lip notched or nearly entire, and its lateral lobes re- 

flexed or spreading, so that the small flowers are really the only dis- 

tinctive mark of the variety. 

Galeopsis versicolor, Curt. Auchtertool and Pitkinnie, Fife ; J. Bos- 

well-Syme. This plant is abundant here, growing with G. bifida, but 

showing no tendency to variation. I am now convinced it is a ver- 

species, and that I was wrong in placing it as a subspecies of G. Te- 

traJdt in the third edition of ' English Botany.' 

Pnlmonaria angudifolia, Linn. Near Newport, Isle of Wight; 

Mr. P. Stratton, who finds both the long-styled and the short-styled 

plants. In reference to this, I may mention that I have found the 

long-styled form of P. officinalis abundantly fertile, producing long- 

styled and short-styled plants, though I had in my London garden the 

long-styled form only. 

Chenopodium rubriim, Linn. Weston Green, Surrey. Examples 

sent in order to illustrate the conversion of variety Fseudo-botryoides 

into almost typical rubrum. On Weston Green, in the parish of 

Thames Ditton, is a shallow pond much frequented by geese. As the 

water of the pond evaporates under the summer sun, a gravelly strand 

or shore is left bare, and is much trodden by the geese. Here, in 

past years, the prostrate variety of Pseudo-botryoides has regularly oc- 

curred in the autumn. In the hot season of 18G8, evaporation was 

more ra])id, exposing a nuicli wider strand, and one earlier free of 

water. The tramp of the geese followed the retiring edge of the water ; 

and on the less-trodden outer side of the widened strand, the plants 

developed into the uprigl\t, branched or unbranched, forms now sent 

some of tlurm fair typical examples of Chenopodium rubrum. Unfor- 

tunately, very few of the larger examples were dried, through an inten- 

tion to return for more not having been soon enough carried into 

effect. Tl)e variety Pseudo-bolryoides was so named because it had 

been mistaken by various botanists for the true C. bolryoides of Smith. 

Its proper relation to typical C. rubrum is now placed beyond question. 

(See ' English Botany,' 3rd edition.)"— II. C. Watson. 

Chenopodium album, Linn. " A series of examples, numbered 1, 3, 

;


3, 4, to illustrate the experiment recorded in the ' Journal of Botany 

for October, 1868, as stated on their labels. Also, some wild speci- 

mens, to show what are intended by the names ' candicans ' 

' virena ' in the ' London Catalogue of British Plants,' 6th edition, 

with forms more or less intermediate between these and ' rdride.^ " 

H. C. Watson. Most of the cultivated specimens sent by Mr. Wat- 

son, raised from the seeds of C. candicans, are intermediate forms, but 

some of them are true C. pagamim ; and some of the specimens of 

C. candicans, which have been cut down and have subsequently thrown 

out fresh branches, are true C. viride,—so that the supposition that 

these are anything more than varieties is untenable. 

Polygonum aviculare vars. Mr. T. R. Archer Briggs sends from 

Plymouth what I believe to be var. microspervmm ; Mr. F. Stratton, 

var. littorale, from the Isle of Wight. Of tlie latter, I have also com- 

municated a few specimens from Haddingtonshii-e. With this excep- 

tion, var. vulgatum is the only form I have seen since I came to Scot- 

land. 

Euphorbia Esida, Linn., var. gennina. Eailway bank, Leek Wooton, 

Warwick ; 

Mr. H. Bromwich. 

Euphorbia Esula, var. Pseudo-cyparlssias. Walls of Huhue Abbey, 

near Alnwick ; 

Mr. William Eichardson. 

Leucojtrni astivum, Linn. Littlemoor, Oxford ; Rev. Augustin 

Ley. Oxfordshire, as a published locality for this plant, rested pre- 

viously on old authority ; but several stations near Oxford are known 

by local botanists. 

Asparagus officinalis, Linn. Norton Spit, Isle of Wight ; Mr. F. 

Stratton. This is not the same as the Cornwall plant, but evidently 

the common Asparagus of gardens, so that, in the Isle of Wight, it 

can only be considered an escape from cultivation. 

Polygonatum officinale. All. Kyloe Crays, Northumberland ; Mr. 

William Richardson ; and Dursley, Gloucester, Mr. J. Marsten. The 

specimens sent from both these stations belong to the typical form of 

the plant, having the peduncles 1-flowered or a few of them 2- 

tlowered, and in the latter case forked from the very base. 

Colchicum autumnale, Linn., var. album. Sutton Court, Pensford, 

near Bristol ; Mr. J. F. Duthie. Mr. Duthie informs me that the 

white-flowered variety occurs not unfrequently together, with the common 

form. 

— ' 

antl


Alisma Plantago, var. lanceolatnm. Kew Gardens ; Mr. Baker, 

The wild state of var. lanceolatiim is usually smaller than that of var. 

genuinum, but the cultivated specimens sent by Mr. Baker are of large 

size, showing that var. lanceolatum is not merely a stunted state of A. 

Plautago ; and I can see no reason to alter the opinion I expressed 

in ' English Botany,' 3rd edition, that it does not deserve to be con- 

sidered a subspecies. 

Potamogeton Jiliformis, Nolte. Loch Gelly and Camilla Loch, Pife ; 

J. Boswell-Syme. Although not previously recorded from Fife, this 

plant grows in immense abundance in both these Lochs. When fresh, 

the leaves are of a bright grass-green colour, by which it may be dis- 

tinguished from P. pectinatus at some distance. The stems are shorter 

and the lateral branches much more nearly parallel to the main stem 

than in E. pectlnatus, giving the plant much resemblance to Ruppia 

maritim.a. It is most abundant in shallow water, and very fine in the 

stream running out of Loch Gelly, where it forms a dense mat at the 

bottom of the water, the long peduncles floating with the current quite 

clear of the leaves. P. pectinatus also grows in Loch Gelly, but very 

sparingly, and in deeper water. 

Wolffia arrhiza, Wimm. " From a pond in a large meadow on 

Apse Farm, near Sunbury Lock, between Walton-on-Tharaes and 

Moulsey Hurst, Surrey. The same plant occurs also iu a splash of 

water, very near the church, in the parish of East Moulsey, a short halfmile 

from Hampton Court station."—H. C. Watson.* 

Juncus nigritellus, Don ? Shore of Coniston Lake, Cumberland 

Mr. A. G. More. These specimens seem to me ordinary /. lampro- 

carpns. They have 8 or 9 heads, and the perianth-leaves are all blunt. 

In a dried state, I am, of course, unable to say whether the leaves are 

terete or compressed, but, if they be the former, it will be a proof that 

one of the alleged distirictive characters of /. nigriiellus is sometimes 

to be found on /. lamprocarpus. On Ben Lawers, Braemar, and in 

Orkney, I have collected /. lam-procarpus with strongly -compressed 

leaves and decidedly acute inner perianth-leaves, with the number of 

heads varying from 2 to 20. 

Scirpits parvuliis, Roin. et Schultes. On mud flats at the mouth of 

the river Avoca, Wicklow, Ireland ; Mr. A. G. More and Mr. Charles 

- * The Eov. W. W. Spiccr found it tliis year (1869) in a ditcli at Byflcct, 

near Weybridge, Surrey.—II. Tuimen. 

;


Bailey. In the sixth edition of the ' London Catalogue,' Scirpns par- 

vulus was placed in the list of excluded species, as it was believed to 

be extinct in the only known British locality, namely near Lymington, 

Hants, where it was found by the Rev. G. E. Smith about 1840 ; the 

discovery of this plant last summer, therefore, on the east coast of 

Ireland, by Mr. A. G. More, was a welcome surprise to British bota- 

nists, and the members of the Botanical Exchange Club will doubtless 

have been gratified at receiving specimens of this species which the 

abundant supply has enabled me to include in every parcel. To Mr. 

More's admirable paper on S. parvulus in the ' Journal of Botany' for 

18G8, p. 321, I have nothing to add in the way of description ; but, 

as both he and ]\Ir. Bailey sent me recent specimens of the plant, I am 

able to confirm the opinion that the plant has no leaves, the supposed 

leaves being evidently barren stems, each surrounded with a very short 

transparent basal sheath, which I could detect only in the recent plant. 

The Club is indebted to the Editor of the ' Journal of Botany ' for the 

plate prefixed to this Eeport. 

' 

Scirptis Jluitans, Linn. " A few examples taken from the bed of a 

shallow pool on Ditton Marsh, dried up in 1868, where tliey were 

growing amid a dense carpet of Pilularia. These examples are without 

flowers, and are sent only to show how little they resemble the true 

Scirpus parvulus, though this latter has been en-oneously refeiTed to 

S. Jluitans when not floating in water."—H. C. Watson. As there 

were not sufficient specimens to send to all the members of tlie Club, 

a few remarks are necessary, Mr. Watson's specimens have tufts of 

distichous leaves with sheathing bases, biit the stems are undevelo])ed. 

The leaf-tufts are combined into compound tufts, which are connected 

by the branches of the bare, slender rootstock. It is evident that in 

S. Jluitans the leaves are liot imperfectly-developed stems, as Anders- 

son supposes (" culmi non rite evoluti," PI. Scand. Cyper. 8). 

Cartx ericetorum. Poll. Gogmagog Hills, Cambridge ; Mr. E. A. 

Hanbnry. It is strange that this plant has not been detected in any 

station but the above, as one of the drawings in the plate of C. prrecox 

in ' English Botany ' has been drawn from C. ericetoram. I have 

looked for it on Box Hill, on the Hog's Back, Surrey, and in the still 

more likely locality near Streatley, Berks, but without success. 

Carex involuta. Hale Moss, Cheshire ; Mr. Spencer Bickham, jun. 

A description appeared from the pen of Mr. J. G. Baker in the Report


of the Botanical Exchange Club for 1863. In this Mr. Baker agrees 

with Mr. G. E. Hunt in thinking that it should be considered a form 

of C. ampullacea, and not of C. vesicaria as Mr. Babiugton considers 

it. It differs from C. ampullacea in its smaller size and more slender 

habit, and more conspicuously in its spikes tapering towards each end 

and not at all squarrose, the perigynia being ascending and not spread- 

ing ; they also taper gradually, and not abruptly, into the beak. 

From C. vesicaria it differs in its more slender habit, obtusely tri- 

gonous and smooth-angled stem, channelled and glaucous leaves, and 

female spikes with more numerous and smaller perigynia ; also in its 

roundish-obovate, trigonous nut, which is precisely similar to that of 

C. ampullacea. 

It cannot be considered as a hybrid between these two species, as 

the nuts are perfectly developed, and Mr. J. Sidebotham, who was 

kind enough to send me specimens with mature fruit, informs me that 

neither C. ampullacea nor G. vesicaria grow in the neighbourhood of 

the locality of C. involuta ; indeed, he says, " I do not know of either 

within a mile or two." 

Leersia oryzoides, Sw. " By the canal, near Woking Station, Surrey. 

It occurs sparingly by the canal side, almost opposite to the railway 

station ; more plentifully about the first brick-bridge (not the wooden 

foot-bridge) beyond the station in the ascending line of the canal, 

where it is crossed by the road to Horsell. A new locality, not recorded 

in tlie 'Flora of Surrey.' "—11. C. Watson. 

Alopecurns fidvus, Sm. " About a pond between the churcli and 

school-house, in East Moulsey, Surrey ; a locality not given in the 

Flora of the county."—H. C. Watsox. 

Fher/optcris pliaiiosa, J. Smith. Mr. Baker sends from Kew Gardens 

a number of specimens from the plant thus named by J. Smith. " It 

is a very delicate, elegant, finely-cut form of Alhyrium Filix-fcemina, 

with the sori much reduced in size and the involucre generally, but not 

invariably quite abortive. The original plant was found in Yorkshire, 

and propagated and circulated in gardens by Messrs. A. Stansfield and 

Son, of Todmorden."— .1. G. Baker. 

Pilalaria globuUfera, Linn. "In a water-splash, on Ditton Marsh, 

where the main line of the London and South-Western Railway crosses 

the highway, called the 'Portsmouth lload,' profusely there in 1868, 

after entire evaporation of Ww. water."—H. C. Watson.


Equisetum Ilooreiflêwmim. Sandhills, coast of "Wexford, Ireland ; 

Mr. A. G. More. 

Mr. More sends a few barren specimens of this very remarkable 

plant, which is said to differ from its allies, by having herbaceous 

stems ; 

though Mr. More hints that this may be owing to the exposed 

places in which it grows (Journ. Bot. p. 208), but has or has not this 

point been tested by cultivation ? The teeth are wholly black, not 

white, as stated by Mr. Newman, and have the tips much more per- 

sistent than in U. hyemale, closely resembling those of E. tracliyodon, 

A. Braun, but the sheaths are loose, and the stems with a comparatively 

large central hollow, as in E. hyemale. 

Excluded Species and Casual Introductions. 

Mr. H. Bromwich sends Petasites albns, Gartn., from an " old 

sand quarry, Guy's Cliff,'' Warwick. Professor M. A. Lawson, Lina- 

ria supina, Desf., from " ballast hills, near Hartlepool, Durham." Miss 

E. Jones, Euphorbia diilcis, Jj.ffvom '•' 

Glascoed Dingle, near Llansitin, 

Denbighshire. Dr. St. Brody, Eosa pomifera, Hern., from a coppice- 

wood, near Painswick, Gloucester. Dr. St. Brody also sends several 

species from Gloucester Docks, including Vicia villosa, Potentilla 

Norvegica, Linn., Cancalis daucoides, Linn., Ballota ruderalis, Fries, 

Bromiis tectorum, Linn., B. velutinus, Sm., and B. patulus, Eeich. 

Balmuto, March Zlst, 1869. J. BosWELL-Syme. 

New Buckingham sJdre Plants, collected by J. Britten. 

New to the Sub-province of West Thames. 

Rhanmus Frangula. Comarum palustre. 

New to the County. 

*Lepidiuin Draba. Alisma ranimculoides. 

Viola Reiclienbacliiana. Triglochin palustre. 

*Impatiens fulva. Juncus biifouius. 

*Fragaria elatior. Botrycliiuin Limaria. 

prchis incarnata. . Lycopodium Selago. 

Neio Gloucestershire Plants, collected by Dr. St. Brody in 1808. 

Eauuneulus Pseudo-fluitans, Bab, E. Andegavensis, Bast. 

E. Bachii, Wirtgen. E. Crepiniana, Desg. 

Aconitum Napellus, Linn. E. platyphylla. Ran. 

Oxalis stricta, Linn. Caucalis daucoides, Linn. 

Fragaria elatior, Ehrh. Polemonium cseruleum, Linn. 

Eosa vertieillacantha. " Merat." Mentha piibescens, Willd.

148 NOTES ON KANGE IN DEPTH OF MARINE ALG.E. 

Mentha hirsuta, b. subglabra, -BaA;er. Leouurus Cardiaca, Linn. 

M. sativa, b. paludosa, Sol. • Carduus Forsteri, Linn. 

Ballota ruderalis, Fi-ies (the true Ruppia i-ostellata, Linn. 

plant). Clienopodium urbicum, Linn. 

Excluded Species. 

Erysimum orientale, Br. Waste Eosa pomifera, Hern. Coppice 

ground, near the docks, Q-lou- wood, near Painswick. 

cester. Achillea nobilis, Linn. Waste 

Melilotus parvillora, Lam. Banks ground, near the docks. 

of the Severn, opposite the docks, Centaurea centaurioides, Linn. 

Gloucester. Banks of the Severn, near the 

docks. 

NOTES ON RANGE IN DEPTH OF MAEINE KhGM. 

By Professor Dickie. 

{Êead to the Botanical Society of Edinburgh ; Revised by the Author.) 

The bathymetrical range of animal life has been of late attracting a 

due share of attention, and facts of great interest have been ascertained. 

Very little has been done regarding the range in depth of marine plants ; 

few instances have been recorded, and even some of these are not quite 

trustworthy. 

When the dredge ceases to scrape tlie bottom, it becomes in its pro- 

gress to the surface much the same as a tovving-net, capturing bodies 

which are being carried along by currents, and therefore great caution 

is necessary in reference to any marine plants found in it. Seaweeds 

are among the most common of all bodies carried by currents near 

the surface or at various depths below, and from their nature are very 

likely to be entangled and brought uj). 

The present communication is offered chiefly with tlie view of di- 

recting attention to the ûbject, and of recording a few facts, which 

may, perhaps, stimulate algologists to add to the number of such. 

There are two effects which diminished supply of light at great 

depths may be expected to produce u[)on Alga;,—decrease of size and 

modiiication of colour. The proportion of light necessary for the ger- 

mination of the spores, and subsequent development, surely deserves 

the attention of physiologists.* 

* In ' Annals of Natural Ilistory,' De(\ 1868, there are some remarks by 

Mr. Jeffreys regarding various Mollusca, with bright-coloured shells and welldoveloped 

eyes, at depths from 200 to mure than 1500 fathoms.

NOTES ON RANGE IN DEPTH OF MARINE ALGjE. 149 

The influence of the law, that in water there is a limit of obliquity 

beyond which transmission into the air cannot occur, giving rise to 

total reflection, and the unequal absorption exerted on the different 

separable rays of light, can only be hinted at here in relation to this 

subject. According to Bouguer, sea-water at a depth of 700 feet loses 

all transparency. Mr. H. Wild, in a recent number of Poggendorff's 

' Annalen,' states that light, in traversing 5 metres in depth, has its 

intensity reduced to one-third. He, however, adds that the transpa- 

rency of water at low temperatures is greater than at higher. 

Further, it is very notable that in high northern latitudes, where 

thick ice covers the surface of the sea during great part of the year, 

and where, moreover, the absence of dii-ect sunlight for several mouths 

together produces very peculiar conditions, nevertheless seaweeds 

abound, the number of species not much more than fifty, but some of 

large size, and most of them individually plentiful.* 

The late Professor E. Porbes adopted the following zones in relation 

to the distribution of marine Organisms on the British shores :— 1st. 

Littoral zone, comprehending the space between tide marks. 2nd. The 

Laminarian, from low-water mark to 15 or 20 fathoms. 3rd. The Me- 

dian zone, f from 15 or 20 fathoms to 50. 4th. The Infra-median ; and 

5th. The Abyssal. In the first two of these seaweeds are abundant 

they are rare in the lower part of the median zone, and very rare indeed 

beyond it. 

In recording habitats of British Algce (as in ' Phycologia ' of the 

late Professor Harvey), the expression "cast up from deep water" 

is often used ; it is somewhat indefinite, nevertheless, as many delicate 

species are thrown on shore in very perfect condition,—they cannot 

have come from any great distance ; and if we examine the tidal chart 

in Johnston's ' Physical Atlas,' where depths round the British and 

Irish shores are also given, it will be seen that the line of 10 fathoms 

on the general coast is very narrow, but is wider in bays and arms of 

the sea ; 

and as these localities yield many species, 10 fathoms may be 

considered a common bathymetrical range. The following may be 

mentioned as reaching to or beyond 15 fathoms : 

— 

Chorda Filnm, Cul- 

ler ia hiuUifida, Zonaria parvula, Polysiphunia parasitica, Chylocludia 

* ' Journal of the Lhmean Society,' vol. ix. 

+ He used the term median or coralline zone, the latter very loose or incorrect 

if applied to the Corallinida of algologists. 

;

150 NOTES ON RANGE IN DEPTH OF MARINE ALGÊ. 

kaliformis, Melobesia calcarea, Rhodymenia cristata, Phyllophora rubens, 

P. Brodim, Peyssonelia Dubyi, ahd species of Belesseria. Several of 

these are also found in the littoral zone. 

It is of interest, however, to ascertain the absolute limit of vegetable 

life on our own shores, and the only case which has come under my 

own notice is the following :—About ten years ago, in company with 

the late Mr. Hyndman, of Belfast, and Mr. Waller, when dredging 

near the Maiden Hocks, coast of Antrim, our dredge got fast on rocky 

bottom at a depth of about 80 fathoms. With some difficulty we re- 

covered it. On examination it contained a few mollusca, abundance 

of living zoophytes,* and two red Al(jf2, the largest being Phyllophora 

Bi'odiai, quite fresh and of the usual colour. It appeared to have 

been recently torn from its site ; still, as it is not unfrequently cast 

upon the Antrim coast, it is just possible that the specimen may have 

been loose and accidentally entangled in the dredge. Regarding the 

other species, I have no doubt it was attached near the base of one of 

the living zoophytes ; and, although not more than a quarter of an 

inch in length, it could be referred to Bdemeria sinuosa, a species very 

widely distributed along the British and Irish shores. 

In vol. ii. page 464 of the ' Antarctic Flora,' Dr. J. D. Hooker 

states that " 8 to 10 fathoms are the utmost depth at which, judging 

by our experience, submerged seaweed vegetates in the South Tempe- 

rate and Antarctic Ocean." This may be the general limit, but Macro- 

cystis pyrifera is reported, in the same work, as attached to the bottom 

ill 40 fathoms, though most of the very long stem—700 feet—lies near 

the surface. Lamouroux speaks of the Akja growing at 100 or 200 

fathoms, but the statement is more than doubtful. Humboldt records 

Puciis vitlfolius {Caulerpa vitifoUa, Lamx. ; Chaiwinia vitifolia, Kiitzing), 

as growing in 30 fathoms, and quite green. In ' Nereis Americana,' 

Anadyomene stellata is stated to grow in 30 fathoms, and of the usual 

green colour, in the Gulf of Mexico. In his report on the vEgean Sea, 

the late Professor E. Forbes states that Coristantinea reniformis, P. and 

11., occurs at 50 fathoms, and he considered this as the greatest depth, 

accurately observed, at which AlgrB vegetate. In a recent number of 

* It may be interesting to state the s]iecies : Sertularia abietina, S. ruyosa, 

S. aryeidea, S. rosacea, Tubularia indhiisa, T. Larynx, Tulalipora serpens, 

Halecium Beanii, Fluslra avicularis, Crisia elurnea, Laomedea .'', and 

Caryophyllia Smilhii. The latter hved in an aquarium for nearly two years 

after. 

—

NOTES ON RANGE IX DEPTH OF MABINE ALG^. 151 

' Silliraan's Journal,' Count Pourtales states that Centroceras clavulatum 

came up in a dredge which had been at the bottom in 270 fathoms ; 

this species is stated in ' Nereis Americana ' as abundant at Key West, 

everj'where near low-water mark. I doubt very much whether this 

plant was brought from the bottom ; most likely it was caught by the 

dredge in its progress towards the surface. In Areschoug's ' Phyceae 

Scandinavicse Marinae,' it is stated that Desmarestia aculeata has been 

got, between Jutland and Norway, at a depth of 90 fathoms. 

In the supplement to Captain Inglefield's ' Summer Search for Sir 

John Franklin ' (1853), there are some cases which were recorded by 

myself in the Botanical Supplement to the work. They were given on 

the authority of Dr. P. Sutherland, from whom I received the speci- 

mens, viz. : 

—

152 NOTES ON RANGE IN DEPTH OP MARINE ALGM. 

lead from the Abrolhos shoal, in 40 fathoms, in lat. 18° 11" S., long. 

32° 43' 15" W., thirty miles frpm the nearest part of the coast of 

Brazil. Most of it consisted of a species of Melobesia, much decayed, 

but partly also fresh and entire ; adhering to it, growing on it, in fact, 

there is a solitary specimen of an Alga of bright crimson. On exami- 

nation I had no hesitation in referring it to the genus Peyssonelia. It 

is not very prudent to describe supposed new species from solitary 

examples ; nevertheless, as it seems to differ from others known to me, 

and being of interest in relation to the subject, it may be legitimate to 

record it under the provisional name Peyssonelia ubyssicola, sp. n.* If 

a single cast of the sounding-lead did such good service, how much 

more would the dredge accomplish on this Abrolhos shoal ? 

Finally, it is worthy of notice, that species which reach the lowest 

depth where Algce vegetate are chiefly Rhodosperms ; next in order 

the olive-coloured. The Chlorosperms prevail in the littoral and 

upper part of the laminarian zones. 

BiatomacerB are usually considered to rank among the lower forms 

of AUjrB. I may close with a brief reference to their range. Although 

some few species have been certainly brought up from the greatest 

depths reached by the dredge, it does not necessarily follow that they 

live and propagate there. Many of the marine species adhere to the 

higher forms of seaweeds, and necessarily have a limited range ; while 

not a few of the free species occur at or not far below the surface. 

Along with the Delesseria already mentioned as growing at 80 fathoms, 

1 only detected three Diatoms, viz. Mdosira marina, Coscinodiscus 

radiatus, and C. eccentricus. These minute organisms are so inde- 

structible, so abundant, and widely diffused, that it is not surprising 

to find tlunn in matter dredged at various depths. The Melobesia 

from the Abrolhos shoal yielded at least a dozen species, but I cannot 

positively assert that they were living. 

It is to be hoped that in future more attention will be paid to this 

subject. Exact records of depth will add to the interest pertaining to 

the Algre procured, besides contributing to a department of inquiry very 

much overlooked ; in this respect zoologists are far ahead of algolo- 

gists.. 

* Peyssonelia abyssicola. Nearly circular, faintly zoned concentrically, subtomcntose 

beneath, about, half an inch in diameter ; colour bright red ; upon 

Lithothamnitim mamillare (Melobesia mamillaris, Harvey).

153 

ON THE GENUS KNORRIA, Stemb. 

By W. Carruthers, F.L.S., E.G.S. 

(Plate XCIIL) 

This genus was established by Sternberg, in the ' Tentamen Florae 

Priraordialis ' (p. xxxvii.), which accompanied the first volume of his 

' Flora der Vorwelt,' for two stems which he considered to be dico- 

tyledonous, and to have been clothed with fleshy cylindrical leaves, 

like some succulent plants. The fossils were casts found in beds be- 

longing to the Coal-measures. Stems that are imbedded in sandstone 

have frequently entirely perished, and the cavity remaining having been 

afterwards filled in with amorphous material, there is no indication of 

the fossil except this cast of the original, which shows often in tiie most 

perfect manner all the external characters of the stem, but without 

any trace of its internal structure. As a consequence, considerable 

uncertainty has always existed, as to the true nature of these fossils. 

They are described as decorticated stems, without any definite mean- 

ing being attached to the term ' decorticated.' 

Professor "Williamson has clearly established that some Sternbergias 

are the casts of the medullary axis of Dadoxylon. Endogenites striata of 

Lindley and Hutton is a similar cast of that or an allied coniferous 

genus. The most familiar condition of Catamites, as a fluted and con- 

stricted stem, is in like manner only the cast of the medullary or cel- 

lular axis ; the thin incrustation of coal wliich is attached to it when 

it is removed from the rocky matrix, representing the greatly altered 

woody tissue. Knorria also is the cast of the interior of a Lepido- 

dendroid stem, as was at first supposed by Sternberg, though he after- 

wards changed his opinion, and by many subsequent writers as Gceppert, 

Dawson, etc. It has been described by these authors as " decorti- 

cated." In the stems mentioned, with the exception of Knorria, the 

" cortex " means the whole of the woody tissue, as well as the cortex 

properly so-called. In Lepidodendron, however, the wood is a very 

slender cylinder in the centre of the stem, while the casts of Ktiorria 

have a considerable diameter. A specimen from the Coal-measures, 

near Edinburgh, for which I am indebted to Charles Peach, Fsq., whose 

long-educated eye appreciated its value, exhibits the relation of the cast 

to the complete stem. In the lower part of the specimen, the short 

VOL. VII. [jULY 1, 1869.J N

154 ON THE GENUS KNORTIIA. 

truncate processes, supposed to be fleshy leaves, are present, but in 

the upper portion these are exhibited as long, slender processes, IVom 

two to three inches long. They are composed of the same amorphous 

sand Avhich forms the stem itself, and are consequently casts proceeding 

from, and filled up through the stem. These processes are all free from 

the stem, being separated from it by a tliin film of coal, and in con- 

sequence of this, tlie processes are broken off from the lower portion 

of the specimen. The whole stem is covered with a thin layer of coal, 

which separates it from the incrusting rock. 

In examining the structure of the stem of Lepidodendron we find, as 

already stated, that the woody cylinder is too slender to have formed 

the mould in which Knorria was cast. The wood was surroiuided by 

a cellular tissue of considerable thickness, and so delicate that it has 

never yet been seen preserved in anything like its entirety. It is 

generally replaced by some amorphous or crystalline substance, and its 

nature has been detected only by the occasional preservation of small 

portions, Avhich have been protected by their neighbourhood to the 

woody cylinder, or to the outer sub-cortical layer. This outer layer is 

composed of small, regularly arranged, elongated cells. It appears to 

have been more durable than any of the other tissues, having resisted 

the decay which speedily destroyed the medulla, and the delicate cel- 

lular structure between it and the wood, and even the woody cylinder 

which, from its relation to these two cellular structures, was probably 

more liable to decay. The specimens of erect Sigillari(S, discovered by 

Mr. Wiinsch, in Arran, preserved erect in beds of volcanic ash, are com- 

pletely hollowed out ; all the interior cellular and vascular tissue has 

disappeared, and only the layer of elongated cells and the outer cortical 

layer of indurated cells remain. This compact cylinder of elongated 

cells in Lepidodendron is penetrated in a spiral manner by the vascular 

bundles which pass to^xthe leaves. These bundles are composed of a 

few scalariform vessels, surrounded by a considerable quantity of cel- 

lular tissue, of the same delicate structure as the inner layer which 

is always altogether, or almost altogether absent, and, like it also, it is 

very rarely preserved. 

This specimen then shows that Knorria is a Lepidodendroid stem 

which, after being imbedded in mud or sand, lost by decay the whole 

of its interior up to the cylinder of elongated cells, and lost besides 

this, the vascular bundles with the accompanying cellular tissue which

REPORT ON THE CULTIVATION OF CHINCHONA IN BENGAL. 155 

passed upwards and outwards through the reraaining structure to the 

leaves. Into this hirge central mould and the small radiating tubes the 

amorphous material was pressed, until it completely filled them. Sub- 

sequently the cylinder of elongated cells was converted into coal, form- 

ing a thin film, which surrounds and separates every cast of the cavity 

of the vascular bundle. The pressure to which the stem was subjected 

has compressed it, and also pressed the long processes against it. 

The upper portion of the specimen figured would be referred to 

Knorria lotigifolia, while the lower portions represent the appearance 

of the stems named K. imbricata. Professor Schimper has given an ex- 

tensive series of illustrations of these stems in his ' Iê Terrain de 

Transition des Vosges,' plates xiii. to xx. He considers the subcortical 

' cushions ' of the leaves to have been produced between the wood and 

the bark, but if the fossil belongs to Lepidodenclrecc, where he, as I be- 

lieve, correctly places it, this is an uncertain locality. For if we con- 

sider the cellular structure external to the wood cylinder as cortex, then 

it is certain that there is a very much greater diameter in the stems of 

Knorria than is known to exist in any Lepidodendron. And if on the 

other hand the cortex refers to the external layer of thickened and in- 

durated cells, this was too thin a layer to permit the formation of such 

long processes. The interpretation supplied by the specimen figured 

explains the peculiarities of the fossil, and also shows that it can no 

more be retained as a separate genus than Sternbergia. 

Explanation of Plate XCIII. 

Specimen of Knorria, from the Edinburgh Coal-measm'cs, from the cabinet 

of Charles Peach, Esq., Edinburgh. 

EEPORT ON THE CULTIVATION OF CHINCHONA IN 

BENGAL FOR THE YEAR 1867-68. 

By Thomas Ahderson, M.D., 

Superintendent, Botanical Gardens, and in charge of Chinchona Cultivation 

in Bengal. 

[Read befoi-e the Botanical Society of Edinburgli.] 

The cultivation of the Chinchonas has been most successfully carried 

on during the year. The open-air cultivation has been greatly ex- 

tended, and now consists of four times the amount of plants reported 

N 2

156 REPORT ON THE CULTIVATION OF CHINCHONA IN BENGAL. 

last year. I shall follow the arrangement of the report of last year, 

and sliall consider the plants ia their different stages of growth. 

Stock Plants.—These plants, which are all grown under glass panes, 

are in excellent condition, and, notwithstanding the vast amount of 

cuttings they have yielded, their vigour has increased during the 

vear. 

Seedlings.—A quantity of excellent seedlings of C. officinalis, and a 

very few of C. succirubra, were reared from seed yielded by the plants 

planted at Hungbee in October, 1864. Besides these, I received 

during the year several packets of seed of C. officinalis and of C. succi- 

rnbra from Mr. Thwaites, the director of tlie Botanical Gardens, 

Ceylon. The number of seedlings raised during the year amounted 

to 101,750. The number of seedlings obtained during the previous 

year was 38,500. 

Nursery Beds.—Large additions were made to the nursery beds. 

Most of the plants in these beds remained unprotected throughout 

the winter. 

Permanent Plantations.—The formation of the open-air plantations, 

and the tending of tlie plants in them, are the simplest parts of the 

cultivation of Chinchona as practised at Darjeeliug. As the process of 

planting followed by me at Darjeeling has not yet been fully stated in 

any of my previous reports, the time has now arrived for narrating the 

various stages of the open-air cultivation, from tlie clearance of the 

forest-covered land until the end of tlie second year of the growth of 

the plants. Hitherto, the land selected has consisted of gromid on 

which Lepchas had previously carried on the cultivation of Maize, 

Millets, and Hice (a peculiar variety, which is grown without being- 

irrigated) in the manner known as joom* cultivation, with patches of 

virgin forest occurring every here and there among the partially-cleared 

spaces. 

Nepalese coolies with their kookerics (short, heavy, curved knives), 

and Lepchas, with their long, straight, sword-like knives, are sent to 

fell the jungle tis close to the ground as possible. 

* Joom cultivation is the term used to designate the rude cultivation practised 

hy most of the hill tribes of India. It consists of felling and burning 

virgin forest (leaving the stumps of tlie trees standing) for the growth of sub- 

trojiicul grains. Î'ter two or three crops have been obtained, the ground is 

abandoned for a freslily-cleared patcli of forest. The piece abandoned soon 

becomes covered with a dense vegetation of sln-ubs, giga7itic grasses, and young 

tree?.

REPORT ON THE CULTIVATION OF CHINCHGNA IN BENGAL. 157 

The scrub, and even vouns^ trees as tliick as a man's bodv. fall 

rapidly before the knives of these clearers. Where patches of virgin 

forest are met with the axe must be used ; but here every tree is not 

felled, as the smaller ones, being notched near the ground, are borne 

down by the fall of the full-gro^ni trees. In preparing ground for 

Chiucliona planting at Daijeeling, the practice has always been to clear 

the land entii'ely of all vegetation,—not a tree of even the smallest size 

ever being spared. In these hills, forest should not be felled before 

the middle or the end of November ; if the land is cleared earlier, the 

grasses and underwood spring up among tlie branches of the fallen 

trees, and thus their burning is prevented. Felling may be continued 

until the middle of Marcli. After two or three months' exposure to 

the bright sunshine and dry air of the cold season, the felled trees are 

in a fit state to burn. By the end of !March, therefore, fires may be lit 

in the afternoon, when the sun has thoroughly dried up the heavy 

dew, at the bottom of the slope covered with felled and dry jungle. 

The fire rapidly consumes the whole of the bnishwood and the branches 

of the trees, leaving only the large branches and trunks to smoulder 

for weeks. 

Wherever virgin forest or bamboo jungle has existed it has been 

necessary, after burning the lighter vegetation, to cut up the trunks of 

the trees and the bamboos into short pieces, and either to pile them 

into heaps for burning, or to roll them into the steep ravines which 

are too stony for planting Chinchonas. The land thus cleared by fire is 

ready for laying out the ground for planting, and for marking out the 

bridle paths required to give easy access to cill parts of it. These 

paths are made about four or five feet wide, and are connected with the 

principal roads of the plantation. The sites for the plants are fixed 

by means of a cord about 100 feet in length, on which marks are tied 

at inteiTals of six feet for C. suecinibra, and at shorter distance for 

C. officinalis. This marked cord is stretched along the ground, and at 

each mark on it a stick, about two feet and a half in length, is thrust 

into the grou'.id, thus indicating the place where a Chinchona is .to be 

planted. In order to secure uniformity in the plantation, each line is 

continued to the full extent of the ground to be planted before another 

line is commenced : the lines in properly laid-out plantations will thus 

be parallel. 

In the plantations of C. succirvhra the Hues are fixed at six feet


from each other ; and as the pLints are six feet apart in the lines, a 

form distance of six feet between the plants is maintained. 

At first C. officinalis was planted with an interval of five feet be- 

tween the plants, but I have lately altered this plan for a system of 

close planting in lines, the lines being four feet apart. 

After the ground has been " staked out," the next preparation for 

planting consists of digging the soil to the depth of a foot, removing 

the roots at the same time in a circle about one foot in diameter, of 

which the stake is the centre. The planting of the ground thus pre- 

pared is performed in dull, cloudy weather, when showers are frequent, 

but when the ground is not saturated by long-continued heavy rain. 

The thoroughly hardened plants are brought from the adjoining 

nursery-beds in shallow boxes, which the men carry on their heads. 

The phants are given to the coolie engaged in phnnting, who, with his 

hands, makes a hole in the loose soil sufficiently large to admit the 

roots of the plants and the soil is gently pressed around the roots to 

prevent the plant being beaten down by a heavy rain. The plants 

when taken from the nursery-bed should not be less than four inches 

and should not exceed a fo.ot in height, but plants varying from six to 

ten inches in height are of the best size. 

After the plants have been planted for three weeks it is necessary to 

cut down the weeds which had sprung up around them, as in a few 

weeks more the young Cbinchonas would soon be smothered in a jungle 

five or six feet high. These weeds require to be cut down once a 

month from May until the end of October; they are laid in lines fol- 

lowing the slope of the hill, and the slightly raised ridges soon dis- 

appear as they are decomj)osed by the heavy rain and higli tempera- 

ture. During the same period of the year it is necessary to weed 

every six weeks the prepared circles in which the Chinchonas are grow- 

ing, and at the same time to loosen the soil round the plants by 

liuhlly hoeing with a k6dalie or furroah. In November the entire 

surface of the plantations is thoroughly hoed, and by this means the 

weeds receive a great check by being exposed to the drying sunshine 

of the cold season after having been uprooted. After hoeing, the plan- 

tation- requires no attention until the end of April, when a light cover- 

ing of weeds having sprung up again, the circles round the plants should 

be lightly hoed and somewhat enlarged. From May again until the 

end of October the periodical cutting of the weeds must be continued,

REPORT ON THE CULTIVATION OF CHINCHONA IN BENGAL. 159 

but not so frequently as in the previous season, as many of the 

strongcst-gTowing weeds by this time have succumbed to the hoeing 

ill November. The growth of the plants is greatly favoured by a 

hoeing of the ground in November again, after the second growing- 

season is over ; and if this is done in the following year, tlieir third 

growing-season, the plants are tall and strong euougli to outgrow the 

jungle, Avhich then begins in its turn to be smothered under the dense 

foliage, at least, of C. succiruhra. 

The Selim Tea Association purchased 10,000 plants of C. succiruhra 

in July, 1867, and aU of these, which were phiuted ou steep slopes of 

the Himalaya immediately above the Tcrai, are iuierior in condition 

and promise to only the splendid plants of Chinchona iu the Govern- 

ment plantation at Eishap, close to Kungbee. 

Chemical Analysis of tJie Bark.— Tlie bark of C. siicch'uhra and 

C. officinalis, referred to in the last annual report as having been sent 

to London for analysis, was analysed by Mr. Howard. The analysis 

was most satisfactory, one specimen of C. succiruhra, thuiy-one months 

old, yielding no less than 7 '30 per cent, of precipitated alkaloids, of 

which 3'20 was quinine and 227 cinchonidine mixed with a little 

quinine,—a larger percentage of alkaloids than has been found in any 

other bark of the same age. The bark of C. officinalis, taken from 

plants twenty-eight months old, gave 3'2 of alkaloids. The conclu- 

sion drawn by Mr. Hov.ârd from this analysis is, " that there is no 

reason to think the Darjeeling barks at all inferior to those grown at 

Ootacaniund ; the difference of climate does not appear to have much 

eft'ect on the alkaloids therein contaiuecL" 

Flowering and Seeding.—A small number (270) of plants of the 

varieties of C. officinalis, planted in October, 1861, have again pro- 

duced a profusion of flowers, and already many of them are covered 

with most promising panicles of seed-vessels. A considerable amount 

of good seed was obtained from several of these plants in August and 

September, 1867. Out of 389 plants of C. succiruhra, planted in 

October, 1861, only two plants produced flowers and seed last year, 

and a few seedlings were raised from their seed. These plants, which 

were in an unhealthy state at the time of flowering, soon after became 

healthy and vigorous, and this year they have not flowered. Another 

plant of C. succiruhra, from whose stem a large piece of bark was 

taken, has put forth a few flowers from one or two of the branches.


Wkh these exceptions, none of the C. succirubra plants have flowered 

at Darjeeling, although many of the oldest plants are above twelve feet 

in height. 

Distribution of Chinchouas.— 11,390 plants of C. snccirubra were dis- 

tributed during the year. Of these 10,290 were sold to planters in 

the district of Darjeeling, 1000 plants were despatched to Chittagong 

for distribution among the tea-planters, and 100 were sent to the 

deputy-commissioner of Hazara in the Punjaub. 

Private Cultivation of CUinchona in Darjeeling.— 100 acres were 

planted v.'ith C. succirubra during tiie year by the Darjeeling Chinchona 

Association, the area being 120 acres. At Coombe Banks, the Chin- 

chona estate of Major Fitzgerald, twenty-five acres have been planted. 

The Darjeeling Tea Company possesses some fine plants of C. succi- 

rubra, planted in May, 1864. This company is also forming planta- 

tions of red bark on land well adapted to the cultivation of Chinchona. 

Mr. Eobson, the superintendent of the Chinchona plantations of the 

Tuckvar Tea Company, has made large additions to the plantations of 

C. officinalis and C. succirubra. Some of the older plants of 0. offici- 

nalis on this estate are now in flower. 

The Selim Tea Association possesses 10,000 plants of C. succirubra, 

which were purchased from the Government plantations in July, 1867. 

1000 plants of C. succirubra were sent to Chittagong in February, 

1868, and most of them arrived in good order. 

Khasia Uills.—The establishment of a small nursery at the Khasia 

Hills was sanctioned by Government early in 1867. The nursery 

was intended only for raising plants of Chinchona for distribution 

among the planters in Assam. One of the European gardeners from 

tbe Darjeeling plantation Avas sent, in February, 1867, in charge of the 

plants from Darjeeling, with which the cultivation was to be com- 

menced, lie reached Shillong in the Khasia Hills in the end of 

March, and early in May the cultivation was commenced near the Dak 

Bungalow of Nunklow. 

The phmts had been increased from 650, the original number sent 

from Darjeeling, to 6778 on the 31st March, 1868. The distribution 

was begun in March, 1868, by the sale of 100 plants, and other appli- 

cations had been registered. The species in these nurseries is C. suc- 

cirubra, the only species that will probably succeed in Assam.

161 

ON HABENARIA MIERSIANA, Champ. 


This Orchid, one of the rarest members of the Hongkong flora, was 

first described by its discoverer, the late Lieut. -Colonel Champion, in 

1855,* the determination being supervised by Professor Lindley, who 

pointed out a close affinity with the Nepalese II. geniculata, Don. 

Mr. Bentham admitted the species in his ' Flora Hongkongensis,' 

with some slight modification of the character, but without any special 

remark. Thuuberg, in 1784,t described an Orchid from the neighbourhood 

of Nagasaki, which he erroneously took for 0. Susau/ue, L. 

Ten years later, however, having in the interval discovered his mistake, 

he gave a figure of the plant, | under the name of 0. radiata, adducing 

his former name as a synonym. Lindley, in his monograph of the 

family, placed this in the genus Platanthera, ^ no doubt on account of 

its supposed relationship to P. Sma7in(e, for he had seen no specimen, 

and his diagnosis was simply framed from Thunberg's description. 

As regards that author's figure, the flower is a very good representa- 

tion of that of Habenaria 3Iiersiana,hut there are only two in the raceme, 

and the leaves are depicted much narrower and more acute than in the 

Chinese plant. 

Amongst Maximowicz's Nagasaki plants is an Orchid distributed 

by him under Lindley's name, which I find on a careful comparison 

and dissection of the flower, to be in all respects identical with Cham- 

pion's species, the fleshy processes of the stigma, characteristic of 

typical Habenaria, but not occurring in Flatantherce, being equally 

conspicuous. It was not until after I had ascertained this fact, that I 

became aware that the same plant had been previously gathered in 

Japan by Buerger and Sielôld, the latter of whom also considered it 

as the one described by Thunberg ; whilst Professor Miquel, on ac- 

count of its having broader leaves and less deeply-cut lateral labellum- 

lobes than represented in the plate, characterized it as a new species, 

under the name of 11. Sleboldlana,'^ very acutely remarking : " Prae- 

sertim confinis videtur H. Miersianre, Champ., cnjus autem lobi labelli 

laciniati." Tliis, which is certainly an imaginary, is doubtless also a 

* Hook. Joiu-n. Bot. vii. 37. t Flor. Jap. 25. 

X Ic. Plant. Jap Dco. 1, t. 2. § Gen. et Spec. Orchid. 296. 

II Ann. Mus. Lugd.-iJat. ii. 208.

162 ON HA3ENAKIA MIERSIANA. 

conjectural point of difference, for he can scarcely have seen the plant 

of Champion, who only twice met with it, whilst I have myself, I believe, 

never possessed but three specimens, two of which are in my 

herbarium, the other sent to Professor H. G. Eeichenbach. Havinsr 

subsequently received a specimen from Maximowicz, Miquel remarks :* 

" //. SieholcUana, quara prope Nagasaki legeruut Maximowicz et 

Mohnike, ab illo H. radiata, Lindl., statuitur, qui itaque synonymon 

Thunbergiauum hue duxit : donee exemplar authenticum iuvestigatum 

sit, hac de re dubia supersunt." These doubts can perhaps only be 

authoritatively solved by the botanists of Upsala ; but that there is no 

good reason for calling in question the identity of Champion's and 

Miquel's species with that of Thunberg is, I think, evident, from the 

fact that the former has apparently been gathered by every botanist 

who has collected around Nagasaki, where M. Maximowicz resided an 

entire year, and enjoyed every fticility for exploration ; that it is the 

oidy plant yet found there agreeing at all with Thunberg's description 

and plate ; and that, looking to the great difficulties and impediments 

that a traveller had to encounter, as graphically detailed in his preface, 

some allowance may fairly be made for a drawing executed from a 

dried, and very likely depauperate and indifferent specimen. 

In describing a new Cantonese Orchid in the last volume of this 

Journal, I referred it to Feristylus, explaining that I did so, not from 

any conviction of the validity of that genus, but because I felt uncertain 

as to the limits of any larger group in which to locate it. I may 

take this opportunity of saying that, on more mature reflection, 1 quite 

concur with the reduction of Cvelogloasmn, Perialylm, Flata>dhera, and 

Gynmadenla to Ilaheuaria, as proposed by Mr. Bentham and since 

acquiesced in by Professor Asa Gray,t two of the most accomplished 

of living botanists. Nor, indeed, though at present inclined to keep 

it so, am I satisfied that tjie absence of a biirsicula suffices to maintain 

the genus apart from Orchis, with which it is combined by Grenier 

and Wilkoram. For, while the existence of fleshy stigmatic cornua 

could scarcely of itself be defended as a sufficient ground for the 

generic severance of Ilahenaria from Platanthera, it must, at least in 

any philosophical classification, if depended on, be recognized as of 

equal and unvarying value in very closely allied groups. But Professor 

* Op. clt. iii. 19i. 

t Man. But. N. Un. St., 5tli cd. 499.

SERTULUM CHINENSE QUARTUM. 163 

LiiuUey himself speaks doubtfully of its constancy in Coeloglosmm* 

and admits its occasional absence in Gymnadenia.\ With regard to 

the length and shape of the spur, all gradations occur, quite uncon- 

nected with the presence or deficiency of the stigmatic processes ; 

although the existence of this appendage may be fairly regarded as a 

somewhat important character, its modifications in form and size seem 

of no more value than those of the labellum, sepals, or petals. Nor 

can it well be maintained that the obliquity of the anther-cells is of 

any special structural importance, even were not the differences in this 

regard between two such closely allied species as 2f. bi/olia and H. 

chlorantlia a convincing argument. The plant described by me should 

therefore bear the name of Habenaria Sampsoni. 

SERTULUM CHINENSE QUARTUM: A FOURTH DECADE 

OF NEW CHINESE PLANTS. 


and 

1. Indigofera (Euindigofera) melilotoides, n. sp. ; caulibus erectis 

angulatis elevato-striatis glabriusculis, foliis pinnatim trifoliolatis 

foliolis cuneato-linearibus obtusissimis emarginatis brevissime petiolu- 

latis adpresse puberulis, stipulis inconspicuis, racemis angustis virgatis 

folia multoties superantibus multifloris, calycis puberuli dentibus 

lineari-setaceis, petalis cserulescenti-albis carina apice macidata, legu- 

minibus ovoideis compressissirais 1- rarius 2-spermis glabris.—In 

rupestribus coUium aridorum prope Peking, m. Augusto 1SG5, coll. 

Dr. S. W. Williams ; 

circa Jehol invenit R. P. Arm. David. (Exsicc. n. 

12469.) 

A remarkable species, with exactly the habit of a Melilot, havino- 

seemingly no direct affinity with any other species known to me. The 

inflorescence is somewhat like that of /. anstralis, Willd., or /. Bun- 

geana, Walp.,—also received from Dr. Williams,—which however is 

described as having a linear few-seeded pod. Dr. Williams has sent 

me either a very closely allied species, or a variety of the present, with 

the leaflets thicker in texture, and pinnately bijugous; but the specimen 

is not sufficiently perfect to warrant a decided opinion. 

* Gen. et Spec. Orchid. 302. t Op. cit. 275.

164 SERTULUM CHINENSE QUARTUM. 

2. Smithin (Eusmithia) sahugmea, n. sp. ; caule ramoso bine inde 

parce setuloso, foliolis 1-2-jugis' ciira imparl ciineato-obovatis obtusis- 

siinis mavgiiie costaque subtus distanter setulosis, stipulis parte basali 

decurrente superiore duplo breviore ovato-lanceolatis iiervosis scariosis 

margine hyalino-albidis, racerais simplicibus v. ramosis folia pbiries 

superantibus 3-5-floris, pedunculis parce setulosis, bracteis ovato-lan- 

ceolatis calyce 4-plo brevioribiis adpressis, calycis 4-linealis scariosi 

glaberrimi inferne elevato-striati siiperne reticulati nervulis excurrenti- 

bus pectinati segmeutis suba3qi.ialibus inferiore lato ovato rigide apicu- 

lato superiore orbiculato late einarginato, petalis flavis, leguiuinibus 

articulis circ. 9 plus miuus (nunc obsolete) tuberci^latis.—In palude 

salsula paeninsulse Kau-lung, juxta mare, ex adverso ins. Hongkong, 

sociis Smithla coiiferta, Sm., et Geissaspide cristata, W. et A.., mense 

Octobri 1868, detexit oculatissimus Sampson. (Exsicc. n. 15113.) 

This plant with its companions are all additions to the Hongkong 

Flora, due to the vigilance of Mr. Sampson, who has likewise found 

Smithla sensitlva at Canton. S. p'acilis, Benth., and S. kumilis, Benth. 

(neither described, to my knowledge), appear to be its nearest allies. 

3. Vernonia (AscaricidaJ cUvorum, n. sp. ; herbacea, sesqui-tri- 

pedalis, caule angulato elevato-striato tonientoso, foliis brevipetiolatis 

oblongis V. oblongo-lanceolatis acuminatis distanter calloso-serratis 

supra costa tomenteUa excepta glabriusculis subtus pilosulis atque gut- 

tulis resinosis pallidis conspersis utrinque sed prsecipue subtus promi- 

nulo-reticulatis, iloribus laxe paniculatis, capitulis hemisphsericis loiigi- 

uscule pedunculatis 20-30-floris, involucri squamis linearibus acutis 

arachnoideis et glandulosis interioribus anguste hyalino-marginatis ex- 

terioribus sensim brevioribus, flosculis purpureis, achaeniis angulatis 

striatis fuscis glandulosis albo-strigosis basi pallide bulbosis, pappi 

albidi setis omnibus capillaribus exterioribus brevibus, receptaoulo fim- 

briato-alveolato.—In frutectis clivorum ad fauces Shiu-hiug fluv. West 

Ptivcr, prov. Cantoniensis, meusibus Februario Octobrique a. 1867, 

collcgit Th. Sampson. (Exsicc. n. 14743.) 

The nearest ally of this species is F. nemoralis, Thw., which however 

has rather larger capitula, rounded involucre-scales, achaenia twice as 

long with the outer pappus-scales subpaleaceous, and narrower much 

less prominently reticulate leaves. 

4. Fraxinus (Fraxinaster) rhynclioplujlln, n. sp. ; ramis obtuse quad- 

raugulis, raniulis apice ad inscrtionein folioniin inflorescentiieque dense

SEKTULUM CHINENSE QUARTUM. 165 

fulvo-hlrsutis, foliis 2-3-jug;s, foliolis subaequalibus 1|—2 poll, longis 

petiolulo subsemipoUicari anguste marginaio suffultis e basi plerumque 

lata truncata ovatis cleltoideo- vel rhombeo-ovatis subito in acumen 

longuin productis crenato-serratis costulato-nervosis non reticulatis 

costulis ntrinque 5-7 complanatis vix elevatis subtus secus costam ad 

insertionein costularum 3-3 itifimarum fulvescenti-lanosis prajterea 

glaberrirais, floribus dioicis, masculis in paniculas coiifertas erectas 

foliolorum par infimum raro attingentes digestis, pedicellis lineam longis, 

calyce -| lin. longo acute -i-lobo, corolla nulla, antheris lineain longis 

obtusis filamentis paulo longioribus, flor. foem. et saraaris ?—In 

umbrosis montanis Chinse borealis, prope Jehol, Maio florentem, coll. 

R. P, Ariuaudns David, missiouarius apostolicus. (Exsicc. n. 14679.) 

So far as I am aware, but two Ashes of the section Trax'inader have 

hitherto been recorded from Eastern China : 

— 

'E. CJunensls, Eoxl)., only 

known to me from Roxburgh's character, and from the figure given by 

Mr. Hauburv in his ' Notes on Chinese Materia Medica,' and F. Mand- 

sliurica, Rupr. The former differs by its lanceolate merely acute leaf- 

lets, of which the terminal one is described as much larger than the 

others, and borne on a long petiolnle, its small drooping panicles, 

and polygamous flowers : of 

the latter, which Regel (Tent. Fl. Ussnr. 

lot) is disposed to tliiiik may be a mere variety of F. excelsior, I have 

an authentic fruiting specimen, gathered by Maximowicz at Possiet 

Bay ; it differs widely by its much larger oblong gradually acuminate 

leaflets, finely reticulate and slightly downy beneath along the whole 

midrib, cuneate and sessile, and hairy at their insertion ; the flowers 

also are destitute of calyx. Like its Manchurian congener, M. David's 

plant, by its dioecious flowers, shows an aflinity with the American 

species. The primary costiform veins are flattened, as if subjected to 

pressure, and differ from the slender elevated veins of other species. 

The leaflets are more conspicuously and abruptly acuminate than in 

F. (Ornns) retiisa, Champ., or F. longicmpis, S. and Z., of which latter 

species Mr. Sampson has found a single tree near Canton, whether 

wild or not I cannot say, though I have visited the locality. 

5. Convolvulus tra?isl?icens, n. &]). 

; herbacea, glaberrima, 8-12 pol- 

lices long., foliis e basi cordata lanceolatis acutis petiolo lamina triente 

vel plus breviore suflFaltis |~l-pollicaribus lineolis pellucidis creberrime 

notatis pedunculis unifloris folia jequantibiis vel iis dimidio superatis 

medio bracteis binis minutis subulatis prseditis siiperne incrassatis.

166 SERTULUM CHINENSE QUARTUM. 

sepalis cequalibus oblongis acutis billiiealibus, corolla calycem duple 

excedente, genitalibus inter se 'aaqualibus, coroUee medium at tingenti- 

bus, stigraatis cruribus brevibus complanatis.—In planitiebus herbosis 

MongoliBe citerioris, m. Sept. 1867, invenit Dr. S. W. Williams. (Ex- 

sicc. n. 14690.) 

A curious little plant, of whose precise affinities I am iinccrtain. 

C. arveiisls, L. var. sag'MifoUus, Turcz. exhibits, though in a mucli 

less degree, pellucid markings in the leaves ; but our species is at once 

distinguishable by its dwarf size, exauriculate leaves, short peduncles, 

acute sepals, and (so far as I could make out from examination of a 

single flower) broad obtuse stigmas. The flowers seem pinkisli, but 

as blue ConvolvuU dry of this colour, their hue when fresh is uucertain. 

Dr. Williams seldom saw a specimen more than a foot long, and it is 

frequently much smaller. The same gentleman found C. A77imanni, 

Desr., and C. tragacanthoides, Turcz., near Kalgau or Chang-chia-kaii, 

by the Great Wall. 

6. Dracocephalum (Boguldea) rupestre, u. sp. ; caule adscendente 

piloso, foliis radicalibus et caulinis petiolo iis asquilongo vel parum 

breviore suft'ultis oblongis obtusis crenatis e basi cordata in petioluni 

cuneatim attenuatis utrinque pilosis subtus pallidioribus, fioralibus ses- 

silibus e basi cuneata ovatis serratis, verticillastris circ. 8-floris capi- 

tuliformibus, bracteis cuneato-rhomboideis longe setaceo -serratis caly- 

cibus paulo brevioribus, calycis deute supremo obovoideo reliquis 

linearibus subtriplo latiore omnibus acutissimis, corolla ampla rubes- 

cente calyce duplo longiore, antheris glabris.—In rupibus editis ditionis 

Pekinensis invenit Kev. A. David, miss, apost. (Exsicc. n. 14881.) 

This plant, which is probably the unnamed species mentioned in 

Maximowicz's ' Index Florae Pekinensis,' is intermediate between D. 

altaiense, Laxm. and D. grandijlorum, L. {chamcedryfolium, Pisch. et 

Bth.) 

7. Phytolacca Pekinensis, n. sp. ; foliis basi cuneatis oblongis v. 

obovato-oblongis calloso-apiculatis granulis albidis punctatis 5-7 pol- 

lices longis, racemis erectis pollicaribus ovoideo-subglobosis pedicellis 

flore duplo longioribus, staminibus stylisque 8.—In ditione Pekinensi 

reperit-Dr. S. W. Williaius, Augusto 186.5. (Exsicc. n. 12648.) 

Possibly too close to the Japanese P. Kfjcmpferi, A. Gray ; which, 

liowever, from a specimen in ray possession, seems to dift'er by its 

oval leaves and linear-lanceolate racemes 2 1-6 inches in length. Dr.

SERTULUM CHINENSE QUARTUM. 167 

AVilliams's plant is no doubt tlie one inaccurately taken for P. octandra, 

by Bunge, and referred with doubt by Maximowicz, in his ' Index 

Flora? Pekinensis,' to Tircunia Latbenia^ Moq. I presume this latter 

is the same as Roxburgh's Phytolacca aciuosa, of which he has given 

a very meagre diagnosis, but Moquin has entirely overlooked the name 

in his monograph of the Order, in the Prodromus. 

8. JPolygonitm (Echinocaulon) pUropus, n. sp. ; caule angnlato lineato 

crebre retrorsum aculeato ocreis inferioribus membranaceis adpressis 

basi dense retrorsum aculeolatis apice truncatis setoso-ciliatis superi- 

oribus limbo herbaceo orbiculari patente ciliato munitis, foliis inferi- 

oribus e basi truncata hastato-trilobis lobis basalibus abbreviatis hori- 

zontaliter divaricatis obtusis petiolo margine herbaceo ciliato distincte 

alato ipso limbo 4-plo breviore infra setuligcro suffultis superioribus 

sensim sessilibus lobisque lateralibus obsoletis omnibus supra passim 

subtus in nervis strigoso-setosis infra pallidioribus, capitulis gerainatis 

globosis densis, pedunculis setulosis atque glanduloso-hispidis, floribus 

majusculis T-S-andris, achseuio ovato trigono angulis obtusis faciebus 

concaviusculis apiculato stramineo opaco oculo armato subtilissirae 

ruguloso.—Ad angustias prsecipitis 13 mill. pass, longas, Nankau 

dictas, seous viam a Peking in Mongoliam ducentem, coUegit cl. Dr. 

S. W. Williams. (Exsicc. n. 14890.) 

Closely allied to the Japanese P. hastato-trUohwn, Meissn., from 

which it differs by the glandular hairy peduncles, and the winged 

petioles. It is possible this may be the species mentioned by Maxi- 

mowicz as having been mistaken by Turczaninow for P. arifol'mm, L. 

9. Aneilenia melanostictum, n, sp. ; erectum, 2-^-4-pollicare, caudice 

brevi crasso squaraato, foliis lanceolatis acutis amplexantibus basi pilis 

septatis ciliatis margine cartilagineo albo scabris elevato-nervosis epi- 

dermide laxa utrinque rugosissimis atque punctis impressis nigris cre- 

berrime notatis, vaginis pilosis, inflorescentia terminal! simplici vel 

dichotoma pauciflora, bracteis ovatis acutis persistentibus hyalino-albis 

punctis liueolisque badiis conspicue obsitis, floribus parvis cceruleis, 

stamiuibus fertilibus 3 filamentis basin versus barbatis, fructu . . . ? 

In insula Hcenan, Martio 1868, coUegit clar. Swinhoe. (Exsicc. n. 

14412.) 

A very remarkable little species, from its densely black- dotted foliage, 

something like which is described by Hasskarl (Plant. Juiighuhn. 147) 

in A. lineolatum, Kth. It is not half the size of J. nannm, and \vants 

—

168 HORACE MANN, 

the diffuse habit of that plant, which, however, has similarly dotted 

bracts, and is perhaps the neanest ally. 

10. Zoi/sia Sbiica, n. sp. ; foliis involutis, spiels lanceolatis 1-1^ 

poll, longis 2-2^ lin. latis, spiculis laxiusculis siibdivergentibus 

3-liuealibus oblongo-lanceolatis obliquis acutis.—Ad oras Chinsc austro- 

orientalis usque saltern ad Araoy. (Exsicc. n.~ 10155.) 

This species is the only one I have seen from the coast of China. 

Mr. Beiithara, in the ' Flora Hongkongensis,' has referred to Z.pungens, 

Willd., which, however, from a comparison of Ceylon and South Aus- 

tralian specimens, appears to me abundantly distinct, by its narrow 

linear spikes and ovate-lanceolate spikelets, only a line or little more 

long, and so compactly and evenly arranged as to give a tessellated ap- 

pearance to the spike. Z. Japonica, Steud., under which name, with a 

mark of doubt, I have been accustomed to distribute the Chinese plant, 

is much nearer Z. pungens, and perhaps not sufficiently distinct ; but 

the spike is broader, the spikelets are borne on long pedicels, and are 

much more laxly arranged, and the leaves are flat, or but slightly in- 

volute. 

nOEACE MANN, CURATOR OF BOTANY IN THE BOSTON 

SOCIETY OF NATURAL HISTORY. 

By William T. Brigham, Esq. 

{From the Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. xii., 

November 18, 1868.) 

It is sad to speak publicly of our private sorrows, but when those 

sorrows touch all alike who reverence the good, admire the brave, re- 

joice over victories in the noble struggle of light against darkness, 

knowledge against ignorance, or who mourn over great efforts uncom- 

pleted, then must we lay aside all thoughts of personal loss, and speak 

each with all of our common grief. 

The youngest officer of this Society has left us never to return. 

Were years alone the test of usefulness and manhood, wc might count 

over the few that Horace Mann numbered in his earthly life, regret 

they were so few, and from the full-grown and ripened lives still with 

us, look for his successor. But vainly should we look ; where should 

we find in all the years the best of our number could show, a single

HORACE MANN. 169 

year so full of hard work, conscientious, unselfish, self-sacrificing strug- 

gle that the world might know more, and the cause of science be ad- 

vanced ? 

In his earliest youth Horace Mann drevv in from his father's careful 

teachings the love of Nature, which has since been his constant joy. 

Often would he softly open the door of his father's study, and come 

silently to his father's side, waiting for the leisure which woidd give 

him some of the marvellous stories about the earth and its inhabitants, 

which in his mind took the place of the unrealities of fairyland so dear 

to most children. 

Chemistry was the delight of his boyhood, and liis father's house 

contained a laboratory, in which he spent many an hour, often to the 

great anxiety of bis family, who dreaded the usual i-esults of boyish 

experiments with powerful reagents. Inanimate matter did not satisfy 

him, and after much thought, although opposed by most of his friends, 

who wished him to receive a collegiate education, he determined to 

devote himself to the study of Nature, entering Professor Agassiz' 

school as a student of zoology and geology. This was at the time 

when the present museum was recently built, and the hard manual 

labour of moving and arranging heavy specimens, which he so readily 

undertook, seriously affected his health. He was at this time also 

deeply interested in conchology, and most especially in botany, and it 

was from this latter interest that the companionship and friendship 

commenced, which for the last four or five years have so closely united 

us. When Dr. Asa Gray was told that I was soon to visit the Ha- 

waiian Islands, he asked me to collect the very peculiar flora of that 

group, and suggested the propriety of asking Horace Mann to accom- 

pany me. It was a short notice, but his friends advised him to go, 

and he joined me in California. From that time, for more than a year 

we were constant companions, and many a long ride, many a weary 

walk, did we share. For more than six months we kept house toge- 

ther in Honolulu, and from the first day to the last he was tlie same 

modest, retiring, hard-working, unselfish, conscientious man. Tho- 

roughly alive to all the beauties and wonders of Nature tliere surround- 

ing him, he often wrote home that he enjoyed every moment, and often 

indeed have I seen him in perfect ecstasy over the discovery of some 

new plant after a hard climb up some island precipice. 

With his rich collections he returned to Cambridge, and was soon 

VOL. VII. [JULY 1, 1809.] O

170 HORACE MANN. 

appointed Dr. Gray's assistant, and afterwards Instructor in Botany in 

Harvard College. Besides tHe work of arranging the Thayer Herba- 

rium and constantly aiding Dr. Gray in preparing material for his 

classes, and revising proofs of his two botanical manuals,— a work 

more than enough for a common man, a work indeed that no common 

man could do,—he worked steadily in his spare hours, often late into 

the night, on his Hawaiian collections. The many thousand specimens 

were determined and labelled and partly distributed ; his ' Emimera- 

tion of Hawaiian Plants,' which has given him a good botanical repu- 

tation, was published by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 

(of which he was unanimously elected a Fellow on the veiy evening of 

his decease) ; a most complete Flora of the islands was published in 

part by the Essex Institute ; several other botanical memoirs were in 

hand, and you all know that his labour here in our herbarium and in 

our work as a Society, was not light. 

His interest in this Society never waned. Often on shipboard, lying 

on deck at night, have we talked over this matter, and he was full of 

suggestions, many of which have since been carried out ; others, such 

as a permanent doorkeeper for the Museum on exhibition days, guide- 

books to the various collections, and a fire-proof floor for the main story 

of this building, will be perhaps in time. He was always present at 

tlie Council meetings, and his advice was always sensible and re- 

spected. 

As a result of our Hawaiian explorations, five new genera were 

added to the flora, one of which was dedicated to him under the name 

of Hesperomannia, and has been engraved for the next part of our 

Memoirs, while of new species of flowering plants, no less than seventy- 

one, or more than eleven per cent, of the entire phainogamous Hawaiian 

flora were discovered. His published works, besides a number of re- 

views in the ' American Naturalist,' were : 

' On some Hawaiian Crania and Bones.' (Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist, 

vol. X. p. 229.) 

' On the present condition of Kilauca and Mauna Loa.' {Ibid. vol. x. 

p. 229.) 

' Denudation on the Hawaiian Islands.' {Îhid. vol. x. p. 232.) 

' Eevision of the Genus Schiedea and some of the Rutaceee.'' {Ibid. 

vol. X. p. 309.) 

' Description of the Crater of Haleakala.' (Jbid. vol. xi. p. 112.) 

—

STATISTICS, ETC., OF HAWAIIAN PLANTS. 171 

• Enumeration of Hawaiian Plants.' (Proc. Araer. Acad. Arts and 

Sciences, vol. vii. p. 143.) 

'Flora of the Hawaiian Islands.' (Proc. Essex Institute, vol. v.) 

The last has not been completed, and a number of other valuable 

and interesting memoirs remain unfinished. 

Early in October the severer symptoms of what he had considered a 

mere cold, compelled him most unwillingly to give up his college 

classes, temporarily as we all hoped ; 

but the Avorst form of pulmonary 

complaint had gone too far to be stopped, and although his friends all 

hoped for his recovery, he passed away peacefully on the evening of 

November 11th, 18(58, after some days of great pain and anguish. 

Sad as it seems to us, in our blind intei-pretations of Providence, 

that a life so full of promise, so pure, so trae, a life so short and yet 

so full of results, should be cut short, yet the example of this life, 

called so closely to view by the angel of death, cannot but animate and 

encourage many others ; and the nobly proportioned column, whose 

base and lower shaft alone we see on earth, yet raises its capital above 

the veiling clouds, a monument and beacon we may well follow. 

STATISTICS AND GEOGRAPHICAL EANGE OF HA- 

WAIIAN (SANDWICH ISLANDS) PLANTS. 

By Horace Mann, Esq. 

The Hawaiian Islands have a surface of about 4000 square miles, 

situated just within the tropics, and more than one thousand miles 

from any other land except a few rocks lying to the north-west, bare of 

vegetation, and inhabited by seafowl and seals. On this area, which 

includes an excessively dry and hot, a very wet and very hot, and from 

these every other variety to a very dry aud very cold climate, is found 

a flora of 620 species of flowering -plants * and Ferns, of which the 

former comprise 485 species, the latter 13.5 ; the Mosses, Lichens, 

and Algae being left out of consideration as too little known. 

Of the 554 flowering plants, including 69 species supposed or 

known to be introduced, 479 species belong to the Dlcotijledonce, and 

the remaining 75 to the Monocoti/ledoncB, in the proportion of nearly 

* Omitting Gramineee, which have not jet been fully studied. 

o 2

173 STATISTICS, ETC., OF HAWAIIAN PLANTS, 

100 to 15. These 554 flowering plants are divided among 353 

genera, giving to each genus on an average 3'58 species. There are 

87 Natural Orders of flowering plants represented in the group. Of 

the 554 flowering plants 377 are peculiar to the group, while 43 are 

of recent and 27 of supposed aboriginal introduction, giving the pro- 

portion of endemic species 6 8' 05, of introduced (recent) species, 

12-46. 

Of the 253 genera 39 are peculiar, and these 39 genera are repre- 

sented by 151 species, or 8'94 species to a genus, while the whole flora 

has but 2"58 species to each genus; thus showing the important part 

which these genera take in constituting the whole pha^nogamous flora. 

Among the genera not peculiar to the islands, there are sixteen, of 

which the species belong to a distinct group in the genus, or which 

are most largely represented in the South Pacific Islands and Australia, 

or on the Hawaiian Islands themselves. 

Geranium, very peculiar species. 

Melicope, either to be reduced to 

Pelea, or if not, entirely Austra- 

lasian. 

Pittosporum, largely Australasian. 

Coprosma, a marked New Zealand 

type. 

Acacia, an Australian phyllodinous 

species. 

Oouldia, one other species in Pacific. 

Yittadinia, New Zealand and Aus- 

tralia. 

Lipochceia, mostly Hawaiian, a few 

in Mexico. 

Sccevola, mostly in South Seas and 

Australasia. 

Lobelia, species very peculiar. 

Cyrtandra, represented in the South 

Seas and Moluccas : large geuus in 

the Hawaiian Islands. 

Cyathodes, Australasian. 

Wikstrosmia, many species Hawaiian, 

represented in South Seas and Aus- 

tralasia. 

SantaJum, Western Pacific. 

Sxocarpns, Avistralasia and Mol uccas. 

Astelia, „ „ 

These sixteen genera comprise 76 species, or 4' 7 5 to a genus, thus 

taking an important place in the flora. 

All the species of the following families are peculiar to the group, 

omitting, of course, species known to be introduced. 

Eanunculacea;. 

—Menispcrmacese. 

Cruciferaj. 

Violaccffi. 

—Bixacea?. 

Pittosporaceoe. 

Caryophyllacea;. 

Portulacacere. 

— Camelliacete. 

—Tiliacese. 

Geraniace£e. 

EutaccfB. 

—Aquifoliacea;. 

—Celastracese.

-Saxifragaceae. 

-Haloragese. 

-Begoniaceae. 

Araliacesp. 

Compositae. 

Lobeliacese, 

Eriaceae. 

-Ebenacese. 

-Sapotacese. 

Myrsinaceae. 

Plantaginaceae. 

Gesneriacese. 

Solanacese. 


Labiatae. 

—Myoporineae. 

—Hydrophyllaceae. 

— Gentianaceae. 

Loganiaceae. 

Apocynaceae. 

—Oleaceae. 

Santalaceae. 

—Laiu'aceae. 

Palmese. 

Smilacineae. 

Juncaceae. 

Of these, sixteen (marked thus —) are represented by a single 

species, and the remaining twenty-four families comprise 220 species, 

or 9"16 species to each genus. 

The following families are represented by five or more species : 

Yiolaceae, 6. 

Caryophyllacese, 14. 

Malvaceae, 12. 

Geraniaceae, 5. 

Eutaceae, 17. 

Rhamnacese, 5. 

Pittosporaceae, 6. 

Legumiuosae, 20. 

Eosaceae, 5. 

Myrtacese, 6. 

Cucurbitacete, 5. 

AraKacec'B, 8. 

Eubiaceae, 33. 

Loganiaceae, 5. 

Compositae, 47. 

Lobeliaceae, 35. 

Goodeniaceae, 6. 

Gesneriaceae, 14. 

Labiatae, 27. 

ConvolvTilaceae, 12. 

Solanaceae, 9. 

Cheuopodiaceae, 5. 

Amarantaceae, 9. 

Tliymelacefe, 6. 

Piperaceae, 12. 

Urticaceae, 13. 

Cyperaceae, 39. 

Those species belonging to families which are not represented by 

five or more species, are but ninety-two, belonging to fifty-six families, 

—less than two species to each family on an average,—while the fa- 

milies in the above list average fourteen species each. 

Species pectdiar to the Hawaiian Islands 

Eanimculus Hawaiiensis, Gray. 

E. Maviensis, Gray. 

Nephroica Ferrandiana, Gray. 

Lepidium Oahuense, Cham, and 

Schleoht. 

: 

— 

L. serra, H. Mann. 

Cleome Sandwicensis, Gray. 

Yiola Kavaiensis, Gray. 

V. Maviensis, M. Mann. 

V. Chamissoniaua, Ging. 

—

174 STATISTICS, ETC., OF HATVAIIAN PLANTS. 

Isodendrion pyrifoliiim, Gray. 

I. longifolium, Gray. , 

I. launfoliiim, Gray. 

Xylosma Hawaiiensis, Seem. 

Pittosporum confertiflorum, Gray. 

P. cauliflorum, H. Mann. 

P. terminalioides, Planchon. 

P. spathulatum, R. Mann. 

P. glabrum, HooTc. and Am. 

P. acuminatum, R. Mann. 

Silene struthioloides, Gray. 

S. lanceolata, Gray. 

Schiedea Xuttallii, HooTc. 

S. diffusa, Gray. 

S. amplesicaulis, H. 3fann. 

S. stellarioides, B. Mann. 

S. Menziesii, Rook. 

S. Hookeri, Gray. 

S. ligustrina, Cham, and SvMecht. 

S. spergulina, Gray. 

S. Eemyi, R. Mann. 

S. globosa, R. Mann. 

S. viscosa, R. Mann. 

Alsinidendron triuerve, R. Mann. 

Portulaca villosa, Cham. 

P. sclerocarjDa, Gray. 

Eurya Saudwicensis, Gray. 

Gossypium tomentosum, Nntt. 

G. drynai'ioides, Seem. 

Hibiscus Youngianus, Gaud. 

H. Brackenridgei, Gray. 

H. Arnottiaiuis, Gray. 

H., n. sp. 

Abutilon incanura, Don. 

A. Menziesii, Seem. 

Sida sertum, Nutt. 

S. Mcyeniana, Walp. 

Waltheria pyrola;folia, Gray. 

EiiBOcarpus bifidus, Rook, and Am. 

Geranium multillorum, Gray. 

Or. cuneatum, Rook. 

G. ovatifolium, Gray. 

G. arboreuui, Gray. 

Pelea clusiiEfolia, Gray. 

P. sapota'folia, R. Mann. 

P. auricula?folia, Gray. 

P. Kavaiensis, R Mann. 

P. anisata, H. 3Iann. 

P. oblougifolia, Gray. 

P. rotundifolia, Gray. 

P. Sandwicensis, Gray. 

P. volcanica, Gray. 

Melicope cinerea, Gray. 

M. barbigera. Gray. 

M. spatbulata, Gray. 

M. elliptica. Gray. 

Platydesma campanulata, R. Mann. 

Zantlioxylura Kavaiense, Gray. 

Z. Maviense, R. Mann. 

Z. (Blackbiirnia) dipetalum, R.Mann, 

Byronia Saudwicensis, Undl. 

Perrottetia Sandwicensis, G-ray. 

Colubrina oppositifolia, Brongn. 

Gouania vitifolia, Gray. 

G. orbicularis, Walp. 

Dodonaea eriocarpa, Smith. 

Sesbania tomentosa, Rook, and Am. 

Desmodium Saudwicensis, E. Meyer. 

Vicia Menziesii, Spreng. 

Erythrina mouosperma, Gaud. 

Canavalia galeata, Oaud. 

Vigna Oahuensis, Vogel. 

V. Sandwicensis, Gray. 

Sophora cbrysojjhylla. Seem. 

Csesalpinia Kavaiensis, R. Mann. 

Cassia Gaudichaudii, Rook, and Am. 

Acacia Koa, Gray. 

Rubus Hawaiiensis, Gray. 

R. Macraei, Gray. 

Acsena exigua. Gray. 

Broussaisia arguta. Gaud. 

Gunnera petaloidea, Gaud. 

Metros ideros rugosa. Gray. 

M. macropus, Rook, and Am. 

Eugenia Sandwicensis, Gray. 

Sicyos pacbycarjjus, Rook, and Am. 

S. niacrophyllus, Gray, 

S. cucumerinus, Gray. 

S. microcarpus, R. Mann. 

HUlebrandia Saudwicensis, Oliver. 

Hedcra Gaudichaudii, Gray. 

H. platypliylla, Gray.

STATISTICS, ETC., OF HAWAIIAN PLANTS. 17i 

Heptapleurum Kavaiense, H. Mann. 

Dipauax Manuii, êem. 

Reyuoldsia Saudwicensis, Gray. 

Tetraplasandra Hawaiiensis, Gray. 

Triplasandi-a Oahuensis, Gray. 

Coprosma rliyncbocarpa, Gray. 

C. longifolia, Gray. 

C. foliosa, Gray. 

C. pubens, Gray. 

C. Menziesii, Gray. 

C. ernodeoides, Gray. 

Psychotria hexaudra, H. Mann. 

P. grandiflora, S. Mann. 

Straussia Kaduana, Gray. 

S. Mariniana, Gray. 

S. Hawaiiensis, Gray. 

Bobea elatior, Gaud. 

B. brevipes, Gray. 

Guettardella Saudwicensis, H. Mann. 

Gardenia Brigliami, H. Mann. 

Gr. Kemyi, H. Mann. 

Gouldia Sandwicensis, Gray. 

Kadua laxiflora, H. Mann. 

K. centranthoides, Hook, and Am. 

K. glomerata, Hook, and Am. 

K. cordata, Cham, and Schleclit. 

K. Cookiana, Cham, and Schlecht. 

K. parvula, Gray. 

K. glaucifolia, Gray. 

E. Meuziesiana, Cham, and Schlecht. 

K. acuminata, Cham, and Schlecht. 

K. petiolata, Gray. 

K. grandis, Gray. 

Lagenophora Maviensis, H. Maiin. 

Aster Sandwicensis, Gray. 

Tittadinia humilis, Gray. 

V. tenerrima. Gray. 

V. Remyi, Gray. 

V. Chamissonis, Gray. 

Y. consanguinea, Gray. 

V. arenaria, Gray. 

V. conyzoides, Gray. 

Coreopsis Maviensis, Gray. 

C. maerocarpa, Gray. 

C. Macraei, Gray. 

C. cosmoides, Gray 

C. Menziesii, Gray. 

C. micrantha, Gray. 

Bidens Sandwicensis, Less. 

B. Hawaiiensis, Gray. 

Lipochseta australis, Gray. 

L. subcordata, Gray. 

L. calycosa. Gray. 

L. lavarum, DC. 

L. intcgrifolia, Gray. 

L. succulenta, DC. 

L. heterophylla. Gray. 

L. tenuifolia, Gray. 

L. micrantha, Gray. 

L. Remyi, Gray. 

Argyroxiphium Sandwicense, DC. 

A. macrocephaluni. Gray. 

Wilkesia gymnosiphium, Gray. 

Dubautia plantaginea, Gaud. 

D. laxa, Hook, and Am. 

D. paleata, Gt-ay. 

RaiUardia latifolia, Gray. 

R. scabra, DC. 

R. laxiflora, DC. 

R. ciliolata, DC. 

R. Hillebrandi, H. Mann. 

R. lineai-is, Gaud. 

R. Menziesii, Gray. 

R. platypliylla. Gray. 

R. arborea, Gray. 

R. montana, H. Mann. 

R. struthioloides, Gray. 

Hespei'omannia arborescens. Gray. 

Rollandia lanceolata, Gaud. 

R. crispa. Gaud. 

R. Huniboldtiana, Gaud. 

Delissea clermontioides. Gaud. 

D. coriacea, Gray. 

D. obtusa, Gray. 

D. liirtella, H. Mann. 

D. acuminata, Gaud. 

D. angiistifolia, Presl. 

D. rhytidosperma, H. Mann. 

D. arborea, H. Mann. 

D. subcordata. Gaud. 

D. undidata. Gaud. 

D. platypliylla. Gray.

176 STATISTICS, ETC., OF HAWAIIAN PLANTS. 

D. racemosa, H. Mann. 

D. calycina, Presl. 

D. pinnatifida, Presl. 

D. ambigua, Pj'esl. 

T). Mannii, Brigham. 

D. fissa, H. Mann. 

D. pilosa, Gray. 

D. asplenifolia, H. Mann. 

Cyanea aspera, Gray. 

C. arborescens, H. Mann. 

C. lobata, H. Mann. 

C. Grimesiana, Gaud. 

C. leptosfegia, Gray. 

C. tritomantlia, Gray. 

C. superba, Gray. 

Clermontia grandiflora, Gaud. 

C. parviflora, Gaud. 

Brighamia insignis, Gray. 

Lobelia macrostachys, Hook and A rn. 

L. Gaudichaudii, DC. 

L. neriifolia, Gray. 

Scffivola coriacea, Nuft. 

S. Gaudichaudii, Hook, and Am. 

S. Chamissoniana, Gaud. 

S. mollis, Hook, and Am. 

S. glabra, Hook, and Am. 

Vaceinium reticulatum. Smith. 

V. penduliflonim. Gaud. 

Cyathodes imbricata. 

Maba Sandwicensis, DC. 

Sapota Stindwicejisis, Gray. 

Myrsine Gaudichaudii, DC. 

M. Lessertiaua, DO. 

M. Sandwicensis, DC. 

Lysimacbia Hillebrandi, Hook, 

riantago princeps, Cham, and Schlecht. 

P. pacliypliyllfl, Gray. 

Cyrtandra cordifolia. Gaud. 

C. platyphylla, Gray. 

C. Pickeringii, Gray. 

C. triflora. Gaud. 

C. grandiflora, Gaud. 

C. ienobarba, H. Mann. 

C. Lessoniana, Gaud. 

C. paludosa, Gaud. 

C. Garnottiana, Gaud. 

C. laxiflora, H. Mann. 

C. Macraei, Gray. 

C. Menziesii, Hook, and Arn. 

C, n. sp. 

C, n. sp. 

Solan um Nelsoni, Duval. 

S. Sandwicense, Hook, and Am. 

S. incompletuiu, Duval. 

Lycium Sandwicense, Gray. 

Nothoeestrura latifolium, Gray. 

N. longi folium. Gray. 

N. brevifolium, Gray. 

N. subcordatum, H. Mann. 

Sphacele liastata. Gray. 

Phyllostegia vestita, Benth. 

P. grandiflora, Benth. 

P. brevidens, Gray. 

P. glabra, Benth. 

P. hirsuta, Benth. 

P. parviflora, Benth. 

P. rosmai'inifolia, H. Mann. 

P. stachyoides. Gray. 

P. clavata, Benth. 

P. racemosa, Benth. 

P. haplostachya. Gray. 

P. Hillebrandi, -ff". Mann. 

P. truncata, Gray. 

P. floribunda, Benth. 

Stcnogyne macrantba, Benth. 

S. rotuudifolia, Gray, 

S. cordata, Benth. 

S. sessilis, Benth. 

S. calaminthoides. Gray. 

S. scropliularioides, Benth. 

S. purpurea', ^. Mann, 

S. rugosa, Benth. 

S. angustifolia. Gray. 

S. parvifloi-a, ^T. Mann. 

S. micropbylla, Benth. 

S. crenata, Gray. 

S. difi'usa. Gray. 

Myoporum Sandwicense, Gray. 

Nama Sandwicense, Gray. 

Jacquemontia Sandwicensis, Gray. 

Bonamia Menziesii, Gray. 

Ciiscuta Sundwichiana, Choisy.

Erythrsea sabseoides, Gray. 

Labordea fagrseoidea, Gatid. 

L. pallida, H. Mann. 

L. hirtella, S. Mann. 

L. membranacea, H. Mann. 

L. tinifolia, Gray. 

Alyxia olivaformis, Gaud. 

Rauwolfia Sandwicensis, DC. 

Ochi-osia Sandwicensis, DC. 

O., n. sp. 


Olea Sandwicensis, Gray. 

Eumex giganteus, Ait. 

Santalum Freycinetianum, Gaud. 

S. pyrularium. Gray. 

Exocarpus Gaudichaudii, DC. 

Oreodaphne Karaiensis, If. Mann. 

Wikstrcemia elongata, Gray. 

W. foetida. Gray. 

"W. Sandwicensis, Meisn. 

W. Uva-ursi, Gray. 

W. buxifolia, Gray. 

W. phillyrsefolia, Gray. 

Chenopodium Sandwichieum, Moq. 

PtUotus Sandwicensis, Gray. 

Charpentiera ovata, Gaud. 

Urtica Sandwicensis, Wedd. 

TJrera glabra, Wedd. 

U. Sandwicensis, Wedd. 

Boehmeria stipnlaris, Wedd. 

Piptiirus albidus, Gray. 

Keraudia melastomsefoHa, Gaud. 

N. sericea. Gaud. 

Touchardia latifolia. 

Euphorbia clusiaefolia, Hook, andAm. 

E. Remyi, Gray. 

E. multiformis, Gaud. 

E. Hookeri, Steud. 

E. cordata, Meyen. 

Antidesma platjpliyllum, H. Mann. 

Phyllauthus distichus, ZToo^. and Am. 

Claoxylon Sandwicensis, Miill. 

Peperomia pallida, A. Dietr. 

P. membranacea. Hook, and Am. 

P. Gaudichaudii, Miq. 

P. Sandwicensis, Miq. 

P. insularum, Miq. 

P. latifolia, Miq. 

P. hypoleuca, Miq. 

P. Macrseana, Miq. 

P. leptostachya, Hook, and Am. 

P., n. sp. 

Pritchardia Martii, Wendl. 

P. Gaudichaudii, Herm. Wendl. 

P., n. sp. 

Freyciuetia arborea. Gaud. 

Sisyrinchium acre, H. Mann. 

Smilax Sandwicensis, Kunth. 

S. anceps, Willd. 

S., sp. alt. [ Vide Joiu-n. of Bot. VI. 

193.] 

Ansectochiliis Sandwicensis, Lindl. 

A. Jaubcrtii, Gaud. 

Liparis Hawaiiensis, H. Mann. 

Dracaena aurea, H. Mann. 

AsteUa Menziesiana, Smith. 

A. veratroides, Gaud. 

Joinvillea ascendens. Gaud. 

Cyperus trachysanthos. Hook, and 

Am. 

C. Prescottianus, Hook, and Arn. 

C. caricifohus, Hook, and Am. 

C. multiceps. Hook, and Am. 

C. Kunthianus, Gaud. 

C. plileoides, Nees. 

C. Hawaiiensis, H. Mann. 

Ehynchospora lavarum. Gaud. 

R. thyrsoidea, Nees and Meyen. 

Cladium leptostachyum, Nees and 

Meyen. 

Baiimea Meyenii, Kunth. 

Vincentia angustifoUa, Gaud. 

Gahnia Gaudichaudii, Steud. 

G. Beecheyi, H. Mann. 

G. globosa, H. Mann. 

Oreobolus fm-catus, H. Mann, 

Scleria testacea, Nees. 

Carex Commersoniana, Gilb. 

C Meyenii, Nees. 

C Oahuensis, C. A. Meyer. 

C. nuptialis, Boot. 

C Prescottiana, Boot. 

Uncinia Liudleyaua, Kunth.

178 STATISTICS, ETC., OF HAWAIIAN PLANTS, 

Panicum nephelophiluin, Gaud} 

P. montauum, Gaud. 

P. pellitum. 

P. tenuifolium, Hook, and Arn. 

P. Beecheyi. 

P. isachnoides, Munro. 

Poa Oaliuensis, Kunth. 

P. monticola, Kunth. 

P. variabilis, Kunth. 

P., sp. 

P., sp. alt. 

Isaclme distichophylla, Munro. 

Cenchrus agrimoiiioides, Munro. 

Garnottia patula, Munro. 

Agrostis Sandwicensis, Munro. 

Calamagrostis, ap. 

Trisetum glomeratum, 3Iunro. 

Eragrostis -Bana, Munro. 

Festuca, sp. 

Scliizostachyum decompositum, 

Munro. 

Koeleria glomerata, Kunth, 

Plants not peculiar to the Hawaiiau Islands, and not introduced by 

—Cardamine hirsuta, L. 

—Senebiera didyma, Pers. 

— Capjjaris Sandwicensis, DC. 

— Sesuviiim Portulacasti-um, L. 

fCalophyllum Inopliyllum, L. 

— Gossypium religiosum, L. 

—Hibiscus tiliaceus, L. 

Thespesia populnea, Corr. 

—Sida fallax, Walp. 

S. rhonibifolia, L. 

Malvastrum tricuspidatuni, Gray. 

—Waltheria Amei-icana, L. 

—Tribuliis cistoidcs, L. 

Colubriua Asiatica, Bronyn. 

Alphitonia excelsa, Reissek. 

Dodonsea viscosa, L. 

—fCardiospermum Halicacabum, L. 

Rhus semialatum, Murr. 

fCrotalaria sericea, Retz. 

— fTeplirosia insco-toria, Pers. 

fSesbauia grandillora, Poir. 

—*Desmodiuni triflornm, fy^. 

Strongylodon lucidum, Seem. 

Dioclea Tiolacca, Mart. 

Mucuna gigantea, DC. 

M. urens, DC. 

*Phaseolus Truxillensis, H. B. K. 

*P. semierectus, L, 

Whites. 

Vigna lutea, Gray. 

fDolichos Lablab, L. 

fCajanus Indicus, Spreng. 

Csesalpinia (Guilandina) Bonduc, 

Renth. 

Osteomeles anthyllidifolia, Lindl. 

Drosera longifolia, L. 

Metrosideros polymorpha. Gaud. 

fPsidium Guajava, L. 

Eugenia (Jambosa) Malaccensis, 

L. 

Lythrum maritimum, H. B. K. 

Cuphea balsamona, Cham, and 

Schlecht. 

—fJussiara villosa, L. 

Lagenaria vulgaris, Ser. 

Cucurbita maxima, Buch. 

fPapaya vulgaris, DC. 

Hydrocotyle interrupta, Miihl. 

Yiscum moniliforme, Blume. 

Nertera depressa, Banks. 

fRichardsonia scabra, St. Hit. 

Paederia foetida, L. 

Canthium lucidum, Hook, and 

Arn. 

—fMorinda citrifolia, L. 

Adenostemma viscosum, Forst. 

— *Ageratum conyzoides, L. 

' The Grasses are still in the hands of General Munro, and therefore only 

this very imperfect list can be given.—W. T. B.


Gnaphalium albo-luteum, L. 

*Sonchus asper, L. 

—Scaevola sericea, Forst. 

Cyathodes Kameharaehse, Cham. 

C. imbricata, Stschelgleio. 

Ljsimachia liiieariloba, Hook, and 

Am. 

—Plumbago Zeylanica, L. 

Solanum oleraceum, Dunal. 

— S. aculeatissiinum, Jacq. 

— S. nigrum, L. 

Pliysalis Peruviana, L. 

Herpestis Mouniera, H. B. K. 

—Plectrantlius parviflorus, Willi. 

— *Priva aspera, H. B. K. 

— *Vitex trifolia, L. 

—fCordia subcordata. Lam. 

—Heliotropiiun anomalum. Hook, 

and Am. 

— H. Curassavicum, L. 

Batatas acetosaefolia, Choisy. 

tB. edulis, Choisy. 

B. pentaphjlla, Choisy. 

Ipomcea Bona-nox, L. 

I. insularis, Steud. 

— I. Pes-caprse, Siveet. 

I. Turpetbum, JR. Br. 

I. Forsteri, Gray. 

I. palmata, Forsk. 

Cressa Cretica, L. 

— Vinca rosea, L. 

Pisouia grandis, Parkinson. 

P. excelsa, Blume. 

— Bcerbaavia diffusa, L. 

Rumex longifolius ? Gray. 

— *Polygonum glabrum, Willd. 

Cassytha filiformis, L. 

— Chenopodium murale, L. 

— C. album, Moq. 

— C. ambrosioides, Z. 

— Batis maritima, L. 

tBasella rubra, L. 

Aeliyi-anthes splendens. Mart. 

— A. bidentata, Blume. 

A. velutina, Hook, and Am. 

Aerva sericea, 3Ioq. 

— Euxolus viridis, Z.' 

— E. lineatus, Moq. 

— Fleurya interrupts. Gaud. 

Pilea peploides. Hook, and Am. 

— Artocai'pus incisa, Z. 

— Broussonettia papyrifera, Vent. 

Morus pendulina, Endlich. 

fM. Indica, Rumph. 

Euphorbia Atoto, Forst. 

— *E. pilulifera, Z. 

*E. Heliscopia, L, 

*Phyllanthu3 Jsiruri, L. 

Aleuritcs Moluccana, Willd. 

Manihot utilissima, Pohl. 

fRicinus communis, Z. 

fPiper methysticum, Forst. 

Cocos nucifera, L. 

— Pandanus Terus, Rumph. 

Colocasia esculenta, Schott. 

Alocasia macrorhiza, Schott. 

Tacca pinuatifida, Forst. 

— K'aias major, All. 

— Rupjîa maritima, L. 

— Potaniogeton Gaudichaudii, Cham. 

— P. Hawaiiensis, Cham. 

— P. pauciflorus, Fursh. 

Musa sp. 

fM. sp. alt. 

— Zingiber Zerumbet, Ross. 

*Canna Indica, Z. 

fHelmia bidbifera, Kunth. 

fDioscorea pentapbylla, Z. 

Commelyna Cayenneusis, Rich. 

*Tradescantia floribunda, Kunth. 

Cordyline terminalis, Kunth. 

Itianclla odorata, Blume. 

Luzula campestris, DC. 

— Cypei'us mucronatus, Rottb. 

C. brunneus, Siv. 

C. polystachus, Rotth. 

' This should rather be placed among the plants accidentally introduced in 

recent time.— W. T. B.

180 STATISTICS, ETC., OF HAWAIIAN PLANTS. 

Cyperus pennatus. Lam. 

C. viscosus, Ait. 

C. csespitosus, Poir. 

C. paniculatus, Hook, and Aru. 

C. strigosus, L. 

C. aurier.latus, Nees and Meyen. 

*Ivyllmgia monocephala, Rotth. 

Eiasocharis obtusa, Sohult. 

E. palustris, B. Br. 

— Scirpws maritimus, L. 

— S. riparius, Fred. 

Fimbristjlis cymosa, R. Br. 

— F. umbello-capitata, Steud. 1 

Gahnia globosa, H. Mann. 

Carex -festiva, Dewey. 

Species marked with a dagger (f) are perhaps of aboriginal intro- 

duction ; those marked with an asterisk (*) possibly of recent introduction 

; those marked with a dash (— ) are jmr excellence lowland 

and maritime. 

For convenience, the flora of the Hawaiian Islands may be divided 

into five regions : the dry alluvial plains on the shore or Maritime Re- 

gion, the Lowland Region, Higher Wooded Region, Wet Mountain Re- 

gion, and Dry Mountain Region)- 

I. Maritime Region. Besides the plants in the previous list, the 

following are characteristic of this zone : 

Cleome Sandwicensis. 

Hibiscus Youngianus. 

Erythrina monosperma. 

Lipochseta succulenta. 

— 

Lycium Sandwicense. 

Nama Sandwicensis. 

Erythniea saboeoides. 

Pritchardia, sp. 

II. Lowland Region. This extends to about 1000 feet above the 

sea, and is principally characterized by Aleurites Moliiccana, Jambosa 

Malaccemis, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Pandanus odoratismnus, and Cordia 

mhcordata. 

Capparis Sandwicensis. 

Abutilon incanum. 

Sida fallax. 

Hibiscus Youngianus. 

H. tiliaceus. 

Gossypium (three species). 

Tribulus cistoides. 

Waltlieria Americana. 

Oxalis corniculata. 

O. Martiana. 

Cardiospermum Halicacabum. 

Eugenia Malaccensis. 

Lythrum maritimum. 

Jussisea villosa. 

Sicyos cucumerinus. 

Morinda citrifolia. 

Adenostemma viscosum. 

Vittadinia arenaria. 

V. conyzoides. 

Erigeron Canadense. 

' Jvdes Remy distinguishes five zones thus : Littoral, Tropical (from the base 

of the liills to tlie forests), Forest, Mountainous or Subalpine, and Alpine. 

The absence of anything like an Alpine region will be evident on inspection of 

the above lists.—W. T. B.

Scaevola sericea. 

Plumbago Zeylanica. 

Physalis Peruviana. 

Plectranthus parriflorus. 

Myoporum Sandwicense. 

Cordia subcordata. 

IpomcEa Bona-nox. 

I. insularis. 

I. palmata. 

Cuscuta Sandwichiana. 


Boerbaavia diffusa. 

Santalum ellipticum (var.). 

Chenopodium (three species). 

Euxolus lineatus. 

Euphorbia multiformis. 

Aleurites Moluccana. 

Eiciuus communis. 

Tacca pinnatifida. 

Zingiber Zerumbet. 

Cordyliiie terminalis. 

III. Higher Wooded Region. This is the forest region. The fol- 

lowing species are found here; those marked * in the higher part. 

Only those marked — are not endemic. 

*Ranunculus Hawaiiensis. 

*R. Maviensis. 

Nephroica Ferrandianus. 

Lepidium serra. 

- Cardamine hirsuta. 

Viola Chamissoniaua. 

. . 

Isodendrion (all of the species) 

Xylosma Hawaiiense. 

Pittosporum (all of the species) 

Silene lanceolata. 

Schiedea (most of the species). 

- Alsinidendron trinerre. 

Calophyllum Inophyllimi. 

Eurya Sandwicensis. 

Hibiscus Brackenridgii. 

H. Ai-nottianus. 

Sida Meyeniana. 

Elaeocarpus bifidus. 

Geranium arboreum. 

Pelea (all of the species). 

Melicope (all of the species). 

Platydesma campanulata. 

Zanthoxylon (aU of the species). 

Byronia Sandwicensis. 

Perrottetia Sandwicensis. 

Colubrina oppositifolia. 

- Alphitonia excelsa. 

- Dodonsea viscosa. 

- Rhus semialatum. 

Vicia Menziesii. 

- Strongylodon lucidum. 

- Mucuna (both species). 

- Dioclea violacea. 

- Canavalia galeata. 

Yigna Oahuensis. 

Y. Sandwicensis. 

- Caesalpinia Bonduc. 

C. Kavaiensis. 

Acacia Koa. 

Cassia Gaudichaudii. 

*Eubus (both species). 

Osteomeles anthyllidifolia. 

Broussaisia ai'guta. 

Metrosideros (all of the species). 

Psidium Guajava. 

Eugenia Sandwicensis. 

Sicyos (all of the species). 

Hillebrandia Sandwicensis. 

Sanicula Sandwicensis. 

Hedera Gaudichaudii. 

Heptapleurum Kavaiense. 

Dipanax Mannii. 

Eeynoldsia Sandwicensis. 

Tetraplasandra Hawaiiensis. 

Triplasandra Oahuensis. 

Yiscum moniliforme. 

Coprosma (all of the species except 

pulens). 

Canthium lucidum. 

Psychotria (both species). 

Sti-aussia (all of the species). 

Bobea (both species).

182 STATISTICS, ETC., Of HAWAIIAN PLANTS. 

Guettardella Sandwicensis. 

Gardenia Brighami. , 

G. Remyi. 

Gouldia Sandwicensis. 

Kadua (all of the species). 

Adenostemma viscosum. 

Coreopsis macrocarpa. 

C. Macraei. 

C. cosmoides. 

Bidens Sandwicensis. 

B. Hawaiiensis. 

Lipochseta australis. 

Dubaiitia (all of the species). 

Kaillardia latifolia. 

R. Bcabra. 

R. laxiflora. 

E. HiUebrandii. 

Hesperomannia arborescens. 

RoUandia (all of tlie species). 

Delissea (seventeen species). 

Cyanea (six species). 

C'lermontea (both species). 

Brighamia insignis. 

Scsevola Gaiidichavidii. 

S. Chamissoniana. 

S. mollis. 

S. glabra. 

Vaccinium penduliilorum. 

Cyathodes (both species). 

Maba Sandwicensis. 

Sapota Sandwicensis. 

Myrsine (all of the species). 

Lysimachia (both species). 

Plantago princeps. 

P. pachyphylla. 

Cyrtandra (all of the species). 

Solannm Sandwicense. 

S. incompletiim. 

Notliocestrum (all of the species). 

Phyllostegia (most of the si)ecics). 

*Sphacelc hastata. 

Stenogyne (most of the species). 

Myoporum Sandwicense. 

Ipomoea tuberculata. 

Ipomoea Bona-nox. 

Bonamia Menziesii. 

Cuscuta Sandwicliiana. 

Alyxia olivseformis. 

Rauwolfia Sandwicensis. 

Ochrosia Sandwicensis. 

Olea Sandwicensis. 

— Pisonia (both species). 

— Phytolacca Bogotensis. 

Rumex gigantevis. 

Santalum (two species). 

Exocarpus Gaudichaudii. 

Oreodaphne Kavaiensis. 

Wikstroemia (three species). 

Ptilotus Sandwicensis. 

Fleurya interrupta. 

Urera (both species). 

Pilea peploides. 

Bcehmeria stipularis. 

Neraudia melastoniEefolia. 

Touchardia latifolia. 

Morus penduliua. 

Euphorbia clusiffifolia. 

E. Rcmyi. 

E. Hookeri. 

Antidesnia platyphyllum. 

Phyllanthus distichus. 

Claoxylon Sandwicensis. 

Peperomia (most of the species). 

Pritchardia (two species). 

Frcyciuetia arborea. 

Srailax (three species). 

Commelyua Cayennensis. 

*Anaichtochilus (two species). 

Liparis Hawaiiensis. 

Dracaena aurea. 

— Cordyline tcrminalis. 

DianeUa odorata. 

Astelia (two species). 

Joinvillca ascendens. 

Galmia Beecheyi. 

G. globosa. 

Uncinia Lindleyana.

REPORT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 183 

IV. Mountain Eegion. Wet and wooded between the lower and 

hio-her cloud level, 3500-6000 feet. 

Metrosideros polymorpha (dwarf). 

Guunera petaloidea. 

Coprosma pubens. 

Labordea fagraôides. 

'&* 

Yittadinia (several species) 

Hedera platyphylla. 

Astelia Meyeniaua. 

Y. Upper Mountain Region. A small region on the summits of 

West Maui and Kauai, which lies above 6000 feet, and which is not 

wooded. 

Viola KaTaiensis. 

V. Maviensis. 

Geranium cuneatiim var. liololeueum. 

Drosera longifolia. 

Acaeua exigua. 

Lagenophora Maviensis. 

Argyroxiphiinn (two species). 

Wilkesia gymnoxiphium. 

Raillardia montana. 

Lobelia Gaudichaudii. 

Vaccinium reticulatum. 

Oreobolus fiu'catus. 

and some Graminese. 

{From the Memoirs of the Boston Society, vol. i. part ii\ 1869.) 

EEPORT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST 

AND DIRECTOR OF THE MELBOURNE BOTANIC 

GARDEN. 

Sir, 

Botanic Garden, Melbourne, 

lUh September, 1868. 

In compliance with your request, I have the honour of transmit- 

ting to you a succinct general Report on the work more recently per- 

formed in the Botanic Garden and its scientific institutions. Simul- 

taneously, I beg to point out what measures of progressive improve- 

ments might most advantageously occupy the attention of the establish- 

ment during the next year. 

Since the great excavations at the Garden lake, and the earthworks 

connected therewith, were completed, it became possible, within the 

means available, to finish the various lines of walks, which now extend 

in the aggregate over 22^ miles. All of these are lined with trees, 

unless they pass along special garden laud. 

A considerable extent of these walks requires, however, yet to be 

.

184 EEPORT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 

somewhat raised and to be covered with a gravel-layer, or perhaps with 

clayey grit, which is far more accessible, and will bind into a firm mass, 

impervious to rain. A large portion of the main drive from the City 

Bridge to Anderson Street, needs yet to be macadamized, and basalt 

boulders might be used to mark off lastingly its footpaths. 

The tree lines along the walks amount altogether now to 21 miles 

also, different kinds of trees have recently been chosen for these ave- 

nues, to exhibit the relative merits of each. The remaining portion 

of the reserve Ijetween the City Bridge and the Botanic Garden has 

latterly also been planted with many additional kinds of Pines — not 

less than 21,000 Pines, representing very many species, being now 

grouped or scattered on the lawns. To prevent more completely a 

certain degree of monotony, which might be caused by the massive 

upgrowth of Conifers, though many are of very distinct form, and 

though lines of deciduous trees dissect the lawns, I introduced into the 

incipient pinetum several hundreds of New Zealand Palm-lilies {Cor- 

dyline Australis and C. indivisa), and also numerous groups of real 

Palms,—for instance, the Gippsland Fan-Palm, the New Zealand Nika- 

Nika, the Date, the Seaforthia, the Sabal, and a few others equally 

hardy. Many of these Palms or palm-like plants have become already 

very conspicuous, and it may be readily foreseen that, within a few 

years, the environs of the city will assume by this measure an aspect 

so exotic, that a visitor viewing the suburl)an landscape will imagine 

himself to be within the tropics. To the Palm groves require still to 

be added in (juantity the Chilian Jubaea and the equally hardy Chinese 

Livistonia. The various trees will form a nucleus for forest culture 

when gradually bearing seeds, and when not merely the protection but 

also the enrichment of the native forests will become an object of legis- 

lative enactments. The total number of trees now planted out ap- 

proaches to 30,000. The Willow plantations along both the Yarra 

banks, from Prince's Bridge to Richmond, have been renewed or com- 

pleted this year on the municipal side of the river by the aid of the 

Corporation. The renewal of the fences since the last floods, effected 

at great expense by the City Council, has afforded for this purpose all 

the necessary security. Weeping Willows and various kinds of Basket 

Willows have been chosen promiscuously to combine ornament with 

utility. 

A dense belt of vegetation will thus guard against accidents, embel- 

;

REPOET OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 185 

lish the river, consolidate the banks, afford more shade, shelter the 

Garden against the piercing westerly winds, and replace permanently 

the fences, apt to be carried away by the floods. 

Tall Danubian Eeeds, Callas, patches of Tea-tree {Melaleuca erici- 

folia, transferable in an upgvown state). Poplars, Ashes, Elms, Oaks, 

all of various kinds, Toi-Toi, Pampas Grass, Tamarix, Ampelodesmos, 

Wiry Muehlenbeckia, Poa ramigera, will ere long impress on the once 

dismal swamps and river banks a smiling feature. 

The many thonsand large plants required for this purpose were 

partly supplied by donations or interchanges. Clover and Lucerne are 

also established on the lagoons and even on the rises. 

To render, in our zone of evergreen vegetation, the Yarra valley no 

longer of a wintery, leafless aspect, the City Council very kindly allowed a 

strip of ground all along the northern banks to be ploughed for the recep- 

tion of seeds of such quick-growing evergreen trees (chiefly Euralypts, 

Acacias, Exocarpus, and Casuarinas) as will resist those occasional 

inundations to which we are still likely to be exposed, unless many 

more of the ledges of rocks across the Yarra are blasted away, to de- 

crease still further the niveau of the river,—a measure which the still 

rapid fall during floods will admit of. 

To secure the lower part of the Garden against such calamities and 

destructions as were experienced during the last four floods, it will be 

necessary to raise the river bank still three to four feet higher, perhaps 

with the formation of a terrace, although the embankment has been 

heightened already all along the Garden to the extent of several feet. 

This security could, however, not be afforded on the expansive flat next 

to the City Bridge without serious impediment to the flood stream ; 

the swampy ground, now with the change of seasons wet and dry, will 

absolutely need deepening in several places, and raising (under forma- 

tion of islands and such like ornamentation) in other spots, inasmuch 

as localities on which the area of Ary land and of ponds is not pi'O- 

perly defined, are prone to originate,- by algic growth, malarian fevers. 

Consequently, on grounds of sanitary necessity alone, I feel bound to 

recommend this measiu'e. 

A spacious sluice was built, by Garden labour, last year, to admit 

of the sudden filling of the Garden lake whenever the river rapidly 

rises, in order that the demolition of the embankments of the lake may 

in future be obviated. 

VOL. VII. [jULY 1, 18C9.] p 

but

L8G REPOKT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 

The tall Indian Bamboo lias been acclimatized, and is, with other 

Bamhusacece and. the Nile Papyrus, chosen to fringe the lake. In a 

climate like onrs, which admits of the culture of so many tropical 

plants without glass protection, it is always an important object to 

group the greatest possible number of prominently remarkable plants 

from various parts of tiie globe suitably together. This, indeed, is one 

of the greatest charms in our horticulture. Throughout the Garden 

ground numerous new species have been added annually, predominance 

being given to such shrubs and perennial plants as entail the least 

attention for maintenance. Were it otherwise, so extensive an area 

could not be maintained in sightliness, whilst here throughout the year 

the growth of weeds, annually more diversified, is to be coped with. 

And even now it is unavoidable to cover the central portions of all the 

shrubberies densely with perennial grasses, an operation which could 

not have been effected a few years ago, because the plants, then small, 

would have become suffocated. Plantations have also been formed at 

the stately girder-bridge, a structure which reflects high credit on the 

Department of Public Works. Whenever the lower part of Anderson 

Street is to be filled up, then the dyke now forming the approach to 

the bridge ought to be reduced. 

The whole area of the Garden and arboreta now laid out comprises 

nearly 400 acres, including the lake with its six islands. To the latter, 

a seventh requires to be added, on the north-western extremity. By 

the extensive excavations on the lagoon, the once inundated Eastern 

Ten-tree ground has now been completely reclaimed, and forms a minia- 

ture forest, readily accessible to picnic parties from the river. Turf 

soil is by these means also easily obtained for Nursery culture. The 

work connected with the excavations also enabled me to establish pas- 

sages across three of the bends of the lake, whereby the distance from 

point to point has beeni conveniently lessened. It allowed, also, widen- 

ing the causeway and securing good soil for the Garden. Utu'cstricted. 

access for carriages is given to all the rising ground in the reserve, 

from which such panoramic views may be enjoyed over the city, 

suburban landscapes, and bay ; and it is anticipated that, whilst from 

year to year the park trees will afford augmented shade and shelter, 

the locality indicated will become to residents of the city one of the 

easiest and most favourite resoits for recreative enjoyments. A proposi- 

tion, suggested in one of my former Tleports, that tlie paths along the


base of the ridges and along the Yarra banks might be widened into 

pleasure drives, could now be readily carried out, the Yarra flats, by 

recent arrangements, being no longer occupied as pasture ground. 

In special artistic ornamentation as yet little has been effected, the 

Director deeming it of pre-eminent importance to devote his early 

means to the raising of trees and utilitarian plants, such as will miti- 

gate the heat of our summer clime, and increase the salubrity of the 

city, or such as will play an important element hereafter in our rural 

economy, and originate new industries. This is the reason why no 

fountains exist, save one in the central island of the lake ; thus neither 

are statues erected. 

Works of art we can call forth at pleasure, while time lost in form- 

ing the plantations cannot be regained. Now, however, since the 

main planting operations have been eiFected, it is but too desirable 

that a few appropriate statues and monumental works should add to 

the embellishment of the very varied vegetation, and stand with it in 

bold or beautifying contrast. It is proposed to gather works of art, 

constructed of the most varied material ; the Carrara marble, all the 

cement compositions, the various blendings of ore, might all be brought 

together for illustration. For the play of fountains, the water pressure 

was hitherto quite insufficient, inasmuch as the Yan Yean works are 

only utilized when, at late night-hours, the pressure exceeds 40 lbs. to 

the square inch. Had not, providently, each of the many garden build- 

ings been supplied with a spacious cistern, it would have been impos- 

sible to save the plantations from destruction during the trials of the 

summer mouths, unless by costly means Yarra water had been forced 

to the culmination of the hill for extensive irrigation. A special vote, 

adequate for such waterworks, has never been at my disposal, nor could 

such independent water-supply have been maintained, unless annually 

a considerable outlay for fuel and attendance to an engine were in- 

curred, or, what appears still less desirable, a windmill—apt to inter- 

fere with the traffic, and never sightly— had been established on the 

summit of the ridge. Nevertheless, it might be highly instructive to 

show, by local experiment, how much Yarra water could be forced by 

steam-power to the summits of our rises, within certain expenditure of 

capital and labour, because the fertility of many extensive tracts of the 

country could be very much increased, and the clime vastly be 

ameliorated, if rivers like the Yarra, and still more so those of tlie 

p 2

188 llEPOUT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST, 

great Murray system, were not allowed to flow unutilized into the 

ocean. 

> 

Waterholes are sunk into tenacious clay soil on the higher-lying 

parts of the ridge, for securing the storage of Yan Yean water during 

rainy nights ; and from these reservoirs the water is led readily during 

the hottest weather, by gravitation, to the plantations on the slopes 

below. 

The abandoned quarries have been decorated with Agaves, Aloes, 

Mesembryanthema, some Pelargonia, and other rock-plants; while 

Brambles, Strawberries, and other wild fruit-plants, attractive to chil- 

dren, have been planted in the gullies. Goodenias, Eoses, and other 

shrubs line the river and lagoons. The Fern-tree gulley has been ex- 

tended, and to the various hardy arborescent Ferns, some perhaps a 

century old, huge square Todeas of great age, Staghorn Ferns, and 

very many other species, were added in masses. The kinds of hedges 

now shown in diflFerent parts of the ground are very various, but that 

of Pittosporum eugenioides, first adopted by myself, is most admired, 

and called forth an extensive trade in this plant. Four other New 

Zealand Pittospora, as well as our native P. undulatum, are among 

those chosen for hedges. The Chamomile edgings, as time absorbing 

as defertilizing, and apt to be trodden down, are being gradually abo- 

lished. Turkish Box, dwarf Roses, Veronica decussata, Rosemary, 

and most particularly Mesemhryanthemum tegens, are substituted. The 

latter plant can be obtained largely from the Yarra flat, never fails in 

the heat of summer, and grows so depressed as to need only lateral 

trimming. Although large improvements have taken place on all the 

lawns, they still require gradually to be turfed with Gynodon dactylon, 

a grass which is within a few weeks established, by casting its rhizomes, 

converted into small pieces, over the broken and levelled ground,— 

process extensively adopted by the director of the Sydney Botanical 

Garden ; it tends also niuch to subdue weeds. On the even surfaces 

of ground clothed with Cynodon, an ever-verdant fine turf can be main- 

tained by the ready apjiliance of lawn-cutters and rollers. Banded 

flower-masses might be interwoven; but as yet such works of luxury, 

for which, after the lapse of the season, no permanent return can be 

shown, have not been attempted hi this young establishment. There 

is, nevertheless, a gay display of flowers in the special garden-land 

through the greater part of the year ; indeed, the variety is far greater 

a

KEPORT OF THE YICTOKIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 189 

tlian a superficial observer will imagine, inasmuch as the area variedly 

studded with flowers is so extremely extensive. 

The incessant calls, however, to provide for 'public fetes, tea-meet- 

ings, and bazaars, decorative flowêrs, not rarely deprive the garden of 

a real shovv of ornament. The plants throughout the ground are very 

extensively labelled, about 3000 iron labels being employed. Labels, 

however, with fused, and thus unobliterable letters, are Iiere, as elsewhere, 

yet a great desideratum. In the large conservatory all plants are placed, 

for instruction's sake, along both sides of the stages, so as to represent 

those of the Western and of the Eastern hemisphere separately, the 

plants of the various families being again grouped together. In an in- 

expensive structure, far too modest to do justice to so grand a plant, 

the Eoyal Water-lily has flowered throughout two seasons, and re- 

peatedly has ripened seeds, available for transmission to the hotter 

parts of Australia. The high temperature of the Victoria House is 

inexpensively provided by its connection with one of the forcing-pits, 

while, in the humid heat, Vanilla and many other epiphytal Orchids of 

the jungles of the torrid zone find here the conditions necessary for 

their permanent existence. The standard collection of Vines and 

orchard trees has annually been added to. Fruit from these has been 

supplied to public charities. The experimental ground has also an- 

nually grown richer. To attempt to specify the treasures of the Garden, 

whether utilitarian or ornamental (many first introduced by the Director 

into Australia), is beyond the scope of these pages. The special cata- 

logue appended to this document will exhibit many which we possess, 

but not all, inasmuch as thousands of plants occur yet in too young a 

state to correct their eiToneous appellations. Mere varieties and garden 

hybrids, as a general rule, have been excluded from the catalogue. In 

a full account of the botanical establishment, submitted by order of the 

Government to His Eoyal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, I specially 

aUuded to some of the leading useful or remarkable plants. But an 

explanatory enumeration of all would enlarge to a volume, or might 

find space in a contemplated publication, which woidd serve as a 

garden guide. To add still further to this valuable collection, Mr. 

Heyne proceeded, at my request, early this year to Sydney, to select 

from the local conservatories. In this object he was very liberally sup- 

ported by Mr. C. Moore. The suppression of the two principal kinds 

of Mistletoe {Loranthus pendidus and L. celastroides) , which, on neg-

190 REPORT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 

lected gi-ouud, often manifest themselves by the widely visible dead 

ramifications of the trees, causes liere much loss of labour. The anni- 

hilation of the trophy guns throughout Britain suggests the propriety 

of removing those which occupied for some years a position in this 

Garden. The spot allotted to tliem might far more pleasingly be 

occupied by a small ornamental building, in which the native birds, 

which, permanently or migratively, are inmates of the Garden area (ap- 

proximately 14-0 species), could be illustrated by single museum speci- 

mens, to satisfy constant inquiry in reference to the scientific names of 

the species. The lake is often swarming with water-birds, the tame 

swans, pelicans, ducks, etc., acting as decoy birds. Thrushes teem in 

the shrul)beries. To the aviary, donations of pnri'ots, cockatoos, and 

other showy native birds, not formerly kept, would add much interest. 

The formation of an outdoor fresh-water tank, for the culture of liardy 

aquatics, which in the lake generally succumb under the prey of water- 

birds, is highly recommendable. The introduction and multiplication 

of important plants, of industrial or medicinal value, has received care- 

ful attention. Thus about 10,000 young Peru bark plants have been 

raised, comprising mainly Cinchona succirubrn, C. Calinaya, and C. 

officinalis, the latter, the most hardy oF all, predominating. 

These plants have withstood the niglit frosts, which we experience 

near Melbourne, when merely placed in brush sliades. On one occa- 

sion the thermometer in these shades sank to 28° F., while in the open 

ground it stond at 2-1° F. near the surface ; still the plants suffered 

no further than getting some of the leaves and youngest branches in- 

jured, but soon formed new leaf-buds. These frosts affect, moreover, 

also sonui of the plants which inhabit the mild sheltered glens of our 

ranges, and I am therefore justified in anticipating that, in many of 

the warmer forest regions of Victoria, the Oinc/ionce could be grown to 

advantage, these plants x|)eing consociated with Fern-trees in their 

native haunts in the middle regions of the Andes. Coffee plants 

scarcely suffered in the brush shades, in which the temperature may be 

regarded almost analogous to that of our Fern-tree gullies. It would 

be very important to ascertain, by actual test in the ranges, whether 

the Coffee and ClnchotKe would yield prolifically. In such localities, 

under any circumstances, the Tea-shrnb would so luxuriate as to pro- 

duce an abundant crop of leaves, since even in diy localities of the 

Botanic Garden, and in its poor soil, the Tea-bushes have grown quite

REPORT or THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 191 

wel]. Cork-Oaks, of whicli, as of Tea, several thousand plants are 

reared, would also produce far naore rapidly their useful bark in the 

ranges than near the* city; there the American Hickories and Walnuts, 

of which a copious supply of seedlings exist, would grow much faster. 

These, with the Ked Cedar, West Australian Mahogany, Sumach, 

Scotino, Dates, Carob-trees, Yalonia, and Dye-Oaks, Mastix-trees, 

Arrowroot, and perhaps also Tapioca, Tamarinds, and very many other 

prominently utilitarian plants, would thrive best in the rich humid soil 

of our mountains, and might occupy localities not readily eligible for 

cereals. 

Observations in reference to the effect of night-frosts on the prin- 

cipal plants, as well as records concerning the flowering-time of various 

species, are registered in the office. Notes are also accumulating re- 

specting the adaptability of the dry desert tracts, and again of the 

alpine highlands, to certain cultures. By a Parliam.entary return sub- 

mitted last year, it was shown that from 1859 till July 8, 1867, not 

less than 355,218 plants Avere distributed to the public reserves, 

cemeteries, church and school grounds of Victoria. During 1868, 

again, 49,475 plants were rendered available for this purpose. These 

distributions comprised very many of the rarest Pines and other select 

plants, often not otherwise available, many requiring two years' atten- 

tion in the nurseries here, thus involving the necessity of maintaining, 

during some years, approximately, 40,000 plants alone under pot cul- 

ture. Bearing in mind the increasing extent of trading establishments, 

exceedingly well conducted, it is wortiiy of the consideration of the 

Government whether these distributions from a public establishment 

should not be materially decreased, or abolished altogether. Numerous 

plantations, by the impetus given, are now established on public 

grounds throughout the colony, from whence, moreover, seeds and 

cuttings might be locally obtained. Eminently useful plants of many 

kinds have, for local experiments, been widely scattered over the 

country. The Treasury Beserve received last year 245 to some extent 

already iipgTown coniferous trees. 

Turning to the special phytographic department, it may be observed 

that the ]\Iuseum now contains about 350,000 prepared and arranged 

plants ; the Australian portion being richer than that of any kindred 

institution in existence. 

The sixth volume of the ' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae,' a

192 REPORT OF THE VICTORIAN, GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 

work devoted to original discoveries, and written in a language common 

to science of all nations,. is almost completed. The fourth volume 

of tlie universal work on the plants of Ausfralia is, through my 

aid, under the rare advantages attainable in the great national institu- 

tion of Kew, just completed by the President of the Linnean Society, 

and comprises the Orders of CoroUiflora. Extensive preliminary re- 

searches have been carried on already for the fifth, sixth, and seventh 

volumes ; to which, finally, a supplement is to be added. To promote, 

by further field researches, the objects of this large work, on which all 

subsequent medical, technological, and rural observations in reference 

to the native Australian vegetation must rest, I visited, during the 

past s})ring, one of the most important tracts of West Australia. 

Finally, also, the great task yet remains to be performed of tracing out 

more completely the relation of geology to the distribution of the plants 

existing as well as passed away,— a line of researches for which excel- 

lent geographical and geological maps are annually affording more fa- 

cilities. Mr. Dallachy continues sedulously to collect, both for the 

Garden and the Phytographic J\Iuseum, in the north-east part of 

Queensland. 

The following are the genera which, since the issue of my last Ee- 

port, by local independent researches, have been added to the system 

of Australian plants : 

— 

Dillenin, Cak'de, Aldrovanda, Gompliandra, 

Connarus, Slromjylodon, Salacia, Caryospei'immi, Casearia, Cticurbita, 

(Enunthe, Autlrrhwa, Laislanthus, Ophiorrhiza, GeopJdla, Aniseia, Ery- 

cibe, Icluiocarpus, Ceropegia, Bassia, ChrysopJiylluin, Thunbergia, Grap- 

tophylluHi, Dlschisvia, Cylicodaphne, Chinamouimn , Plecospernium, Taxo- 

iropliu, Hyrtarinndra, Nepentlws, Apostasia, Clrropdalum, Pogorda, 

Spaihoglottis, DraccBtia, Bambum, Centotheca, Angiopteris, Marnttia, 

Beparia, hoetes ; and the following genera new to phytography : 

FUzgeraldia, Pagelia, Bavidsonia, Thesjnd'mm, Eleutheranlhes, Thozetia, 

Curnaivonia, Barlingia, Helmholtzia, Coryiwtheca ; by which means re- 

presentatives of Comiarece, Saviydeoi, Sdaginece, NepentliecE, and Apoda- 

siacea arc added to the Australian flora. The following are additions to 

the list of Australian trees published in the volume of the Intercolonial 

Exhibition : 

— 

Melodoricni Maccraei, Pittosporum rubiginosum, P. venu- 

les urn, Eriostemon squameus, Sterculia lauri/oUa, Sloanea WooUsii, S. 

Macbridei, Gomphandra Australlana, Leucocarpon celadroides, Taxitro- 

phis rectinervis, Flcus Benjamiuea, Croton triacros, Beyera vlscosrt, 

—


Mallotus polyadeuos, M. Ballachyi, M. repandus, M. Chinensis, M. 

pycHOstachys, Macaranga involucrata, Oxylobium CaUistachys, Pitheco- 

lobium StUherlandi, Archidendron Lucyi, Quhitiuia Fmckneri, Cidtsia 

viburnea, Hakea macrocaipa, Garnarvonia aralifolia, Dryandra fiori- 

bunda, Myrsine uchradifoUa, Bassia galaclodendron, Chrysophyllum pru- 

niferum, C. myrsinodendron, Ahtonia verticillosa, A. villusa, A. excelsa, 

Cerbera Odollam, Casiiarina Fraseriana. 

In the event of its proving inadvisable to devote the New Exhibi- 

tion building to the intended collections of a general industrial museum, 

it might be advisable to enlarge the Phytological Museum building in 

the Garden, in order that a full display of vegetable objects of indus- 

trial interest may be formed. The absolute want both of space and 

accommodation frustrated every attempt to render my establishment 

also useful in this direction. 

During the Intercolonial Eshibitioa an apt opportunity arose to re- 

present more fully the technological value of many native vegetable 

products, and for this purpose, from the ordinary resources of the 

establishment a laboratorv was constructed. I need not detail the 

experiments conducted in reference to the value and percentage of 

many kinds of paper material, essential oils, dye stuffs, wood vinegar, 

tar, wood spirits, and tannic acid, from native plants, especially trees 

on all of which ample information was offered in the documents con- 

cerning the Exhibition. These phyto-chemical observations have since 

been continued as far as circumstances permitted. 

Appended to this Report are the tables of very extensive series of 

analyses, conducted in detail by Mr. Chr. Hoffmann, in reference to the 

yield of potash in our more gregarious native trees. They show that 

the manufactiu'e of this alkali can be pursued here more profitably than 

in those countries in which the supply of original timber is far lesS ex- 

tensive than in Victoria. The examination into the yield of iodine 

and bromine in our seaweeds is commenced ; likewise, the yield of 

soda in one of the principal littoral plants is recorded. I have entered 

also on a series of toxicological researches, by which it is hoped the 

nature of those poison plants so injurious to stock will be fully eluci- 

dated. 

A supplementary catalogue of the library is also given; many of 

these works, however, had to be provided by the Director's private 

means. 

;


It yet remains for me to record my sense of obligation to the very nu- 

merous donors, wlio enriched the various branches of the establishment 

during a more recent period. A glance at the list of these supporters 

will also be the most convincing proof of the wide external communi- 

cations of the department, while a reference to the plan annexed will 

at once largely explain the extent of the internal operations, which are 

singularly multifarious. It would be unjust wei'e I not specially to al- 

lude to the graceful concession continued by the Peninsular and Oriental 

Steam Navigation Company, the owners of the ' Great Britain,' and 

many other mercantile and seafaring gentlemen, to convey, freight free, 

the consignments of this establishment,' or were I to pass over silently 

the kind aid rendered by his Excellency Sir Henry Barkly, in effecting 

from Mauritius the final transits to Bourbon and various parts of South 

Africa. The foreign communications involve the necessity of corre- 

spondence in several languages, the number of all letters issued being 

about 3000 a year. The permanent property in buildings, iron fences, 

drains, boulders, waterworks, collections, library, and lasting improve- 

ments, irrespective of the plants distributed, and irrespective of the 

value of the local plantations, fell not short of £27,000, according to 

an estimate made two years ago by professional gentlemen not con- 

nected with the department. This lasting property has increased, by 

additions since, considerably in value. In this estimate, however, the 

value of the iron bridge is not included. While aiming, as far as is in 

his powei', at the utmost economy, the Director hopes that those means 

which Parliament may also in future be pleased to entrust to him will 

proportionately enhance the lasting value of the establishment, and 

always bear, in scientific information afforded, and in practical services 

rendered, an ample return. 

• 

I am, etc., 

Ferd. Von Mueller, M.D., F.ll.S. 

Supplementary Eeport. 

In accordance with your instructions, I have the honour of submit- 

tin- a brief Report on the work carried on in the Botanic Garden, and 

the scientific establishments connected therewith, during the last six 

months. This document may be considered as supplementary to the 

last general Report, and will also briefly explain what additional work 

seems recommendable during the year 1869.


In the horticultural division of the establishment, the shelter accom- 

modation for tender or young plants has been extended so much, that 

now the whole space under cover, either by glass or calico or brusli 

shades, exceeds half an acre. Many rare plants, often new to Australian 

cultivation, flowered or bore fruit for the first time. To show how 

the riches of the establishment are thus yearly increasing and may ex- 

tensively be diffused, I may instance that the first Flame-tree, in pro- 

ducing frnit last year, gave the means of raising nearly one thousand 

seedlings. The Grevillea avenues commenced flowei'ing this season, 

and it may be imagined what' a brilliant effect the long lines of this 

tree will produce in years to come. 

The conservatories bave been rendered lately still more gay by new 

access to the silvery and banded Assam Begonias, the variedly spotted 

Caladiums of Central America, and various Gesneriaceous and many 

other gorgeous plants ; while arrangements are made to add to the 

collection Dionsea, the Sarracenias of North America, Biophytum, and 

other plants, remarkable for spontaneous movement or extraordinary 

structure. The Great Central American Water-lily . bearing the name 

of her Majesty is now flowering through the third year ; but the nar- 

row, inexpensive house, allotted as well to this noble plant and other 

tropical aquatics as to the equiuoctial Orchldece, stands much in need 

of extension. To the plants in the general garden ground additions 

have steadily been made, so mucli so, that now a fair rearrangement 

can be efi'ected in many places, to represent on separate plots the cha- 

racteristic vegetation of the great divisions of the globe in a very in- 

structive manner. During the extraordinary dryness of this summer 

miles of edgings became quite parched, and will require renewal in the 

autumn, for which purpose the less perishable Mesembryanthemum will 

be chosen. Porcelain labels, with unobliterable letters, have been 

ordered as a commencement of naming the plants in a more lasting 

and sightlv manner. His Royal Highness Prince Alfred, during: his 

stay last year, condescended to plant on one of the lawns, in remem- 

brance of his visit, the Patagonian Saxono-Gothaa conspicua and the 

Califoruiau P'ums Alberti, trees Avhich commemorate the name of his 

illustrious and lamented parent. 

A great boon has been conferred on the Garden by the Government, 

in sanctioning the establishment of steam-works for forcing Yarra water 

to the highest rise, 110 feet, whence some irrigation is now eft'ected


over the greater part of tlie Garden area and the adjoining reserves. 

If even during ordinary summers the duty of providing for the safety 

of the extensive plantations proved a source of very great anxiety, and 

of extreme toil, both day and night, then this duty became still more 

onerous during the horrors of an almost rainless summer, when, during 

successive hot winds, the up-growing tree-vegetation, as well as the 

tender garden plants, had to be protected over nearly 400 acres of 

ground against the imminent danger of destruction, and this with an 

inadequate water supply. Happily this difficulty, in a great measure, 

has now been overcome. 

The expenditure for the raised Yarra water exceeds slightly 4c/. per 

1000 gallons. 

New South Wales house coal, screened, per ton of 2240 lbs., as 

under contract for 18G9, £1. 6s. 

The capacity of the small temporary tank to receive the water at the 

summit of the ridge is, however, only 1700 gallons, and until provision 

shall have been made for a spacious and raised tank, as intended, one 

great difficulty will continue, namely, that although a large supply of 

water is avaihible, it can, under faint pressure, only in very limited 

quantity find its way through the ramifications of the former Yan Yean 

pipes to distant higher parts of the Garden and reserves. 

The eight mostly spacious cisterns for t4ie reception of rain-water 

from the roofs of the Garden buildings, and the four iron tanks, will 

be kept filled, to provide against any emergency in the event of break- 

age at the engine. I may still remark that, although during the cooler 

months steam-power will not require to be used every day, neverthe- 

less, any savings then effected in the outlay will need to be expended 

again during the hottest weather, when fourteen hours' daily work of 

the engine will be needed. 

The Geyser fountain in the lake (which for two afternoon hours in 

cool weather, and then on Sundays only, was worked with Yan Yean 

pressure) has ceased to play. Until the steam-engine was provided the 

Garden enjoyed Yan Yean supply during two night hours (from 3-5 

A.M.), provided in cool weather the pressure admitted of obtaining any 

supply -at all; but this boon has now entirely ceased. The whole of 

the former Yan Yean pipes, provided at the expense of the Garden, have 

become available again for the conveyance of the Yarra water. 

The large reserve between the St. Kilda Eoad and the Yarra is con-

• REPORT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 197 

verted, within the last five years, from a treeless waste into an incipient 

forest. From year to year additional kinds of trees become inter- 

spersed ; thus shade and shelter as well against the north-western 

desert winds, as also against the south-west antarctic storms, will be 

more and more obtained. Few even of our metropolitans seem aware 

that the verdant valleys which, within five minutes' drive from the 

City Bridge, slope gently to the Yarra, afford already charming picnic 

grounds, on which, free from the dangerous vicinity of the reptiles of 

our ranges, field amusements can be enjoyed simultaneously with views 

of rare beauty. Access of carriages to the whole of this rising ground 

and its gullies is permitted, under the anticipation that all ordinary 

caution will be exercised to prevent injuiy to the young trees. By the 

gradually denser growth, of Grass, Lucerne, and Clover plants, the so- 

called Cape-weed {Ci'yptostemma calendulaceum) has become largely 

suppressed ; but inasmuch as the Director of the grounds has repeat- 

edly been accused of having brought this and other weeds, as well as 

some winged invaders, into our colony, it may be right to place it here 

on record, that the whole of these assertions is contrary to facts, and 

that already, in 1833, Baron Yon Pluegel noticed and recorded the 

Cryptostemma as an inexterminable weed of Australia. A gardener's 

cottage has occupied, for some months, the last of the empty old quarries, 

until then a favourite retraet of vagrants. 

For more than a mile's length, basalt boulders have recently been 

brought from Jolimont, by permission of the City Council, to line the 

intended footpaths on both sides of the main drive. The drive itself, 

to the width of twenty feet, requires to be macadamized, for which pur- 

pose the boulders may be utilized, whenever more elegant linings can 

be substituted for them. 

By the friendly aid of the military authorities lately, walks have been 

laid out on and near the Tarra bank, towards the City Bridge. During 

the coming autumn it is intended to define these walks with many 

hundreds of rose-bushes. The fences along the St. Kilda Road, Domain 

Eoad, and Anderson Street, up to the point at which the iron fencings 

commence, have sunk almost into destruction. Several thousand young 

Willows, planted along both sides of the Yarra bank during the last 

cool season, have weathered fairly through this summer of drought, 

laboiu' for watering those on the north bank having been granted by 

the Corporation.


An important work will devolve on the department in further exca- 

vations on the lake, if the needful extra aid can be rendered. The 

water has entirely evaporated through the aridity of the season, and no 

sutficient rise of the river has taken place to refill the lake. The ad- 

vantages of deepening this basin would be manifold. Its niveau and 

that of the river would become permanently equal, and a constant 

communication between both would become possible ; material would 

be gained to heighten the flood-dam so far as to obviate future inun- 

dations of the Garden ; the brackish water of the lake would become 

fresli and available for garden purposes ; further storage of soil for the 

improvement of the meagre Garden slopes would become possible 

watei'fowl might permanently be maintained on the lake ; and finally 

the aspect of the whole landscape would be greatly beautified. 

Sii- William Macarthur's method of wrapping hard seeds in mois- 

tened cloth to speed their germination has been adopted to advantage. 

A variety of Bamboos and different Sugar-canes were secured, in- 

cluding the hardy Chinese cane ; forty-eight kinds of Vines were 

added on behalf of the Acclimatization Society to the already large 

collection, which includes the white and black American Scuppernong, 

the Sultana raisin grape, the French Cognac grape, Follet Blanche, 

and many other famed kinds, new or rare in Australia. The true 

Oriental Dye Saffron, Colchicum, the oil-yielding Sesamura, the Tussac- 

grass of tlie Falkland Islands, the Caper (quite an ornamental plant), 

the wide-spreading avenue Acacia of West Australia {Acacia fsaligua), 

Ficus Sycamoriis (the best of all avenue trees of the Orient), the Clove, 

Rhamnus utilis (yielding the green satin dye of China), the Sapodilla, 

the Avocado Pear, the Indian Teak, Cassava, Squill, Turmeric, the 

medicinal Bhel fruit, the Tree Cotton, Mangosteen, edible Yanguiera, 

Aya-pana, Gelsemium, and many other important plants, are more re- 

cent acquisitions to the Garujn. Although it may as yet be impos- 

sihle to cultivate remunei'atively the Saffron and many other of the 

plants indicated, it remains evidently still the aim of a public institu- 

tion to establish such plants tiniely in the country. 

Turning to the nursery department, I can report favourable progress, 

notvvitlvstanding the precarious supply of water during the great heat. 

For the first time in Austi'alia masses were raised of plants of Assam 

Tea (the seed kindly supplied, at the Director's request, by W. H. 

Birchall, Esq.) ; so also large numbers of the White-heart Hickory or 

;

BErOKT OF THE VICTOKIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST. 199 

]\Iocker-nut {Carya tomentosa), of the delicious Pecan-nut {Carya oli- 

vifurmis), the Butter-nut {Jiujlans cinereci), the Black Walnut (/. nigra), 

the Himalayan Oak {Qnercun incand), the Chestnut Oak (Q. Castanea), 

the American Swamp Oak (Q. Prhios), the Bur Oak (Q. macrocarpa) 

the White Oak (Q. alba, a most valuable timber tree), the Jersey Pine 

{Plnus inops), the American Pitch Pir (P. rigida), the Douglass Pine, 

the noble Himalayan P. longifoUa, the Chinese Pir, the Balm of Gilead 

Pir (P. balsamea), the double Canada Balsam Pir (P. Fraseri), the 

West India Pencil Cedar (Juniperus Bernmdiand), and the American 

Cherry Birch {Betula lento). 

Many other highly valuable trees have been lately introduced, but 

not really in masses. Secured were, however, large supplies of the 

seeds of Finns Qerardiana (the Tibet Ree or Shnngtee), which fui'- 

nishes sweet edible nuts for Indian and Persian bazaars ; and grains 

also were obtained in quantity of Juniperus rdigiosa (the Himalayan 

Pencil Cedar). Many good-sized plants of the latter have been several 

years on our lawns. Nearly all the tree seeds from the United States, 

were obtained through the generous aid of Professor Asa Gray, of 

Boston, 

Perhaps the most remarkable of all plants lately brought under cul- 

tivation is the deadly 'poisonous Physostigma veneuosum, the Calabar 

Ordeal Bean, a plant of the utmost importance in ophthalmic diseases. 

The large hard bean was buried fully four years in soil before it ger- 

minated. 

As deccnnia roll on, many of the trees, which under great efforts are 

now introduced, will undoubtedly bear prominence in our forest culture, 

—a great subject, which more and more presses on legislative attention, 

since already so much of the native timber in all the lowlands has been 

consigned to destruction. If, in densely-populated countries like 

Belgium, one-fifth of the whole of its territory is scrupulously kept 

under forest culture, it ought to be a final aim, in a far hotter clime, to 

maintain a still greater proportion of its area covered by wôods, if the 

comforts and multifarious wants of a dense population are to be timely 

provided for. It is especially in the western and northern parts of 

Victoria where exertions in this direction have to be made ; it is there 

where extensive shelter and retention of humidity is needed, and there 

also where artesian borings on spots, indicative as eligible, would vastly 

promote tlie raising of forests. 

,

200 REPORT OF THE VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT BOTANIST, 

By your kind concession, Sir, I was enabled to spend in tlie begin- 

ning of this year one week in, Tasmania, witli a view of adding, by 

field observations and new collections, to the material of my works. 

This journey (my first to the island) was to me replete with iaterest. 

For although I had aided in the elucidation of the Tasmanian vegeta- 

tion for more than twenty years from museum -plants, I had no oppor- 

tunity until this year to observe the many higldand plants, absolutely 

peculiar to the island, in their wild native grace. Moreover, I suc- 

ceeded, within the brief time of my visit, in ascending Mount Field 

East, about 5000 feet high, lying about halfway between Hobarton and 

Macqiiarrie Harbour ; and as this mountain range and the shores of 

Lake Fenton had not been subjected to any previous phytological in- 

vestigation, it fell to my share to obtain copious novel information on 

the distribution of the alpine plants of Tasmania. To contrast the 

consociations of these and theii' geological relations with those of the 

Australian Alps proved in a high degree instructive. 

The Museum collections become more and more important, and 

their value as a lastina; source of authentic information for centuries to 

come can never be over-estimated. It remains, however, a source of 

regret that no more amateur collectors • in far inland localities send 

spontaneously plants, simply pressed and dried ;' by which means much 

would be learnt additionally on the range of different species over the 

continent, and their variation in form. The facilities for obtaining re- 

liable information on any plants, always cheerfully given, might in the 

future also not be equally great, nor the opportunities of literary record 

always remain the same. If to the several hundred thousand plants in 

the Museum still a collection couUl be added, rich in authentic speci- 

mens, described in works during the earlier parts of this century, we 

would then possess one of the grandest institutions for phytographic 

research anywhere in existence. 

The want of an appropriate hall, witli proper fittings, has prevented 

special teaching by lectures in the Garden. But, as an illustrious 

Professor of Natural Sciences also teaches phytology at the University, 

it might be desirable to restrict any future occasional demonstrative 

lectures in this place to those industrial phytological subjects, through 

which science enters into the occupations of daily practical life, occupa- 

tions of which many in this young country have still to be called forth. 

It might be desirable, also, with a view of diffusing a vivid knowledge


on the native vegetation, to arrange for occasional Saturday afternoon 

excursions of students and amateurs to botanically-interestiug spots in 

the vicinity of the city. 

Whatever may be the decision in reference to the organization of 

the general Industrial Museum in the city, there should certainly be 

spacious room in the Garden available as a store for objects of leading 

plants of different parts of the globe. Such vegetable objects, like 

those in Sir William Hooker's great institution of Kesv, could not be 

more advantageously studied than in connection with the living plants 

of the Garden or conservatories. 

The timber, fibres, resins, gums, dyes, paper materials, drugs, oils, 

alkalies, and many chemical educts from plants of Australia could be 

contrasted with sinnlar products of other countries ; the processes of 

manufacture and tlieir technological and commercial value be demon- 

strated ; while subjects relatiug to culture of any kind could be eluci- 

dated, diseases of plants by objects and drawings illustrated, and many 

other kindred inquiries drawn into vitality of practical application. 

Thus I may instance that it seems not generally knoAvn how our common 

EucaJyplns leaves, under Ramel's process, can be converted into 

cigars, or how the same leaves serve as a remedy in intermittent fever. 

I herewith beg to submit the fourth volume of the work on all Aus- 

tralian plants, elaborated, under my aid, by the President of the Lin- 

nean Society. This volume brings the number of species already de- 

scribed to nearly 5000. For the fifth volume, which is to embrace 

mainly the MomclilamyclarB, the whole material in our IMuseum has 

been preliminarily prepared. Hitherto, precisely fifty large cases of 

museum plants, in 92.3 large fascicles, with notes, have been transmitted 

on loan to Kew for the elaboration of this work, the collections here 

accumidated, or furnished originally from hence, being more extensive 

than the united former Herbaria of Australian plants in Britain. 

We may reflect, not without pride, on the fact, that a similar de- 

scriptive work exists not even yet for the vegetation of Europe, and 

we may also remember that, without a work of this kind, the confused 

vernacular appellations, and any medicinal, technological, cultural, or 

other observations on the native plants, could not be reduced to a solid 

scientific basis. R. Brown's celebrated ' Prodromus,' issued in ISIO, 

comprised only about one-third of the Australian plants then know n, 

and even the Orders elaborated in his volume have been augmented by 

VOL. VII. [jULY 1, 1869.] Q

202 REVISION OF THE GENUS SANGUISORBA. 

more recent researches almost threefold. Of the 'Fragmenta Phy- 

tographife Australiae,' the sixth volume has also been completed last 

year, and the seventh is commenced. Within tlie few next years I 

trust it will be in my power, if Providence grants me life and strength, 

to issue, on the plants of each of the Australian colonies, a special 

volume, for which much preliminary work has been done. 

The library became also lately further enlarged, but mainly on tlie 

Director's private means. Personal travelling expenses since 1852, 

and all outlay for scientific and local journals, British and foi'eigu 

agencies, means of conveyance for attending at the city, office light, 

and many other official expenses, as well as the courtesies v/hich are 

demanded from a pul)lic department frequented by very numerous 

visitors, have also ever solely and readily been defrayed from the ad- 

ministrator's own resources, who, not for any selfish purposes whatever, 

ventures to place these facts, after tlie lapse of many years, on record, 

but simply in justice to himself, because the obligations devolving on 

bim in maintaining the efficiency and dignity of the department seem 

not at all understood. 

When now long past the zenith of ordinary life, he can with fairness 

assert, that thirty of his best years have been absorbed almost entirely 

in phytologic and cognate pursuits ; that almost seventeen years have 

been devoted cheerfully and exclusively to the main foundation and on 

struggling services of his department, and this, he may add, with the 

sole aim of endeavouring to effect some lasting good to the great 

country which, since twenty-two years, he adopted as his permanent 

home. 

Ferdinand von Mueller. 

REVISION OF THE GENUS SANGUISORBA. 

By Professoh Alexander Braun and C. Bouche, Esq. 

{From Index Sem. Sort. Bot. Berol. 1868.) 

SANGUISORBA, TabemEcm. ; J. Bauh. (1651); Scopoli (1760); 

Wiggea-s (1780); Spenner et Schimpcr (1829); Moretti (1883); 

Cesati (1841). Pmpinella, C. Baidi. (1023); Tournef. (1719) 

Haller (1742) ; Ga^rtncr (1788). Pokriimi, Benth. ct Hooker, Gen. 

PI. (1805). 

;

REVISION OF THE GENUS SANGDISORBA. 203 

Subgen. I. Sanguisorba, L.—Flores omnes herraaphroditi (rarius 

polygarai, supremis mere femineis), aut omnes tetrandri, aiit omnes 

dodecandri, plerumque monogyni. Stigma muricato-papillosum. Calycis 

tubus fructifer siccus, quadrangularis vel quadrialatus, Isevis. Vege- 

tatio iu omnibus lateralis, surculis floriferis e folioriim radicalium axillis 

prodeiintibus. 

Sect. 1. ErsANGTJisOEBA, De Cesati, Iconogr. PI. It. ii.—Stamina 4, carpidium 

1, calyx fructiferus quadrangularis vel anguste quadrialatus. 

A. Florescentia adscendens {centripeta). 

1. ;S'. Canadensis, L., cum varietate SitcJierisi (JaUfolia), et (?) S. 

media, L. 

2. S. alpina, Bunge. 

B. Florescentia descendens (centrifuga). 

3. S. officinalis, L. (cajus varietates esse videutur : S. moniana 

et serolina, Jordan, nee non S. auriculata, Scop., cui flores polygami 

adscribuntur). 

4. S. tennifolia, Fiscli., cum formis affinibus non satis extricatis 

8. caniea, Fiseh. ; S. rubra, Schrauk; S. aitgustifolia, Fisch. ; S. longi- 

folia, Bertol. 

5. S. polygama, Nyland. (Au a S. officinali satis distincta?) 

Sect. 2. PTEEACHENinr, De Cesati, 1. c.—Stamina 6-15 (saepissime 10-12) 

carpidia 1-2 ; calycis tubus latissime alatiis ; florescentia e regione media 

adscendens simul et descendens. 

6. S. dodecandra, Moretti. 

Subgeu. II. PoTERiDiUM, SpacJi.—Flores omnes hermapliroditi, 

diandri vel tetrandri, monogyni. Stigma breviter penicillatum. Calycis 

tubus fructifer induratus, quadrialatus, reticulatim et transverse ru- 

ffosus. Yesetatio terniinalis. Florescentia adscendens. 

7. S. myriopliylla (Rchb. Herb.), A. Br. et Bouche. 

'' Foterimn myriophyllum. Gay, 309," Select. Sera. Hort. Acad. 

Dresdensis, 1846. ("Gay" errore typographico pro Geyer.) " Po- 

teriiim myriophyllum, Reictienb. (N. Am. Geyer) Hort. Dresd. 1846 ; 

Eeichenb. pater in herb, tilii. Poterium annum, iNutt. msp. in Hooker, 

Flor. Bor.-Amer. i. (1140), p. 198. Sanguisorba annua, Nutt. msp. 

in Torr. et Gray, Flor. of Xorth Am. i. 429 ; Hooker, London Journ. 

of Bot. vi. (1S47) 219 : Torrey in Marcy, Exploration of the lied 

Q 2 

: ;

204 REVISION OF THE GENUS SANGUISOUBA. 

Eiver of Louisiana, 1853, p. 280, t. v. Paterldluiu armuum, Spach in 

Ann. Sc. Nal. 3 ser. torn. v. p» 43. Sangiiisorba occidenialis, Nutt. 

msp. sec. Torr. et Gr. 

Herba secundo anno floreus, gemmis in axillis folioruiu radicalium 

ortis perennaiis, vegetatione teruiinali i. e. axi priioaria in surculum 

floriferum excrescente. Surculus e basi rosulam foliorum radicalium 

gerente progrediens erectus, multifolius, ramosus, ramis axi primaria 

brevioribus. Folia glabra (in planta juvenili ad vachin parcissime 

pilosa), pallide viridia, subglaucesoentia, setate pallide rufesceutia vel 

luteo-fusccscentia, radicalia et caulina imparipinnata, 5-7-juga, foliolis 

pectinato-pinnatipartitis (iu planta juvenili piunatilidis), segmentis 

utriiique 3-7 (posterioribus auteriora numero superautibiis) linearibus 

acutiusculus. Stipulse adnatae, in foliis radicalibus vaginam elongatam 

integrani, utrinque dente inconspicuo tenninalaiu, iu foliis cauliuis 

brevem bilobam, lobis rccurvato-patulis margine superiore (more folio- 

lorum) pectinato-partitis, formantes. Spicee deusiflorse (in surculo 

primario et ramis uiajoribus) oblonga3, cyliudriccB vel (in ramis et ra- 

mulis minoribus) capituliformes, globose. Floresceutia adsceudeus, 

floribus infimis nonnunquam tardivis. Flores omnes hermapbroditi, 

albo-viresceutes. Bracteie flore pauUo breviores, occultae, latissime 

ovatse, obtusaj, coiicava? et subcariuatae, basi utrinque paullulum ac- 

currentes, bracteolus el tubum calycis amplectentes, scariosae, albo- 

liyalinae, uuinerves. Bracteola; (propliylla) bracteis similes, minores, 

basi nervo brevissimo mox evanescente instructse. Calycis lobi late 

oblongi, late albo-marginati, medio virides, obtuse apiculati, apiculo 

rufescente, post anthesin retlexi. Stamina constanter 2 !, lobis caly- 

cinis interioribus (lateralibus) opposita, exscita. Filamenta filiformia ; 

autherse breves, hiteo-alba?,subfuscescentes. Carpidium unicum,stigniate 

breviter penicillato albo. Tubus calycis fructifer coriaceo-iuduratus, 

sublignosus, ovatus, utrinque attenuatus, alato-quadrangularis, alls 

crassiusculis acutis, faciebus medio reticndatim, margine transverse ru- 

gosis, rugis alas inlranlibns. (Dispositio foliorum f, iu spicis -i|.) 

Species valde siugularis, primum in horto Dresdensi culta, orla e 

seminibus plantic a cl. Geyer in Oregon lecta?, cujus locus natalis a col- 

lectoris- his verbis indicatur : " Loamy, stony, sunny watercourses, 

Spokan liighlands, with Hosac/cia Purshiana. The seedling plants have 

tawny-coloured leaves in the winter." (No. 467.) 

Saiif/idsorba annua, Nutt., quam dubiis quidem vcxatus, tandem sine

REVISION OF THE GENUS SANGUISOEBA. 205 

hsesitatione cum planta supra descripta conjungimus, secundum descrip- 

tionem cl. Torrey et Gray plurimis notis optime cougruit, binis autem, 

duratione annua et starairium nuraero quateruario discedit. Quod quidem 

ad durationem attinet, error facilis et discrepantia nuUius mo- 

menti ; numerus autein staminum a cl. Torrey et Gray iudicatus errore 

adscribi non potest ; confinnatur enim icone Torreyana siipra laudata 

et cl. SpacJui testimonio. Quam ob rem numerum staminum, in plauta 

culta quidem constanter binarium, secundum loci natalis diversitatem 

mutabileui esse crediderim. Etenira habitatio -S*. anniKe ab auctoribus 

indicatur duplex, hinc ad flumen Bed River in Arkansas et Louisiana, 

illinc in Oregon. Stirps orientalis et occidentalis, ([uamvis simillimre, 

taraen non omnino convenire videntur, quod ipsius Nuttallii sententia 

erat, qui secundum adnotationem cl. Torrey et Gray stirpem Oregonam 

propter caulem minus ramosum et foliolorum segmenta acutiora specie 

(list.inctam esse censuit et S. occidentalis nomine salutavit. Has dif- 

ferentias nuUius momenti esse auctoribus Florae Bor. Amer. concedi- 

mus, sed gravior in staminum nuniero adesse videtur, quae varietatis 

orientalis (tetrandrse) et occidentalis (diandrse) distinctionem perraittere 

videtur. 

S. myriophjlla floribus Sangnisorhre, stigmate et fiiictu Poterii, genera 

jam pridem, Scopolio duce, a pluribus auctoribus juncta novo vinculo 

connectit. Sangiiisorba genus, latiori sensu conceptuin, eximium praebet 

exemplum diversi in intlorescentiis ejusdem indolis evolutionis ordinis, 

florescentiae nunc a basi adscendentis (centripetae), nunc ab apice de- 

scendentis (centrifugae), nunc e regione media sensu opposite progre- 

dientis in spicis simplicibus ad eundem typum constructis. Disposi- 

tionem specierum tolius generis, fructificationis et vegetationis cliarac- 

teribus innixum, sequentem proposulraus. 

Subgen. III. Poterium, L., exclus. spec. nonnuU. ; Spach !. 

— ! 

Pim- 

pindla, Adanson. Rgtidopoterium, (sectio Poterii), Da Cand.— Flores 

polygami, superiores feminei, inferiores hermaphroditi, aut omnes poly- 

andri, aut superiores oligandri (s?epissime tetrandri). Carpidia 3; 

stigmata penicilliformia. Tubus calycis fructifer lignoso-induratus, 

tetragonus vel quadrialatus, vario modo rugosus aut verrucosus. 

Sect. 1. Ageimonioides, Spach.—Calyx angulis ijequalibus, loiigituclinaliter 

rugosus. Vegetatio herbacea, terminalis. Florescentia adscendens 

8. S. agrimonioides, L. (sub Poterio), De Cesati, I. c. 

— 

Pimpinella 

agrimonioides odorata, Tournef. Poterium agrimonicefolium, Cav.

2U6 REVISION OF THE GENUS SANGUISORBA. 

Sect. 2. PiMPiNELXOiDES, Spach.—Calyx angulis sequalibiis, transverse rugosiis, 

reticulatus, verrucosus, muricatus. Vegetatio herbacea terminalis. 

a. Florescentia adscendens ! 

9. /S. Duriai, Spach (sub Poterld). 

b. Florescentia descendens, 

a. Surciili multifolii, 'plerumque 'polycepliall, eapitulia^ lateralibus pedunculatis, 

10. S. minor (Tabeni., J. Baub.), Scop. Fl. Carn. (1760).— 6'. Po- 

terium, Wiggers (1780). S. pimpinella, Schimp. et Speiin. Flor. 

Frib. iii. (1839). Pimpinelia Sanguisoi'ba, Gaevtn. Poterium San- 

gnisorba, L. P. diclyocarpum et Tiiitricatimi, {platllophum et stenolo- 

pkurii), Spach. P. glaiiceHcens, Hchb. P. Guedphallcmn, Bonuigh. 

P. polyijamum, W, et Kit.—Species sequeiites 11-17, huic maxime 

affines, 

\\. S. Jauberti, Spach (sub Poterio). 

12. S. eriocarpa, Spach (s. P.).— Poter. Gargauicum, Ten. 

13. S. villosa, Sibth. et Sm. (s. P.). 

14. S. alveolosu, Spach (s. P.). 

15. >S^. Magnolii, Spach (s. P.). 

IG. S. verrucosa, Ehrenb., Spach (s. P.) 

17. S. Spachiana, Coss. (s. P.).— /8. Surculi multifolii, capilulis 

lateraUbas plurimis sessilibus. 

18. S. lateriflora, Coss. (s. P.).—y. Surculi paucifolii vel aph}'lli 

(scapiformes), moiiocephali. 

19. S. rnpicola, Boiss. et Eeut. (s. P.). 

20. S. midlicanHs, Boiss. et lleut. (s. P.). 

Sect. 3. San GTJisoEBOiDES, 'S';?ae/«.— Calyx angulis mnequalibus, 2 late niargi- 

natis, 2 alternis anguste marginatis, reticulatus. Vegetatio hei-bacea, termi- 

nalis ? Florescentia ? 

21. S. Fontanesii, Spach (sub Poterio).— S. Mauritanica, Desf. (uon 

Moris). . 

Sect. 4. Ancisteoides, Spact.—Calyx angulis aequalibus, grosse reticulatus. 

Vegetatio fruticosa, lateralis ! i.e. rainis floriferis axillaribus. Florescentia 

descendens. 

22. S. ancidroides, Desf., Spach (sub Poterio). 

Subgeii. IV. Sarcopoterium, Spach (valore geaerico). 

— 

Leiopote- 

riuni (scctio Poterii) De Cand. ex p.—Flores monoici in spicis andro- 

gynis, inferiores raasculi polyandri, suporiorcs feuiinei digyni. Calycis

NEW PUBLICATIONS. 207 

tubus fructifer globosus, Isevissimus, subbaccatus. Vegetatio fruticosa, 

terminalis, ramis (iiiflorescentiis depauperatis) spiuescentibus. Tlores- 

centia adsceudens ! 

23. S. spinosa, L. (sub Poterio), Bertol., De Cesati. 

spinosum, Spach. 

— 

Sarcopoterium 

Bencomla, Webb, Phjtogr. Canar. ; Beuth. et Hook. Geu. PL (Po- 

ierii sect. Leiopoteriiim, De Cand. ex p.) omni jure a Sangumrba 

separatur. Flores dioici : inasculi calyce quadripartite absque tube, 

staminibus uuiaerosis irao calyci insertis ; ferainei carpidiis 2-4. Tu- 

bus calycis fiiictifer globosus, Isevissimus, cum aclieniis osseis in 

di'iipam 2-4--locularem concretus. Vegetatio arborescens. Spicte 

axillares elongatae. Florescentia adsceudens.— Species 3 Canarieuses : 

B. caudata. Ait. (sub Poterio), et B. Moqidniana, Webb et Berth. 

Species Sanguisorbae, nobis incognitas, quoad sectionem dubise sunt 

S. cUandra, Wall, (an e sect. Poteridii ?) et Poterium Indiciim, Gardn. 

ex ins. Ceylon. 


Bei Piinglii Sospetti e Velenosi del Teiritorio Senese. Per Francesco 

Valenti-Seriui, Dottore in Medicina, ecc. ecc. Turin : 1S68. Fol. 

Before Dr. Valenti-Seriui had commenced writins: this book on sus- 

pected and poisonous Fungi, he should at least have learned something 

about the genus Agaricus ; and before he began the illustrations he 

might, for his own sake, have taken some lessons in rudimentary draw- 

ing. For what information can we expect from one who is totally igno- 

rant of the subgenera of Agaricus, unacquainted with the colour of the 

spores, cannot tell a brown- or purple-spored Agaric from a white- 

spored one, and who ignores such genera as Russula and Marasmiiis ? 

The plates, fifty-six in number, and " carefully 'coloured after nature," 

are the worst we have ever seen ; 

.they not only display an ignoi'ance of 

drawing of which a school-girl would be ashamed, but the gaudy co- 

lours are daubed on with such an unsparing hand, that the drawings, 

if depended upon, would be sure to mislead. Few botanical subjects 

require such minute attention to subtile details as Fungi ; but here 

they are so coarsely and falsely drawn, and so incorrectly coloured, 

as to make it difficult to believe thev were taken from nature at all. 

:

208 NEW PUBLICATIONS. 

This work is published under the auspices of the Academy of Medi- 

cine of Turin ; it is folio in size, and the learned author prints five 

and a half lines of titles after his name on the title-page (each line 

eight inches long) ; but we imagine that neither the prestige of the 

Academy nor the voliiminons titles of the author will save the book 

from well-merited condemnation. Indeed, we see little use in criticiz- 

ing it at all, for when the author refers to a certain species as " dan- 

gerous," and we turn to the plate only to see a totally different spe- 

cies represented, belonging to a wholly different section of the Affa- 

ricini, it will be seen that the book places itself bryond the bounds of 

criticism. To take an example at random : plate 44. is said to repre- 

sent Jgariciis aureus. This species comes under PhoUota, and the 

characters of PhoUota are brown spores, and a ring or annulus to the 

stem ; in the figure, " carefully coloured after nature," the gills are 

pure white, and, of the twenty stems shown on the plate, not one has 

a trace of an annulus. To make the confusion worse. Dr. Valenti-Serini 

says it is the same with Sowerby's A. fascicularis (t. 285), which is 

a Hypholoma, with purple spores, and gills at first dirty yellow, then 

purplish- green; but the doctor's figure is probably neither one nor 

the other. To show how totally unfit the book is for modern students, 

we may add that the author does not refer to books published within 

the last thirty years. He is unacquainted with the ' Epicrisis ' of 

"Fries ; and (although the book, Avith the exception of two species, treats 

wholly of the Hymenoimjcetes) he does not know Fries' ' Monographia 

Hymenomycetura ;' and there are no references made to well-known 

modern books by Berkeley and others. The letter-press is wordy and 

meagre, and, as it generally refers to some other species than the one 

intended to be described, it is of little value. The cases of poisoning 

and records of experiments with Fungi would have been more valuable 

had names, places, and dates been given. The book has already found 

its way into the libraries of this country ; and for such students as 

care to know what species the cartoons most resemble (if they resemble 

any), the following table may be useful. In the cases where the 

plates are not referred to, it remains an open question whether the 

species xn-e correctly named by the author or not ; in the cases where 

the names given are correct, they are in synonyms now quite out of 

date. This may be seen at once in plates 2 and 3, where varieties of 

Aguricus pkalloides, Fr., are termed Ayarlcus biMosiiH cUrimis and


Aqarlcm bulbosus viridis. To some of the species, no scientific name 

is given (merely the popular one) ; and when the scientific names are 

given, the name of the/oimder of the species is frequently omitted. It 

is to be understood, therefore, that where we have omitted authors' 

names, we have merely followed Dr. Valenti-Serini. 

Tab. 4. Fig. 1. Amanita Vitoni. As this Agaric is shown with 

broAvn gills, it is probably not an Amanita. 

Tab. 4. Fig. 2. Amanita Terrea {p pseud- Amanita) has dark brown 

gills, and therefore, if the colouring is correct, cannot be an Amanita. 

Tab. 5. Fig. 1. Amanita ftilva. Fig. 2. Amanita cinerea =: iovms 

of Agaricus pantherinus, DC. 

Tab. 6 et 7. Agaidcus fulvaster and A. plumbeus. Probably forms 

of A. Cecilics, Berk, and Br. Both these varieties are common in the 

neighbourhood of London. 

Tab. 8. Volvaria Corticelli. Volvaria here, like Amanita above, is 

raised to the position of a genus ; the curious Agaric represented in 

the plate has white gills, not pink, as might have been expected from 

the name. 

Tab. 9. Agaricus virgatm is an indifferent representation of A. vol- 

vaceus, Bull., or the " Stov Agaric " as we call it in England, accord- 

ing to Dr. Valenti-Serini. 

Tab. 13. A. perlatus. The same species as shown on Tab. 6. 

Tab. 14. A. margaritiferus=Â. pantherinus, DC. 

Tab. 15. A. maculatus (!). Totally different from A. maculatus, 

A. and S., and belonging to a different section of Agaricus. Probably 

forms of the species shown on Tab. 6 and 13. 

Tab. 16. A. verrucosus, V>\A\.-= A. pantherinus, DC. 

Tab. 17. A. Hydnocephalus. A bad representation of ^. acutesquamosus, 

Weinm. 

Tab. 18. Fig. 2. A. ulmarius (?).—Fig. 5. A. rimosus, Bull. Per- 

haps correct. 

Tab. 19. A. lacrimabundus, Bull. Very poor and incoiTect repre- 

sentation. 

Tab. 20. Fig. 1. A. nanus (?). 

Tab. 21. Fig. 1. A. Peronatus, Bolt. A grotesque caricature of 

Marasmius peronatus, Fr. 

Tab. 22. A. mutabilis, Scha^ff. May be this species, or A. melleus, 

Vahl, but is not like either.


Tab. 34. A. sanguineus, Bull. Some red-topped Rnssida or " Ked 

Stmpl-gilled Agaric," as the benighted English are said to call it. 

Tab. 25. Russula emetlca. Russula is here elevated to its proper 

place, it is however ignored in Tab. 24, and in all the plates of Riissidre 

following the next Tab. 

Tab. 26. R. furcatn, Pers. Dr, Valenti-Serini is right for once; 

he was determined that the gills of his figures should bear out the spe- 

cific name. 

Tab. 27. Agaricusfoetens, De Cand. We have never seen the common 

Russula anything like this figure, where it is sliown suow-white 

and of great size like Lactarius vellereus, Pr. 

Tab. 28. Fig. 1. A. acrls, De Cand. The pileus of Lactarius acris, 

Fr., is intense umber, here it is snow-white j the sienna-coloured milk is 

also shown white.—Fig. 2. A. controversies, P. Totally unlike Lacta- 

rius controversiis. P., the white gills are shown full-burnt sienna, and 

the pileus is shown perfectly white. 

Tab. 29. Fig. 1. A. necator, Bull. A caricature of Lactarius 

torminosus, F.—Fig. 3. A. pgrogalus, Bull. Bad representation of 

Lactarius pyrogalus, Fr.—Fig. 4. A. theiogalus, liw\\.=. Lactarius theio- 

galus (?).—Fig. 5. A. azonites, Bull. Marked with strong zones (!). 

Tab. 30. A, deliciosus, P. Highly amusing representations of this 

fine Lactarius. 

Tab. 31. A. iirens, P. As much uidike Marasmius urem, Fr., as 

the other species are uidike their originals (stem spotted with crimson- 

lake!). 

Tab. 32. Fungus aureus cgathlformis (?). 

Tab. 33. Figs. 1, 2, 3. Agaricus eburneus, Bull. Poor representa- 

tions of Hygrophori (?). 

Tab. 34. A. tuhcoformis (?). 

Tab. 35. A. olearius (?,). Exactly the same with Tab. 32. 

Tab. 36. A. uliuarius, feull. Bad figure. 

Tab. 37. A. stypticus, DC. Totally unlike Panus stypticus, Fr. 

Tab. 38. " Prataioli sospetti." Varieties of Agaricus cavipestris, L. 

— It is very amusing to observe that Dr. Valenti-Serini^ is ûite unaware 

of the scientific name of the species shown in seven figures on 

this plate ; the descriptions of the figures are trivial in the extreme. 

Tab. 39. Agaricus Jicoides, Bull. An absurd representation of Hy- 

grophorus pratensis, Fr., or " lleddish Flied Agaric," as we are said 

to call it.


Tab. 40. A. comatus, Miill. Bad representation of Coprinns co- 

matus, Fr. 

Tab. 41. A. amariis, Bull. Briglit green gills, perhaps A. fasci- 

cular is, Huds. 

Tab. 42. A. Psitlacinns, Scliafiff. The yellow and green tints point 

to Hygrophorus puttacinus, Fr., but the plate is far more like a large 

form of Agariciis iucanus, Fr. 

Tab. 43. A. " sulphureus," BuU. This species has a solid stem, 

here it is shown very hollow all the way up, leaving only a thin bark 

as in some Coprini. 

Tab. 44. A. aureus, with gills snowy white instead of brown. 

Tab. 45. A. coccineus, Wulf. Very unlike Hygrophorus coccineus, 

Fr., or the " changeable scarlat Agaric." 

Yitt. 

Tab. 46. " Fungo detto Ammazzamogli." Perhaps A. rachodes, 

Tab. 47. Cantharellus, Merulius, Hydnum, Verpa, Clavaria. All 

very unsatisfactory. //yrf'M2

212 

COilKESPONDENCE. 

Death of Dr. Metier. 

I beg to send you a brief account of the death of Dr. Meller (Dh-ector of 

the Botanical Gardens at the Mauritius), so that you may give a compiled 

notice in the ' Journal of Botany,' if you think it will be pi'oper. 

Dr. Charles James Meller (M.D., and Member of the Eoyal College of 

Surgeons of England, 1857), died at Allington House, Berrima, New South 

Wales, on the 26th of February, 1869, aged thirty-three years. He died from 

general debility, the result of frequent attacks of fever, first contracted when 

in Africa witli Dr. Livuigstone, and also in Madagascar. He arrived in Decem- 

ber at Sydney from the Mauritius vid Melbourne, having been sent by the 

Government of that island to collect different varieties of the Sugar-Cane, and 

was proceeding to Queensland, and also to some of the Paciflc Islands, etc., for 

the furtherance of that object. He visited Queensland, unfortunately at the 

hottest season of tlie year, and after collecting and forwarding a large quantity 

of Sugar-Canes to the Mauritius (via Sydney), he was taken ill with a renewal 

of his old fever, and with some difficulty was moved to Sydney, where he arrived 

in a seriously debilitated state. I was requested to see him, and regularly 

attended to hira during his stay in Sydney. The season being sultry, it was 

thought advisable to remove him io a cooler part of the country, an arrangement 

in which he also concurred ; Berrima was fixed upon, having a cool moun- 

tain air, rather more than 2000 feet above the level of the sea, and distant 

83 miles from Sydney, and, moreover, easily reached by railroad,— a gi-eat advantage 

to an invalid. He did not, however, derive the expected benefit from 

the change ; 

although the evenings were to cold as to require a fire, his appetite 

did not at all improve, and consequently the debility increased ; he gradually 

sank and died, on the 26th of February, in the full possession of his senses. 

He was attended to by liis sister (Miss Meller), who accompanied him from 

tlie Mauritius, and who has since left for England [via Mauritius) the early 

part of this month. Geoege Bennett. 

Si/dney, March 25th, 1869. 

Importation of American Seeds to Australia. 

In my attempts to obtain acorns of American Oaks and nuts of the American 

Hickory-trees in a state of vitality, for raising these noble trees here in our 

southern latitudes, various modes of packing were adopted. You may be in- 

terested in the result, as many cidtivators would gladly secui'e the seeds of 

these valuable trees for distant localities. Packing in dry sand succeeded 

always best ; for not only the seeds of the American species oiJuglans, Quercus, 

and Carya came thus safely a voyage of fully three months, but in a similar 

manner I secured Assam Tea seeds fit for germination, (he seeds being more

CORRESPONDENCE. 213 

than two montlis on tlieir way. I need scarcely add, that Mediterranean and 

Indian acorns travelled in the same manner quite safely. I cannot conclude 

this brief note without a public acknowledgment of the great generosity of the 

illustrious Asa Gray m arranging for the transmission of copious collections of 

these American seeds. 

Feed, von Mueller. 

Melbourne, March 28th, 1869. 

The Cocoa-Nut in Atistralia. 

Mr. C. Moore, Director of the Sydney Botanical Garden, in a lecture on endogenous 

plants, has stated that— " It was somewhat singular that the Cocoa- 

nut had never been discovered growing on the continent of Australia, excepting 

the instance mentioned by M'Gillivray, and from his account it would almost 

seem that it had been planted. . . . The Cocoa-nut Islands surrounded the 

northern portion of the continent, and the nuts had been found by Mr. King 

and other surveyors along the coast ; but it was not known that they had ever 

taken root, excepting where, as at Eockingham Bay, they had been planted." 

That gentleman will be pleased to hear that at Emu Park, Cawan-al, about twenty- 

six miles east of Rockhampton, on. an open sandy flat, within 300 yards of the 

sea, we have a Cocoa-nut growing ; its diameter at the butt is eighteen inches, 

and its height about forty-five feet ; its stunted and crooked growth near the 

base shows unmistakable proof of the many struggles it has sustained against 

hurricanes and bush fires. The nuts it bears are rather small, limited in quan- 

tity, and below the average of those borne by a vigorous plant. These circum- 

stances bring it within the period when the products diminish, and which, at 

the Gulf of Cariaco, according to Humboldt, take place after forty years. It 

would, however, be difEcult to make any correct estimate about the age of the 

tree in question ; but I venture to say that it is above sixty years old. Was the 

nut planted there by some navigator?—or forgotten by the aboriginals, who 

gather them by thousands along our coast, and use them as food ? Or, was it 

carried where the tree stands now, at the top of a wave during a very heavy sea ? 

Tlie spot is not one a seaman would have chosen as likely, for planting a Cocoa- 

nut, to mark his visit on the Australian shores. Aware of the presence of the 

Cocoa-nut-tree on the surrounding islands, he woidd natui'ally have sujjposed 

its existence also on the mainland. Failing to find a reasonable motive, I may 

be allowed to dismiss the first supposition. The second could have happened, 

imder certain conditions ; but, again, the nut would probably have remained 

uncovered, and the chance of a proper gennination diminished. The most 

plausible supposition is the third. By a strong wind and current, a nut could 

be carried rapidly fi-om an island, preserve all its vitality, and be buried shghtly 

at the end of the waves, under sand and vegetable matter. After a careful 

investigation, I am inclined to think that such was the fact, and that what 

has happened at Emu Park must have also happened at different points of 

our very imperfectly botanically-explored coast. It was only six years after 

a large population had settled on the basin of the Fitzroy River that the first in-

214 CORRESPONDENCE. 

timation of tlie existence of a Cocoa-nut-tree growing at Cawarral was given by 

Mr. Robert Spencer. I shortly aftej" secured specimens of the leaves, flowers, 

and fruits for identification, which I forwarded in November, 1864, to our 

illustrious Australian botanist. Dr. Ferdinand von Mueller, who mentioned 

the discovery in his ' Fragmenta Phytographiae,' vol. v. p. 49, and idtimately 

in his review of the Australian vegetation for the Melbourne and Paris Ex- 

hibitions. The aboriginals unroot the already growing plant, to secure the 

smallest part of the albumen remaining eatable. Does not such want of fore- 

thought by these children of nature establish sufBciently one of the principal 

causes of the paucity of the Cocoa-nut on our eastern Australian coast ? I 

have no doubt tliat, as the settlers on the coast will increase, they will reveal, 

as has been already the case in a few instances, the occurrence in several otlier 

localities of that useful Palm, and still extend its geographical distribution, 

wliicli seems now to be limited to so few individuals. Will it ever be found in 

large groups ? I am, etc., 

A. TnozET. 

RemarJcs on Dr. Lindsay s Paper " On Chemical Reaction as a Specific 

Character in Lichens." 

Dr. Lindsay, in his paper (Journ. Linn. Soc, Botany, pp. 36-63, 1869), 

attempts to show the slight degree of faith that ought to be placed in the che- 

mical criteria proposed by me for distinguishing witli facility one from another 

a great number of species of Lichens, between which, in the absence of these 

means, it is frequently extremely difficult, or even impossible, to discriminate. 

It is not my intention to follow the author througli tlie long development he 

has thought proper to enter into ; such a task would assuredly be altogether 

superfluous, for evidence is not to be denied, and to any one able to see, and in 

suitable conditions for such researches, the reactions here in question are as 

evident as they are easy to produce. Nothing in them is " supposed," as Dr. 

Lindsay would have it. 

The reddish hue sometimes produced on the altered basis of certain old 

thalli of, e. g., Platysma nivale by the application of potash or of liquid ammonia, 

has nothing to do with the chrysophanic acid reaction, as contended by 

Dr. Lindsay ; it is but the result of an accidental or anomalous state of tliese 

Liclieus. All the other examples set forth by him are like tlie one just alluded 

to, or altogether inaccurate. \ In like manner, if the thallus of Phyneia parietina 

or of Plaeadiiim mnrorum, growing in the shade, becomes greenish, and is 

shown to contain less chrysophanic acid, is the chemical character belonging 

to these Lichens in their normal or typical state impaired on that account ? 

Dr. Lindsay speaks of the numerous cases he has observed of inconstancy in 

chemical character ; 

but is he quite sure the Lichens he has liad to deal with are 

correctly named ? Is it not probable, rather, that where lie fancied he dis- 

covered variability in the reactions (the result, according to him, being some- 

times positive and sometimes negative) he had to do with different species ? 

He himself allows lie is unacquainted with the common Parmelia oUvetorumf 

Ah una disce omnes.


He asserts that my " observations* are not confirmed by other authorities." 

This is not quite true, for I see them approved of on all sides, and I am confi- 

dent Dr. Lindsay's authority will not suffice to invalidate them. 

The colouring efi'eets produced by chloride of limef are generally very evi- 

dent ; but the reagent must necessarily be of good quality, and has to be renewed 

when enfeebled by exposiu*e. In some lichens, however, in several TJm- 

bilicarice for instance, the erythriuic reaction is typically weak ; in which case 

this weakness is itself characteristic. 

The other newly proposed agent, hydrate of potash {hydras Tcalicus or kali 

causticum) ,Yik.ev;ise frequently offers but faint reactions, especially in Cladoniei, 

but it is not less indisijensable in the discrimination of their species. The re- 

actions of lecanoric acid (yellow and red) are, generally speaking, very clear (in 

Parmeliei, Lecanorei, etc.) ; those of chrysophanic acid are still more so. 

The instrument I use for applying the reagents is a goosequill sharpened into 

a point ; with this I touch but a very small extent either of the cortical layer 

(or the apothecia) or of the medulla, observing at the same time the efiects of 

the application through a magnifier. My researches have proved that these 

means often afford the best, the surest, and the easiest way of recognizing a 

great number of Lichens. To Dr. Lindsay, then, who is of an opposite opinion, 

it only remains for me to apply what I have elsewhere written in an analogous 

case : " Eos, qui erroribus sunt dediti, nuUa castigatio acrior attingere potest 

quam si errores suos conservant et in falsis computationibus permanent." 

I am, etc. 

Faris, June, 1869. W. Nyiandee, M.D. 


The Trustees of the British Museum have established an additional assistant- 

ship in the Botanical Department, and we congratulate them on the appointment 

of so able and promising a botanist as Dr. Henry Ti-imen to the new 

office. He entered on his duties early in May last. 

Dr. Seemann returned to England on the 12th of last month, after an absence 

of several months in Central America and the Isthmus of Panama. 

The ' Gardeners' Chronicle ' is authorized to contradict the report that it 

* They are entirely independent of those of the Rev. W. A. Leighton, who 

has made a series of applications of my discovery to Cladoniei. 

t This is the powder of Tennant and Knox (in Latin hypochloris calcicus, 

oxymurias calcius, or calx oxymuriatica), in no way " hypochlorite of calcium^' 

as written by Dr. Lindsay, who has made use of a pharmaceutical preparation 

of doubtful value. Nor are tincture of iodine and its aqueous solution identical 

as regards their reactions. Dr. Lindsay is consequently wrong in saying, " I 

am not aware of any advantage tliis solution" (the aqueous one with the addition 

of iodide of potassium) " possesses over our officmal tincture of iodine, 

diluted with water to such extent that the liquid has only a pale sherry colour."

— 


was at Dr. Hooker's advice those Englishmen who attended the St. Petersburg 

Exhibition were not decorated. 

The tenth and conchiding part of Seemann's 'Flora Vitiensis' is now in the 

course of preparation, all the plates (100) having already been printed. 

Dr. F. Mueller's able ' Official Report on tlie Melbourne Botanical Garden for 

1869 ' has just come to hand, and will be found in another part of tliis Journal. 

A Pharmaceutical Congress, to which all civilized nations are invited to send 

representatives, is to take place at Vienna in September. 

The ' Portland (Maine) Advertiser ' was recently printed on paper made of 

a kind of material said to have been never before used m the manufacture of 

paper Zizania aquatica, or Water Rice. It grows in great abundance in 

many places in the north-west of America. 

Mr. Collins, wliose paper on India-rubber appeared in this Journal last year, 

is now working up the subject of Gutta Percha, and would be glad if any of our 

correspondents could communicate any authentic specimens, etc. of any of tlie 

Guttas, as Gutta Mutah, Tuban, Percha Claison, etc., addressing them to the 

Museum of the Pharmaceutical Society, Bloomsbury Square, London. 

Edinbuegh Botanical Society.—Thirty-third Session, Fifth Meeting.— 

The Society met on the 11th of March, Dr. Cleghorn, President, in the chair. 

The following communications were read :— I. Notes of a Twelve Days' Visit 

to Sicily, in February, 1868. By Dr. H. Cleghorn. Dr. Cleghorn described 

the present state of the Botanical Gardens at Syracuse, Catania, and Palermo, 

and enumerated the principal plants observed in Hower at the time of his 

visit. He described the scenery of the island, and drew attention to the 

increased facilities of travelling afforded by two railway's now open. The 

Agricultural Institution at Castelnviovo, with its model farm, under the able 

management of Professor Inzenga, was mentioned, as furnishing a good 

example of the successful training of youths in rural pursuits. From the dry- 

ness of the climate, the seeds I'ipeued at Palermo iiave been very suitable for 

the agri-horticultural societies of North India. II. Report on the Cultivation of 

Chinchona in Bengal for the year 1867-68. By Thomas Andei-son, M.D., Su- 

perintendent, Botanical Gardens, and in charge of Cinchona Cultivation in 

Bengal {vide p. 155). III. Notes on a Visit to the Hot Springs of Junuiotri in 

1860. Part 2. By Mr. Wm. Bell. IV. On the form of the Archetypal Leaf. 

By Dr. Josejih Bidlar. The author believed that the orbicular form of leaf was 

the archetypal one, the divisions of its veins representing the divisions in the 

calyx, corolla, and the otliefe whorls of the flowers. Professors Balfour and 

Dickson doubted the correctness of Dr. Bullar's theory. V. Notice of the 

Occurrence of Rhamnus Frangnla in Ross-shire. By Dr. F. Buchanan White. 

VI. Report on the Open-Air Vegetation at the Royal Botanic Garden. By 

Ml*. M'Nab. VII. Miscellanous Communications. 1. Dr. Buchanan White 

presented specimens oi Funaria l[/f/eriiica, whicli he had collected in Septem- 

ber, 1868, growing on rocks on Tor Achilty, Ross-shire. This is the first time 

tiiat this moss has been detected in Scotland. 2. Professor Dickson made 

some remarks regarding the indurated structure of the albumen in the seed of 

Convailaria majalis, preparations of which he exhibited under the microscope. 

.

Tai- 94.

Tab. 9

217 

ON THE GENUS SYMBOLANTHUS. 

By John Mieks, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., etc. 

(Plate XCIV.) 

The genus Symbolmiihus, established by G. Don in 1837, consisting 

of two species, natives of New Granada and Peru, was divided by 

Grisebaeh, in IS-iS, into two separate genera : 

to the former species, 

originally describetl liy Kuuth as LisiantJius anomalus, he now gave 

the name of Leiothaninus anomalus, designating the latter species, 

first described in the ' Flora Peruviana' as Lmanthus calycof/onus, R. 

and P., under the name of Symbolanthus cali/cogonus, Griseb. ; but 

Don's name of .S". Fuvonu will claim the preference on account of its 

having a priority of eight years. Among the plants collected by Weir 

in 1863, for the Royal Horticultural Society, is a new and handsome 

species of this genus from the Rio Magdalena, which is here figured. 

A more detailed character of th^ Peruvian species is here first given, 

in order that Weir's plant may be compared with it. 

1. Syiiibolanthus Pavonii, G. Don (1837), Diet. iv. 210 ; S. calycogo- 

nus, Griseb. (1845), De Cand. Prodr. ix. 80; LisiantJius calycoyonus, 

R. and P. (1799), Fl. Per. ii. 14, t. 126 ; fruticosa, glabra, ramosa, 

raniis obtuse 4-6-gonis, ad nodos annulatis ; foliis oppositis, lanceolato- 

oblongis, utrinque acutis, penninerviis, margiiiibns parum revolutis, 

petiolo imo crassiore, cum opposite in annulum connato, limbo 15-])lo 

breviore ; floribus in axillis terminalibus opposite solitariis, pedicellatis, 

pedicello recurvato, calyce dimidio breviore, imo bracteis 3 acuminato- 

ovatis concavis donato; calyce 5-gono, 5-sepalo, sepalis erectis, margine 

membranaceis et fimbriatis, 3 exterioribus lanceolatis, 2 interioribns 

imo subsagittatis ; corolla magna, rubro-rosea, tubulosa, tubo superne 

ventricosa, calyce 3-plo longiore, fauce constricto, paulo obliquo, limbi 

laciuiis 5, cordato-ovatis, imo imbricatis, apice acutis, reflexis, margine 

crenulalis ; staminibus erectis, iuclusis, filamentis subulato-filiformibus, 

ex annulo 5-deutato fere basali enatis ; antheris sagittato-oblongis ; 

capsula magna, ovata, acuta.—In Peruvia alta, prov. Huauuco, ad 

Acoraayo, etc. (lat. 10°; ; «o« vidi. 

This is said to be a slii'ub 6 feet high and quite glabrous ; axils 9 

lines apart; leaves 2i-2| in. long, 1 in. broad, on a petiole 2 lines 

VOL. Vll, [august 1, 18G9.] R

218 ON THE GENUS SYMBOLANTHUS. 

long ; pedicels 6 lines long ; sepals 1 in. long, ^ in. broad ; tube of 

corolla 2f in. long, 10 lines diameter above the middle, contracted to 

6 lines in the mouth; segments of border 1 inch long, 10 lines broad; 

capsule 2^ in. long, 1 in. in diameter, enveloped by the enlarged 

calyx. 

2. Symbolanthus snperhus, n. sp. ; glaberrimus, ramulis 4-gonis, 

fistulosis, annulato-nodosis ; foliis late ellipticis vel oblongis, imo 

acutis, apice breviter acute attenuatis, utrinque Isete viribus, pauci- 

nerviis, nervis reniotis vix prominentibus, eveniis ; petiolis compressis, 

canalieulatis, imo dilatatis, et in annulum circa caulem coalitis ; iloribus 

terminalibus, axillaribus, ternato-verticellatis ; 

pedicellis erectis, calyce 

longioribus, imo bracteis 3 parvis acutis membranaceis munitis; sepalis 

5, imbricatis, oblongis, obtusis, marginibus membranaceis et integris, 

medio nervo crasso carinatis ; corolla speciosissima, tube rubro-roseo, 

campanulato-infundibuliformi, sepalis plusquam 2-plo longiore, ore 

amplo subobliquo, limbi segmentis orbicularibus, apice subito acumi- 

Tiatis, imo late auriculato-expansis, et imbricatis, subreflexis ; stamini- 

bus parnm inclusis, imo dilatato-compressis, in annulum fere basalem 

conriatis, apice filiformibus et circa antheras circinatim contortis, an- 

theris imo divaricatis, arcuatim curvatis ; ovario conico-oblongo, disco 

annulari insito ; 

stylo subulato, stigraate 2-lamellato, faucem attingente. 

—In Nova Granada, v. s. Rio Magdalena (Weir, 95). 

A beautiful plant, apparently of more herbaceous growth than the 

preceding species, from which it also differs in its larger leaves, upon 

a longer petiole, its more campanular corolla, and its stamens spirally 

convoluted around the arcuated anthers. The axils are about If in. 

apart ; the leaves are 3^-4^ in. long, lf-2f in. broad, on a petiole 

•5— f- in. long; the pedicels are 1^^ in. long; the sepals 1 in. long, 5 

lines broad ; the tube of the corolla is 2 in. long, 1 in. in diameter at 

the mouth, the segments of the border arc 1 in. long, 1 in. broad, the 

stamens scarcely extend beyond the mouth, being spirally curved for 

more than a revolution around the anthers ; the stigmata are spathu- 

lately oblong, 2 lines long, li line broad. 

Explanation of Plate XCIV., representing Symbolanthus superbus, 

Miers, from specimens collected by Mr. Weir.—Fig. 1, an entire branch. Fig. 

2, corolla laid open. Fig. 3, a stamen.—Figs. 2 and 3 slightly magnified.

•219 

INDEX CRITICUS BUTOMACKARUM, ALTSMAQEAKUM 

JUNCArxINACEAEUMQUE HUCUSQUE DESCRIPTARUM. 

AucTORE Dr. Fr. Buchenau.* 

(From the ' Abhandlungen des Naturwissenschaftl. Vereines zu Bremen.) 

BUTOMACEyE, L. C. Rich. 

(Pi'oposition d'line nouvelle famille des 

Plantes : les Butomees (Biitomeae) in 

Memoires du Museum d'Hist. Nat. 

1815, i. 364.) 

Alisma flavxim, L., Sp. Plant, ed. 1. 

1753 =Limnocliaris flava, Buchen. 

BuTOMOPSis, Eiuith, Enum. 18il, iii. 

164 = Tenagocharis, Hochst. 

E, Cordofana, Kth. in Walp. Ann. 1849, 

i. 769 = Tenagocharis latifolia, Buch. 

B. lanceolata, Kth. Enum. 1841, iii. 165 

= Tenagocharis latifolia, Buchen. 

B. (?) latifolia, Kunth, Enum. 1841, iii. 

165 = Tenagocharis latifolia, Buchen. 

BuTOMUS, L. Syst. Nat. ed. 1, 1735 ; 

Gen. Plant, ed. 1, 1737, n. 340. 

B. floridus, Geertn. Fruct. 1788, i. 74 = 

B. umbellatus, L. 

B. junceus, Turcz. Catal. Baik. n. 1079 

= B. umbellatus, /8. minor, Ledeb. 

B. lanceolatus, Koxb. FI. Ind. 1832, ii. 


B. latifolius,Don,Prodi-.Fl. Nep. 1825, 


B. umbellatus, L. Sp. PL ed. 1, 1753. 

B. umbellatus, |8. minor, Ledeb. FLRoss. 

1853, iv. 44. 

B. vulgaris, Giild. It. ii. 22 =B. umbel- 

latus, L. teste Ledebour, Fl. Boss. 

1853, iv. 43. 

Damasonium flavum. Mill. Diet. ; edit. 

Genn. a me visa : Ph. Miller, Allge- 

meines Gartnerlexikon, nach d. Engl. 

8. Auflage iibersetzt, Niii-nberg, 1772, 

ii. 3=Limnocliaris flava, Buchen. 

Hydkocleis Commcrs. L. C. Ricli. 1. c. 

368 et 373. 

? Hjdrocleis azurea, Schult. fil. Msc. in 

Herb. Reg. Monae., teste Seubcrt ia 

Endl. et ilart. Fl. Bras. 1847, fasc. 

viii. 118, species dubia. 

H. Commersoni, L. C. Eich. 1. c. 368 ot 

373, species valde dubia, probabiliter 

= H. nymphoides, Buchen. 

H. Humboldtii, Endl. Gen. Plant. 1836, 

129 = Hydrocleis nymphoides, Buch. 

H. Martii, Seub. 1. c. 116. 

H. nymphoides, Buchen. 

H. parviflora, Seub. 1. c. 117. 

LiMNOCHARis, H. et B. PI. ^quinoct. 

1808, i. 116. 

L. Commersoni, Spreug. Liim. Syst. 

Veg. 1825, ii. 634 = Hydroc]eis Com- 

mersoni, L. C. Rich. 

L. emarginata, H. et B. PI. Êquinoct. 

1808, i. 116 = L. flava, Buchen. 

L. flava, Buchen. 

L. Hsenkei, Presl, Rel. Htenk. 1830, i. 

88, planta dubia. 

L. Humboldtii, L. C. Ricli. 1. c. 369 et 

374 = Hydrocleis nymphoides, Bucli. 

L. Laforesti, Duchaiss. in Griseb. Nov. 

Fl. Panam. Bonplandia, 1858, vi. 11. 

L. Plumieri, L. G. Rich. I.e. 370 et 374 

= L. flava, Buchen. 

* Dr. Buchenau has qmte recently published in the Nachrichten von der 

Konigl. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen, June 16, 1869, a critical 

list of the Butomaceae, AJismaccEe, Juncagmacese, and Juncacese, collected by the 

Brotliers von Schlagintweit in High Asia, .\mongst the Juncaceae there are some 

novelties. 

11 3

220 INDEX CRITICUS BUTOMACEARUM, 

Sagittabia ranunciiloicles, Arrabida 

(Velloz) Fl. Fliim. 1827, x. t. 32 = 

Hydrocleis nymphoides, Buchen. 

Stbatiotes nymphoides, H. et B.< iu 

Willd. Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 4, 1805, iv. 

821 = Hydrocleis nymphoides, Buch. 

Tenagochaeis, Hochst. PI. Nub. Nov. 

Gen. in Flora 1841, 369. 

T. alismoides, Hochst. in Flora, 1841, 

Intelligenzblatt n. 3, 42 = T. latifolia, 

Buchen. 

T. Cordofana, Hochst. in Fl, 1841, 369 

= T. latifolia, Buchen. 

T. latifolia, Buchen. 

Vespuccia, Pari. Nuov. Gen. e Sp. di 

Piante Mon. 1854, 55. 

V. Humboldtii, Pari. 1. c. 56 = Hydi-ocleis 

nymphoides, Buchen. 

ALISMACE,^, Be Cand. (excl. gen.). 

Fl. Fr. 1805, iii. 181. 

AcTiNOCAErus, E. Br. Prod. Fl. Nov. 

HoU. 1810, 342 =Damasonium, Juss. 

A. australis, Spr. in Ersch et Gruber, 

Encycl. 1818, i. 348 = Damasonium 

australe, Salisb. 

A. Damasonium, Sm. in Rees, Cycl. 

Suppl.n. 1, teste Kth. Eimm.1841, iii. 

155 = Damasonium stellatum, Pers. 

A. Europseus, Spr. m Ersch et Gruber, 

Encycl. 1818, i. 348 = Damasonium 

stellatum, Pers. 

A. minor, R. Br. Prod. Fl. Nov. HoU. 

1810, 342 = Damasonium australe, 

Salisb. (teste Salisbury ipso) = Damasonium 

minus (R. Br.), Buchen. 

Alisma, L. Syst. Nat. ed. 1, 1735 

Gen. Plant, ed. 1, 1737, n. 308. 

A. acauthocarpum, F. Muell. Fragm. 

Phyt. Aust. 1858, i. 23. 

A. alpestre, Coss. sur Deux Especcs. 

Nouv. d'Esp. in Bidl. Soc. Bot. de 

Fr. 1864, xi. 333, 

A. ancilc. Mart., teste Stcudel, Nom. 

Bot. 184'0, 491 = Echinodorus Gfuia- 

ncnsis, Giipeb. 

; 

A. Andrieuxii, Hook, et Arn. Bot. 

Beech. Voy. 1839, 311. 

A. angustifoUum, Gilib. Fl. Lith. 1781, 

V. 224 = Echinodorus ranunculoides, 

Engelm. 

A. arcuatum, Michalet in Grenier et 

Godron, Fl. de France, 1855, iii. 165 

= A. Plantago, L. 

A. Berterii, Spreng. Linn. Syst. Veg. 

ed. 16, 1825, ii. 163 = A. Sprengehi, 

Kunth = Echinodorus cordifolius, 

Griseb. 

A. Berteroanum, Balb. in Rom. et 

Schult. Linn. Syst. Veg. 1830, vii. ii. 

1605 = A. macrophyllum, Kunth, 

j8. minus, Seub., teste Seub. in Endl. 

et Mart. Fl. Bras. 1847, fasc. 8, 108 

= Echinodorus cordifolius, jS. Berte- 

roanus, Griseb. (teste Gi-iseb. , 

A. canahculatum, Al. Br. et Bouche 

Index Sem. Hort. Bot. Berol. 1862, 

5 = A. Plantago, L. (testibus auctoribus 

ipsis in App. Spec. Nov., minus 

cognitarum, criticarum qure in Hort. 

Reg. Berol. coluntur 1867, 1868, 4.) 

A. cordifolium, L. Sp. PL ed. 1, 1753 = 

Echinodorus cordifolius, Griseb. 

A. cordifoHum, L. pro parte = A. ma- 

crophyllum, Kunth (teste Seub. in 

Endl. et Mart. Fl. Bras. 1847, fasc. 

8. 108) = Echinodoi*us cordifolius, 

Griseb. 

A. cordifolium, Aut. pro parte = A. floribundum, 

Seub. (teste Seub. 1. c. 

109). 

A. cordifolium, Thunb. Fl. Jap. 1784, 

153 = A. Plantago, L. ? (teste Miquel, 

Prolusio Fl. Jap. in Ann. Mus. Lugd. 

Bat. 1866, ii. 138.) 

A. cordifolium, Sw. Observ. Bot. 1791, 

139 = A. macrophyllum, Kunth, fi. 

minus, Seub. (teste Seubert in Endl. 

et Mart. Fl. Bras. 1847, fasc. viii. 

108.) 

A. Damasonium, L. Sp. Plant, ed. 1, 

1753 = Damasonium stellatum, Pers.

ALISMACEARUM JUXCAGINACEARL'MQUE. 221 

A. Dama3onium, L. Desf. Fl. Atlantiea, 

1798, i. 324 = Damasonium Boxirgsei, 

Coss. (teste Mimby, Cat. Plaut. in 

Algeria sponte nasc. Lond. 1866, 

32). 

A. Damasonium, Willd. Fl. Berol. Prod. 

1787, n. 415 = A. pamassifolium, L. 

(Caidesia, Parlatore) 

A. diversifolinm, Gilib. Fl. Lith. 1781, 

V. 223 = Elisnia uatans, Buchen. 

A. dubium, Willd. Fl. Berol. Prod. 

1787, 132 = Caidesia pamassifolia. 

Pari. 

A. echinocarpum, Seub. in Endl. et 

Mart. Fl. Bras. 1847, fasc. viii. 105 = 

Echinodorus Guianensis, Griseb. 

A. eUipticum, Mart, in Romer et Scbul- 

tes, Linn. Syst. Veg. 1830, vii. ii. 

1607. 

A. ellipticvim, 0. minus, Seub. in Endl. 

et Mart. Flor. Bras. 1847, fasc. viii. 

107. 

A, enneandrum, Hoebst. in Sched. = 

Echinodorus (?) enueandei', A. Br. 

A. flaviim, L. Sp. Plant, ed. 1, 1753 

= Limnocharis flava, Buchen. 

A. flavum, Thunb. Fl. Jap. 1784, 153 

= A. Plantago, L. ? (teste Miquel, 

Prol. Fl. Jap. in Ann. Mus. Lugd. 

Bat. 1866, ii. 138). 

A. floribundmn, Seub. in Endl. et Mart. 

Flor. Bras. 1847, fasc. viii. 109 (an 

diversum ab Echinodoro cordifolio, 

Griseb. ?) 

. 

A. Geyeri, Torr. in J. N. Nicollet, Rep. 

on the Hydrographical Basin of 

Upper Mississippi, 1843, 162 (26 

Cougr. 2 Ses5. Senate Documents) 

= Alisma Plantago, L. (foi-ma minor, 

foliis lanceolatis) 

. 

A. glaudulosum, Thw. Enum. Plant. 

Zeyl. 1864, 332. 

A. gramineum, Gmel. Fl. Bad. 1826, 

iv. 256 = A. Plantago, var. y. grami- 

nifoliiun. 

A. graminifolium, Ehrh. Herb. = A. 

. 

Plantago, y. graminifolium (Kunth, 

Enum. 1841, iii. 149). 

A. grandiflorum, Cham, et Schl. PI. 

Eomanzoff. in Linn. 1827, ii. 152. 

A. humile, Kunth, 1841, iii. 154 = 

Echinodorus humihs, Buchen. 

A. intermedium, Mart, in Rom. et 

Schult. Linn. Syst. Veg. 1830, vii. ii. 

1609 = Echinodorus iutermedius, 

Griseb. 

A. Kotschyi, Hochst. in Coll. PI. Nub. 

cl. Kotschyi, n. 169 = Limnophytou 

obtusifolium, Miq. 

A. lauceolatum, Schultz. teste C. 

Sprengel in Linn. Syst. Veg. 1825, ii. 

163 = A. Plantago var. 

A. lauceolatum. With. Arr. 362, teste 

Scliur, Enum. Transsily. 1866, 629 

=A. Plantago, var. lauceolatum. 

A. latifolium, Gihb. Fl. Lith. 1781, v. 

222 = A. Plantago, L. 

A. Loesehi, Eichw. Naturhist. Skizze 

von Litthauen, Volhyuien und Podo- 

hen, 1830, 127 = A. Plantago, y. gra- 

minifolium (Kunth, Enum. 1841, iii. 

149). 

A. macrophyllum, Kunth, Enum. 1841, 

iii. 151 = Echinodorus cordifohus, 

Griseb. 

A. macrophyUum, Kunth., $. miuus, 

Seub. in Endl. et Mart. Fl. Bras. 

1847, fasc. viii. 108 = Echinodorus 

cordifolius, j8. Berteroanus, Griseb. 

A. majus, S. Fr. Gray, Nat. Arrangem. 

Brit. PL 1821, ii. 216 = A. Plantago, 

L. 

A. majus, $. lanceolatum, S. Fr. Gray, 

L c. = A. Plantago, ;8. lanceolata. 

A. minus, Spr. Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 16, 

1825, ii. 163 = Actinocarpus minor, 

R. Br. (teste Spreng. ipso). 

A. natans, L. Sp. PL ed. 1, 1753 = 

Echinodorus natans, Engelm.=Ehsma 

natans, Buchen. 

A. natans, Poll. Hist. Plant, in Pa- 

latinatu Sponte Nasc. 1777, iii.


319 = A. Plantago, var. graminifoli- 

um. 

A. iiatans, Pursh, Fl. Amer. Septentr. 

1816, i. 253. rianta dubia. 

A. nataiiH, P. lanceolatum, Q. Bruckn. 

in Boll, Flora v. Mecklenburg in 

Ai-chiv d.Freunde d. Naturgeschichte 

in Mecklenburg, 1860, xiv. 302 = 

Elisma uatans, Bucheii. 

A. nataiis b. sparganiifolius. Fries v. P. 

Asclierson, Flora der Mark Branden- 

burg, 18G4, i. 652=Elisma natans, 

Bnchen. 

A. natans, c. repens, Echb. Ic. Fl. Germ. 

vii. 29 = Elisma natans, Buchen. 

A. njinphtcifolium, Griseb. Catal. Plant. 

Cubens, 1866, 218. 

A. obtusifolium,TlLwaites,Eniim. Plant. 

Zeyl. 1864, 332 = Limnopliyton ob- 

tusifolium, Miq. 

A. oligococcum, F. Mueller, Fragm. 

Pliyt. Austr. 1858, i. 23. 

A. ? palasfolium, Kth. Enum, 1841, iii. 

152 = Sagittai'ia palsefolia, Nees et 

Mart. 

A. parnassifolium, Bassi in Linn. Syst. 

Nat. ed. 12, 1768, iii. (Caldesia, Pari. 

Echinodorus, Eng.) 

A. parnassifolium, var. Baunigartenianum, 

Scliur. Enuin. Plant. Transsylv. 

1866, 630. 

A. parviiloruni, Pursh, Fl. Auier. Sept. 

1816, i. 253 = A. Plantago, vap. 

Americanum (A, Gray, Man. Bot. 

1856, ed. 2, 438). 

A. Plantago, L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 

1759, ii. (A. Plantago aquatica, Linn. 

Sp. Plant, ed. 1, 1753). 

A. Plantago, var. restuosum, Bolle, 

Alismaceen-formen der Mark in 

Verli. d. Bot. Vereins f. Brand. 1862, 

iii. 164 = A. arcuatum, Michalct (teste 

Bolle,' Ascherson in litt.). 

A. Plantago, var. Americamim, Schultes 

in R/inicr et Schultes, Linn. Syst. 

Veg. 1830, 7, ii. 1598. 

; 

A. Plantago, 0. angustifolium, Ledeb. 

Fl. Eoss. 1853, iv. 40 = A. Plantago, 

var. lanceolatum. 

A. Plantago, diversifolium, Seliur, Beitr. 

z. Flora v. Wien, in Oesterr. Bot. 

Zeitschr. 1861, 95. 

A. Plantago, var. graminifolium, Wahl. 

Fl. Suecica 1824, i. 228. testibus 

Eomer et Schultes Syst. Veg. 1830, 

vii. ii. 1598. 

A. Plantago, ^. lanceolatum, Mart. Prod. 

Fl. Mosq. ed. Lips. 1817, 66. 

A. Plantago, b. luxuriaus, Grogn. 

Plantes vascul. Dep. Saone et Loire, 

in Mem. d'Hist. Nat. ; publ. Soc. 

Eduenne 1865, i. 195. 

A. Plantago, y. minor, Miq. Prol. Fl. 

Jap. in Ann. Mus. Lugd. Bat. 1866, 

ii. 138 = A. Plantago, foliis elliptico- 

oblongis, parvulis. 

A. Plantago, var. obtusifolia, Spreng., 

Linn. Syst. Veg. 1825, ii. 163, teste 

Kunth, Enum. 1841, iii. 149. 

A. Plantago, var. parviflora, Torr. Fl. 

north and middle sections of United 

States, 1824, i. 382 = A. Plantago, 

var. Americanum. 

A. Plantago, j3. sterilis, Miq. in Ann. 

Mus. Lugd. Bat. 1866, ii. 138 = A. 

Plantago, fol. ovatis acutis, basi ro- 

tundatis vel emarginatis. 

A. pubescens. Mart, in Eom. et 

Schultes, Linn. Syst. Veg. 1830, vii. 

ii. 1608. 

A. pubescens, p. Claussenii, Seub. in 

Endl. et Mart. Fl. Bras. 1847, fasc. 

viii. 107. 

A. ranunculoides, Linn. Sp. Plant, ed. 1, 

1753 = Echinodorus ranuncvdoides, 

Eng. 

A. ranunculoides, Willd. Fl. Berol. 

Prod. 1787, 133=Elisma natans, 

Buchen (teste Kunth, Enum. 1841, 

iii. 150). 

A. ranun('ul(Mdi-s Nocc. et Balb. Fl. 

Ticm. 1816, i. 176= A. Plantago, y.

ALISMACEARUM JUNCAGINACEAllUMaUE. 223 

gramiuifolium, Kunth (teste Kunth, 

EnuTu. 1841, iii. 149). 

A. ranunculoides, var. Brasiliensis, A. 

de St. H. Voy. Diatr. Diain. 1833. ii. 

432 = A. tenellum, Mart, (teste Steud. 

in Endl. et Mart. Fl. Bras. 1847, 

fasc. viii. 105) = Echinodorus te- 

nellus, Buchen. 

A. ranunciiloides, j3. repens, S. Fr. Gray, 

Nat. Arrange. Brit. Plants, 1821, ii. 

217 = Echinodorus ranunculoides, ^. 

repens. 

A. ranunculoides, var. repens, De Cand. 

et Duby, Bot. Gall. 437, teste Kunth, 

Enum. 1841, iii. 150. 

A. ranimculoides, All. C. Allione, Fl. 

Pedemont. 1785, i. 243, fide Balb.= 

A.Plantago, /3. angustifolium (Kunth, 

Enum. 1841, iii. 148). 

A. ranunculoides zosterifolium, Fr. 

(teste Asclierson, Fl. Prov. Brand. 

1864, i. 651) = Echinodorus ranun- 

culoides, var. foliis zosteraceis. 

A. reniforme, Don, Prodr. Fl. Nepal. 

1825, 22. 

A. repens. Lam. Diet. EncycL Meth. 

Bot. 1790, ii. 515 = Echinodorus ra- 

nvmculoides, Engelm., var. repens. 

A. roseum, Eaf., teste Steudel, Nomencl. 

Bot. ed. 2, 1840, i. 49, mihi ignotum, 

an = Alisma Plantago, L. ? 

A. rostratum, Nutt. Collections towards 

flora of Arkansas Territory in Trans. 

Amer. Phil. Soc. 1837, t. 159 = Echinodorus 

rostratus, Engelm. 

A. sagittifohuni, Willd. in Spec. Plant, 

ed. 4, 1799, ii. 277 = Limnophyton 

obtusifolium, Miq. 

A. Sprengolii, Kunth, Enum. 1841, iii.. 

154, an = A. subalatum, Mart. ? 

(teste Seubert in Endl. ct Mart. Fl. 

Brass. 1847, fasc. viii. 107) = Echinodorus 

cordifolius, Griseb. (teste 

Grisebach iiber die Yegetatiou der 

Karaiben in Abhandl. der Kun. Ge- 

scUsch. d. Wiss. 7a\ Gottiugen, 1857, 

vii. 257, und Fl. Brit. West Ind. Is- 

lands, 1864, 505). 

A. stellatum, Lam. Diet. Encycl. Bot. 

1790, ii. 514 =Damasonium stella- 

timi, Pers. 

A. subalatum. Mart, in Eom. et Schult. 

Linn. Syst. Veg. 1830, vii. ii. 1609 = 

Ecliinodorus subalatus, Griseb. 

A, subalatum. Mart., o. majus, Schult. 

I.e. 

A. subalatum. Mart., /8. medium, Schult. 

I.e. 

A. subalatum. Mart., 7. minus, Schult. 

l.c. 

A. subcordatum, E,af. in Med. Rep. of 

N. York, V. 356.'= A. Plantago, e. 

Americanum (teste Kunth, Enum. 

1841, iii. 149). 

A. subulatum, L. Spec. Plant, ed. 1, 

1753 = Sagittaria pusiUa, Nutt. 

A. tenellum, Mart, in Eom. et Schult. 

Syst.Veg.1830, vii. ii. 1600 = Echinodorus 

tenellus, Buchen. 

A. trinerve, Link ; Steudel, Nomen. Bot. 

ed. 2, 1840, i. 49, mihi ignotum (an 

Alisma Plantago, Echinodorus ranun- 

culoides, Damasonii spec. ?). 

A. triviale, Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 1816> 

i. 252= A. Plantago, var. America- 

num, Schultes. 

A. vu'gatum. Hook, and Arn. Bot. 

Beech. Voy. 1839, 311. 

Species sequentes Ind. Orient, nomini- 

bus tantum cognita^ sunt 

A. apetalum, H. Ham. in WalUch, Nu- 

merical List of Dried Specimens of 

Plants, 1828, 175, n. 4996, laps, 

calami ; A. aphyllum in Steudel 

(Nomencl. Bot. ed. 2, 1840, i. 49). 

A. calophyllum, Wall. ibid. 175, n. 

4997 = A. parnassifolium ? Ham. 

Hb. 

A. cristatum, Wall, teste Steudel, ibid, 

A. pubescens. Ham. (A. Nathpurense, 

Steud.) ; Steudel ibid. 

:


A. stellatiira, Hum. Hb. (A. Hamiltonianum, 

Wall.) ; Steudel ibid. 

Baldellia, Pari. Nuov. Gen. e Spec, 

di Piantc Monoc. 1854, 57 = Echino- 

dori spec, Eng. 

B. ranuuculoides, Pari. ibid. = Echino- 

dorus ranunculoides, Eug. 

Caldesia, Pari. El. Ital. 1858, iii. 

598 = Echinodori spec., Eng. 

C. parnassifolia, Pari. ibid. = Echinodorus 

pamassifolius, Engelm. 

Cycnogeton, R. Br. 

Damasonium, Juss. Gen. Plant. Sec. 

Ord. Nat. Disposita, 1789, 46. 

Damasonium, Sclireb. in C. Linntei, Gen. 

Plant, ed. 8, 1789, i., teste C. L. 

Willdenow in C. Linnsei Sp. Plant. 

1799, ii. 274 = Ottelia Persoon. 

D. Alisma, Mill. Diet. ed. Germ, a me 

visa : Ph. Miller, AUgemeines Gart- 

nerlexikon ; nach der Englischen 8. 

Auflage iibersetzt. Niirnberg, 1772, 

ii. 3 = D. stellatum, Pers. 

D. angustissimum,Walt. = Echinodorus 

ranunculoides, Engelm. teste Steudel, 

Noinencl. Bot. ed. 2, 1840, i. 48. 

D. australe, Salisbiiry,On theCultivation 

of Rare Plants in Trans. Hort. Soc. 

Lond. ed. 2, 1815, i. 268 = Actiuo- 

rarpus minor. R. Br. teste Salisbury 

ipso. 

D. bourga;i, Coss. PI. Nouv. du Midi 

de I'Espagne, 1849, ii. 47. 

D. Californicum, Torr. in Benth. PI. 

ITui-tweg. 1857, 341. 

D. Dalechampii, S. F. Gray, Nat. 

Arrangem. Brit. Plants, 1821, ii. 

217 =D. stellatum, Pers. 

D. flavum, Miller, Diet., ed. Germ, 

a rae visa ; Ph. 

Gartnerlexikon ; 

Miller, AUgemeines 

nach der Englisch- 

en 8. Auflage iibersetzt, Niirnberg, 

1772, n. 3 = Limnocharis flava, Bu- 

chenau. 

D. Indicum,Willd. ; C. Linn. Sp. Plant 

1799, ii. 274 = Otteha aUsmoides 

Pers. ; C. H. Persoon, Synopsis, 1805 

i. 400 ; Stratiotes alismoides, L, 

(Smith, Ex. Bot. i. 27, t. 15, teste 

Salisb.) et Hymenotheca latifolia. 

Salisb. in Trans. Hort. Soc. Lond 

ed. 2, 1815, i. 368. 

D. minimum, J. Lange, Pugillue Plan 

tarum imprimis Hispanicarum iu Yi 

denskabelige Meddelelser fra d. natur, 

Forening i Kjobenhavn, 1860, 65. 

D. minus, Biichen. =Actinocarpus mi 

nor, R. Br. 

D. polyspermum, Coss. PI. Nouv. du 

Midi de I'Espagne, 1849, ii. 47. 

D. repens, Thuill. = Elisma natans, 

Buchen. 

D. stellatum, Pers.* Syn. Plant. 1805 

i. 400. 

D. vulgare, Coss. Germ. ; testibus Will 

komm et Lange, Pi-odr. Fl. Hisp 

1861, i. 159 = D. stellatum, Pers. 

DiPSEUDOCHOEioN, Buchen. Dipseudo 

chorion, novum Alismacearum genus 

in Flora, 1865, 241=Limnophyton 

Miq. 

* Ledobour in Flora Rossica, 1853, iv. 42, dicit : D. 

Pers. Syn. i. 400. 

D. sagittifolium, Buchen. ibid. = Lim 

uophyton obtusifolium, Miq. 

EcHiNODOEUS, L. C. Rich. Propos 

d'une nouvelle Famille des Plantes 

les Butomees, in Mem. du Mus 

d'Hist. Nat. 1815, i. 365. Genus a 

cl. Engelmannio charact. emend, re 

stauratum in A. Gray, Man. Bot 

ed. 1, 1848, 460 

E. cordifolius, Griseb. iiber d. Flora 

der Karaiben in Abb. d. Kon. Ges. 

d. Wiss. zu Gcittingen, 1857, vii. 257. 

E. cordifolius, 0. Berteroanus, Griseb. 

stellatum, L. C. Richard in

ALISMACEARUM JUNCAGINACEARUMQUE. 225 

E. (?) enneander, Al. Br. in Schwein- 

fiu'th, Beitrag ziir Flora ^thiopiens, 

1867, 295 et 309. 

E. Guianensis, Griseb. Fl. Brit. West 

Ind. Isl. 1864, 505. 

E. humilis (Kunth), BucheTiau, iiber 

die Richtung der Samenknospe bei 

den Alismaceen in Pringsheim, Jahr- 

biicher fiir Wissenschaftliche Bo- 

tanik, 1868, vii. 28. 

E. intermedius, Griseb. Cat. Plant. 

Cuben. 1866, 218. 

E. niurieatus, Griseb. Nov. Fl. Panam. 

in Bonp. 1858, vi. 11. 

E. natans, Engelm. in Ascherson, Fl. 

Prov. Brand. 1864, i. 651 = Eli3ma 

natans, Buchen. 

E. natans, c. repens, Reichb. ; Ascherson, 

Fl. Mark Brand. 1864, i. 652 = 

Elisma natans, Buchen. 

E. natans, b. zosterifolius, Fr. Ascherson, 

ibid.=EIi3ma natans, Buchen. 

E. parnassifohus (L.), Eng. Ascherson, 

ibid. 651 (Caldesia parnassifoUa, 

Pari.). 

E. teneUus, Buch., v. Alisma teneUum, 

Mart.,et Echinodorus pamdus, Eng. 

E. parvulus, Eng. in A. Gray, Man. 

Bot. ed. 2, 1856, 438. 

E. radicans, Eng. ibid. 

E. ranunculoides, Eng. in Ascherson, 

Fl. Prov. Brand. 1864, i. 651. 

E. rostratus, Eng. in A. Gray, Man. 

Bot. ed.2, 1856, 438. 

E. subalatus, Gris. Cat. Plant. . Cuben. 

1866, 218. 

E. subulatus, Gray (non Engelm. !) 

Man. Bot. ed. 1, 1848, 460 = E. parvulus, 

Eng. 

Elisma, Buch. iiber die Richtung der 

Samenknospe bei den Alismaceen, in 

Pringsheim, Jahrbiicher fiir Wissen- 

schafthche Botanik, 1868, vii. 25. 

E. natans, Buch. ibid. 

LiM>-OPHYTON, Miq. Fl. Nederl. Ind. 

1855, iii. 242. 

' 

I Baicalensi-dahurica 

I Imp. 

L. obtusifolium, Miq. ibid. 

Ottelia, Pers., est genus Hydrochari- 

taceanim. O. ahsmoides, Pers. (Damasonium 

Indicnm, Willd.). 

Sagittaeia, L. Syst. Nat. ed. 1, 1735 ; 

Gen. Plant, ed. 1, 1737, n. 723. 

S. acutifoha, L. fil. Suppl. Plant. 1781, 

419, vide S. pugioniformis, L. 

S. acutifolia, Piirsh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 

1816, ii. 397 [S. simplex, Pursh 

(Eng. olim in A. Gray, Man. Bot. 

1856, ed. 2, 439).] = "s. graminea, 

Mich. ; Eng. in A. Gray, Man. Bot. 

ed. 5, 1867, 494. 

S. affinis, Seub. in Endl. et Mart. Fl. 

Bras. 1847, fasc. viii. 111. 

S. alpina, WUld. Linn. Sp. Plant, ed. 

4, 1805, iv. 410 = S. sagittifolia, L. 

S. alpina, a. submersa, Turcz. Fl. 

in BuU. Soc. 

Mosc. 1854, iii. 58 = S. sagitti- 

folia, L. 

S. alpina, 0. emersa, Turcz. ibid. = S. 

sagittifolia, L. 

S. andina, Ph. Plant. Nov. Chilens. 

Cent. Quai'ta in Linneea, xxix. 1857, 

45, verisimiliter = S. Chilensis, var. 

minor. 

S. angustifolia, Lindl. in Edwards' Bot. 

Reg. 1828, xiv. n. 1141 = S. lanci- 

folia, L., var. angustifoha, Gi'iseb. 

S. aquatica, Lam. = S. sagittifolia, L. 

(teste Steudel, Nomencl. Bot. ed. 2, 

1841, ii. 491.) 

S. aquatica, S. Fr. Gray, Nat. Arrangem. 

Brit. PI. 1821, ii.' 154 = S. .sagitti- 

folia, L. 

S. Blumei, Kunth. Enum. 1841, iii. 158. 

S. bracteata, WiUd. Herb. n. 17559. 

PI. Humb. = Alisma echinocai-pum, 

Seub. (testibus Chamisso et Schlech- 

tendal, PI. Mex. a Deppe et Schiede 

Coll. in Linnsea, 1831, vi. 42, et Seub. 

in Endl. et Mart. Fl. BrasU. 1847, 

fasc. viii. 105) = Echinodorus Guia- 

nensis, Gris.

226 INDEX CKITICUS BUTOMACEARUM, 

S. Brasiliensis, Mart. Syst. Mat. Med. 

Veg. Bras. 47 excl. Veil. x. t. 31 = 

A. floribundum, Seub. (teste Seub. in 

Endl. et Mart. Flora Bras. 1847, 

fasc. viii. 109). 

S. bulbosa, Donn, Hort. Cant. ed. 6, 

246 = S. rigida, Pursh ? teste J. Sims 

in Bot. Mag. 1814, xxxix. 1631. 

S. calycina, Eng. in Emory, U.S. and 

Mex. Bound. Surv. 1859, ii. 212. 

S. calycina, y. fluitans, Eng. in Emoi-y, 

l.c. 

S. calycina, var. grandis, Eng. in A. 

Gray, Man. Bot. ed. 5, 1867, 494 = 

S. calycina, a. maxima, Engelm. 

S. calycina, a. maxima, Eng. in Emory, 

U.S. and Mex. Bound. Surv. 1859, ii. 

212. 

S. calycina, ^3. media, Eng. in Emory, 

I.e. 

S. calycina, var. spongiosa, Engelm. in 

A. Gvixj, Man. Bot. ed. 5, 1867, 493. 

S. Chilensis, Cliam. et Schl. Plant. 

Eomanzoff, in Linnsea, 1827, ii. 155. 

S. Chinensis, Sims, Linn. Syst. Veg. ed. 

16, 1825, ii. 632 (errore typographi- 

co) =S. Sinensis, Sims. 

S. cordifolia, Lam. Diet. Bot. 1790, ii. 

504, species valde dubia. 

S. cordifolia, Eoxb. Fl. Ind. 1832, iii. 

647. 

S. Doniana-, Sweet, Hort. Brit. 1826, 

375 = S. hastata, D. Don. 

S. echinocarpa,, Mart. Amceuitates Bot. 

Monacenses (sine anno) 6=Alisma 

ccliinocarpum, Seub. = Ecliinodorus 

Guianensis, Griseb. \ 

S. ednlis, Schlccht. Plant. Leibold. in 

Linnaja, 1844, xviii. 432, v. S. niacro- 

phylla, Bunge. 

S, falcata, Piirsli, Fl. Amer. Sept. ,1816, 

ii. 397 = S. lancifolia, L. (teste Engelmann 

iii A. Gray, Man. Bot, ed. 5, 

1867, 493). 

S. gracilis, Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 181 6, 

ii. 396 = S. variabilis, Engelm. var. 

angustifolia (Engelmann in A. Gray, 

Man. Bot. ed. 2, 1856, 439). 

S. graminea, Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 

1803, ii. 190. 

S. graminea, Nutt. = Sag. stolonifera, 

Eng. et Gray (testibus G. Engelmann 

et -Asa Gray, Plantse Lind- 

heimerianse in Boston Journ. Nat. 

Hist. 1845, v. 234 =S. graminea, 

Michx. (Engelmann in litt. d. d. 

Junio, 1867). 

S. graminea, Michx. var. platyphylla, 

Eng. in A. Gray, Man. Bot. ed. 5, 

1867, 494. 

S. Guayanensis, H. B. K. Nov. Gen. et 

Sp. Plant. 1815, i. 250 = AHsma 

echinocarpum, Seub. = Ecliinodorus 

Guianensis, Griseb. 

S. hastata, D. Don, Prod. Fl. Nepal. 


S. hastata, Pursh, Fl. Am. Sept. 1816, 

ii. 396 = S. variabilis, var. sagittifolia, 

Eng. 

S. heterophylla, Pursh, 1. c. 

S. heterophylla, Pursh, var. angustifolia, 

Eng. in A. Gray, Man. Bot. 1856, 

ed. 2, 439. 

S. heterophylla, Pursh, var, elliptica, 

Eng. 1. c. 

S. heterophylla, Pursh, var. rigida 

(Pursh, als Art), Eng. 1. c. 

S. heterophylla, Berter. mihi ignota = 

S. incrassata, Steud. (teste Steudel). 

S. heterophylla, Schreb. in Schweigger 

et Korte, Fl. Erlang. 1811, ii. 119 = 

S. sagittifolia, var. heterophylla, 

Bll. 

S. hirundinacea, Bl. Enum. Plant. 

Java-, 1830, fasc. i. 34. 

S. incrassata, Steudel, Nomcncl. Bot. 

ed. 2, 1841, ii. 491. 

S. lancifolia, L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 1759, 

ii. 

S. lancifolia, var. angustifolia, Lindl. 

(als Art), Griseb. Cat. PI, Cuben. 

1866, 218.

ALISMACEARUM JUNCAGINACEARIJMQUE. 227 

S. Lappula, D. Don, Prod. Fl. Nepal. 


S. latifolia, VVilld. Linn. Sp. Plant, ed. 

4, 1805, iv. 409 = S. variabilis, var. 

latifolia, Eng. 

S. latifolia, $. major, Pursh, Fl. Amer. 

Sept. 1816, ii.396 = S. variabilis, var. 

latifolia, Eng. 

S. longiloba, Eng. apud J. Torrey in 

Emory, U.S. et Mex. Bound. Svu-v. 

1859, ii. 212; aff. S. graminese, 

Michx. ; an diversa ? 

S. macrophylla, Bunge, Euum. Plant. 

quas in China Bor. coll. anno 1831, 

in Mem. Sav. Etrang. 1832, ii. 137 

= S. edulis, Schleeht. 

S. macrophylla, Zucc. Plant. Nov. et 

minus cogn. qute in Hto. Bot. Her- 

barioque Regio Monacensi servautur 

fasc. 1, in Abhandl. der Konigl. Bayr. 

Akademie, 1832, i. 289 = S. Mexicana, 

Steudel. 

S. major. 

S. Mexicana, Steud. Nomencl. Bot. ed. 

2, 1841, ii. 491, v. S. macrophylla, 

Zuccar. 

S. minor. Mill. Diet. ed. Germ, a me 

visa ; Ph. Miller, Allgemeines Gart- 

nerlexikon, nach der Engl. 8. Aufl. 

iibersetzt ; Niirnberg, 1776, iv. 35 = 

5. sagittifolia, L. (foliis sagittatis, 

spathulatisque). 

S. minor, a cl. Pallas in descriptione S. 

natantis sine antore citata ; 

quid est ? 

S. monoica, GiUb. Fl. Lith. 1781, v. 

218 = S. sagittifoUa, L. 

S. Montevidensis, Cham, et Schl. PI. 

Romanzoff. in Linnaea, 1827, ii. 156. 

S. natans. Pall. Reise diirch verscliie- 

dene Provinzen des Russischen 

Reiches, 1776, iii. Anhang, 757, t. G, 

f. 3 = S. alpina, Willd. = S. sagittifo- 

lia, L. 

* Non Willdenow, sed Miihlenberg : 

tusa Miililenberg in litt. 

Willdenowius 

S. natans, H. Martins (rectius S. sagittifolia, 

var. natans), Prod. Fl. Mos- 

quensis, ed. 2, 1817, 170. 

S. natans, Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1803, 

ii. 190. 

S. natans, Michx. var. lorata, Chap7U. 

Fl. South. U.S. 1865, 449. 

S. nymphaefolia, Hochst. in Coll. PI. 

Seneg. cl. Perrottet, n. 807 = Lim- 

nophyton obtusifolium, Miq. 

S. nymphffifolia, Hochst. in Coll. Plant. 

Nub. cl. Kotschyi, n. 432 = S. cor- 

difolia, Roxb. (v. Buchenau in Flora, 

1865, 242). 

S. obtusa, Miihlenberg ;* Willdenow, 

Linn. Sp. PI. ed. 4, 1805, iv. 409 = 

S. variabilis, var. obtusa, Eng. 

S. obtusa, Thunb. Fl. Jap. 1784, 242 = 

S. obtusifolia, L. (teste Thunb. 1. c), 

probab. = S. sagittifoUa, L. (teste 

Miq. Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 

1866, ii. 138). 

S. obtusifoha, L. Sp. Plant, ed. 1, 1753 

= Limnophyton obtusifolium, Miq. 

S. obtusissima, Hassk. Cat. Hort. Bo- 

goriens. 26 = S. triflora, Noronha. 

(Yerh. Bat. Genootsch. v. 84, teste 

Hassk. Plant. Javan. Rariores, 1848, 

104) =S. Blumei, Kmith. 

S. ovata, Red. = S. lancifoHa, L. (teste 

Grisebach, Fl. Brit. West Ind. Isl. 

. 1864, 505). 

S. palajfolia, Nees et Mart, in Maximi- 

lian, Prinz zu Neuwied, Beitrag zur 

Flora Brasiliens. in Nova Act. Phys. 

Med. Acad. Cass. L. C. 1823, xi. 21. 

S. papulosa, Buchen. Spec. Nov. 

S. parviflora. Wall. Cat.=S. Blumei, 

Kunth (teste Miquel, Flora van Ne- 

derl. Ind. 1856, iii. 242). 

S. plantaginifolia. Martens et Galeotti, 

Enum. Synopt. Plant. Phaner. ab 

H. Galeotti in region. Mex. coll. in 

ipse dccit : Sagittaria ob


Biill. Acad. Roj'. Brux. 1842, ix. n. 

2, 379. 

S. pubescens, Muell. Cat. Plant. Amer. 

Sept. 1813, 8 = S. variabilis, var. pubescens, 

Eng. 

S. pugioniformis, L. Diss, de PL Surin. 

1775, n. 126; Aracen. Acad. 1783, 

viii. 263 ; 

419. 

in adn. S. acutifolia, Suppl. 

S. Purshii, Steud. Nomen. Bot. ed. 2, 

1841 ; ii. 491 ; et Kinith, Enum. 

1841, iii. 160 = S. acutifolia, Pursh. 

S. pusilla, Blume, Enum. PL Jav. fasc. 

1, 1830, 34 = S. Blumei, Kuuth. 

S. pusilla, Nutt. Gen. North. Amer. PL 

1818, ii. 213. 

S. pygmffia, Miq. Ann. Mus. Bot. 

Lugd.-Bat. 1866, ii. 138, an synon. 

S. pusillce, Nutt. ? (Miquel). 

S. radicans, Nutt. Collections towards a 

Flora of Arkansas Territory in Trans. 

Amer. Philos. Soc. 1837, v. 159 = 

Echinodorus radicans, Eng. 

S. ranunculoides. Ari-ab. (Velloz) Fl. 

Flumin. 1827, x. t. 32 = Hydrocleis 

nymphoides, Buclien. 

S. rhombifolia, Cham. Spicilegium Alismacearum 

in Linnaea, 1835, x. 219. 

S. rigida, Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept.l816,ii. 

397 = S.heterophylla,var. rigida,Eng. 

S. sagittata, Thunb. FL Jap. 1784, 242 = 

S. sagittifolia, L. (teste Thunb. ipso). 

S. sagittifolia, Lour. Flora Cochinchin. 

1790, ii. 570 = S. Chinensis, Sims 

(teste J. Sims, Bot. Mag. 1814, xxxix. 

1631). 

S. sagittifolia, L. Sp. Plant, ed.^, 1753. 

S. sagittifolia, Rich. Essai d'une Flore 

de rile de Cuba, in Ramon de la 

Sagra, Histoire de I'lle de Cuba, 1850, 

xi. 323 = S. acutifolia, L. (teste Gri- 

seb. in Cat. Plant. Cub. 1866, 218). 

S. sagittifolia, Arrabida (Velloz), Fl. 

1827, X. t. 32 = A. macrophyllum, 

Kunth (testibus Kuuth, Enum. 1841, 

iii. 152, et Seubert in Endl. et Mart. 

FL Bras. 1847, fasc. viii. 108) =Echi- 

nodori sp. 

S. sagittifoUa, Auct. Amer. = S. variabi- 

lis, Eng.) 

. 

S. sagittifolia, b. fequiloba, Schur. 

Enum. Plant. Transsylv. 1866, 630. 

S. sagittifoliji, a. breviloba, Reg. Fl. 

Ussuri-Gebietes in Mem. Acad. St. 

Petersb. vii. ser. 1861, iv. n. 4, 140. 

S. sagittifolia, c. divaricata, Schur. 


S. sagittifolia, a. edulis, Sieb. Herb. Miq. 

Ann. Bot. Lugd. Bat. 1866, ii. 138. 

S. sagittifolia, a. heterophylla, Schur. 


S. sagittifolia, var. gracilis, Bll. (non 

Torrey!), Bolle, Alismaceenformen 

d. Mark in Verb. d. Bot. Vereins 

d. Mark, Brand. 1861, iii. 163. 

S. sagittifolia, var. gracilis, Torr. com- 

pend. 355, teste Torrey ipso in Fl. of 

State of New York, 1843, ii. 259 = 

S. variabilis, var. gracilis, Eng. 

S. sagittifolia, )8. hastata, Torr. ibid. = 

S. variabilis, var. sagittifolia, Eng. 

S. sagittifolia, var. heterophylla (Schreb. 

als Art), Bolle, Alismaceenformen der 

Mark in Verb. d. Bot. Vereins d. 

Mark Brand. 1861, iii. 161. 

S. sagittifolia, o. latifolia, Torr. Com- 

pend. 355 teste Tori-ey ipso in Fl. of 


S. variabilis, var. latifolia, Eng. 

S. sagittifolia, y. longiloba, Turcz. Flora 

Baicaleusi-daburica in Bull. Soc. Nat. 

Mosc. 1854, iii. 57 = S. sagittifolia, 

var. angustifolia, Hook. Fl. Bor. 

Amer. ii. 167 (E. Regel, Flora des 

Ussuri-Gebietes in Mem. Acad. St. 

Petersb. vii. ser. 1861 ; iv. n. 140). 

S. sagittifolia, var. macrophvlla, Hook. 

Fl. Bor. Amer. 1840, ii. 167 = 8. sa- 

gittifolia, var. latifolia, Torr. (teste J. 

Torrey, Fl. of State of New York, 

1842, ii. 259 =S. variabilis, var. lati- 

folia, Eng.)

ALISMACEARUM JUNCAGINACEAEUMQUE. 229 

S. sagittifolia, var. Mexicana, Martens 

et Galeotti, Enum. Synopt. Plant. 

Phau. ab H. Graleotti in region. Mexic. 

Coll. ill BiiU. Ac. Roy. Brux. 1812, 

ix. ii. 379 = S. variabilis, var. (?). 

S. sagittifolia, ;8. minor, Pursh, Fl. Amer. 

Sept. 1816. ii. 395 = S. variablis, Eng. 

S. sagittifolia, 7. minor, Reg. Flora des 

Ussuri-Grebietes in Mem. Acad. St. 

Petersb. vii. ser. 1861 ; iv. n. 4, 140. 

S. sagittifolia, d. minor, Schur. Enum. 

Plant, Transsylv. 1866, 630. 

S. sagittifolia, var. obtusa, BoUe, Alismaceenformen 

der Mark in Verb. d. 

Bot. Vereins d. Mark Brand. 1861, 

iii. 162. 

S. sagittifolia, 5. pubescens, Torr. Com- 

pend. 355, teste Torrey ipso in Fl. of 


S. variabilis, var. pubescens, Eng. 

S. sagittifolia, var. rigida, Torr. 'Fl. of 


S. rigida, Pursb. = S. heterophylla, 

var. rigida, Eng. 

S. sagittifolia, var. simplex, Hook. Fl. 

Bor. Amer. 1840, ii. 167, teste Torrey 

(1. c.), qui synonyma : S. grami- 

nea, Pursh ; S. simplex, Pursh ; S. 

acutifolia, Pursh, enumerat. = S. gra- 

minea, Michx. 

S. sagittifolia, var. stratiotoides, BoUe, 

Alismaceenfonnen der Mark in Verb, 

d. Bot. Vereins d. Mark Brand. 1861, 

iii. 164. 

S. sagittifolia, var. subsequiloba, Regel, 

Fl. des Ussuri-Grebietes, 140 ; in 

Mem. Acad, St. Petersb. vii. ser. 

1861, n; 4. 

S. sagittifolia, var. vallisneriifolia, Cosson 

et Germ, in Grenier et Godron 

Fl. de France, 1855, iii. 167. 

S. Sellowiana, Kunth, Enum. 1841, iii. 

159 = S. acutifoha, L. var. (teste ili- 

quel, Symbolse ad floram Surinamensem 

in Linnsea, 1844, xvui. 379). 

S. Seubertiana, Mart, in Endl. et Mart. 

Fl. Bras. 1847, viii. 110 = Echinodo- 

rus Guianensis, Griseb. (teste Griseb.) 

S. simplex, Auct. Amer. (non Pursh). 

= S. graraiuea, Michx. (teste Engelmann 

in A. Gray, Man. Bot. ed. 5, 

1867, 494). 

S. simplex, Pursh, Fl. Amer. Sept. 1816, 

ii. 397 = S. variabilis, forma dioica, 

Eng. ibid. 

S. Sinensis, Sims, Bot. Mag. t. 1631, 

AprH, 1814. 

S. stolonifera, Eng. et Gray, Plantae 

Lindheimeriause in Boston Journ. 

Nat. Hist. 1845, v. 234 = S. simplex, 

Aut. Amer. =S. graminea, Michx. 

(G Eng. in Htt. d. d. Junio, 1867). 

S. triandra, Dalzell, Contrib. to Bot. 

of West. India in Hook. Journ. Bot. 

and Kew Garden Misc. 1850, ii. ] 44. 

S. triflora, Noronha, Relatio Plantarum 

Javauensium iterfactione usque in 

Bandong recognitarum in Verb. Batav. 

Genootschap van Kunsten enWe- 

t«nschappen, 1791, v. 84= S. Blumei, 

Kimth. 

S. trifoUa, L. Sp. PI. ed. 1, 1753, species 

valde dubia. 

S. variabihs, Eng. in A. Gray, Man. 

Bot. ed. 1, 1848, 461, et ed. 2, 1856, 

439. 

S. variabihs, var. angustifolia, Eng. I.e. 

S. variabilis, var. diversifolia, Eng. 1. c. 

S. variabilis, var. gracilis, Eng. 1. c. 

S. variabilis, var. latifoha, Eng. 1. c. 

S. variabilis, var. obtusa, Eng. 1. c. 

S. variabUis, var. pubescens, Eng. in 

schedulis. 

S. variabilis, var. sagittifoha, Eng. 1. c. 

S. vulgaris, Giildenst. Reisen durch 

Russland und in Kaukasischen Ge- 

birge, 1791, ii. 45, 157 = S. sagitti- 

foha, L. 

Yallisneeia, L. a cl. Mimby in Catal. 

Plant, in Algeria Sponte Nasc. 1863, 

32. Alismaceis adscribitur, sed certe 

genus Hydro charitacearum est. 

.


Vallisneria bulbosa, Poir. Lam. Encycl. 

Method. Bot. 1808, viii. 321, pro 

parte. = Sagittaria sagittifolia, ;8. val- 

lisneriifolia, Coss. et Germ, pro parte 

verisimiliter = Scirpus maritimus, L. 

JUNCAGINACEiE, Rich. 

(L. C. E/icliard, Analyse du Fruit, 

1808, et Proposition d'une Nouvelle 

Famille des Plantes, les Butomees, in 

Mem. du Mus. 1815, i. 365.) 

Catanthes, L. C. Eich. 1. c. = Tetromcum, 

Willd. (teste Kunth, Enum. 

1811, iii. 142). 

Cycnogeton, Endl. Gen. Plant. Suppl. 

i. 1369. 

C. Huegelii, Endl. Icon. Gen. Plant. 

1838, t. 73 ; Stirpium avistralasica- 

rum, Herb. Hiig. decad. iii. in An- 

nalen des Wiener Museums, 1840, ii. 

211 = 0. procera, Buchen. 

C. linearis, Sond. in Plant. Muelle- 

rianse, Linnsea, 1856, xxviii. 225. 

C. procera, Buchen. Triglocliin pro- 

cera, R. Br. Adnot. Triglocliin du- 

bia, R. Br., ad hoc genus referenda 

est ; an diversa a specie pra^cedente ? 

Heterostylus, Hook. FI. Bor. Am. 

1840, ii. 171 = Lil8ea, H. B. K. (teste 

Endl. Genera PI. Suppl. i. 1356). 

JuNCAGO, Tourn. Inst. Rei Herb. 1700, 

i. 260 = Triglocliin, L. 

J. ]>.alu8tris, Monch, Methodus Plant. 

1794, 644 = T. palustris, L. 

LiLÂ, n. et B. Plant. Equinoc. 1808, 

i. 222. Genus anomalum, ads.Cype- 

raceas transfei*endum ? 

Maundia, F. Muell. Fragni. Phytog. 

Austr. 1858, i. 22. 

M. triglochinoides, F. Muell. 1. c. 

Oenithogaltjm Japonicum, Buerger 

IIerb. = Tr. maritimum, L. ; Miq. 

Pro. Fl. Jap. in Ann. Mus. Lugd. 

Bat. 1866, ii. 139. 

SciiEuciiZEUiA, L. Syst. Nat. ed. 1, 

1735 (teste Richter, Codex Bot. Lin- 

naeus) et Flora Lappon. 1737, 133. 

S. Asiatica, Miq. Flora Nederl. Ind. 

1856, iii. 243. 

S. palustris, L. Sp. Plant, ed. 1, 1753 

ed. 2, 1792, i. 482. 

S. paniculata,- Gilib. Exercitia Phytolo- 

gica, 1792, ii. 502 = S. palustris, L. 

S. unicapsularis, Commers. Herb = Jun- 

cus grandiflorus, L. Suppl. 209 teste 

Lamarck, Encyc. Method. Bot. 1789, 

iii. 266. 

Teteoncium, WiUd. Nahere Bcstimmung 

einiger Liliengewachse im Ma- 

gazin d. Gesellschaft Naturforsclien- 

der Freunde in Berlin, 1808, ii. 17. 

T. Magellanicum, Willd. ibid. 

Triglochin, Rivin, Locus mihi igno- 

tus ; Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. 1, 1735. 

T. Ani, C. Koch, Beiti-age zur Flora des 

Orients in Linnsea, 1849, xxii. 273 = 

T. maritima, L. 

T. Atacamensis, Philippi, Reise durch 

die Wuste Atacama, 1860, n. 356,49 

[zweite Pagiuirung]. 

T. atlantica, Willd. Herb. =T. bulbosa, 

L. (teste Kunth, Enum. 1841, iii. 

143.) 

T. Barrelieri, Lois. Fl. Gall. 1807, 725, 

ed. 2, 1828 ; i. 264 = T. bulbosa, L. 

T. bulbosa, L. Mantissa Plantarum 

Altera, 1771, 226. 

T. bulbosa, /3. robustior, R. et S. Linn. 

Syst. Plant. 1829, vii. ii. 1585. 

T. (?) calcarata. Hook. Ic. Plant. 1842, 

V. t. 416. 

T. calcitrapa. Hook. Ic. Plant. 1845, 

viii. t. 731. 

T. centrocarpa, Hook. Ic. Plant. 1845, 

viii. t. 728. 

T. Cliilensis, Meyen, Reise um die Welt, 

1834, i. 354, adnot. =T. palustris, 

L. 

T. ciliata, Ruiz et Pav. Fl. Peruv. et 

Chil. 1802, iii. 52. An liujus ge- 

neris ? 

;

ALISMACEARUM JUNCAGIKACEARUMCIUE. 231 

T. decipiens, R. Br. Prod. Fl. Nov. 

Holl. 1810, 343 = T. striata, R. et P. 

T. deusiflora, Domb. in Herb. Mus. 

Paris = T. striata, R. et P.? (teste 

Kunth, Enum. 1841, iii. 144). 

T. dubia, R. Br. Prod. Fl. Nov. Holl. 

1810, 343. Species dubia, ad genus 

Cycnogeton referenda. 

T. elata, Nutt. Gen. N. Amer. Plants, 

1848, i. 237 = T. maritima, var. elata, 

A. Gray. 

T. filifolia, Sieb. in Herb. Nov. HolJ. n. 

174; Spreng. Syst. Veg. curse Poste- 

riores, 1827, iv. 2, 142 = T. striata, 

R. et P. 

T. filifolia, Hook. Ic. Plant. 1843, vi. t. 

579 = T. triandra, Mich, (teste J. D. 

Hook, in Handb. N. Zeal. Fl. 1864, 

278 = T. striata, R. et P.). 

T. flaccida, A. Cunn. =T. triandra, 

Michx. (teste J. D. Hook, ibid.) 

T. fouticola, Philippi, Reise durch die 

WiJste Atacama, 1860, n. 355, 7 

[zweite Paginirung] = T. palustris, 

L. 

T. juncea, Gilib. Exercitia Pliytologica, 

1792, ii. 501. 

T. laxiflora, Guss. Ind. Sem. anni 1825 

quje ab horto regio in Boccadifalco 

pro mutua commutatione exhibentur, 

1825. 

T. Lechleri, Steud. in sched. W. Lech- 

leri, Plant. Cliilen. n. 457 = T. striata, 

R. et P. 

T. linearis, Endl. in Plant. Preiss. 

1846-7, ii. 54 = Cycnogeton linearis, 

Sond. 

T. maritima, L. Sp. Plant, ed. 1, 1753, 

ed. 2, 1762, i. 483. 

T. maritima, Thunb. Fl. CajD. 1807- 

1813, 340 =T. maritima, ;3.micrantha, 

E. M. (E. Mey. in Plant. Ecklonian^, 

Liun. 1832, vii. 131) =T. striata, R. 

et P. (testibuo Chamisso et Schlecht- 

endal, Plant. Romanzoff. in Linn. 

1827, ii. 150). 

T. maritima, var. elata, A. Gr. Man. 

Bot. 1856, 437. 

T. maritima, )3. micrantlia, E. Mey. 

Plant. Ecklon. Linn. 1832, vii. 131. 

T. Mexicana, H. B. K., Kunth, Nov. 

Gen. et Sp. Plant. 1815, i. 244 = T. 

maritima, L. 

T. Montevidensis, Spr. Linnaei, Systema 

Veg. ed. 14, cur. C. Sprengcl, 1825, 

ii. 145 = T. striata, R. et P. 

T. mucronata, R. Br. Prod. Fl. Nov. 

Holl. 1810, 343. 

T.Neesii,Endl.inPl. Preiss. 1846-47, ii. 

54 = T. mucronata, R. Br. (teste Sond. 

in PI. Muell. Linn. 1856, xxviii. 224). 

T. nana, F, Mueller,Desc. Austral.Plants 

in Hook. Journ. Bot. 1856, 332. 

T. palustris, L. Sp. Plant, ed. 1, 1753, 

ed. 2, 1762, i. 482. 

T. palustris, Brot. Fl. Lusitan. 1804, 

600 =T. bulbosa, L. (teste Kunth, 

Enum. 1841, iii. 143). 

T. palustris, Desf. Fl. Atlant. 1798, i. 

322 = T. laxiflora, Guss. (teste Gus- 

sone, Fl. Sicul. Synop. 1842, i. 439). 

T. palustris, ;8. L. Sp. Plant, ed. 2, 1762, 

i. 483 = T. bulbosa, L. 

T. palustris, )3. salina, Mertens et Koch, 

Deutschlands Flora, 1826, ii. 628. 

T. palustris, ;8. Poll. Hist. Plant, in 

Palat. Elect. Sponte Nasc. 1776, i. 

368 = T. palustris, $. salina, M. et K. 

(testibus Mertens et Koch, I.e.) 

T. patens, Steud. Herb. = T. bulbosa, L. 

;3. robustior, R. et S. (testibus Romer 

et Schultes, 1. c.) 

T. procera, R. Br. Prod. Fl. Nov. Holl. 

1810, i. 843 = Cycnogeton procera, 

Buchen. 

T. raceraosa, Endl. Plant. Preiss. 1846- 

47, ii. 54 = Antherici semibarbati, R. 

Br. (Prod. Fl. Nov. Holl. 1810, 275) 

status nondum evolutus, teste Sender 

in PI. Mueller. (Linn. 1856, xxviii. 

224). 

T. reflexum, Vahl, nomen ab auctore


non publieatum = Tetroncium Magellanicum, 

Willd. (teste Willd. in Ma- 

gazin d.Gesellschaft naturforscliender 

Freunde in Berlin, 1808, ii. 17). 

T. Ecegneri, C. Koch, Beitrage zur Flora 

des Orients; Linn. 1849, xxii. 272, 

an T. maritimse, var ? 

T. salina, Wallr. Scholion zn Hampe's 

Prod. Fl. Hercyniae in Linn. 1840, 

xiv. 567 = T. maritima, L. 

T. striata, E. et P. Fl. Pcriiv. et Chil. 

1802, iii. 72. 

T. triandra, Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1803, 

i. 208. 

T. trichopbora, Nees ab Esenb. in PI. 

Preiss. 1846-1847, ii. 54. 

NEW BRITISH LICHENS. 

By the Rev. James Crombie, M.A., F.G.S., E.L.S. 

No. III. 

Ill addition to those enumerated in the two former papers, there are 

now to be described the following new species recently discovered by 

me in the New Forest and in Scotland, one of which, however, had 

previously been recorded by Mr. Mudd. 

1. Lecidea tenera, Nyl. in Flora, 1869, p. 83 ; thallus ciitereous- 

green, thin, somewhat subgranulate, indeterminate, everywhere rimu- 

lose ; apothecia pale, minute, plane, with paler margin ; spores 8 in 

thecse, colourless, oblong or subbacillar, simple or obsoletely 1-sep- 

tate, 0-008-0-10 mm. long, 0-0015-00025 mm. thick ; parapliyses 

moderately thickish, with clavate apex, epitliecium and hypothecium 

colourless ; hymeneal gelatine blue with iodine, spermogones colour- 

less, spermatia oblong. 

On the smooth face of a granitic rock on tlie coast of Kincardine- 

shire, S. of the Bay of Nigg. August, 1868. Though occurring 

plentifully in one spot, it was seen by me nowhere else iu the neigh- 

bourhood. It is allied to L. globulosa, Flk., from which it is suffi- 

ciently distinguished by fiie above characteristics. 

2. L. prceeavenda, Nyl. in litt. ; thallus obscure, tliin, scarcely 

visible; apothecia black, plane or somewhat concave, margined, small; 

spores 8 in thecse, faintly blackish, eUiptical, 1-septate, 0"014-17 mm. 

long, 0/006-8 ram. thick ; paraphyses slender, epithecium obscurely 

amber-brown, hypothecium somewhat reddish-brown, al)ove more in- 

tense in colour ; hymeneal gelatine blue, and then wine-red with 

iodine.

NEW BRITISH LICHEXS. 233 

Oil the decaying wood of an old holly near Lyndhurst in the New 

Forest. April, 1S69. Very rare and local, and found only very 

sparingly on a single tree, Nylander observes that it is distinguished 

from L. myriocarpa, De Cand., by the form of the paraphyses and the 

reaction with iodine, and from L. adpressa, Hepp., by the paraphyses 

and the colour of the spores and hypothecium. 

3. L. deduda, Nyl. in litt. ; thallus obscurely subgelatinous, but 

scarcely proper (as traces of a greenish effuse thallus are here and 

there visible) ; apothecia blackish, small, usually margined ; spores 8 

in thecse, colourless or faintly blackish, elliptical or oblong, 3-septate, 

0-010-13 mm. long, 0-0035-000-i5 mm. thick ; paraphyses not 

discrete, thiu layer of the apothecia reddish (hypothecium more 

obscure in the middle) ; hymeneal gelatine blue, then wine-red with 

iodine. 

On decaying felled stumps of Holly in the New Forest, near to 

Brockenhiu-st. April, 1869. Very rare, and perhaps but a variety 

of L. siibturgidula, Nyl., from. which it differs chiefly by the apothecia 

being black and margined. 

4. L. spododes, Nyl. in litt. ; thallus greenish-yellow, thin, grar.u- 

lose, somewhat evanescent; apothecia cinereous or sordid pale, small, 

convex, immarginate ; spores simple, oblong, 0-010-14 mm. long, 

0-0025-0-0040 mm. thick; hymeneal gelatine blue, and then wine- 

red with iodine. 

On old pales near Lyndhurst in the New Forest. April, 1869. 

Eare and local. It is closely allied to L. den'ujrata, Frs., of wdiich 

probably it is to be regarded as a subspecies, though externally it is 

readily distinguished from this. 

5. Eudocarpon Cromhiei, Mudd, Brit. Clad. p. 36 ; parasitic on 

thallus of ThamnoUa vermicular is ; apothecia verrucaeform, lateral 

minute, at length emersed, confluent, each verruca containing many 

nuclei ; ostiola very minute, punctiform, depressed, pale reddish- 

brown ; nucleus subgelatinous in yellowish-brown subceraceous tunic 

paraphyses slender, discrete ; spores 8 in thecse, very minute, ellip- 

tical, unilocular, occasionally obscurely bilocidar, hyaline. 

Apparently not very rare on the higlier Grampians of Scotland, as 

Ben Lawers, Morrone, Ben-na-boord, on which last mountain it was 

first discovered by me in x\ugust, 1862. Though regarded by Mudd, 

1. c, as a true lichen, Nylander considers it as a fiinrjillus, and indeed 

VOL. VII. [august 1, 18G9.] s 

;

234 NOTES ox THE FERN-FLORA OF CHINA. 

it seems to be one of those anomalous things of which the systematic 

place is at present rather doubtful. 

I may here also mention that Collema cludazanodes, Nyl. in Flora, 

18G9, p. 293, has been gathered in Bradley Wood, Devon, by Dr. H. 

13. lioll, whose herbarium contains several lichens not hitherto re- 

corded as British, which will be duly noticed i« my forthcoming ' Enu- 

meration of British Lichens.' 

NOTES ON THE FERN-FLORA OF CHINA. 


At page 270 of the last volume of this Journal, Dr. Max Kuhn, of 

Berlin, notices, under the name of Woodua macrochlmia, a supposed 

new Fern, collected at Che-foo by the botanists of the Prussian expe- 

dition to China. Dr. Kuhn has since had the kindness to transmit to 

me a small specimen of this, an examination of which enables me to 

state positively that it is identical with my Woodsia insidaris, de- 

scribed eight years ago (Ann. Sc. Nat, 4, ser. xv. 228) from two or 

three plants only, gathered in the island of Sachalin. Dr. Kuhn re- 

marks, " ditfert ab omnibus reliquis speciebus indusio membranaceo 

quadrifido, lobis margine longissime ciliatis persistente." It seems to 

have escaped him that W. polystichoides, Eaton, figured by the late 

Sir W. Hooker at plate 2 of his ' Second Century of Ferns ' and 

plate 32 of his ' Garden Ferns,' is described as " involucro e squamis 

4-5 tenui-membranaceis in orbem dispositis imbiicatis louge ciliatis ;" 

and by Milde (Fil. Europae, etc., p. 170), from the figure only, as 

having " indusiura profunde quadripartitum, margine longe ciliatura." 

Of the varieties midiuscula and sinuata of this latter species I possess 

good examples from northern China, as also of W. Ilvensis, R. Br., and 

W. hyperhorea, R. Br. The sections into which this genus is divided 

by various ptcridologists do not seem to me tenable. 

In the article refeiTed to, Dr. Kuhn quotes my notice of Adiantum 

Cantonieme in a way which would be likely to lead an ordinary reader 

to infer that I had maintained this as a species, and that he had first 

established its identity with A. Capillus-Jimonis, Rupr. This is not 

the case, as my paper, published a year before his own, had for its sole 

object to point out this identity. Dr. Kuhn regards the soutlicrn Fern

NOTES ON THBv FERN-FLORA OF CHINA. 233 

as a variety distinct from the northern one, relying, as I learn from 

him by letter, on the circumstance that in the former the transverse 

diameter of the pinnule is greater than th.e longitudinal, whilst in the 

latter the reverse is the case. But the considerable number of speci- 

mens from both parts of the empire which I have been enabled to coin- 

pare couclusively prove the instability of this character, and that it is 

not possible to distinguish two well-defined forms. 

Adlantum dlajjlianum, Bl., which, though very close to, is yet, I think, 

scarcely identical with A. setalosum, J. Sm., is abundant at Amoy, 

growing in wêlls, and on the shaded perpendicular sides of ditches. 

Though I have seen no Indian specimens, I think it most probable 

that my Adiantum Guilehni must be merged in A. EdfjeioorfJdi, Hook., 

to which, judging from the character only, I had approximated it : a 

specimen from Pere David has the rachis conspicuously flagelliferons, 

whilst specimens of A. Capillm-Junonis differ equally in the absence or 

presence of this naked rooting prolongation. What further disposes 

me to this conclusion is, that I have received from the same excellent 

naturalist, gathered on shaded rocks of the mountains of northern 

China, two other plants hitherto supposed to be peculiar to India, 

and there, I believe, local,—viz. Bidymocarpus lanuginosa, Wall., and 

Gymnogramme vesiita, Hook. This Fern is surely most distinct from 

A. caudatui/i, L., with w'hich both it and A. rhlzophorum, Swz. (also, 

as I think, a true species), are combined by Mr. Baker in the 'Sy- 

nopsis.' 

Adiantum Capillus-Veneris, L., is common iu various places in the 

Canton province, but always, so far as I have observed, under the or- 

dinary form, not the one with deeply incised pinnules met with in 

Ceylon and elsewhere. 

Cheilanthes ? Chusana, Hook., was sent me from Foochow by Mr. 

Medhm'st in 1859, and Messrs. Parry, Sampson, and I have met with 

it in various localities in Kwangtung. I cannot help thinking that my 

determination of this plant is correct, and the late Professor Mettenius 

was of the same opinion. It often accoj'ds quite weU with the figure 

(Spec. Fil. 2. t. 106 B), but the pinnae are frequently less approximate 

and the pinnules broader. Sir William Hooker, to whom on two 

several occasions I sent specimens, first said it was a broad form of C. 

tenuifolia, Swz., afterwards that he considered it to be his C. subvillosa. 

That, however, it cannot be, since it has neither the continuous invo- 

s 2 

—

236 NOTES ON THE FEllN-FLORA OF CHINA. 

hicre nor the villose pinnte which are attributed to that Peru both in 

the description and figure. 

Father Ai'inaud David discovered Gheilanthis tenuifoUa, Svv., in 

shady places of the higher mouutaiiis in the neighbourhood of Peking. 

This Fern has not previously been recorded from Northern China, or 

from any part of Asiatic Bussia; and I believe the Peking habitat is 

the most northerly known, answering to that of Tasmania in the 

southern hemisphere ; 

which, though in a slightly higher latitude, and 

on about the corresponding isotherm, enjoys, from its insular character 

and the great preponderance of ocean, a far more equable climate and 

milder winter. 

Mr. Sampson is, I believe, the discoverer of Pellcea geraniifolia, Fee, 

in Southern China ; having, in September 1868, gathered unusually 

fine specimens on precipitous rocks, above the monastery, near the 

summit of the Pakwan hills, outside Canton. 

The late Dr. Harland and I gathered, in October 1856, on the steep 

flanks of Victoria Peak, Hongkong, fine specimens of Pier is pellaciJa, 

Br., some of which were transmitted to Kew ; 

but, though the species 

was determined by Sir William Hooker, the locality is omitted in the 

' Synopsis.' 

I find no plant in my herbarium answering to Pteris insignis, Mett., 

and there must be some mistake about the number, as my n. 79 is 

Jsplenium, Klotzschii, Mett. As its relationship to P. taniosa, J. Sm., 

is mentioned, it is probable the Fern sent was regarded by me as not 

distinct from P. creticu, L. 

Though I have seen no Javanese specimen, I have little doubt that 

Dr. Kuhn is right in reducing my Woodwardia angmtiloha to W. ait- 

riculata, Bl. 

Asjilenimn normale, Don, occurs in the dry clefts of rocks, on the 

summit of the White Cloud Mountains, above Canton, and I also 

gathered it on rocks in tlie Tsing-yune pass. Unless I ciT, this Fern 

has not previously been detected in China. 

My Asplenlum comptum (Ann. So. Nat. 5 ser. v. 255) is a Fern re- 

specting which there is some difference of opinion amongst the most 

accomplished pteridologists. Sir W, Hooker (litt. 30 Jun. 1865) was 

uncertain whether it is distinct from A. dimdiatum, L., or a small form 

of y/. macrophyllum, Sw. Professor Mettenius (litt. 31 Oct. 1865), 

after stutlying the Hookcrian herbarium, regarded it as a remarkable

NOTES ON THE FERN-FLORA OF CHINA. 237 

plant, to which he knew no parallel, and not nearly related to A. dimi- 

diatum. Mr. Baker (litt. Feb. 1868) says it quite agrees with the 

African specimens refen-ed to A. dimidiattm in the ' Synopsis Filicum.' 

Finally, Dr. Kuhn, who has recAitly redescribed it, under the impres- 

sion that my name was only in manuscript, remarks (Botan. Zeit. 1869, 

p. 132) : 

" 

Diese Art ist nahe verwandt mit J. macrophyllim, Sw., 

jedoch durch so wesentliche Merkmale von ihm verschieden, dass wir 

gegen eine Vereinigung gerechte Bedenken tragen wiirden." To me 

this Fern appears distinct from either of the species named, but, of the 

two, nearer A .macro'pliyllum. 

Asplenimn incisnm, Thbg., to which A. eleganttdim, Hook., is re- 

duced by Mettenius (in Miq. Ann. Mus. Lugd.-Bat. ii. 234), Baker 

and Kuhn, is stated by Milde (Fil. Eur. 63) to be merely A. TricJio- 

manes, L. 

My Asplenium Pekinense is regarded as a good species by both 

Mettenius and Kuhn, but is referred by Baker (in litt.) to A. sepul- 

dirale. Hook., which both Milde and Kuhn consider the same as A. 

varians, Hook, and Grev. The only specimen of A. sepulchrale I have 

seen, gathered by Oldham, and sent me under that name from Kew, 

but which exceeds the dimensions given in the ' Synopsis,' appears to 

me altogether distinct, by its habit (not unlike that of BavalUa teimi- 

folia, Sw.) and very long stipes, and is apparently referable, or at least 

very close, to A. solidum, Kze. ; and my. Ceylon specimens of A. vari- 

ans do not look at all as if belonging to the same species as either the 

Japanese or North Chinese Fern. I have, however, a small Jehol Fern 

fi-om Fere Pa\'id, which I have no hesitation in referring to A. variajis. 

Probably more plants than one have been confused under the name of 

A. sepulcJirale. A. Pekinense is much like the American A. montamim, 

Willd. 

Of Asplenium Niponicvm, Mett., I possess Fokien specimens from 

De Grijs, and others gathered in the Filoitsz woods, along the North 

Eiver, province of Kwangtung, by Sampson ; 

those from Japan. 

they agree perfectly with 

Mr. Swinhoe gathered the Japanese Asplenhim Goemigiaimm, Mett., 

at Talienwan ; 

and M. David has sent from Jehol a Fern which I can- 

not distinguish from A. Hohenackerianum, Kze. 

Mr. J. G. Veitch gave me a Japanese specimen of Asplenium 

Uiwaitesii, A. Br., which accords in the most perfect manner with those

238 NOTES ON THE FERN-FLORA OF CHINA. 

from Ceylon. Neither Mettenius nor Baker have apparently ever seen 

this species from Japan. 

Mr. Sampson has detected in shady parks at Canton an Asplenium 

in all respects identical with the Fern distributed from Ceylon under 

n. 1247 by Dr. Thwaites, by whom it is regarded as a bipinnate form 

of A. Schkuhrii, Mett. ; whilst I cannot myself see how it is to be dis- 

tinguished from the West Indian A. radicans, Schk. 

I have received from Father Armand David specimens of Scolopen- 

driiim Slhiricum, Hook., gathered from cold alpine rocks near Jeliol. 

Afipidium devexnm, Kze. (intermedium, J. Sm.) was found, in June 

1865, along the West Eiver, in the province of Canton, by Mr. Samp- 

son. I give the above name and synonym on the authority of the late 

Professor Mettenius, to whom I sent a specimen, whose judgment with 

regard to Kunze's Ferns is unimpeachable, he having full access to that 

author's herbarium. Mr. Moore, also, from referring in his ' Index' 

botli Kunze's and J. Smith's species to the variety /3 of his Sageuia 

coadunala, evidently considers tliem identical. The present is pre- 

cisely the same as Dr. Thwaite's n. 1358, which Sir W. Hooker doubt- 

fully regarded as a var. /S. minor of A. giganteum, BL, whilst he referred 

J. Smith's intermedium to the typical form of that species, and placed 

A. di'vexum as a synonym of A. cicutarium, Sw. Dr. Thwaites's n. 

1357, again, which he considers, no doubt rightly, as the A. giga?deum 

of the ' Species Filicum,' Professor Mettenius said is the A. paradoxum 

of Fee ; whilst under the same number Gardner appears to have sent 

to Kcw the very similar A. wembranifolium, Mett., or A.fuscipes, Wall., 

with which latter name, indeed, my first specimen of A. paradoxum 

received from Dr. Thwaites was ticketed. This confusion in nomen- 

clature renders it difficult to speak with certainty ; but I believe A. 

devexum has only heretofore been found in Java, the Philippines, and 

Ceylon. An invaluable revision of some of the species of this excep- 

tionably difficult genus, by the lamented Leipzig Professor, will be 

found in the Annales Mus. T;ugd.-Bat. i. '2,'ih, seq. 

Mr. Sampson gathered beautiful specimens of Aspidium, odoratum, 

Bory, on the singular isolated limestone rock called Kai-kun-shek, or 

' Cock's-conib-hill,' along the West Ilivcr, 100 miles west of Canton, 

in June 1864, and others in the caverns at Sai-chii-shan, in February, 

1869. Milde records the species from China, on the authority of the 

Petersburg herbarium, therefore, perhaps, from the north of the empire.

NOTES ON THE FEKN-FLORA OF CHINA. 239 

Mr. Baker's mention of this country was, I believe, in reference to ray 

own specimen. 

I may take this opportunity of remarking, in connection with my former 

observations on the coalescence of tribes (Journ. Bot. Vol. III. p. 342), 

that a very marked transition is effected between the genera Asplenium 

and Aspidium, by such species as Asplenium yymnogrammoides, Kl., 

and A. puncticaide, var. bipinnatisecta, Mett. {= A. m,acrocarpmn, Bl.) 

on the one hand, and Aspidium splendens, Wall., and A. ohtusissimum, 

Mett. ! (= 

A. sparsum, /S. latum, Thw. n. 1369 !) on the other; and, 

again, through Asplenium Goerinc/ianum, Mett., A. Hohenackerianuni, 

Kze,, and their allies, and Aspidium (smulum., Sw. I think it is diffi- 

cult to look at these representatives of their respective genera without 

believing them to be really allied, not merely somewhat alike. The 

true position of Athyrinm, in so far at least as regards some of the 

species, seems to me still veiy much open to question ; and Milde 

insists strongly on its distinctness as a genus. 

Dr. Wells Wdliams gathered at Ku-pei-kau, in the summer of 1865, 

from fissures in the bricks' of the Great Wall, a curious dwarf variety 

of Polypodium lingua, Sw., with oblong fronds f to 1 inch long only, 

borne on stipites of nearly equal length. 

With respect to Polypodium Cldnense, Mett., separated from F. nor- 

iuale, Don, mainly on account of a more complicated venation, and the 

absence of paraphyses, I may remark that P. normale is placed by 

Mettenius himself, in his monograph of Polypodium (' Dispositio Spe- 

cienim,' p. 24), in a section to which he ascribes " sori paraphysibus 

destituti;" nor are any figured in Hooker and Greville's plate of P. 

longifro7is, Wall. (Ic. Fil. i. t. 65). The only Indian (Khasia) specimen 

of P. normale, to which I have at present access, has the sori too 

much rubbed and defaced, from careless drying, to be trustworthy on 

this point ; but, so far as concerns the venation, I can see no appre- 

ciable difference between it and the Chinese Fern (Macao, Hance ! 

Fokien, De Grijs!), the number of free thickened veinlets in the 

areolae being subject to a good deal of variation in the fronds of each. 

The late Mr. Oldham sent me, from Formosa, a fine specimen of 

Polypodium lomarioides, Kze., quite accordant with those from the 

Philippines.

240 

ON A NEW SPEQIES OF HYPODEREIS. 

By Charles Prentice, Esq. 

While examining a portion of the fern herbarinra at the British 

Museum a few days since, I met with what seems undoubtedly a 

second unnamed species of the rare genus Hypoderris, R. Br. It was 

recently (1867) brought from Nicaragua by Dr. Seemann, and pro- 

posing to name it after the discoverer, I send a description and diag- 

nosis. 

Hypoderris Seemanni, mihi. Ehizome short, woody, sending out 

several rather stout, filiform radicles ; stipes from six inches to a foot 

high, brown, with a few jagged, dark brown, narrow scales at the base, 

otherwise quite smooth, with the exception of a scattered scale here 

and there ; frond lanceolate, pinnatifid almost to the rachis, along 

which it is decuiTent, entire or slightly pinnatifid at the summit 

smooth ; sori principally arranged in an intramarginal series, a few 

only being scattered over the under surface of the frond ; fertile 

divisions of the frond narrower than the barren ones.—Chontales 

Mountains, Republic of Nicaragua (Seemann ! n. 206.) 

As in H. Brownii, the frond is finely cellular under a lens, and the 

peculiar venation is the same in both species ; but the smooth stipes, 

the lanceolate, deeply pinnatifid frond, and the arrangement of the 

sori, which are scattered equally over the whole under surface of the 

frond of H. Brownii, constitute a sufficient specific distinction. 

TRANSPORTATION OF SEEDS. 

A correspondent from the Philippine Islands writes to us:— 

received a box that had been disi)atched from Berlin in February, 

1859, by overland mail, via Trieste, but got lost during the Italian 

war, and only reached me after sixteen months. It was a large box 

lined with tin, carefully soldered ; among its contents were two small 

glass-stoppered bottles, the one filled with moist charcoal-powder, the 

other with moist clay ; each contained some bulbs of red hybrid Nym- 

phaceee, from the Royal Botanical Garden in Berlin. Those packed 

in charcoal were spoilt, but two of the four in moist earth had germs 

I;


^ inch long. I planted them at once in cocoa-nut shells ; they began 

to sprout almost immediately, grew very vigorously, and soon pro- 

duced flowers. 

Luzon, province Albay. 


The Quinolof/y of the East Indian Plantations. By John Eliot 

HowAKD, E.L.S., P.K.M.S., E.R.H.S., Member of the Pharma- 

ceutical Society of Great Britain, and of the Botanical Society of 

France, etc. London : 

with three coloured Plates by Tuffen West. 

L. 

Reeve and Co. 1869. Pp. x. 44, 

Seven years have elapsed since the appearance of Mr. Howard's 

' Nueva Quinologia of Pavon,' and now we have the above work 

fuUy sustaining the author's reputation as an accomplished chemist 

and botanist. Mr. Howard is one of those lovers of science, unfortu- 

nately by no means numerous, who stick with persevering zeal to the 

investigation of a particular branch of inquiry with a view to its eluci- 

dation ; and in the present instance, such has been the application of 

our author that he is justly considered to be one of the greatest quino- 

logists living. • Wôuld that others would produce such valuable 

monographs on little-known subjects ! and 

the result would help to 

render economic botany less perplexing to the student than it now is. 

The present work treats on the result of the acclimatization of the 

CinchoncB in India, under Mr. M'lvor, who is as successful a cultivator 

as Mr. Broughton is a quinologist. Mr. Howard well observes of 

these gentlemen, " The Indian Government have been fortunate in the 

choice of servants to whom the practical carrying out of the details of 

this great scheme has been confided, and I am glad to think in this 

most recent instance they have been equally successful." 

The work consists of four parts. 1. Microscopical Observations on 

the Plates; 2. Chemical and Microscopical Investigations ; 3. Appen- 

dix ; 4. Addenda et Corrigenda. 

In the ' Microscopical Observations ' we have some remarks on the 

structure of those barks which have been " renewed," and having an 

important bearing on physiological botany. The plates, for the ac-


curacy of whicli Mr. Tuffen West's name is a sufficient guarantee, 

follow next. The difference in microscopic stracture (plate i.) of bark 

grown in sunshine and in shade (the latter condition favouring su- 

berous growth), and under moss and in the open garden, is very 

remarkable. In plate ii. there are figures of the microscopical struc- 

ture of those barks which have been "renewed" by "mossing." 

Plate iii. (fig. 8) is very curious, being representations of scalariform 

tissue found in renewed bark. 

In the ' Chemical and Microscopical Observations,' which is really 

the body of the work, we have much useful information. Under the 

head of " Elevation above the sea level," some notes of the greatest 

practical importance to the cultivator occur, from which it appears 

that it is useless to attempt the cultivation of these plants at a lower 

level than 4000 feet above the sea. As aflPecting the whole question 

of acclimatization in the Neilghen-ies, the analyses of four specimens 

of bark are not to be lost sight of. Some seeds and bark of Cinchona 

officinalis, L., were received by Mr. Howard from Uritusiuga (Peru), 

the total yield of alkaloid being 3'11 per cent. 

From these seeds, plants were raised in England the bark of which 

yielded 1"93 per cent, Mr. Howard then gave a living plant, 6 feet 

high, to the Indian Goverrmient, which, after losing its leaves in tlie 

passage out by sunstroke and partly recovering in India, yielded 2*36 

per cent., while plants raised from it in India yielded 3*33 per cent. 

The "effect of sunlight" favours "the production of cinchonidine 

and dense shade that of cinchonino, whilst it appears from other 

observations for quinine, that the leaves should be well exposed to 

liaht, whilst the stem bark is shaded from the direct action of the 

sun." 

As a commercial question of great interest, we learn with satisfac- 

tion that the first importations of bark {Cinchona succirubra, Pavon) to 

England from India, have met with great favour, giving, by analysis, 

6'8 per cent, of alkaloidal contents; and, in the case of Ceylon, the 

remittance of the bark of C. officinalis and succirubra, though only of 

three years' growth, and consc(|Ucntly immature, fetched a higher price 

than South American bark of the same species. 

A great deal of the remunerative success of the undertaking depends 

on " mossing the bark," and we may remark with Mr. Howard in his 

' Conclusion," that Mr. M'lvor's phui of mossing is an important dis-

MEW PIJBLICATIONS. 243 

covery in the direction of intelligent culture. The process is thus de- 

scribed by Mr. M'lvor : 

— 

" In removing the strip of bark, two parallel cuts should be made down 

the stem, at the distance apart of the intended width of the strip of bark ; 

tliis done, the bark is raised from the sides of the cut and drawn off, be- 

ginning from the bottom, care being taken not to injure the sappy matter 

or Cambium left on the stem of the tree. This Cambium or sappy matter 

immediately granulates on the removal of the bark, and, being covered, 

forms a new bark, which maintains the circulation undisturbed." 

This moss is kept continually moist, and, as in the case of the best 

native bark, lichens cover them, thus being taken as a criterion of 

goodness by the " Cascarilleros," so the presence of the moss keeps 

the bark from direct sunlight, and thus preventing the oxidation of 

the alkaloids and the elaboration of a troublous resin. From this it 

may be seen that it is not only wasteful but useless labour to cut 

down the tree in order to obtain the bark, and that killing the goose 

to possess the golden egg is no longer necessary. 

There are many other subjects we would like to note as the re- 

searches of the author, together with those of Decaisne, Trecul, Berg, 

etc., on physiological questions of vast importance on the Cambium, 

mode and origin of the " renewed " bark, course of the sap, etc., but 

space bids us draw this notice to a close. Even the leaves of the tree 

are useful in fresh infusions or decoctions for the fevers of the country. 

The appendix and addenda contain correspondence with the Under- 

Secretary of State, Dr. De Vrij, etc., and other useful selections. 

In conclusion, it is seen that careful attention to climatological 

requirements and careful selection of the best species, have at least 

rendered the barks in value fully equal to those of South American 

growth, and even more so, as appears from a recent number of the 

' Pharmaceutical Journal,' in which a case of a bark is mentioned 

yielding 10 per cent. 

At p. 30 the author conveniently sums up the conclusions which he 

has aiTived at, and with more or less clearness succeeded in demon- 

strating, viz. : 

— 

1. That the cultivation of the Cinchonse in India promises complete success, 

but to ensure this, great attention must be paid to the choice of species. 

2. That if properly conducted, it will prove remunerative.


3. That Mr. M'lror's plan of mossing is an important discoveiy in the di- 

rection of intelligent culture. 

4. That the renewal of tliC bark from the cambium leads to diifereut conclu- 

sions as to the permanence of the supply of fresh bark, from those to be de- 

duced from the theory of formation of the alkaloids in the leaves. 

5. That no part of the tree— root, stem, or leaves—visited by the ascending 

sap, seems to be the place of deposit of the alkaloids. 

6. That these are formed in the cellular tissue of the bark, beginning from 

the cambium outwards. 

7. That the sources whence the materials are drawn for this elaboration are 

at once the nourisliing sap descending in its usual course, and a lateral convey- 

ance, through the medullary rays, of part of the deposit of the mother-substance 

in the wood. 

8. That inasmuch as this mother-substance is characteristic of the Cinchonse, 

and is the source of the Cinchona-red, it may also mainly conduce to the for- 

mation of the alkaloids, since it is probable that the characteristic principle of 

each plant is originally one. 

9. That the above jirinciple, deduced by M. Decaisne from his researches on 

Madder, is equally true as to Eed bark. 

10. That no explanation is at present offered of the tendency of the cells in 

the root of the Madder to secrete the peculiar colouring-matter, nor in the 

bark of the Cinchonse to produce alkaloid. 

11. That the electro-chemical properties of the cells are nevertheless greatly 

influenced by the respiration, and that by changing the character of this respi- 

ration we may artificially control their action. 

12. That the c/jZorqp%ZZia» respiration does not favour, but that ilie general 

respiration does favour the production of alkaloids. 

13. That the jiresencc or absence of light has a great influence (through the 

respiration) on all the above phenomena. 

14. That the laticifcrous ducts dwindle and disajjpear coincidently with the 

formation of the alkaloids. 

15. Tliat the liber fibres are not the place of deposit of the alkaloids. 

Mr. Howard remarks that the re-establishraent of the bark under 

this treatment of mossing h perfect. " I compared this at first " (he 

says)—as indeed the first specimens sent seemed to justify— "to the 

granulation of flesh over the surface of wounds; hut the accompanying 

drawings, under the microscope, show the bark in the third time of 

renewal to be perfectly renewed, as is the case in the parts replaced 

by animals of low organization, as the claw, for instance, is formed 

again after being lost by the lobster."


Die Lemnacoen. Eine monograpJdsche Untermclmmj . Von 

Dr. 

Friederich Hegelmaier. (J'he Lemnacea; a Monograph. By Dr. 

F. Hegelmaier.) 4to. With 16 plates. 170 pp. Leipzig: Wil- 

helra Engelraann. 1868. 

This monograph has long been looked for, and is a most creditable 

performance, Dr. Hegelmaier having spared no pains to make it per- 

fect in every way his means and resources would admit. His atten- 

tion was first directed to the Order by the Lemnaceee collected in tro- 

pical Africa by that indefatigable and zealous collector, Dr. Welwitsch, 

being entrusted to him for critical examination. The result of this 

examination was published in this Journal, and not only prompted 

Dr. Hegelmaier to pursue the subject further until he had exhausted 

it as far as his present materials would allow, but also induced others 

to follow his meritorious example, and to confide the result of then- 

labours to our care for publication. The history of this monograph 

is an apt illustration bow British and foreign botany act and react 

upon each other. Some of our local botanists probably did not thank 

us when we filled up a whole plate and a considerable number of pages 

of our Journal with dry technicalities about African Lcmnaceae, and 

yet to the publication of these they owe indirectly the discovery of a 

genus of Phanerogams absolutely new to the British Flora,— we mean 

Wolffia. 

Dr. Hegelmaier rejects the opinion of those who incorporate the 

Lemnaceee with the Pistiacere (which is undoubtedly a group of Aroi- 

dece, closely connected with the rest of the Order through the genus 

Ainhrosinia), and finds a better systematic position for them near 

Zostei'acece, which must either be altogether united with the Najadece, 

or be placed in their immediate vicinity. The Lemnaceee represent tiie 

lowest type of flowering plants, Lemna Columbiana, Karst., being the 

most sivaipile, Spirodela poIp'rMza, Schleid., the most complex organism 

of the group. 

Dr. Hegelmaier enters into full details about the anatomical struc- 

ture and morphology of the Lemnaceee, illustrating his views and 

observations by carefully-drawn plates, and concludes with a syste- 

matic enumeration of all known genera, species, and varieties of this 

ill-understood Order of plants. Altogether Dr. Hegelmaier enumerates 

3 genera and 21 species, viz. :—


Tribus I.—Wolfflese. 

I, Genus Wolffia, Horkel. 

I. Subgenus Euwolffia. 

1. JV. Columbiana, Karsten. 

2. W. cylindracea, Welw. 

3. W. arrJiiza, Wimm. 

4. W. Brasiliensis, Weddl, 

5. W. microscopiea, Kurz. 

6. J^. liyalma, Delil. 

7. W. repanda, Hegelm. 

8. TF. Welwitscliii, Hegelm. 

II. Subgenus Wolffiella. 

9. W. oblotiga, Hegelm. 

10. W. Ugulata, Hegelm. 

11. W. (jladiata, Hegelm. 

12. ^. denticulata, Hegelm, 

Tribus II.—Lemneae. 

II. Genus Lemna, L. 

I. Subgenus HydropJiace. 

1. L. trisulca, L. 

2. L. Valdiviana, Philipp. 

3. L. perpiisilla,Torr. 

4. L. paucl-costata, Hegelm. 

5. L. Angolensis, Welw. 

6. L. minor, L. 

II. Subgenus TelmatopMce. 

7. X. gibba, L. 

III. Genus Spirode£a, Schleid. 

1. S. oligorrhiza, Hegelm. 

2. S. polyrrhiza, Sclileid. 

The .author corrects an error of synonymy committed by Dr. Trimen 

with regard to Jfolffia Delilii, Schleid., and also by Dr. Kurz in the vari- 

ous species he wrote on. But he seems himself to have made some blun- 

ders with regard to the West Indian species of Wolffia, for he seems


to class it with W. Brasilienm, whilst Professor Grisebach (Fl. W. 

Ind. Islands, London, 1864, p, 512) has described it as a distinct 

species (omitted by our author), under the name of W. punctata. la 

quoting the English habitat of W. arrhiza we note two misprints. It 

should be Staines, Trimen, etc., p. 219, instead of Raines, Trimen, p. 

21. 

We should have been glad to see Latin generic and specific charac- 

ters besides the German, and trust that, in any future monograph, 

for the author, we are sure, will not drop the subject in its present 

state,—he wUl give them to us. We are also sorry to find that he has 

erred with Dr. Milde in his otherwise excellent monograph on Equise- 

ttcm, in not giving us a complete index, so as to be able to find a 

synonym instantly, instead of having to search through the whole 

book for it. 

The author fully discusses the geogi'aphical range of the different 

species. About one half of the species are common to the tropical 

and extratropical countries, the other half consists of species pecidiar 

either to the tropics or extratropical parts. They are excluded from 

the Polar regions. 

— ; 

Dr. Hegelmaier thanks those botanists who, during his investiga- 

tions, have supplied him wath specimens, information, and suggestions 

but now that he has shown what good use he has made of them, and 

what numerous blanks still remain to be filled up before we can say 

that our knowledge of this small, but interesting group of plants is 

complete,—he will probably receive considerable additions ; and those 

botanists who should wish to make communications to him will be 

glad to know that any addressed to " Dr. Hegelmaier, Tiibingen," will 

reach him. 


We rejoice to hear that Mr. Tliiselton Dyer is a candidate for Dr. Lee's 

Eeadership in Anatomy, at Christ Churcli, Oxford, the duties of which are to 

give lectures on Biological subjects. 

We have received fuU and authentic particulars respecting the share which 

Dr. Hooker is alleged to have had in preventing certain honourable distinctions 

being conferred upon some of the Englishmen who visited the great Horticul- 

tural Exhibition a*^ St. Petei'sburg.


Dr. Seemann and Capt.aiii Berlford Pirn, R.N., have just piiblislied, conjointly 

(Chapman and Hall), a book of travel in Nicaragua, Panama, and Mosquito, 

under the title of ' Dottings on 'the Roadside,' in which will be found some 

naatter interesting to botanists. 

We have received a copy of Prof. C. C. Babingtou's long-expected ' British 

Rubi,' on which we shall have occasion to speak at length. It is published 

by Mr. Van Voorst, but, unfortunately, at present without the plates, which 

we believe were placed in the hands of an artist notorious for delay. But as 

half a loaf is better than no bread at all, we are thankful that Prof. Babington 

has at least given us the letterpress. 

Botanical Society of Edinbukgh, April 8.—The following communica- 

tions were read :— I. Notes on Range in Depth of Marine Algse. By Pi'O- 

fessor Dickie {vide p. 148). II. Remarks on Scirpus parvulus. By A. G. More, 

Esq. III. Notes on the Varieties of Tea cultivated in India. By Mr. William 

Bell. IV. Notes on a Botanical Excursion to Shetland m 1868. By Alexander 

Craig-Christie, Esq. V. Notice of Plants Naturalized on the Banks of the 

Gala and Tweed. By Gilbert C. A. Stuart, Esq. Many of the plants referred 

to by the author are new to Scotland, most of them are rare even in England, 

and )iot a few of them are evidently entire strangers to Great Britain. Only 

one or two specimens of some could be found, but many of the others were 

abundant, and bore all the appearance of having established themselves. 

Among the plants mentioned in the paper were : Camelina sativa, Lepidium 

ruderale, Saponaria officinalis, Silene Anglica, Medicago maculata, Medicago 

denticulata, Lythrum hyssopifolium, Polycarpon tetraphyllum, Daucus gum- 

mifer, Caucalis daucoides, i^rig&ron acris, Centaurea solstitialis, Xanthitim 

spinosum, Solarium nigrum,, Amaranthus B/ittim, Chenopodium muralc, Rumex 

palustris, Cannabis sativa, Setaria viridis, Apera Spica-venti, Polypogon Monspeliensis, 

P. liltoralis, Gastridium lendigerttm, Festuca uniglumis, and Sordeum 

pratense. He considei's that tlie plants must have been introduced with 

the wool brought to the manufactories in the district. VI. On some British 

Plantagines allied to Plantago marifima, L. By Dr. Buchanan White. The 

author's attention was called to this genus of plants by the occurrence of a 

Plantago in great abundance in the interior of Ross-shire, and after careful 

examination of all the species belonging to the P. maritima group contained in 

the hei'baria of the University of Edinburgh and the Botanical Society, he has 

come to the conclusion tliat instead of P. maritima being the only British 

representative of the group, there are altogether three species in Britain, viz., 

P. alpiua, L., P. maritima, and P. serpentina. He concluded by giving descrip- 

tions of the different species. VII. Notice of some New and Rare British 

Mosses. By Mr. John Sadler. The first species referred to was Grimmia 

anodon, discovered for tlie first time in Britain on Artliur's Seat, in Marcli 

last, by Mr. William Bell ; second, JDidymodon luridtis, which had been 

gathered by James Fernie in March, and Mr. William Bell in April, in the 

neighbourhood of Edinburgh ; third, Potlia minutula, found in considerable 

quantity in the Queen's Park, near the powder magazine. VIII. Report on 

the Open-air Vegetation in the Royal Botanic Garden. By Mr. M'Nab. 

—

Tah. 9'^

249 

NEW AND RARE BRITISH HYMENOMYCETOUS FUNGI. 

By Worthington G. Smith, Esq., E.L.S. 

(Plate XCV.) 

The warm and showery spring of the present year was highly 

favourable to the growth of fungi. Many species appeared that had 

not been observed for years previously, and others that were either 

altogether new to science or new to Britain : of the species that came 

under my own observation I select the following for the ' Journal of 

Botany.' 

A. (Flammnla) decipiens, n. sp. ; caespitose; pileus 1 inch across, 

convex, fleshy, minutely squamulose, dry, rich brown, becoming 

pallid, umbo almost while ; stem 2 in. high, often swollen, twisted, 

striate, attenuated downwards, rich tawuiy ; gills crowded, moderately 

broad, traly decurrent, luminous brown ; flesh within golden-yellow, 

bright brown at base; spores bright tawny, ring none. 

On the 13th June of the present year I first found this curious species 

in Epping Forest; it was growing abundantly about burnt gorse stumps, 

on burnt earth and charcoal, in open places in the forest, in company 

with A. (Flam)iiidaJ carbonarins, Fr. Like the last-named species, it 

is inclined to be fasciculate, and the groups of one and the other were 

so intimately mixed up and confused together that it was impossible to 

gather one without the other. Added to this, the pilei of the two spe- 

cies greatly resembled each other in colour, and the peculiar habitat on 

eharcoal and burnt earth was the same. Owing to these deceptive pe- 

culiarities, and because Mr. Berkeley, to whom I sent specimens, believes 

it to be undescribed, I propose to describe it under the name of Agaricus 

decipiens. Though at a first glance it resembles A. carbonarins, it is 

on examination a totally different- thing, as may be seen by referring 

to 'Journal of Botany,' Vol. VI. t. 75. It differs greatly in the 

attachment of the gills, for whilst they are adnate in A. carhonarius, 

which belongs to Fries' second section of Flammula (Li/brici), they 

are decurrent in the new species, which belongs to Fries' fourth section 

of Flamtnula (Sapinei), and is nearly allied to Agaricus hybridus, 

picreus, sapineus, etc. 

A. (Tricholorna) brevipes, Bull. ; Fries; Icon in Mus. Ac. Sc. Holm. 

A'OL. VII. [SEPTEMBER 1, 18G9.] T

250 NKW AND KARK BRITISH HYMENOMYCKTOUS FUNGI, 

In terra humosa subnuda ; in aggeribus Scanise vulgaris, Upsalia? in 

hortis passim, at in silvaticoimontanis nunquam vidimus. Stipes 

solidus, admodum rigidus, demum fibrosus, apice pruinatus, extus 

intusque fuscus. Ceterum admodum variabilis ; interdum brevissimus, 

3-3 lin. tantum altus et crassus, deorsum attenuatus ; vulgo uncialis, 

}uiiic bulbosus, nunc seqnalis, gracilior, ut inicone citata videre licet. 

Pileus carnosus, mollis, e convexo applanatus, Isevis, glaber, udus 

(siccus opacus), 2 unc. circiter latus, ex nmbrino expallens ; ssepe 

glebis inquinatus. Caro pilei uda fuscescens, sicca albescens. Lamellae 

emarginato-liberse, confertae, ventricosse, ante marginem evanescentes, 

integerrimse, albidae. Mihi A. arcuato propior, quam sequenti. Affi- 

nitas inter A. arcnatum, panaolum, grammopodium., melalencum, 

Jnimilem (licet omnes antiquitus distinctae sint) major est, quam inter 

alias Tricholomatum species ; etiam A. humilis et exscissus ex liorum 

foedere. Omnes iuodori.— Fries' ' Monograpliia Hymenomycetum 

Suecise.' 

In June last the Rev. H. H. Gillett, of Waltham, Melton Mowbray, 

sent me a few specimens of the true A. brevipes of Bulliard, a species 

Avliich he had found growing in abundance the previous October on an 

old heap of leaf-mould in a plantation, and in hedgerows by plantations. 

It is a most interesting addition to our flora, its place being near A. 

humilis, Fr. (the A. blandus of Berkeley in Eng. Fl.) and A. subpulveru- 

lentus, P. ; it is, however, different from either, and, except in size, some- 

what resembles A. grammopodius, Bull. Mr. Gillett informs me that last 

autumn he cooked and ate many specimens, and that he found them 

quite equal in flavour to A. gambosus, Fr. : to procure a spring crop 

he treated the heap of leaf-mould to a dressing of salt water in the 

way it is applied by Mr. Ingram (head gardener at Belvoir Castle) 

after his first crop of mushrooms is over, viz. a handful of salt to 

three gallons of water. This had the desired efi'ect, and it gave me 

the opportunity of shovving three or four specimens at one of the 

spring meetings of the Linncan Society. 

The following species, some of which are very rare, have been met 

with during the last twelve months, and are worthy of record : 

A. (Omphalia) spJiagnicolu, Berk. ; parasitic on sphagnum. Very 

wet places in bog ; 

Wimbledon Common. 

A. (Plenrotm) corticnlns, Fr. Very large specimen on a branch of 

—

NEW AND RARE BRITISH HYMENOMYCETOtIS FUNGI. 251 

an Apple-tree, branch 9 ft. from the ground, fungus 4 ft. 6 in. from 

the trunk. Staplehurst, Kent. 

A. (Pleurotm) euosmus, Berk. This curious and little-known 

species has been most abundant about London aiul elsewhere this 

s[)ring ; in every instance that has come to my knowledge it has been 

found upon Elm. I saw it near Tottenham and other places, growing 

in abundance with A. ostreatus, Jacq., from which it is quite distinct. 

Its cartilaginous stem, tinted spores, and powerful aromatic odour, 

point rather to the genus Lent'mm than Agaricus. On elm stumps, 

Mr. Broome's garden, Batheaston. Elm stumps, Street, Somerset, 

Mr. J. A. Clarke, who writes me to say it is esculent, and that he has 

repeatedly eaten it. In the account given of this plant by Dr. Bad- 

ham, it is said to be dangerous. 

A. (Pleurotus) salignus, Hoffm. Infesting dead Willow- trees side 

of New Kiver, Stoke Newington, 1868, 1869. 

A. (Pleurotus) atro-caruleus, Fr. On a rotten stump. Bilton 

Wood, near Teignmouth, Devon ; 

Mrs. Gulson. 

A. (Panfeolus) retirugh, Batsch. Common on cow-dung. Epping 

Forest, Feb. 1869. Pileus marked with prominent veins, very dif- 

ferent from any other PancEolus. 

Coprinus radians, Fr. This species I found growing luxuriantly 

May 22, 1869, on the damp, sloping ceiling in the scullery of the 

residence of my friend, G, Manville Fenn, Esq., Fyfield, near Ongar. 

Lentinus tigrinus, Fr. I gathered several specimens of this rare 

plant, in company with my friend Mr. Broome, from a rotten, mossy 

trunk (probably Ash) in a pond at Fyfield, near Ongar, Essex. Spores 

white; smell disagreeable. May 22, 1869. 

L. lepideus, Fr. This rare species of which I once found a single 

specimen near Tottenham, has appeared in several places this summer, 

and, witb one exception, always under railway bridges. Dr. Chapman, 

of Abergavenny, found it growing on a railway bridge at that place in 

July ; it came up through the roadway and its origin could not be 

ascertained from above. On Dr. M'CuUough examining the under side 

of the bridge he found thirty or forty specimens, all old and black 

from the smoke from the engines, growing from between the fir plank- 

ing. Shortly after, the same species was found under four or five 

bridges about Abergavenny by Dr. Steele. On July 29, Dr. Bull 

found it growing at Hereford, "from between the timbers under- 

T 2

252 NOTES ON SOME COMPOSITE OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 

neath a railway bridge." It was also fouud by Dr. Bull under a 

railway bridge at Leeds about a mile out on the Harrogate line. 

Some of the specimens sent on to me were very fine, exactly resem- 

bling Sowerby's figure (Eng. Fungi, t. 382), with curious abortive 

plants growing at the base ; spores pale yellow, larger than the last. 

Since the above lines were printed it has come up in the greatest 

abundance through brick earth, from railway sleepers, at the Kentish 

Town mouth of the Hampstead Heath tunnel of the North London 

Railway. I saw it from the carriage window, on August 9, as the 

train stopped at the Hampstead Heath station, so I got out and. rilled 

a large box with it. It was also found at Street, Somerset, habitat 

not stated. 

Boletus variegatus, Fr. Fordingbridge, Hants, October, 1868. 

New Forest, near Lyndhurst, October, 1868. Mr. Broome. 

B. (Bstivalis, Fr. Always common about Staplehurst, Kent, in the 

early summer. 

B. viscidus, Fr. Common in same district in the autumn. 

Hydnum gelatinosum, Scop. Fir trunk, Fordingbridge, Hants. 

Mr. J. A. Clark. 

Sparassk crispa, Fr. Border of a fir wood near Fordingbridge, 

Hants. Mr. J. A. Clark. 

Clavariafumosa,!^. Always in the autumn about Long Sutton, Hants. 

Explanation^ of Plate XCV.—Figs. 1 and 2, Agarieus (Tricholomaj 

brevipes, Bull. Fig. 3, section of ditto. Fig. 4, spores enlarged 700 

diam. Figs. 5 and 6, A. (FlammulaJ decipiens, n. sp. Fig. 7, section of ditto. 

Fig. 8, spores enlarged 700 diam. 

NOTES ON SOME COMPOSITÊ OF OTAGO, NEW 

ZEALAND. 

By W. Lauder Lindsay, M.D., F.R.S.E., F.L.S. 

Some of the Otago Composite are handsome trees or shrubs, with 

abundant foliage and flower : and, especially under cultivation, most 

ornamental ; decided acquisitions, therefore, to the shrubberies and 

garden^ of settlers, and worthy of extensive introduction into Britain. 

Moreover the stem occasionally attains such dimensions that the timber 

becomes valuable, especially from the beauty of its markings, in cabinet- 

work. Some alpine or sul)alpine species of such genera as Raoulia,

NOTES OX SOME COMPOSITE OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 25;> 

Saaslia, and Celmisia, have, in respect of the peculiar papery flowers, 

dry and bare, silvery or downy, stems, or thick, densely-woolly leaves 

and stems, much of the character of the so-called " Everlasting Flowers " 

of the Andes. 

Buchanan reports species of Leontodon, Hieraciiim, and Aster, as 

occurring on hills of between 1000 and 2000 feet ; and species of Chry- 

santhemum—some of them very fragrant—on the higher ranges, at or 

above 4000 feet, where snow frequently falls or lies,—both in the 

south-eastern districts. But, according to the ' Handbook of the New 

Zealand Flora,' by Dr. Hooker, none of these genera occur at all in New 

Zealand, so that Buchanan has probably mistaken them for such genera 

as Taraxacum, Microseris', Celmisia, Olearia, Vittadinia, or Senecio. 

Several genera (e.g. Olearia, Celmisia, Cassinid) require apparently 

a reduction of the present number of booJc-species, aud the establish- 

ment of more comprehensive types. Nor am I satisfied that the genera 

themselves, in some instances, do not require revision or reduction in 

number. 

Genus I. Olearia {Ihii-yhia, Fl. N. Z. pr. p.), includes some of 

the most ornamental shrub-trees of New Zealand,— the so-called 

"Daisy-trees" of colonists. The blossom is not unfrequently white 

and very profuse, contrasting well with the glossy, handsome, green 

foliage. Some of the showy-flowered species abound to such an ex- 

tent on the hillsides, or plains of the interior, that, at a distance, 

travellers have frequently mistaken these flower-carpets for beds of snow! 

In cultivation in this country, they have proved hardy and most 

ornamental. 0. ilicifolia, 0. dentatay and another referred by Gorrie 

to 0. insignis, Hook. f. (the Eurybia eminens of florists), also a South 

Island species, have stood out on walls at Trinity, near Edinburgh, 

for the last eight or ten years. The latter species covers a wall 10 

feet high, with a southern exposure, in the Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh, 

where it is also grown separately. In both positions, it has flowered 

abundantly for a series of years (Rae), and is very handsome in flower. 

0. ilicifolia also grows out at Saughton Hall, near Corstorphine, 

Edinburgh (Lowe). 

Ima few species, the stem attains considerable dimensions, becomes 

woody, and the wood is richly coloured, close-grained, and hard ; so 

that it is serviceable in cabinet-work. 0. ilicifolia grows 20 feet high, 

with a trunk of the diameter of 2 feet (Buchanan), while of 0. dentata,

254 NOTES ON SOME COMPOSURE OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 

polished ornamental slabs were' shown in the Industrial Exhibition at 

Diuiedin, in 1865. 

A few species appear to be confined, more or less, to the west coast, 

or the central lake districts (e. (j. 0. operiua, Hook. f. ; 0. Colensoi, 

Hook. f. ; 0. moschata, Hook. f. ; 0. nummularifoUa, Hook, f., and 

O. Haastii, Hook. f.). Some of them are great ornaments of the scrub 

or bush on the shores of the Western Fjords, e.g. Chalky Bay (Hector). 

A few grow frequently also at considerable elevations [e.g. 0. nummu- 

larlfolia and 0. Haastii, up to 4500 feet, on the Canterbury Alps]. 

Haast mentions species of Olearia as occurring among or forming 

part of the "scrub" that immediately succeeds the Fagus forest and 

Fagus scrub on the mountains of the Grey lîver district, on the west 

coast of Nelson, at an elevation of between 3000 and 4300 feet, where, 

moreover, tliey are abundant. 

Matthews reported to me a supposed new species, which he desig- 

nated Eurybia salmarifoUa, as occurring in the Kaikorai creeks, Green- 

island. I saw, however, no specimens, and suspect his plant is referable 

to 0. virgata, Hook. f. 

Of a total of twenty New Zealand species of Olearia, at least twelve, 

or more than one-half, occur in Otago. 

1. 0. nitida. Hook. f. {Eurybia, Fl. N. Z.) Banks of streams, 

ravines of the Chain Hills ; Stoneyhill bush ; November and December, 

in flower, W. L. L. A shrub only, wherever I found it. In the bush, 

Mount Cargill, Dunedin (Matthews). Common as a bush on the sandy 

soil of the river terraces of the Hokitika, on the west coast of Canter- 

bury, associated with Veronica and Coriaria bushes. On the Canter- 

bury west coast it is known as " Ake-ake " (Haast), a term generally 

applied in other parts of New Zealand to Metrosideros scandens, or 

other ?,'^Qc\e?, 0^ Metrosideros, though also to 0. avicennicefoUa (Hector), 

and in the Chatham Islands to 0. Traversii, (Travers). On the moun- 

tains of the west coast of Nelson it is abundant, at elevations of 3000 

to 4300 feet (Haast). 

One of the most ornamental species, very showy in flower ; wood 

close-grained, with yellow markings (Buchanan). 

Stoneyhill bush specimens represent a larger, few-flowered fopu of 

the plant, while those from the open gullies of the Chain Hills repre- 

sent a smaller, many-flowered form. Branches in both forms glabrous 

and grooved. Tomentum most abundant, (as usual, where it occurs).

NOTES ON SOME COMPOSIT.E OF OT.VGO, NEAV ZEALAND. 255 

on the young leaves, and leaf and flower-slioots. It varies somewhat 

in the fineness of the haii'S of which it consists, and in their number 

and closeness of aggregation and appression. Ou the under side of the 

leaf the hairs are so fine, short, and closely appressed, that they pro- 

duce a very delicate, uniform felt, of such tenuity as to admit of all 

the minute reticulations of the leaf being distinctly seen through it 

the leaf-sm-face really appearing to the naked eye to be glabrous. 

Here a silvery or shining surface is produced ; on the other hand, on 

young leaves and on the flower-pedicels, the tomentum becomes chafty 

and brown. Leaf generally broadly ovate, tapering to a point, 2^-3 in. 

long, 1^-11" in. broad; dries blackish above, a colour which contrasts 

strongly with the whiteness of the tomentum of its under surface 

leaf-surface generally iiTegularly wavy, seldom flat ; margin never 

toothed, sometimes entire, generally irregularly sinuate or notched 

sometimes thickened ; very coriaceous ; sometimes unequal at base 

veins and reticulations conspicuous below ; petiole about ^ in. long. 

Inflorescence, a panicle rather than a corymb, 3-4 in. across, much 

branched or the reverse; branches loose, or close, or spreading; pa- 

nicle-form most distinct when flowers are few ; 

pedicels slender, terete, 

stouter and longer when panicle few-flowered, j— | in. long, more 

vUlose in the smaller forms. Head resembles that of a SoUdago or 

Eupatoria, variable in size, generally under \ in, long. Involucral scales 

vary in size, texture, and villosity of outer surface and margin ; scarcely 

rigid ; oblong, lanceolate, obtuse ; outer submembranous, as pdose as 

the flower-pedicels ; inner subglabrous submembranous (more so than 

outer) ; margins of greater tenuity than centre—with the tips only, or 

chiefly, or the whole margins, ciUate-lacerate. Pappus generally reddish 

or orange, at least in herbarium specimens. 

I have no authentic specimens of the North Island species O.fur- 

furacea, Hook; f. ; but from the description in the ' Handbook,' I 

doubt whether it and nitida are properly separated. My plant, assigned 

by Dr. Hooker to nitida, seems to be a passage form, approaching 

the characters oifurfuracea. 

2. 0. avicennicBfolia, Hook. f. {Euryhia, Fl. N. Z.). Stoneyhill 

bushi; top of the " Big rock," Saddlehill ; October, young, W. L. L. 

The "Ake-ake" of the Otago Maori (Hector), a term also applied 

to 0. nitida {q. v.). A large, handsome shrub, with somewhat the 

habit of our Eupatorium cannabinunt, L. As ornamental as the pre- 

;

25G NOTES ON SOME COMPOSITiE OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 

ceding, with abundant showy flower. Its wood resembles that of 0. 

nitida, 0. deidata, 0. illcifolia, and 0. Forsteri, in being close-grained, 

with yellow markings, and thus suitable for cabinet-work (Buchanan). 

My plant is named avicennicefolia, in my herbarium by Dr. Hooker. 

Branches glabrous. Foliage resembles that of nitida, except that the 

leaf is longer and more elliptical, lanceolate, §ubacute, 3^-4 in. longs 

varying from \ in. to 2 in. broad, more finely and distinctly reticulate, 

fossulate above, more glossy and less black; upper surface naked, 

under surface silvery-tomentose as in the preceding. Leaf generally 

flatter, but with tendency to curling; edge entire, but usually with 

tendency to slight irregular notching. Petiole about \ in. long. 

Midrib more prominent than in nitida. 

3. 0. dentata, Hook. f. In the bush, and on open ground 

Flagstaft" and Pine Hill ranges, near Dunedin ; December in flower, 

W. L. L. Very common on the shores of Thompson's Sound on the 

west coast, where it ascends to 1800 feet, and attains considerable 

size, becoming sometimes a "bush" tree (Hector). 

" New Zealand Holly " of the Otago settler, having curled and spinous 

leaves, like those of our Ilex Aquifolium, L., or Eryngium maritimum, L. 

Buchanan describes two varieties, a. oblongifolia and )8. lineariifolia. 

The stem of the former he represents as attaining a diameter of 18 in. 

about Dunedin, and as furnishing a wood " close-grained and well 

marked for cabinet-work," (X. Z. Exhib. Catalogue, p. 68.) 

I have no doubt that 0. dentata has been in great measure con- 

founded with the succeeding, to which the colonial name, and many of 

the foregoing remarks, more properly apply. 

4. 0. ilicifoUa, Hook. f. This has, according to the Handbook 

Fl. N. Z., distinctly spinous, Holly-like leaves ; and it is this species, 

perhaps, rather than the preceding, which is entitled to rank as the 

representative in Otago of our British " Holly," Both 0. dentata and 

0. ilicifoUa are likely, ^ Buchanan remarks, if properly trained, to 

make excellent and very ornamental hedges. 

Leaf oblong in my specimens, tapering to a point, terminating 

generally in a tooth, similar to those which fringe its margin ; base 

subtruncate ; about 2 in., long and \ in. broad; margin Avaved as well 

as toothed ; veins nearly at right angles to midrib ; tendency to pilosity 

of tip, as in nitida. Tomentum distinct only on young leaf-shoots j 

but there is the same tendency, as in nitida and avicennicefolia, to 

;

NOTES ON SOME C0MP03IT.E OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALANB. 257 

toraentosity of under surface of leaf. Hairs have a tendency towards 

a reddish hue, as in nitida. In one specimen, upper surface of leaf 

dries blackish-green, while below the normal gi'een colour (not a 

yellowish hue) remains. In another plant the upper surface retains its 

beautiful lemou-gi'een, or it assumes a slight brownish tinge. Whe- 

ther or not ray plant is ilicifoUa, it certainly is not remarkable for its 

yellow hue in the diied slate ; nor am I sensible of any odour in her- 

barium specimens. Branches and panicle glabrous ; inflorescence a 

panicle rather than a corymb, in my specimens. Heads few-flowered 

involucral scales subglabrous. 

Without a suite of authentic specimens of dentata and ilicifolia, it 

may appear presumption to call in question Dr. Hooker's opinion, that 

they are certainly distinct as species. The descriptions given in the 

' Handbook,' and a comparison thereof with my plant, do not, however, 

convince me of their distinctness. 

5. 0. vmjata. Hook, f., and var. y, Handb. Fl. N. Z., occur as 

shrubs in the Greeuisland district. Buchanan describes them as orna- 

mental, with small, linear, fascicled leaves. 

In the N. Z. Exhibition Catalogue (p. 68), Buchanan also men- 

tions the following as Otago species : 

6. 0. niimmidarifoUn, Hook. f. A very ornamental shrub, with a 

most characteristic name, and small, round, closely- set leaves. 

1.0. operinu, Hook. f. The " Tute " or " Tupari " (Hector) of the 

Maori ; the latter term being also applied, according to him, to 0. 

LyalUi, Hook. f. A most ornamental shrub-tree, '"'remarkable" for its 

leaves being arranged in star-fascicles, centred by large, white flowers. 

Confined to the western seaboard. 

8. 0. Colemoi, Hook. f. Also an ornamental shrub-tree, occurring 

often at elevations of 3-4000 feet, apparently in the western districts. 

9. 0. moschata, Hook. f. Also ornamental, and musk-smelled, 

a character, however, common to various other species [e.g. 0. dentata 

— 

and O. ilicl/oUa]. Leaves small, ovate. 

10. 0. Cunninghamii, Hook. f. An ornamental shrub-tree, with, 

very showy flower; abounding on west coast. The " Ake-wharangi 

or " Wharangi-piro " (Lyall) of the Maori. 

11. O. Forderi, Hook. f. Also an ornamental shrub-tree, but with 

few flowers. Wood as in 0. avicenniafolia. 

12. 0. Hedori, Hook. f. A very ornamental shrub-tree. 

— " ;

358 NOTES ON SOME COMPOSITiE OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 

Genus II. Senecio. Like Olearia, includes some of the most 

ornamental, arboreous, and sliuubby Comj)odlce of Otago, beautiful 

alike in foliage and blossom. Some species abound on the ranges of 

the south-eastern districts, at elevations of between 1000 and 2000 

feet (Buchanan) ; while forms of certain common lowland species \_e.g. 

S. helUdioides] ascend as high as 7000 feet, on the western alps. In 

Nelson, on the mountains of the west coast, species of Senecio com- 

monly attain an elevation of 3000 to 4000 feet (Haast). 

1. S. lautus, Forst. (var. y. macrocephaltis, Hook. f. in raj"- herba- 

rium). Greenisland Peninsula; and sand dunes about mouth of the 

Kaikorai ; November, in flower, W. L. L. Has much the appearance 

of our S. vulgaris, L., and S. viscosus, L., which it may be held here so 

far to represent. 

Plant glabrous. Dries to a leathery brown in some specimens ; while 

others retain somewhat their greenness of leaf. So infinitely variable 

is the leaf in its characters that it is equally impossible and unneces- 

sary to describe all its forms. Its most prominent variations relate to 

its general form, and to the nature and degree of its divisions. Some- 

times the leaf is 4 in. long and 1 in. broad ; tapering below into a petiole, 

which is occasionally 3 in. long ; most frequently obovate ; very irregu- 

larly runcinate-pinnatifid ; sometimes 3- or more-pinnate, the pinnae 

being again subdivided like the more simple leaves. No leaves are 

entire ; many resemble those of Ereclitilea arguta, than which they are 

generally larger. • Auricles scarcely amplexicaul. 

Tarndale specimens in my herbarium more resemble Erechtites arguta 

than do Otago ones. Heads about as long as those of E. arguta ; the 

broader corymb more resembles the panicle of E. quadridentata. 

2. S. helUdioides, Hook. f. Among "scrub," base of Stoneyhill; 

December, in flower, W. L. L. My plant apparently corresponds to 

var. y of the ' Handbook' (p. 1.59). It appears to me unnecessary to 

place on record such varieties or forms as the three there given. Scape 

in my plant glabrous 3-4 in. long ; 1-flowered. Hairs brown, chafty, 

coarse ; most distinct and abundant in the young leaf-shoots, and 

especially in tlie young leaf-petioles. Leaf becomes blackish-green in 

herbarium ; 1| in. long and f in. broad ; broadly lanceolate or ovate, 

tapering into a short petiole {\ in. long). Apex subacute or rounded 

margin entire, or subcrenulate and subundulate ; rugose reticulation 

of surface most distinct in the older leaves. 

;

NOTES ON SOiME COMPOSIT.E OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 259 

Buchanan, in the N. Z. Exhib. Catalogue (p. 68), mentions the fol- 

lowing also as Otago species : 

— 

3. S. rotundifolim. Hook. f. The " Puheritaiko" of the South Is- 

land Maori (Lvall). A very ornamental shrub-tree of west coast. 

Flowers in corymbs. Leaves thick, leathery, 3-7 in. long. 

4. >S'. elengtiifoUns, Hook. f. Also an ornamental shrub- tree. Leaves 

elliptico-oblong ; 

flowers in racemes. 

5. S. sciadopliilus, Kaoul. A climbing shrub of rambling habit. 

Genus IIL Cassinia. 

1. C.fulvida, Hook. f. {C. leptophjlla, Fl. N. Z. pr. p.). Uplands 

about base of Saddlehill ; Chain Hill ranges ; Lookout Point near 

Dunedin ; Kaikorai valley and slopes of Kaikorai Hill ; October, in 

flower, W. L. L. Usually forming " scrub ;" frequently intermixed 

with the dwarf scrub forms of the Leptosperraa, and probably confounded 

therewith by th.e settlers under their designations " Manuka" or " Tea- 

tree." 

Tilt; plant was named by. Dr. Hooker in my herbarium C. lepto- 

phjlla, but in his ' Handbook' (p. 145) he evidently refers it to C. 

fidvida. I have no authentic specimens of the former ; but the de- 

scriptions of the two species in the Handb. Fl. N. Z. lead me to refer 

both to one type. I suspect they grow intermixed and exhibit pas- 

sage-forms. I doubt whether mere glutinosity and the fulvous colour 

of the tomentum of the under side of the leaf are sufficient characters 

for separation as species. 

Again, the only good difterence between fulvida and Vauvilliersii 

seems to me to be the constantly narrower leaf in the former. There 

is much less difterence between these species than between varieties of 

the species of several other common Otago plants [e.g. Rubiis ails- 

trans']. C. fulvida seems to connect leptophylla with Vauvilliersii. 

Probably all the N. Z. Cassinia at present known will at no distant 

date be united into one or at most two types. "What appears to be a 

dwarf, procumbent form oifulvida has proved hardy in cultivation about 

Edinburgh. At Trinity it has stood against northern and western 

walls for two winters (1865-7). Some exposed shoots only were in- 

jured by the frost of January, 1867 (Gorrie), In this cultivated form, 

there is no tomentum on leaf or branches ; 

nor is there any glutinosity. 

Both leaf and branches are quite glabrous. But the under side of the 

leaf, in the young wholly, and in the old in patches, is stained a gam-

260 NOTES ON SOME COMPOSIT.E OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 

boge-yellow. The plant is microphvUine ; leaf under j in. long and 

yV 

in. broad, linear-oblong, obtuse, shining above. 

2. C. Vaiivllliersii, Hook. f. Signal Hill, N.E. valley, Dunedin 

December, in flower, W. L. L. Larger-leaved and with handsomer 

white flower than /wfoi^/a. Ascends to elevations of 3.500 feet, e.g. 

on Mount Egmont (Buchanan). 

All the three species of Cassinia above named are more or less orna- 

mental, especially in cultivation, being hardy evergreens, with coriace- 

ous leaves (Heath-like in leptojj/ii/Ua) , the fiovfevs supplying "an abun- 

dant nectar for bees" (Buchanan). 

Genus IV. Celmisia. 

1. C. corlacea, Hook. f. The " Cotton-plant," according to Bu- 

chanan ; the " Leather-plant," according to Hector, of Otago ; the 

" Cotton-grass" or " plant," or " Leather-plant," of Nelson and other 

provinces ; terms, hoAvever, applied apparently also to other species of 

Celmisia. The " Tikumu" of the North Island Maori (Colenso). 

The leaves are covered with a down similar in its character and uses 

to that of the " Kaha-Kaha"* [genus Astelia, N. 0. Liliacece]. Spe- 

cimens of the " dressed fibre" of the leaf and of native cloth manufac- 

tured therefrom were shown in the N. Z. Exhibition of 186.5. 

Of a total of 24 New Zealand species of Celmisia, at least 14 occur 

in Otago ; that is, more than one-half of the whole. 

Genus Y. Microsbris. 

1. M. Forsteri, Hook. f. In moist shady places about Fairfield, 

Saddlehill; marshes, Abbott's creek, Greenisland; October to Decem- 

ber, in flower, W. L. L. 

Leaves apt to be infested by the parasitic ^cidium Otagense, Lind. 

(Observ. Otago Lichens and Fungi, Trans. Royal Society of Edin., vol. 

xxiv. p. 432, plate xxx. figs. 71-4). 

Genus YI. Craspedia. 

1. C.fimhriata,T)Q. Uplands about base of Saddlehill ; December, 

in flower, W. L, L. \ 

A slender plant. Tomentura very sparing on any part of it ; fringe 

of white tomeutum on leaf either very slight or absent. Leaf generally 

under 3 in. long and f in. broad, tapering into a slender petiole about 

or under 1 in. long ; lamina broadly spathulate, glabrous ; tendency to 

irregular sUbcreimlation of margin ; dries to a blackish-green. Head 

under 2 in. in diameter. 

* 'Jurors' Reports,' N. Z. Exhib. 1865, p. 126. 

;

NOTES ON SOME COMPOSITE OP OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 261 

C. Richei, of florists, described by them as an Australian and Tas- 

manian species, as I have seen it in cultivation about Edinburgh, does 

not appear to me to difi"er essentially from the Otago plant. It is, 

however, greatly larger and stouter. I saw it 2 feet high and in flower 

in the Dean Cemetery (July). It grows vigorously "in the open" 

in this country, and is one of those somewhat numerous New Zealand 

plants that experience already proves to be hardy* under cultivation in 

Britain. 

Genus VII. Vittauinia \_Eurybiopsis, Fl. X. Z.]. 

1. V. australi-s, A. Kich. Top of the Feriy Bluff, Clntha Yerry 

December, in flower, W. L. L. 

My Otago plant is under 6 in. high. Young branch-shoots very his- 

pid ; 

sometimes the woody, older branches are also more or less clothed 

with tbe same long, flexuose, whitish hairs. Leaves also hispid, with 

long, coarse, straggling hau'S ; sometimes nearly ^ in. long and i in. 

broad ; 3-lcbed at apex [mid-lobe being the larger] ; rounded ; obovate- 

spathulate. Upper and young leaves frequently or generally simple 

or entu'e,—notching of the margin occurring subsequently in the older 

and lower leaves. Pappus ^ in. long ; reddish as in various species of 

Celi/iisia. 

Tarndale specimens in my herbarium are more procumbent, more 

slender, with smaller leaves ; less hispid in all parts of the plant (mostly 

glabrous) ; 

the hairs (where present) few and chiefly fringing the leaf- 

margin. Branches more distinctly prolonged into a filiform peduncle. 

Flower-head about ^ in. in diameter in both series of forms [Otago 

and Nelson]. 

Genus VIII. Lagenophora. 

1. L. Forsieri, DC. L^plands about Fairfield, Saddlehill ; 2-3 in. 

high ; 

October, in flower, W. L. L. 

The " Daisy "f of the Otago settler; a beautiful miniature repre- 

sentative of our BelUs perennis, L. Probably the " Papataniwhaniwha," 

or " Daisy-like plant,":|: (Williams) of the North Island INIaori. 

* Vide Author's ' Contributions to New Zealand Botany' (1868), p. 20. 

t According to Dr. Hooker, " the only representative of the Daisy in Xew 

Zealand" is Brachycome Sinclairii, Hook. f. British nurserymen, on the 

other hand, assign the name " Kative" or " New Zealand Daisy" to Cotida minor. 

Hook. f. ; and to a Vittadinia, said to be from New Zealand, which is cultivated 

as V. trilohata. 

X A term which may belong partly or only to Brachycome Sinclairii, or 

S. odorata. Hook. f. 

;

262 NOTES ON SOME COMPOSIT.E OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 

Scape glabrous ; bractless ; about 2 in. high. Hairs most plentiful as 

usual on young leaves and petioles ; long, brown, coarse, sparingly or 

copiously fringing leaf-margin. Leaf-petiole generally under } in. long. 

Lamina |-|- in. long, variable in form and size ; suborbicular or ovate, 

or even subspathulate, apex acute ; margin toothed, sometimes nearly 

entire ; not more lobed about base than above ; dries to a blackish- 

green. Head about ^ in. in diameter. 

2. L. pinnatifida. Hook. f. Occurs in the same habitat as the pre- 

ceding, with which it is apparently sometimes intermixed and apt to 

be confounded. 

Genus IX. Cotula. 

1. C coronopijolla, L. Marshes on the roadsides about the For- 

bury, Dunedin ; 

in flower, W. L. L. 

6-8 in, high, with yellow button-like heads; December, 

The representative in Otago of our British marsh forms of Bidem 

and PuUcaria. In my Otago plant the stem is usually 6-7 in. high. 

Leaf very variable in size and form, according to its position on stem. 

Under 2 in. long and \ in. broad; suboblong ; 

irregularly and sometimes 

doubly pinnatifid ; upper leaves less cut than lower, becoming sub- 

simple or sometimes entire. Head about \ in. in diameter. 

Specimens from Nelson (Travers) in my herbarium represent alto- 

gether a much more delicate or slender, more erect plant—smaller in 

all its parts—4-7 in. high. Leaves: upper simple, linear- lanceolate ; 

lower generally 3-fid at tips, with long, lineav-oblong segments, central 

largest ; never so much cut as in Otago forms ; quite as glabrous ; no 

secondary division of leaf-segments. Head \-\ in. in diameter. Flower- 

peduncle sometimes \\ in. long, filiform, drooping. 

2. C. dioica, Hook. f. Sand dunes and swamps about mouth of 

tile Kaikorai, W. L. L. 

Genus X. Erechtites. 

1. E. (irfjida, DC. Roadsides, Caversham, Dunedin, 15-18 in. 

high; Chain Hill ranges, 18-24 in. tall; December, in flower and 

fruit, W. L. L. 

Leaf very variable in form and size, and in the number and character 

of its divisions. Sometimes 3 in. long and f-l in. broad, but more fre- 

quently from \-\ in. broad. Form broadly lanceolate in larger leaves ; 

linear-oblong in the smaller ; and every gradation between these ex- 

tremes. Margins revolute. Segments sometimes long and sublinear;

NOTES ON SOME COMPOSIT.E OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 263 

sometimes in the form of simple or double, rounded, large teeth. Lower 

and basal leaves frequently prolonged below into a petiole, which is often 

1 iu. long ; upper leaves only are sessile, with auricled base. Amount 

of cottony coating varies greatly ; sometimes very indistinct to naked 

eye ; always most prominent and abundant on the young leaves, and 

flower and leaf-shoots. • Involucral 

so. 

. 

scales sometimes glabrous, or nearly 

2. E. quadridentata, DC. Uplands about Saddlehill; December, 

in flower, W. L. L. The " Peka-peka" or " Peki-peki" of the South 

Island Maori (Lyall) 

A much more slender plant than the preceding. Cottony down 

more appressed and finer : best seen on under side of leaf and on lower 

part of the grooved stem [young leaf-shoots very cottony-silvery]. 

Head panicled rather than corymbose; panicle very open or lax, 4-5 in. 

long and 3 in. broad. Heads few; involucral scales glabrous. Bracts 

generally also glabrous. Leaf subspathulate below, linear above. Lower 

leaves generally under 3 in. long and \ in. broad ; while upper are 

less than \ in. broad. Lower basal ones longest and petioled ; while 

upper one sessile. Margin sometimes with a slight tendency to notch- 

ing ; not more distinctly revolute than in arguta. Apex acute, sub- 

rigid. 

Genus XL Gxaphalium. " Puatea" is a Maori term apparently 

applied to such species as are used medicinally by the natives. Some 

species appear to be both luxuriant and hardy in cultivation in this 

country. Thus at Trinity, in Mr. Gorrie's hands, two or three very 

woolly-leaved annual forms, received from Otago in 1861, grew so ra- 

pidly and vigorously in the open garden, that he reports them " likely 

to become weeds if not kept under." 

1. G. bellidiokles. Hook. f. L plands about Fairfield, Saddlehill 

October, in flower, W. L. L. 

My Otago plant has more the characters of G. prostratum. Hook. f. 

I have seen no authentic specimens of the latter ; but from comparing 

the ' Handbook' descriptions of beiUdioides and prostratum with my 

Otago plants, which have been refeiTed to the former species by Dr. 

Hooker, I cannot doubt that both species may with advantage be con- 

sidered belonging to a single tvpe. In my Otago specimens, the whole 

plant is stouter, more leafy, and more cottony than in Tarndale forms, 

which agree with the book-characters of bellidioides. Branches not ex- 

;

264 NOTES ON SOME COMPOSIT.E OF OTAGO, NEAV ZEALAND. 

tended into long peduncles. Stem and branches woody, glabrous, shin- 

ing. Leaves more uniform than in the Tarndale plant, but still variable ; 

more coriaceous, shining and glabrous above ; more closely arranged 

and frequently subimbricate ; but they also occur both spreading and 

recurved in the same plant. Upper leaves approach the linear character, 

while lower are broadly ovate or lanceolate.* Some of the broader 

leaves are distinctly apicvdate, others only subacute. Size of leaf some- 

times ^ in. long and about ^ in. broad. Under side silvery without dis- 

tinct tomentum ; even in young and upper leaves the tomentum more 

resembles a silvery coating of paint [as in some Celmisiie] than cottony 

matter. Upper surface of young leaf dries a blackish-brown. Nerve 

or midrib never distinct. Flower-head larger than in the Tarndale 

plant ; sometimes nearly 1 in. across. 

Tarndale specimens in my herbarium have the heads on long pe- 

duncles, and other characters of belUdlo'ides. Stem is much more slen- 

der (filiform) than in my Otago plant, and the terminal or peduncu- 

late portion of the branches is much less leafy. Leaves also are smaller 

and more delicate ; upper very small, narrowly linear, passing into 

lanceolate ; lower obovate, apiculate, glabrous above, about \ in. long 

and under ^ in. broad ; spreading and recurved—not here imbricate. 

Margins frequently revolute. Under side more or less cottony-silvery 

[tomentum generally very fine and closely appressed]. Midrib ob- 

scure. Flower-beads -^-f in. in diameter. 

2. G. coll'mum, Lab. Eanges about Finegnnd, Lower Clutha, 4-6 

in. high, W. L. L. So far represents in aspect and habitat our common 

British Jntennaria dioica, Gfertn. 

My specimens of collinum are small and somewhat slender plants 

under ^ : 

ft. high. Leaves 

lower 

(radical) petioled, under 2 in. long 

and about j in. broad ; upper sessile, spathulate below, becoming 

linear-lanceolate above; acute in both. Capitula small, of few heads. 

I have no hesitation in Veferring all my Otago spocimeus of inmlu- 

cratum and coll'mum to a single type. The only difference between 

them consists in the larger globular inflorescence of the former, which I 

cannot, however, regard as a sufficient specific distinction. Scape and 

plant generally are not so cottony in collinum iis in the spreading, 

tufted forms of involucratum. Stems leafy as in the larger forms of 

involucratum. Leaves have the characters of those of tliat species, than 

which tliey are perhaps less variable ; more decidedly glabrous above

DISCOVERY OF AIUA ULIGINOSA IN GALWAY. 265 

than in involucratum, but not more acute at tip. Younger leaves as in 

that species, sometimes very obscurely cottony [with very fine appressed 

down] above ; generally glabrous. Bracts as in involucratum, scarcely 

more foliaceous. 

3. G. involucratum, Forst. Eoadsides near Kaikorai Mill and 

throughout the Greenisland district ; December, in flower, W. L. L. 

Sometimes spreading and densely tufted ; 

these smaller forms gene- 

rally more leafy than taller, erect ones. Stems flexuose ; mostly under 

1 ft. high. Whole plant cottony ; smaller forms more so than the 

taller. Leaf variable as to form and size. Radical leaves sometimes 

nearly 3 in. long and \ in. broad, tapering into a naiTow petiole, about 

\\ in. long. Form of leaf spathulate. Upper or stem leaves sessile 

and linear-oblong or linear-lanceolate. Upper surface of leaf some- 

times dark olive-brown, shining and wrinkled, subglabrous ; 

sometimes 

dries a blackish-green. Margin frequently revolute. Inflorescence 

about -J in. or upwards in diameter. Head about \ in. long. 

4., G. luteo-album, L. Among " scrub," on roadsides about Caver- 

sham, Dunedin, 15 in. high; sand dunes. Ocean Beach and Forbury 

Head, dwarf, tufted form, 6 in. tall ; December, in flower, W. L. L. 

Generally about 1 ft. high. Cottony tomentum, as usual, most 

abundant and prominent on under side of young leaves, stem-shoots, 

and capitula. Proceeding upwards from base to stem, the leaves which 

clothe the latter are spathulate-oblong to linear ; subpetiolate below, 

sessile above, as is common in the genera Gnaplialiam, ErecMites, and 

Se7iecio. Capitula about ^-f in. in diameter. 

5. G. trinerve, Forst. Sand dunes about mouth of the Kaikorai, 

abundant, W. L. L. 

DISCOVERY OF MRJ ULIGINOSA, Weihe, AT ROUND- 

STONE, CO. GALWAY. 

By Alexander G. More, Esq., F.L.S. 

Another plant is to be added to the botanical rarities of Roundstone. 

"When looking for Naias Jlexilis, I noticed a Grass very like Aira 

fexuosa. From the nature of the locality, and the appearance of the 

plant, I felt no doubt from the first that I had found A. iiUginosa, 

and I am glad to say that my friend Professor C. C. Babington quite 

VOL. VII. [SEPTEMBER 1, 1869.] U

266 OFFICIAL llEPORT ON THE BOTANICAL DEPARTMENT 

agrees with me in the determination of the species. A. uliginosa 

grows in swampy, spongy flats^ surronnding the small lake called, 

in the Ordnance Map, Cregduff Lough, less than a mile south-west of 

Koundstone. 

July 29, 1869. 

[Though new to Ireland, this plant had already been found in Scot- 

land, and was described and figured in Vol. IV. p. i7G, by Mr. J. G. 

Baker.— Ed.] 

OFFICIAL REPOET ON THE BOTANICAL DEPART- 

MENT OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 1869. 

By John J. Bennett, Esa., F.R.S. 

(Ordered hy the Souse of Commons to he prmtedj 

The principal business of the department during the past year has 

consisted, 

— 

In the rearrangement in the general herbarium of the families of 

GfaminecB, Betulacece, Salicince, Coniferee, and Ci/cadece, and of several 

other smaller families of plants. 

In the naming, arranging, and laying into the general herbarium of 

large collections of plants from the Neilgherry Mountains of India, 

formed by Metz, Schmidt, and other collectors ; of a collection formed 

by Dr. Schweinfurth in the countries bordering on the course of the 

Nile ; of a collection of the plants of Algeria, formed by M. Romain 

of collections formed in the neighbourhood of Smyrna, and in other 

parts of the East, by M. Balansa ; 

in Cilicia and Kurdistan ; 

of collections formed by M. Kotschy 

of a collection formed by M. Sagot in French 

Guiana ; of M. Philippi and M. Germain's collections of Chilian 

plants ; of a collection of iJalifornian plants formed by Mr. Bolander 

of several collections of Greenland and other Arctic plants ; of speci- 

mens of Palms from various regions, and of numerous smaller collec- 

tions from different quarters. 

In the rearrangement of a large portion of the collection of fruits 

and seeds in glass-topped boxes ; and of the specimens, recent and 

fossil, of the family of Cycudcrje, incorporating them with the valuable 

collection presented by Mr. .Tames Yates. 

;

OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 1869. 26? 

In the examination and arrangement of Mr. Brown's collection of 

fossil woods, and of the extensive collection of sliced microscopic sec- 

tions of recent woods purchased from the executors of the late 

Mr. Bryson, of Edinburgh. 

And in the partial arrangement and examination of M. Eupert 

Huter's and Dr. Alexander Prior's collections of Styrian and Dal- 

matian plants, and of other collections recently received. 

The following are the principal additions made to the collections of 

the department during the year 1868 by purchase or donation : 

295 species of British Lichens ; 

presented by Dr. Holl. 

50 „ forming fasc. 1 of Larbalestier's 'Lichens of Jersey 

and Sark.' 

2057 „ European Lichens, from the collection of M. Hepp. 

349 „ exotic Lichens, from the collection of M. Hepp. 

778 „ Mosses, from the collection of M. Hepp. 

1070 „ Algce, from the collection of M. Hepp. 

570 „ Floridese, from the collection of M. Hepp. 

25 „ European Lichens, forming No. 29 of Eabenhorst's 

' Lichenes Europeei.' 

70 „ Algr£, forming Nos. 198-204 of Rabenhorst's ' Algeu 

Sachsens,' etc. 

400 „ European plants, forming cent. 7-10 of Schultz's 

' Herbarium Normale.' 

50 „ plants of Belgium, forming fasc. 6 of Van Heurck's 

' Plantes Rares de Belgique.' 

425 „ plants of Dalmatia ; collected by Robert Huter. 

333 „ „ Dalmatia ; presented by Dr. Alexander 

Prior. 

347 „ plants of Styria ; presented by Dr. Alexander Prior, 

110 „ „ Styria; presented by the Chevalier Pittoni. 

23 „ „ Sicily; presented by the Chevalier Pittoni. 

200 „ Sicilian plants, forming fasc. 5 and 6 of Todaro's 

' Flora Sicula.' 

100 J, Cryptogamic plants, forming Nos. 27 and 28 of ' Er- 

bario Crittogamico Italiano." 

117 „ plants of Ceylon; collected by Mr. Thwaites. 

80 „ J, Japan, from the neighbourhood of Yoko- 

hama. 

u2 

—

268 OBITUARY OF FREDEUICK SCHEER. 

333 species of plants of Australia ; presented by Charles Moore, 

165 

„ 

Esq. 

plants from Cape York, North Australia. 

,, plants of Tasmania; presented by Joseph Milligan, 

„ 

Esq. 

Ferns from the Blue Mountains' of Jamaica. 

„ plants of Martinique ; collected by M. Haber. 

,, „ California; collected by Mr. Bolander. 

,, „ Columbia ; collected by M. Linden. 

,, „ Bolivia ; collected by M. Mandon. 

„ „ Chili ; collected by M. Germain. 

,, ,, Erencli Guiana ; collected by M. Sagot. 

18 specimens of Woods from the neighbourhood of Mentone; pre- 

sented by H. M. Moggridge, Esq. 

38 specimens of Coal Plants from Rio Grande ; presented by N. 

Plant, Esq. 

61 specimens of Fossil Plants, from various localities; presented by 

Sir Charles Lyell. 

A series of Coal Plants, from the Island of Cape Breton ; 

by Mr. Chevallier. 

presented 

About 2000 gatherings of Diatomacen;, together with a multitude of 

notes and sketches relating to them, forming the entire collection of 

Professor Kiitzing. 

One hundred microscopic slides, forming cent. 1 of Eulenstein's 

' Diatomaceee Typicse.'

OBITUARY OF FREDERICK SCHEER. 269 

which he had had in advancing a project or publication, it gave him 

pain to see his name made public in connection with it. 

Mr. Scheer was bom in the island of Riigen, where his father was 

a clergyman ; and the first part of his life was spent in Russia in mer- 

cantile pursuits. But when still a young man, he took up his resi- 

dence in England as a City merchant, and for many years lived on 

Kew Green, where his neat cottage and well-kept garden and green- 

house (the latter full of new plants imported by him) was well known 

to botanists. The last years of his life he lived at Northfleet, Kent, 

where he indulged in his favourite pui'suits of botany and gardening to 

the full extent his business occupations would allow. 

]VIr. Scheer held advanced liberal views on religion, politics, and 

political economy, and spoke and wrote several languages with force 

and ease. Nevertheless, he was extremely guarded in what he put on 

paper (in that respect taking Robert Brown for his pattern) ; 

moreover, 

most of his writings were anonymous. Intimate as I was with him, I 

often urged him to make a list of at least his pamphlets, or allow me 

to do so ; but to this I could never get him to agree. It was quite 

satisfactory to him that his ideas should have been promulgated, he 

caring little for the honour of having conceived them, as perhaps the 

next minute he would have already originated new ones, which one 

was welcome to use. He had a great share in the establishment of 

the Anti-Corn Law League, the first meeting of which was held in his 

ofiice ; and though his name did not appear much in connection with 

the subsequent proceedings, he was forging many of the most efli"ective 

bolts which others discharged at the bulwark of an unjust and cruel 

law. Cobden was at that time one of his most active correspondents, 

and often consulted him. A. series of papers which about this period 

appeared in the ' ^Morning Chronicle,' and subsequently as a separate 

publication, under the title of 'Diogenes' Letters to Sir Robert Peel,' 

and which contain some of the best arguments that Anti-Coru-Law 

Leaguers could employ, were from Mr. Scheer's pen. When, in 1S39, 

the Government thought of doing away with Kew Gardens, he did all 

he could, through newspapers and in getting up petitions to Parlia- 

ment, to avert the calamity, and also came forward with a small, but 

well-written book, ' Kew and its Gardens ' (London, 1840, 8vo).* 

* I believe I am correct in stating, in parenthesis, that the first note of 

alarm that Kew Gardens were about to be broken up was given by Mr. John

270 OBITUARY OF FREDERICK SCHEER. 

About this time, Mr. Scheer had oue of the largest collections of Cacti 

in Europe, and was iu frequent communication with Pfeiffer, Fred. 

Otto, and Prince Salm-Dyck, the leading authorities on that subject. 

His collection was extremely rich in Mexican species, chiefly obtained 

from Mr. J. Potts. Only a small portion of these were ever described, 

either by Prince Salm-Dyck or (very reluctantly) by Mr. Scheer himself 

in Seemaun's 'Botany of H.M.S. Herald;' the greater number, how- 

ever, were subsequently lost during Mr. Scheer's removal from Kew. 

Several new plants, received from his numerous correspondents abroad, 

were described and figured by Sir William Hooker, Dr. Lindley. and 

myself. Amongst his Mexican Gesneracece I found a new genus 

{Scheeria), which I dedicated to him in the ' Botanical Magazine,' and 

of which at present two species, both cultivated as ornamental hot- 

house plants, are known. After losing the bulk of his Cacteae, Mr. 

Scheer took up Ferns, which he studied attentively ; and it was he 

who suggested to me the plan of the ' British Ferns at One View 

(Van Voorst). His great power of combination, coupled with his 

varied and profound knowledge, gave him an almost prophetic insight 

into the future, and this was much appreciated by great City firms, 

who frequently asked his advice on momentous questions of the day. 

In look he much resembled Beethoven, whose compositions he could 

play exquisitely. He was a raan of remarkable energy, who never had 

any serious illness during the whole of his life. On the day he died 

he had been all day in the City, came home, and instead of going after 

dinner, as usual, to his greenhouse to look at his plants, he Avent to 

bed. An hour afterwards he expired, evidently without pain or suf- 

fering. His only son died a few years ago ; his wife survives him. 

He was a high-principled, unselfish man, a warm friend, ardently de- 

voted to science, and an uncompromising opponent of all sham, whe- 

ther it appeared in a religious, political, or scientific garb. 

^ B. Seemann. 

SmitJi (late Curator of Kew) and Mr. Robert Heward, F.L.S., who concocted a 

letter which appeared in the 'Times,' and led to questions being asked in 

Parliament. 

'

271 

NEW PUBLICATION. 

Bottings on the Roadside in Nicaragua, Fanamd, and- Mosquito. By 

Captain Bedfobu Pim, E.N., and Berthold Seemann, Ph.D., 

etc. With Phites aud Maps. 8vo. 468 pp. London : Chapman 

and Hall. 

Although comments of any kind on this book—the first half of 

which was written by Dr. Seemann, the latter half by Captain Pim 

cannot be looked for at this place, yet it may not be superfluous to 

note some of the contents as far as they may concern botany. 

The book opens with Dr. Seemann's visit to the Isthmus of Panama 

in March, 1866, he having landed, at Colon, on the Atlantic side. 

" It took four hours and a half to get across the isthmus, wMch to some of 

my fellow-passengers seemed long ; but not so to me, who had formerly spent 

four days iu going over the same distance. At the various stations where the 

train stops there are very fine . American houses, surrounded by nice flowergardens 

and neat white fences, forming a singular contrast with the wretched 

huts of the native negroes, which are neither better nor worse than I have 

known them twenty years ago. Yet food is as abundant as ever, and wages are 

much higher. To me it was a great treat to revel once more amongst the 

vegetation of a country about which I wrote the first Flora. The palm-groves 

seemed to nod then- feathery leaves in friendly recognition ; and many of the 

trees and shrubs which I introduced 

fi-iends, glad to see me again." 

to Science seemed to be so many old 

The neighbourhood of Panama is very fine. In the savanas 

" you have the most lovely park-hke scenery in the world,— beautiful short 

grass, capital for galloping upon, clumps of fine trees and shrubs, a gentlyundulating 

ground, little rivulets and now and then glimpses of the city, the 

bay, and the islands. A Hthogram published by Appleton, of Kew York, of 

which nearly all the copies were destroyed by fire, gives an excellent idea of 

these savanas and their vegetation ; and it is the only one I have seen that 

really does .justice to the neighbourhood of Panama." 

In this picture there is a very good illustration of the growth of 

the singular Hederaceous tree Didymocarpus Morototoni, Dene, et PI. 

Embarking at Panama on one of the steamers going up the wêst 

coast of America, Dr. Seemann landed at Corinto (Eealejo), the 

principal port of Nicaragua, where he " ate a dish of Cabbage-palm, 

as a botanical curiosity," and thence travelling all night, partly by 

boat, and partly on muleback, he 

— 

" reached Leon at seven o'clock in the morning, rather tired, and found 

the street thickly strewn with Eoses, Frangipanis {Phimierias), Oleanders, and 

— 

—

273 NEW PUBLICATION. 

other scented flowers, the remnants of recent religious processions. . . . The 

houses of Leon are nearly all but one story high, and built of sun-dried briclfs, 

of adobes, and somewhat in the Modrish style, there being a large square yard 

in the centre of the houses, surrounded by a broad verandah, on to which all 

the rooms open out. . . . The yards, or pateos, are, in some instances, neatly 

kept as gardens, where one finds a few Plantain, Orange, Pomegranate, Soursop, 

and Mango-trees, as well as Roses, Cockscombs, Gomphrenes, Fraugipanis, 

Jessamines, and PoUanthes tuherosa ; highly-scentQd flowers seeming to be 

those most cultivated. During tlie dry season these plants require constant 

irrigation, the water being obtained from deep wells, of which there is generally 

one iu every yard." 

In the woods of the neighbourhood 

" we frequently perceived a most offensive, carrion-like smell, wliich at first 

was thought to come from some dead animal matter, but was speedily traced 

to the flowers of a middle-sized tree, in habit not unlike the Caoutchouc {Castilloa 

elastiea, Cerv.). This tree our men called ' Palanca,' its wood being 

used, amongst other things, for levers or falancas. The leaves were oblong 

and velvety, and from the growing branches developed flowers not unlike in 

shape and size those of Tuhps. The most remarkable thing was tlaat these 

flowers on first opening were quite green, and free from smell, but they gradually 

changed into a dark purple, almost black, and then emitted a most powerful 

smell, quite as, or rather more disagreeable, than that of some Stapelias, 

Aristolochias, and Aroidece, and, iu a less degree, the fruit of St. John's Bread. 

It is strange that this carrion-like smell in plants should in so many cases 

accompany a dark brown or dark blue colour, and it would be worth while to 

endeavour to ascertain the chemical principle here at work. At the base of 

each of the six petals, the Palanca has a gland, and I fancied that the smell 

principally proceeded from its secretions. To my delight I found that the 

plant constituted a new genus of Anonacere, distinguished by having the largest 

known petals of the Natural Order to which it belongs. Afterwards I met 

with it in abundance between Leon and Gi'anada, and coUected good specimens 

of it for our herbaria. At the suggestion of Mr. J. J. Bennett, F.R.S., of the 

British Museum, I gave it tlie name of Sap)ranfhus Nicuraf/uensis. I am 

sorry to add, however, that my travelling comimnions who afterwards saw me 

busy myself with the plant would not adopt this correctly-formed and expressive 

Greek name, but insisted upon dubbing it ' Stinkadora." 

After remarking on the so-called mimicry of Nature, Dr. Seemann 

describes his departure from Leon for the little-known districts of New 

Segovia and Matagalpa. \This happened on the 4th of April, the fag- 

end of the dry season, 

" Towards five o'clock we reached a place called Valle de Zapata, a mere 

collection of huts, where a little Indian-corn and cotton was grown, the latter 

being the mossy-seeded variety. Tiie people were much disappointed that the 

cotton prices hud gone down so much, and thought it a hard case that the 

United States should have discontinued their fratricidal war just at a time 

when Nicaragua was getting ready to send a few hundred bales of cotton to the 

Liverpool market. Cotton cultivation in tliis country has not been successful, 

in most seasons a worm entering tlic pods ju?t wlu'ii tliey begin to ripen, and 

thus destroying the crops. If it were not for this, the Nicaraguaus delude 

—

NEW PUBLICATION. 273 

themselyes by thinking that the produce they might be able to send to Europe 

would materiaUv affect the prices. 

" We started early next morning, and soon after left the cart-road, which 

ever since our departure from Leon we had been able to follow, and which 

passed over tolerably level gi'ouud, though round the large volcanoes and over 

fields of lava. The road we now took, Cleto informed us, was a short cut, but, 

like most short cuts if one is not quite familiar with them, it turned out to be 

rather a long one. The whole day we did not see a house or meet a single 

human being, and, except two stagnant pools, the only water we found was a 

Httle brook. On advancing, the country became more hilly, and we had to 

cross valleys full of large boulders, resting on black mould, in the rainy season 

one mass of mud. It was very warm indeed, and, as most of the trees were 

quite leafless, as ours are in the depth of winter, we suffered very much from 

the sun. We soon finislied a few bottles of water which we carried along with 

us, and to quench our thu-st ate some Hog-plums and ' uvas ' {Ardisia coriacea). 

One of the valleys was full of trees bearing fruits like Oranges ; and Captain 

Holman, delighted at the sight, galloped ahead to gather some. To his disappomtment, 

though not to mine, these ' Oranges ' turned out to be the fruit of 

a Calabash-tree {Crescentia alata), the seeds of which the Nicaraguans make 

into a cooling drink, and sell in some of the shops of the towns, whilst the 

shell is turned into drinking-cups. After continued travelling in this inhospitable 

region, we were glad to perceive, towards simset, a farm, which stood 

on the top of a hUl, and rejoiced in the name of Hacienda de Pdon. This 

farm struck me as the most tidily kept in the whole of Xicaragua, the principal 

dweUing-house being extremely clean and comfortable. An evergreen Fig-tree, 

with a crown of gigantic dimensions, was diffusing a dehcioua coolness and 

shade around the place." 

After leaving Achuapa, a tolerably large village, 

" The road passed Las Tablas, where for the first time we found ourselves in 

a most delightfully cool temperature, and in a forest of Fir-trees {Pinus tenuifolia, 

Benth., known by the name of ' Ocote,' a corruption of the Aztec 

(Mexican) ' Ocotl. ') I may, however, add that this is not the most southern 

limit of the Pines on the Pacific side of America, but that it is, as far as at 

present ascertained, in latitude 12° 40' north, on the Volcan Tiejo, near Chinandega, 

at an elevation of three thousand feet above the sea-level, whilst the 

most northern hmit, as I have shown in - my Flora of Eskimoland, is on the 

banks of the river Xoatak, in latitude 66° 44' 0" north, where Captain Bedford 

Pim found a regular forest composed of a species (Abies arotica, A. Murr.) 

closely allied to the White Pine. We did not long remain in this deUghtfully 

cool atmosphere, but were compelled again to descend into the hot valleys, 

passing the village of San Juan de la Maya." 

The journey thence led to the farm of Bonbon. 

" We left Bonbon early the next morning, and travelled about three leagues 

more in the liot valleys, the vegetation of which was very much like that of 

the Pacific coast of the Isthmus of Panama, many of the species being identically 

the same in both countries. Again ascending some mountam-ridges, we 

were once more greeted by the Pine-trees and a dehghtfidly cool breeze. Here 

I found a species of Oreopanax with large palmate leaves, new to me ; a 

pui-ple Salvia, a pink Melastomacea, and Pteris aquilina ; a species of Rhipsalis 

grew on the Pine-trees. Saw no snakes, and only one monkey, some 

luacaws, and that beautiful bird with two long feathers in tail, the Trogon re- 

—

274: NEW PUBLICATION. 

splendens (winch I have also met with as far south as the Volcan de Chiriqui 

in Veraguas). Until now there had been no sign of any rain, but on this day, 

the 8th of April, we had a few slight showers. An enterprising Nicaraguan, 

Don P. Castellon, had established here a coffee plantation, said to contain 

40,000 trees." 

Jamaili was tlie next stopping-place, after leaving which, the country- 

" was quite parched up, and almost the only green things were some gigantic 

Filocerei, or Old-man Cactuses, and a few Melon-cactuses and Opuntias. We 

passed the villages of Alanguina and Totogalpa, and crossing the river Coco, 

the banks of which were clad with Willows, the lovely green of which was 

quite a relief to the eye after seeing so much di-ied-up vegetation, we entered, 

on the 9th of April, 1866, the town of Ocotal, . . . the capital of New Segovia, 

which derives its name from the Pme, or ocote, formerly plentiful in the 

neighbourhood. Ocote, or rather Ocotl, is a name of Aztec derivation, brought 

here, with many others, by Mexican immigrants, during the time of Montezuma 

; for the Mexican Empire tried to extend its way even further south than 

Nicaragua. I fancy that a dehcious and very wholesome fruit, as large as a 

good-sized Apple, and much cultivated here, was introduced by the same 

agency. It is called by the people Matasaua, and by botanists Cccsimiroa 

edidis ; and it would doubtless thrive in Australia and southern England, as I 

fovmd it also in the higher mountains of northern Mexico. Seeds of it were 

sent to Mr. Bull's Nursery, at Chelsea, where young plants are now to be procured." 

Yarious excursions were made into the surrounding district, where 

the mountains were generally found to be covered with Oak and Pine, 

to which were added, at Depilto, Liquidambar-trees, stemless Fan- 

palms, and some Brambles. On the 19th of April Dr, Seemann 

departed for ^Matagalpa, taking an easterly direction, and passing 

Palacaguina, Avhere he observed near the church a Juniper-like-looking 

tree, not previously met with by him in any other part of the country. 

Thence the road led to Yale. 

" The scenery about here was truly grand. At the back of the rancho there 

were thick Pine forests, in front green savanas, sloping down to a rivulet, and, 

further on, the Montana de Yale, which we entered the next morning, and 

where the vegetation was more luxuriant and fresher than we had seen it in 

any other part of the countr^r. There were beautifid Tree-ferns, and elegant 

Cane-palms, Liquidambars of truly gigantic dimensions, one hundred and fifty 

feet high and thirty feet in circumference, being the leading trees, and all being 

just in leaf, a fine May green, presented an appeai'ance almost equal in beauty 

to that of a Beech forest at home in early summer. How well this locality 

would be suited for gi-owing coffee ! About six leagues from the ' Boca' is the 

village of San Rafael, whidi is situated in a plain, and is composed of forty 

houses. The people declared there were about 2000 souls in the place and its 

immediate neighbourhood, which, as there are many farms, may be true. 

Taking a hasty breakfast, and purcliasing some oranges, twenty for one real, 

we pushed on for Jinotega, a town of two hundred houses and a chxu'ch, 

hedges of tall Yucca-trees imparting to it a rather characteristic look. . . . The 

—


white Convolvulus, which flowers all night, and at the first rays of the rising 

sun begins to wither, was still in full bloom when we left Jinotega, and after 

riding in a south-easterly du-ectiou about seven leagues over a rough, stony 

road, we arrived at Matagalpa, the capital of the department of the same name. 

One of the first buildings on entering the town, for I suppose I must caU it a 

town, though we in Europe would call it a mere village, was a flour-mill, the 

only one I had seen in the country, Wheat being grown in some of the hills in 

the neighbourhood, but the flour prepared from it proving very dark and 

coarse." 

The subsequent pages describe Dr. Seemann's return to Leon, and 

his departure from there to Chontales. 

" Passing and stopping for a few hours at Pueblo Nuevo, with its curious 

Cactus fences, I put up for the night at Nagarote, where I measured a famous 

Genisaro tree (Pithecolobium Saman, Benth.), belonging to the Mimosa tribe, 

of which the villagers are justly proud, and for which 200 dollars have been 

ofiered—a high price in a country where timber abounds ; and yet tlaey had 

the pubhc spirit— the rarest of virtues in a Spanish American—to refuse the 

ofier (others say the Grovernment made them refuse). The tree, of which a 

woodcut is given in Squier's ' Central America,' is but 90 feet high ; but some 

of the lower branches, which are quite horizontal, are 92 feet long and 5 feet 

in diameter. The stem, 4 feet above the base, is 21 feet in cu'cumference, and 

the crown of the tree describes, a circle of 348 feet. A whole regiment of 

soldiers may seek repose in its shade. 

" If this vegetable monster had been a denizen of any part of tlie eastern 

hemisphere, it would have become a fit object of tree-worship, that singular 

religion which flourished long before temples and churches were thought of, 

and which enjoyed a more extensive geographical range than any creed has 

done since. At one time it was difi'used over the whole of Europe, Asia, 

Africa, and Polynesia. Throughout Europe and some islands of Polynesia it 

has been supplanted by Christianity , in parts of Asia and Africa by Mohammedanism 

; but nowhere have its rites been enth'ely suppressed. Deprived of 

their religious character and import, many of them have survived to this day, 

eveiywhere associated with mu-th, good feeling, and festivity. JSTo trace of 

tree-worship has been noticed amongst the natives of Australia, nor amongst 

those of the New World, though it had penetrated to the easternmost islands 

of Polynesia. The fact is most singular, as no continent boasts of such magnificent 

and venerable trees as America. In the virgin forests of Brazil there 

are trunks of such gigantic size that fifteen Indians with outstretched arms 

could hardly span them ; trunks wliich, by counting the concentric rings of 

their wood, must have been in existence when Homer wrote his immortal 

poem. In Upper California and along the whole north-western coast of 

America the vegetations attains enormous dimensions and age. Three hundred 

feet is no uncommon height for a ti-ee, and some of the Wellingtonias overtop 

St. Peter's, and almost rival the height of the pinnacle of Cheops, wliilst their 

age is such that they must have been in fidl growth long before the Saxon invasion 

of England. Yet these peculiarities do not seem to have made any impression 

on the mind of the American Indian, evidently proving that size, 

venerable look, and age of trees are not sufficient to account for their worship 

by the largest section of the human race. Indeed, tree-worship can scarcely 

have sprung from simple admiration. We have plenty of people among us 

with a strong leaning that way, and can pretty well judge of its range and 

scoiê. The Rev. Charles Young tells us that from childhood, notliing in 

natm'e had a greater attraction for him than trees, and a giant tree, such as


that of which the bark existed at the Crystal Palace, had been the heiglit of 

his ambition among the sights of nature. To gratify this feeling he made purposely 

a voyage to the Amazon, of Vhich he has given an interesting account 

in Galton's ' Vacation Tourists,' and one might suppose that when at last he 

found himself among the vegetable giants of Brazil feelings superior to those 

of gratified curiosity would come to the surface. Bat there was nothing of the 

kind ; even a botanical interest does not appear to have been roused in him. 

Mr. Young's predilection is rather prevalent in the United States, where tra- 

vellers are almost bored to death by being taken to see big trees. Dr. Russell, 

who went thither for a very different purpose, and during a period of great 

civil commotion, I'epeatedly mentions his being forced to visit such objects ; and 

he tries to account for the admiration Americans have for their vegetable 

monsters by the fact that in the United States few things are old and venerable, 

and any exception to that rule is carefully noticed. I remember, in 

passing through Cambridge, Massachusetts, seeing a black board, recording 

that the mayor and alderman of that town had been such Tandals as to cut 

down an old and large tree which stood in tlie middle of the road, and underneath 

was written with chalk, ' Let this be remembered at the next election !' " 

"A ride of three days from Managua, by way of Tipitapa and Juigalpa, 

brought me to Chontales, the finest and most fertile district of Nicaragua. 

Approaching it from the west, as I did, you find yourself amongst rich undulating 

grass lands, which even at the end of the diy season retain their verdure 

and afford pasture to thousands of heads of cattle. On nearing Libertad, 

the ground becomes more elevated, the climate considerably cooler, and 

you get occasional glimpses of the Lake of Granada, with its islands and ma- 

jestic volcanoes. . . . Close to Libertad commences a dense virgin forest, 

which extends to the Atlantic seaboard, and a singular feature of which is, 

that tlie stems of the ti'ees are of a very light grey, as well indicated by Mr. 

George Chambers in some of his clever sketches ; but the correctness of which 

I was inclined to doubt until I had actually seen it in the landscape itself." 

After giving the history of the gold-mines of Chontales, and de- 

scribing its population, the author proceeds : 

" In these mountains a species of caoutchouc (known here by its Aztec name 

of Ule)^ vanilla, sarsaparilla, quassia, fustic, and other valuable woods abound, 

and tliere are many vegetable productions perfectly new to science. Amongst 

tlie most noteworthy are a Pitcher-plant {Marcffraavia), every umbel of which 

terminates in five flower-bearing pitchers filled with water, a large white 

Sobralia, and a tree (Herrania purpurea, Decaisne), with fingered leaves and 

small seeds, which are occasionally offered for sale by the Indians, and from 

which cliocolate of a flavour superior to that of the common Cacao is manufactured. 

Some day this chocolate-tree will doubtless be extensively grown by 

Euro})eans ; and, as it ocb,urs in these woods together with the common 

naturalized Cacao, it may have been cultivated when this district was more 

thickly inhabited by Indians than it is at present. 

" The Chontales gold region appears to be a favourite haunt of plants with 

variegated leaves. There are some fine species of Costus (including, besides the 

well-known C.zeirinus and Malortiauus, several new ones ; two beautiful species 

of Cissus, one with briglit scarlet flowers, introduced by me into English gardens) 

; and several MarantacecB and AroidecE. But the finest of these is the 

one t have named Cyrtodeira Chontalensis, a Gesneraceous plant. The leaves 

are purple on the imder side, and on the upper light green (like those of Begonia 

smaragdina), with very dark green blotches. The flowers, which appear 

in November and December, are lilac, and as large as a crown piece, with a 

—


yellow centre, and a whitish tube. The roots are fibrous (not catkin-like rhizomes, 

as in the Achimenes tribe) ; and in habit the plant resembles the only 

other known species of the genus (C. cnipreata, Hanstein), which, however, has 

smaller and scarlet flowers, and a hau'y ovary. It was found at the Pavon 

end of the Javali Mine, where it grew in only a very small spot—shady groves 

on the banks of a rivulet. Although we became afterwards weU acquainted 

with the vegetation of the distrir-t, we never met the plant anywhere but 

there ; and after we had taken up sixty specimens, and planted them in a 

miniature ^Yardian case, fire was set to the very spot where the Cyrtodeira 

grew, for the purpose of clearing it. The sixty specimens readdy took root, 

and on our departure a boy was engaged to carry them on his saddle before 

him to Leon, a distance of about eighty leagues. All went on well, till one 

evening darkness overtook us on the immense grassy plains of Tipitapa, and 

the boy's mule fell into one of those wide cracks which during the dry season 

in the tropics always form where the ground is clayey. Down came the 

Wardian case with a heavy crash, and one-half of our plants were lost. The 

other half looked well enough tdl within two miles of the port of embarkation, 

when the waggon in wliich, for greater safety's sake, they had been placed, 

went into a deep hole, and turned right over. This time all but six specimens 

were destroyed, and these were so much injured that when we arrived at London, 

and handed them to Mr. W. BuU, of Chelsea, the enterprising plant 

merchant, only one was found to be in a sound condition ; but that one has 

become the progenitor of a numerous race, which now ornaments our hothouses." 

In subsequent chapters Dr. Seemann details his second visit to 

Nicaragua. About La Merced, on the Lake of Nicaragua, and 

" I may add, in many other parts of the country, I noticed a goodly number 

of the trees which yield the dyewood known by the name of Fiistic in commerce 

{Madura tinctoria) . It belongs to the Slidberry famdy, and is termed 

' Moran ' by the natives. The fruit is sweet and edible. The wood might be 

profitably collected for export if there were any good ways of commimication, 

as it fetches sometimes as much as £5 per ton in Liverpool. At present nobody 

notices it." 

At p. 196 an ascent of Pena Blanca is described, which is the 

highest known peak of Chontales, and may be about 2500 feet above 

the sea-level. 

" The vegetation of Peiia Blanca is distinct from that of any other mountain-top 

I have seen in Chontales. I found a fine purple Lobelia, a scarlet 

caulescent Orchid {Ornithorliynchos) , and a crimson Macleania. Much to my 

regret, many of the woody plants had been destroyed by fire. On my last 

ascent the gentleman who had kindled the flame was with me, and was somewhat 

astonished when, instead of receiving unquahfied praise for having 

cleared the view, I told him it was fortunate, standing as we did on the brink 

of a yawning precipice, that the enraged botanist within me was somewhat 

mollified by my appreciation of the fine landscape which he had, as it were, 

unrolled. 

"Peua Blanca commands a very fine view. You cannot see any rivers, 

though tbey discharge themselves into the Atlantic, the Javali entering the 

Mico, and the Mico the Blewfields ; but you can see the Javah lode of auriferous 

quartz rocks for several miles, and distinctly trace the various branches 

—


(which ill many instances have proved extremely rich) running into it. Further 

on, the eye, passing over dense vii'gin forests, encounters green savanas." 

Dr. Seemaun had a picket cut through the virgin forests, in order 

to gain a more ready access to the Atlantic seaboard. An official re- 

port on the first forty miles, by the surveyor, addressed to him, is here 

inserted, and contains the first botanical information we have about 

this unknown district. The picket was cut from the Javali Gold 

Mine, and about four miles oif the exploring party found several Cedro 

trees {Cedrela odorata) cut down, probably by wild Indians, Nine 

miles off 

— 

" commences a regular Coyolal (palm grove), which extends over a plateau of 

at least four miles, the Palm-trees being so close and regular that the whole 

looks as if planted. The trees were heavily laden with four to eight bunches 

of coyol nuts ; and there were also many of the so-called Corozo Palms (Âttalea 

Cohune), which, by their gigantic size and singular flowers, presented a 

beautiful appearance. Eleven miles off the quebreda has sufficient water to 

di'ive a mill for the purpose of making coyol oil, which, in my opinion, might 

prove a profitable business where, as is here the case, it could be carried on on 

a large scale, there being millions of these oil-yielding Palms." 

At sixteen miles off 

— 

" There is a quantity of wild Cacao {Theohroma Cacao), and also of the small 

Cacao {Herrania imrpurea), which you took to England with you; of course, 

conclusive proof of the fertility of the soil. We also found a little Sugar-cane, 

which may have been planted by the Indians." 

Dr. Seemann's pages close with his second visit to Nicaragua, his 

third, from which he has only recently retiu-ned, not being alluded to. 

It was during this third visit that lie was so fortunate as to discover, 

near the Javali Mine, the gigantic Ai-oid, on which the ' Gardeners' 

Chronicle ' had the following communication, extracted from a letter 

of Dr. Seemann to Mr. William Bull, and also the subsequent 

article : 

" I have just procured for you a truly wonderful Aroid, wliich has, so far as 

my knowledge goes, the largest flowers (say, rather, spathes) known in the 

Natural Order to which it belongs. Just imagine a peduncle rising from a 

rhizome larger than a man's head, and being itself four feet high and four 

inches in diameter, bearing an upright spathe, which measures two feet in 

length, and one foot eight inches aci'oss, and enclosing a spadix four niches long 

and nine hues across. Like my Sapranthtis Nicaraguensis, it emits a powerful 

carrion-like smell, and has also on the outside the same dark purplish-blue 

colour as' the beautiful Anonacea just mentioned. The spathe is reddisli-brown, 

with the exception of the part surrounding the spadix, which is yellowish-white. 

The plant has only one leaf, wluch also rises from the rhizome, and after fully 

developing, dies off The wliole length of the leaf is thirteen feet eight inches ; 

the petiole alone measures ten feet (all the measurements are Enghsli).

BOTANICAL NETVS. 279 

" The paragraph extracted from one of mj letters, which you pubUshed on 

the 27th February last, about the gigantic Aroid discorered by me in the 

mountains of Isîcaragua, has had the good fortune to make the rounds, not 

only of the English and Continental papers, but also of the American, and 

been commented upon in many ways, even by your facetious contemporary 

' Punch.' I dare say some thought, when reading of the dimensions of the 

plant, that I, when penning that paragraph, allowed my imagination to run 

riot, and was dishing up a mere traveller's tale. But I took the precaution to 

preserve the flowers in spmt, and send to Mr. Wilham Bull two fine rhizomes 

of the plant. Both of the latter are now growing, and one of them, received 

in England only on the I7th of April, is now in a fair way of proving that I 

rather understated than overstated the case. It is in a pot of only eleven 

inches in diameter, and on the 28th of Jime, the petiole of the leaf (the plant 

has only one leaf at a time) was seven feet high and nine inches in circumference. 

The blade is not yet developed, and I believe that before tliis communication 

sees the light, the petiole wUl have attained more than ten feet, the 

height it had in Ificaragua. It looks like a huge snake (beautifully mottled) 

standing bolt upright at the command of some Eastern charmer. I may add 

that the leaf in the present state already exceeds the largest recorded dimensions 

of aU other Aroidece with a hke habit, and, when fully developed, it will turn 

out to be what I said it would, the largest Aroid, both in leaf and flower, of 

which we have cognizance. The flowers being hermaphrodite, not diclinous, 

the giant in question cannot be referred to Amorphophallus, Conophallus, or 

allied genera of the Eastern hemisphere, but will, on closer investigation, prove 

to be either a genuine Dracontium, or the representative of a closely allied new 

genus, which ' Punch ' has asked me to name after Gog and Magog. Yielding 

to the request, it would not be the first barbaric name we should have in botany, 

and probably not the last either ; and who knows what, after due consultation 

with the City Corporation, I may do?" 

Capt. B. Pim, R.N., iu liis part of tlie ' Do'ttings,' confines himself 

principally to Jamaica and Mosquito, and except a note on India- 

Rubber Collecting, which had previously appeared in this Journal, 

there are but few botanical facts. It may be useful to add that the 

creeper which the Rubber collectors use for thickening the milky juice 

of the trees, and which Dr. Seemann from native description conjec- 

tured to be an Apocynea, has now been ascertained by him to be a 

Convolvulacea, Calonyction speciosum. 


Under the title ' Echoes in Plant and Flower Life,' Mr. Leo H. Grindon has 

published (London, Pitman) a small book on the superficial resemblances in 

habit and structure of plants whose inner organization is widely different, and 

to which the term" Mimicry " (see Yol. YI. pp. 182, 213), had previously, but 

erroneously, been apphed. 

Died, after a short illness, on the 15th of July, at Tephtz, Hcinrich Ludwig


Wendland, who for fifty-three years was the head of the Royal Berg-garden of 

Herrenhauseu, near Hanover, and who attained the advanced age of seventy- 

eight. He was the son of Johann Ctir. Wendland (the coadjutor of Schrader), 

and the father of Hermann Wendland, author of several valuable papers 

on Palms. Though displaying less literary activity than his father, we have 

from his pen a work on the phyllodinous Acacias (' Commentatio de Acaciis 

AphyUis,' Hannoverse, 1820), in which he describes and figures a number 

of new species of that group, with which he had become acquainted chiefly 

during his stay in England ; and, a few years later, in conjunction with 

Professor Bartling, of Grottingen, his ' Beitrage zur Botanik ' (Contributions 

to Botany), of which two volumes appeared (1824-25), the first contain- 

ing the well-known monograph on Diosmem, the second, miscellaneous matter. 

Subsequently he published merely a few short horticultural and botanical 

articles in Grerman periodicals, but to the last he took a vivid interest in all 

that relates to botany and gardening. The establishment under his charge 

was admirably conducted and pre-eminently rich in fermanently-grown species, 

though some of the Continental Botanic G-ardens beat it by counting those 

annuals and biennials, grown only at periods varying fi-om two to four years. 

Wendland was fond of old garden-plants, and resisted, as far as lay in his 

power, the application of the doctrine that selection rather than collection 

should be aimed at in these places. His garden though never recognized as 

a botanic garden in the limited sense it is understood in Germany (it not being 

attached to any University, nor having any professors connected with it), was 

always regarded as one of the leading establishments of the country, where a 

large collection of well-grown and corrcctly-uamed plants was to be found. It 

is generally acknowledged that it was entirely due to Wendland's influence 

that Palms and Cycads (of which he cultivated the largest collection) are now 

so extensively cultivated on the Continent, and have houses built for their 

exclusive reception. Wendland was neat and careful in his habits, and gen- 

tlemanly in look and manners. 

The public papers contain the following sad news :—On Tuesday, July 

I7th, the Steam Navigation Company's boat, the ' Eagle,' took up among her 

passengers from the Metropolis to the Isle of Thanet, a gentleman about fifty 

years of age, with his son, a youth of about thirteen years. When the boat 

got to the Lower Hope, below Gravesend, the gentleman was seen by the mate 

suddenly to fall from the sponsons into the river. Tiie alarm was at once 

given, the steamer was stopped, and a boat was lowered to recover the unhappy 

man, but without success, and after ronaining half an hour search- 

ing for him, the steamer proceeded on her journey, carrying with her the 

despairing son. It transpired that the unfortunate gentleman was named 

William John Salter, A.L.S., and that he resided at St. George's Road, Kil- 

burn. He was by profession a geologist and botanical draughtsman. 

We regret to have to announce the death of Dr. Cams, of Dresden, President 

of the Imperial German Academy Naturae Curiosorum, and ex officio " Comes 

Palatinus Csesareus."

281 

AIRA FLEXUOSA, Weihe, IN ENGLAND. 

By Hewett C. Watson, Esq. 

The ' Journal of Botany ' has shown the occuiTcnce of this grass in 

Scotland and Ireland ; and I can now add also to its habitats the 

third division of our triple kingdom, by reporting the species from 

North Hants. A single culm of it, without the root-leaves, has been 

in ray herbarium upwards of a score of years, placed among my speci- 

mens of Aira fexuosa. The label bears no date, and gives only the 

long locality, " North Hants,—between Earnham and Farnborough," 

a line of way six or eight miles in extent. I walked with a friend 

from the one to the other place, soon after the Southampton (now, 

South-Western) Railway was in operation ; so the probable station of 

the plant was somewhere about the present site of Aldershot Camp, 

which now covers much of the intervening space. 

On reading Mr. A. G. More's account of his new locality for the 

plant, in Ireland, it seemed that Elect Pond would be a suitable 

station for the gi-ass ; being an extensive pool of water, with adjacent 

bog or swamp, and sitiiate only half-a-dozen miles westward from the 

road between Eamham and Earnborough. Accordingly I proceeded 

tliitlier, and at once came upon the grass, within five minutes after 

leaving the railway at Eleet Station. It was there growing in the 

swamp among the usual plants of wateiy bogs. Eurther from the 

station, it w-as found under more easy conditions for access, being 

plentiful within a few yards of the open water of the ' Pond,' on gTound 

apparently submerged in winter, but then (September 9) left uncovered 

by the sinking of the water-level in a dry summer. Its companions 

were Eleocharis, Molinia, Myi-ica, Drosera, Carduus pratcjisis, with 

other swamp-dwellers. I explain the locality thus fully by way of 

suggestion to botanists to examine other similar situations next season, 

and in any part of Britain or- Ireland. As might be expected, the 

gi-ass was mostly past its prime ; but I secured examples enough to 

supply every member of the Exchange Club next winter; with some 

to spare, in case other botanists should care to apply to me for them. 

Earlier in the season (say July or August) thousands of specimens 

might have been obtained. 

This A. t'Uffinosa is truly very like A. flexv.om. Its clain s to 

VOL. VTI. [OCTOBER 1, 1809.] X

282 BRITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT EXETER. 

specific distinctness rest on several slight differences, not on a single 

character only ; and the situation of growth is very unlike the usually 

dry places in which the typical A.Jiexiiosa prevails. I find their 

technical distinctions somewhat exaggerated in books, through the too 

usual practice of describing the opposite extremes, and neglecting the 

intermediate or approximating examples. Looking at specimens from 

France and Sweden, along with those from Hampshire, it would seem 

that the ligule gives the readiest practical character, being much longer 

and more acute, whiter and more membranous in the A. uVuj'mom. 

next, the seeming inequality of the two florets, through the longer 

pedicel of the second floret in A. nliginosa. As to the alleged differ- 

ences between the leaves, the sizes of the flowers, and the erect or 

drooping panicles, I fear these are too slight and variable for much 

practical use in diagnosis. A considerable number of viviparous 

panicles were observed about Fleet Pond. I have seen A.flexuosa in 

that condition on our northern mountains ; 

according to present recollection. 

never so in South England, 

BEITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT EXETER. 

At the inaugural meeting, in the evening. Dr. Hooker, the Outgoing 

President, having vacated the chair, it was then occupied by Professor 

Stokes, President-elect, who then proceeded to deliver liis address, of 

which we give such extracts as may be of interest to our readers. 

The President's Address. 

Objects of the Association. 

My Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,—As this is the first time tliat 

the ]5ritish Association for the Advancement of Science has met in the 

city of Exeter, and it is jirobable that many now present have never 

attended a former meeting, I hope the older members of the Associa- 

tion will bear with me if I say a few words in explanation of the ob- 

jects for which the Association was instituted. In the first place, then, 

it aims at fulfilling an ofllice which is quite distinct from that of the 

various scientific societies which arc established in different parts of the 

country. These, for the most part, have for their leading object to 

make the voluntary labours of isolated workers in science available to 

;

BRITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT EXETER. 283 

the scientific world generally by receiving, discussing, and publisliing 

the results which they may have obtained. The British Association, 

on the other hand, aims at giving a more systematic direction to scien- 

tific inquiry, and that in various M'ays. 

In a rapidly progressing branch of science it is by no means, easy to 

become acquainted with its actual state. The workers in it are scat- 

tered throughout the civilized world, and their results are published in 

a variety of Transactions and scientific periodicals, mixed with other 

scientific matter. To make oneself, without assistance, well acquainted 

with what has been done, it is requisite to have access to an extensive 

library, to be able to read with facility several modern languages, and 

to have leisure to hunt through the tables of contents, or at least the 

indices, of a number of serial works. Without such knowledge there 

is always the risk that a scientific man may spend his strength in doing- 

over again what has been done already; whereas with better direction 

the same expenditure of time and labour might have resulted in some 

substantial addition to our knowledge. With a view to meet this diffi- 

culty the British Association has requested individuals who were more 

specially conversant with particular departments of science to draw up 

reports on the present state of our knowledge in, or on the recent pro- 

gress of, special branches ; and the influence of the Association as a 

public body has been found sufficient to induce a number of scientific 

men to undertake the great labour of preparing such reports. 

ITo7C the Objects are worked out. 

By thus ascertaining thoroughly what we already had, what we still 

wanted was made more clear ; and, indeed, it was one special object of 

the reports I have mentioned to point out what were the more promi- 

nent desiderata in the various subjects to which they related. The 

Association was thus the better enabled to fulfil another of its functions, 

that of organizing means for the prosecution of researches which require 

co-operation. When the want is withiti the compass of what can be 

accomplished by individuals, the demand may be left to create the 

supply ; but it often happens that a research can hardly be carried out 

without co-operation. It may, for instance, require a combination of 

the most profound theoretical knowledge with the greatest experimental 

skill, or an extensive knowledge of very dissimilar branches of science 

X 2 

;

284 BRITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT EXETEK. 

or, again, the work to be done, thougli all of one kind, may be of such 

an extent as to be beyond the power of any one man. In such cases 

tlie limited power of the indivichial can only be supplemented by the 

principle of co-operation ; and, accordingly, it becomes an important 

part of the business of the Association to organize committees for the 

pi'osecution of special researches. The researches thus undertaken at 

the request of the Association are published at length, along with the 

reports on the progress of science, in the first part of the annual volume. 

In close connection with the last must be mentioned another mode 

in wliich the Association contributes to the progress of science. Many 

researclies require not only time and thought, but pecuniary outlay ; 

and it would seem hard that scientific men, who give their time and 

labour gratuitously to carrying out such researches, should be further 

obliged to incur an expenditure which they often can ill afford. The 

Association, accordingly, makes grants of money to individuals or com- 

mittees for defraying the expenses of such researches. It appears from 

the Eeport which has just been published, that, reckoning up to the 

year 1867 inclusive, the sum of £29,312. 4s. Id. has been voted by the 

Association for various scientific objects. Deducting from this the sum 

of £23. 16s. for tlie balances of grants not wholly expended, which 

were returned to the Association, we may say that £29,288. 8s. Id. 

has been expended in the manner indicated. When we remember that 

these grants were mostly of small amount, and do not include personal 

expenses, and that very many of the researches undertaken at the request 

of the Association do not involve money grants at all, we may 

form some idea of the amount of scientific activity which has been 

evoked under the auspices of the Association. 

In the address with which the business of the meeting is opened, it 

is usual for yoiir President to give some account of the most recent 

progress of science. The task is by no means an easy one. Few, in- 

deed, are familiar with science in all its branches ; and even to one who 

was, the selection of topics and the mode of treating them would still 

present difficulties. I shall not attempt to give an account of the re- 

cent progress of science in general, but shall select from those branches 

with which T am more familiar some examples of recent progress which 

may, I hope, prove to be of pretty general interest. And even in this 

T feel that I shall have to crave your indulgence, for it is hard to bi 

intelligible to some w itliout being wearisome to others

BRITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT EXETEK. 285 

Artificial Substitute for Madder. 

A large part of the calicoes whicli are produced in this country in 

such enormous quantities are sent out into the market in the printed 

form. Although other substances are employed, the place which madder 

occupies among dye-stuffs with the calico-printer is compared by Mr. 

Schunck to that which iron occupies among metals with the engineer. 

It appears from the public returns that upwards of 10,000 tons of 

madder are imported annually into the United Kingdom. The colours 

which madder yields to mordanted cloth are due to two substances, 

alizarine and purpiirine, derived from the root. Of these, alizarine is 

deemed the more important, as producing faster colours, and yielding 

finer violets. In studying the transformations of alizarine under the 

action of chemical reagents, MM. Graebe and Liebermann were led to 

connect it with anthracene, one of the coal-tar series of bodies, and to 

de\ase a mode of forming it artificially. The discovery is still too re- 

cent to allow us to judge of the cost with which it can be obtained by 

artificial formation, which must decide the question of its commercial 

employment. But assuming it to be thus obtained at a sufficiently 

cheap rate, what a remarkable example does the discovery afford of the 

way in which the philosopher quietly working in his laboratory may 

obtain results which revolutionize the industry of nations ! To the 

calico-printer indeed it may make no very important difference whether 

he continues to use madder or replaces it by the artificial substance 

but what a sweeping change is made in the madder-growing interest 

What hundreds of acres hitherto employed in madder cultivation are 

set free for the production of human food or of some other substance 

useful to man ! 

Such 

changes can hardly be made without temporary 

inconvenience to those who are interested in the branches of industry 

affected ; 

but we must not on that account attempt to stay the progress 

of discover^', which is conducive to the general weal, 

A New Opium Base. 

Another example of the way in which practical applications unex- 

pectedly turn up when science is pursued for its own sake, is afforded 

by a result recently obtained by Dr. Matthiessen, iu his investigation 

of the constitution of the opium bases. He found that by the action 

of hydrochloric acid on morphia a new base was produced, whicli, as to 

; !


composition, differed from the former merely by the removal of cue 

equivalent of water. But the physiological action of the new base was 

Utterly different from that of the original one. While morphia is a 

powerful narcotic, the use of which is apt to be followed by subsequent 

depression, the new base was found to be free from narcotic properties, 

but to be a powerful emetic, the action of which was unattended by 

injimous after-effects. It seems likely to become avaluable remedial 

agent. 

A "Mysterious Something." 

But do the laws of chemical affinity, to which, as I have endeavoured 

to infer, living beings, whether vegetable or animal, are in absolute 

subjection, together with those of capillary attraction, of diffusion, and 

so forth, account for the formation of an organic structure, as distin- 

guished from the elaboration of the chemical substances of which it is 

composed ? No more, it seems to me, than the laws of motion account 

for the union of oxygen and hydrogen to form water, though the pon- 

derable matter so uniting is subject to the laws of motion duiiug the 

act of union just as well as before and after. In the various processes 

of crystallization, of precipitation, and so forth, which we witness in 

dead matter, I cannot see the faintest shadow of an approach to the 

formation of an organic structure, still less to the wonderful series of 

changes wliicli are concerned in the growth and perpetuation of even 

the lowliest plant. Admitting to the full as highly probable, though 

not completely demonstrated, the applicability to living beings of the 

laws which have been ascertained with reference to dead matter, I feel 

constrained, at the same time, to admit the existence of a mysterious 

something lying beyond—a something sui generis, which I regard, not 

as balancing and suspending the ordinary physical laws, but as working 

with them and through them to the attainment of a designed end. 

What this something which we call life may be is a profound 

mystery. We know not how many links in the chain of secondary 

causation may yet remain behind ; we know not how few. It would 

be presumptuous indeed to assume that in any case we had already 

reached, the last link, and to charge with irreverence a fellow-worker 

who attempted to push his investigations yet one step further back. 

On the other hand, if a thick darkness enshrouds all beyond, we have 

no right to assume it to be impossible that we should iiave reached

BRITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT EXETElt. 287 

even the last link of the chain ; a stage where furthei* progress is un- 

attainable, and we can only refer the highest law at which we stopped 

to the fiat of an Almighty Power. To assume the contrary as a 

matter of necessity is, practically, to remove the First Cause of all to 

an infinite distance from us. The boundaiy, however, between what 

is clearly known and what is veiled in impenetrable darkness is not 

ordinarily thus sharply defined. Between the two there lies a misty 

region, in which loom the ill-discerned forms of links of the chain 

which are yet beyond ns. But the general principle is not affected 

thereby. Let us fearlessly trace the dependence of link on link as far 

as it may be given to us to trace it, but let us take heed that in thus 

studying second causes Ave forget not the Fii-st Cause, nor shut our 

eyes to the wonderful proofs of design which, in the study of organized 

beings especially, meet us at every turn. 

Wholesome Effects of Scientific Inquiry. 

Truth, we know, must be self-consistent, nor can one truth contra- 

dict another, even though the two may have been arrived at by totally 

different processes,—in the one case, suppose, obtained by sound 

scientific investigation, in the other case taken on trust from duly 

authenticated witnesses. Misinterpretations of course there may be 

on the one side or on the other, causing apparent contradictions. 

Every mathematician knows that in his private work he will occa- 

sionally by two different trains of reasoning anive at discordant con- 

clusions. He is at once aware that there must be a slip somewhere, 

and sets himself to detect and correct it. When conclusions rest on 

probable evidence, the reconciling of apparent contradictions is not so 

simple and certain. It requires the exercise of a calm, unbiassed 

judgment, capable of looking at both sides of the question ; and often- 

times we have long to siispend our decision, and seek for further 

evidence. None need fear the effect of scientific inquiry carried on in 

an honest, truth-loving, humble spirit, which makes us no less ready 

frankly to avow our ignorance of what we cannot explain than to 

accept conclusions based on sound evidence. The slow but sure path 

of induction is open to us. Let us frame hypotheses if we will : most 

useful are they when kept in their proper place, as stimulating inquiry. 

Let us seek to confront them with observation and experiment, thereby 

confirming or upsetting thcui as the result may prove ; but let us

388 BKITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT EXKTER. 

beware of placing them prematurely in the rank of ascertained truths, 

and building further conclusions on them as if they were. 

When from the phenomena of life we pass on to those of mind, we 

enter a region still more profoundly mysterious. We can readily 

imagine that we may here be dealing with phenomena altogether tran- 

scending those of mere life, iu some such way of those of life transcend, 

as I have endeavoured to infer, those of chemistry and molecular 

attractions, or as the laws of chemical affinity iu their turn transcend 

those of mere mechanics. Science can be expected to do but little to 

aid us here, since the instrument of research is itself the object of in- 

vestigation. It can but enlighten us as to the depth of our ignonmce, 

and lead us to look to a higher aid for that which most nearly concerns 

our well-being. 

In the Biological Section the following papers have been read : 

" Man and the Animals, being a comiier-theory to Mr. Darwin as to 

the Oriyin of Species.'" By Archdeacon Freeman. The autlior said, 

" This question was one of the widest interest, and had become the 

battle-field of nations. In England opinion was divided. France was 

generally against the theory, and Germany in its favour. The only 

way to reply to Darwinism satisfactorily was to assert a counter- 

theory. It was suicidal to ignore in this inquiry the statements of the 

Bible. Mr. Darwin's theory was, that unity of type was explained by 

unity of descent, and that all living creatures had graduated one from 

another, anrl probably from one parent. Natural selection was only 

one means by which he believed this had been brought about. But 

had the plan of the universe aim or cause? Why should all the 

higher animals be so closely allied? Why should the beast have so 

many correspondences in structure with man ? To these questions the 

Biblical record supplied an answer. According to the account given 

tiiere, no sooner \vas the creation over and the Fall accomplished, than 

there appeared on the scene mysterious beings—the cherubim, whose 

name signified forms and figures. Now either these were made after 

the six days' creation in imitation of the animals, or, what was more 

probable^ the animals were formed in imitation of them. To believe 

that all creatures were formed alter pre-existent ideas in the divine 

mind was largely entertained by Plato. Thus, then. Scripture was 

seen to anticipate the conclusion of science, and to establish the pro- 

—


found affinity of tlie higher creatures. The purpose of this affinity was 

to be found in the glory of God. The cherubim, the foiu- typical 

creatures, ceased not, they were told, to give their Creator glory. Who 

could say there was no power in the lower animals, conscientiously it 

miglit be, also, to glorify God ? If any one said this was a mysterious 

mode of treating the subject, what, he asked, could they have but 

mystery? The more mysterious the answer, the more likely it was to 

be true. Mr. Darwin's theory referred natural imiformity to a uni- 

versal parentage, his to a universal pattern. Natural selection, under 

the latter, would still have its proper place. Dr. Darwin's view as to 

the origin of species was not necessarily irreligious, but his own facts 

upset it, showing that there was a special divine superintendence of the 

organic world." The Archdeacon in no way impugned the well-earned 

reputation of Mr. Darwin as an observer. 

" Tlie Difficulties of Darwinism." By the Eev. H. O. Morris. lu 

this paper it was contended that Mr. Darwin, in his book on the 

' Variation of Species,' was guilty of a non seqnitur,— his argument 

being that because many mere varieties had their origin in one common 

ancestor, all species were to be thus accounted for. Mr. Morris 

held that there was abundant evidence that when left to themselves, 

cultivated varieties of animals and plants returned to the original forai, 

which if they had not been cultivated, they would not have lost. Mr. 

Darwin had never proved the creation of a new species. A number of 

quotations were made militating against the idea that man had arisen 

from a state of barbarism to one of civilization, and favoiuing the 

opposite theory that savage tribes were the product of degradations. 

'•'' 

Philosophical Objection to Dancinism, or Evolutionism." By the 

Kev. Dr. M'Caun. The author urged that belief in evolutionism 

meant materialism, and the denial of the soul and immortality,—nay, 

even atheism. This he held to be proved by the writings of Professor 

Huxlev. Philosophy had a right to be heard on this subject, not only 

on account of its importance, bu-t because of the uncertainties of science. 

Dr. M'Cann then proceeded to assert his position ; w^hich was, that 

the affirmations of consciousness were unquestionable, and that any- 

thina: that contradicted an affirmation of consciousness was false. 

Evolutionism did contradict many of these affirmations, and was therefore 

false. Evolutionism also denied responsibility and morality. He 

argued further, that the continuance of the non-selected forms, with


the total disappearance of the selected forms (if they had ever existed) 

Avas a fatal objection to the hypothesis, which was, moreover, opposed 

to all progress. 

A very animated discussion then took place. The President re- 

marked of the last paper that he was at a loss to see what it had to 

do with Darwinism. He had some doubt also as lo the connection of 

the second paper with the subject.—Professor Huxley said he ap- 

peared to have been enfi,aged in a perpetual battle since lie had been 

in Exeter. The tiiree papers were of very different characters. The 

second was one of which he did not propose to take any notice what- 

ever. With regard to Dr. M'Caun's paper, he held that they should 

have the most intimate connection between science and philosophy 

and in the name of philosophy he protested against such a shallow 

caricature of it as that of Dr. M'Cann. How could the latter impute 

to opinions which were essentially the same as those of Bishop Berke- 

ley the conclusions which he did ? Let him read Bishop Berkeley's 

writings— they were short. As to what he said about the affirmations 

of consciousness being necessarily true, did he not know that the 

foundations of the Cartesian philosophy had been snapped long ago ? 

It was one thing to say that an affirmation of consciousness was abso- 

lutely certain, and another that any conclusion therefrom was also cer- 

tain. He did not complain that Dr. M'Cann liad caricatured him, be- 

cause a man must understand before he could caricature, but he did 

complain that he had been misrepresented. He had written in a re- 

cent article that the freedom of the human will was the great question 

of the present day ; and that he believed it would never be solved, be- 

cause it lay without the domain of the human mind. It was not 

right, with that in print, to call him a necessitarian. Professor Huxley 

highly praised Archdeacon Freeman for his candour, though he de- 

nied his conclusions. He agreed with the Archdeacon in believing 

that the Bible was intended to teach physical science. The Arch- 

deacon's ideas were not new, but constituted the philosophy of biology 

of Owen and Agassiz. It was a mistake to believe that the uniformity 

of type and plan were chiefly to be seen in the higher animals. It was 

to be seen as much in the lower, and was absent from none.—Dr. 

Hooker, who had also been criticized by Dr. M'Cann, said he had no 

course to defend liimself but to read portions of his address to which 

reference had been made, and ask the meeting- if tlu'v bore the eoubtrue- 

;

BRITISH ASSOCIAIION, MEETING AT EXETER. 291 

lions put upon tliem. That he could not do, and he should therefore 

retire.—Dr. Wilkes considered Mr. Darwin a great observer, but by no 

means an inductive reasoner.—Mr. E. Vivian pointed out that all the 

old landmarks had been removed, and proceeded to make a few state- 

ments with regard to Kent's Cavern. He believed scientific and reli- 

gious men diifered in degree, and not in principle. There was no 

possibility of stopping short of man being contemporaneous with the 

fossil animals, and, in fact, preglacial. He had always believed that 

Moses had written a cosmogony, and he did not yet doubt that it 

would be in some way reconciled with science. There had been a 

very wide interchange of species, and when they admitted development 

they must have a number of separate acts of creation, of which there 

was no evidence.—Mr. Wallace did not consider that any one of the 

the papers ought to have been read in that place. If the opponents of 

Darwinism wished to come forward, let them bring either new facts or 

new arguments.—The President considered the most pertinent obser- 

vations that had been made with regard to Darwinism came from Mr. 

Vivian. He had rightly said that the great difficulty was to account 

for existing animals. How were they to account for their difference 

from former ones ? Either the elephant must be a spontaneous crea- 

tion, or was the result of descent. Neither of the writers of the papers 

knew what Darwinism was, although really it might have been ex- 

pected that they would have informed themselves about it before they 

wrote.—Dr. M'Cann explained that he had read the books to which 

Professor Huxley had referred, and said, moreover, that the question 

had been shirked. 

" 0)1 an Alteration in the Structure of Lychnis dioica, observed in 

connection icith the Development of a Parasitic Fun(jus." By Miss 

]5ecker. While residing near Accrington, in Lancashire, Miss Becker 

was struck with the remarkable appearance of certain plants of Lychnis 

dioica, which, instead of the usual straw-coloured anthers, displayed a 

purple mark in the centre of the flower, giving the effect of a handsome 

dark eye. Further examination showed that, contrary to the usual 

habit of the plant, many of them were bisexual, each flower containing 

a pistil as well as stamens ; except for the shortness of the styles, these 

pistils were as well developed as those of ordinary female plants. In 

I860 she sent a few flowers to Mr. Charles Darwin, who, after 

submitting ihe flower to microscopic investigation, wrote, " The


dark purple anthers are a mass of some Cryptogamic plant, allied, T 

suppose, to the smut of Wheat. . 

In tjie bud the pollen grains can be 

distinguished, afterwards they are wholly corrupted. There remains a 

pretty case of a reversion from a dioecious to a hermaphrodite con- 

dition." Subsequently he suggested that the plants might be natural 

hybrids. The impression crossed his mind thatj the pollen being de- 

stroyed at an early period, the ovarium was developed in compensation. 

Miss Becker pursued her observations, and to account for the appear- 

ances she had two theories :— 1. That the bisexual plants were cases 

of natural reversion to the original form, and that their association 

with the fungus disease was accidental. 2. That the parasitic fungus 

caused the flowers to assume the bisexual form. She maintained the 

last of the two to be the right one. Entering into many considera- 

tions in support of her view, she suggested that it might be an instance 

in illustration of Darwin's theory of Pangenesis. Dr. Dickson thought 

Miss Becker's theory unsupported by the evidence. Precedent disease 

of the LycJmis was the probable cause of the fungus growing in it. 

Dr. Wilkes questioned the notion that a fungus parasite could help in 

developing the organs of a plant.— Professor Balfour, while acknow- 

ledging the excellence of the paper, disagreed with Miss Becker's con- 

clusion. If Miss Becker was right, the instance was the first known 

to the botanical world.—Miss Becker replied cleverly. Perhaps it was 

the first instance, but why might not she make the first discovery of 

it ? She was (piite prepared to hear that they disagreed with her view, 

for, as far as she had observed, that section was remarkable for this, 

that everybody disagreed with everybody else. [Compare leading article 

in 'Gardeners' Chronicle,' Sept. 25, 1869, on this subject. Ed.] 

" On the Relative Value of the Characters employed in the Classijica- 

tioH of Plants.'' By Dr. Maxwell T. Masters. This paper was de- 

voted to the consideration of some of the means employed by botanists 

in elaborating the "natural" systems of classification, and to the esti- 

mation of the relative value to be attached to these means. The cha- 

racters treated of were the following :— 1, characters derived from the 

relative frequency of occurrence of a particular form, or a particidar 

aiTangement of organs ; 2, developmental characters, whether " conge- 

nital" or "acquired;" 3, teratological characters; 4, rudimentary 

characters; 5, special physiological characters; 6, eluiracters dependent 

on geographical distribulion. Illustrations were given in explanation 

— 

—


of tliese matters, and for the purpose of sliowing their applicability to 

particular cases. In estimating the value to be attached to certain 

characters, it is necessary to consider the pui-pose for which they are 

required. If the object be synthetical— if we are seeking points of 

resemblance, so as to be enabled to group together a large number of 

forms into one or more large aggregates, stress must be laid, in the 

first instance, on the congenital characters as serving to bind together 

the greatest numbers ; then on those dependent on frequency of occurrence 

and special physiological office, afterwards on such others as may 

be forthcoming. If the object be analytical and discriminative, the 

special physiological characters demand the first attention, then those 

which have the merit of frequency and invariability, and then those 

that are congenital. The systematist can very rarely act up to his own 

standard. Individual cases have to be treated on their own merits 

philosophy has to be sacrificed to expediency, and herein shines the 

light of geniu^ ; the tact and insight of a first-class naturalist often 

lead him to make combinations, or to allocate forms, on what seem 

mere grounds of expedience, but which afterwards prove, when fuller 

evidence is gained, to be strictly consistent with philosophical views. 

" On the Law of the Developnent of Cereals:' By Mr. F. F. Ilai- 

lett. From continued observations and experiments, extended over 

nearly twenty years, Mx. Hallett said he had arrived at the following 

conclusions :—1. Every fully developed plant, whether of wheat, oats, 

or barley, presents an ear superior in productive power to any of the 

rest on that plant. 2. Every such plant contains one grain which, 

upon trial, proves more productive than any other. 3. The best grain 

in a given plant is found in its best ear. 4. The superior vigour of 

this grain is transmissible in different degrees to its progeny. 5. By 

repeated careful selection the superiority is accumulated. 6. The im- 

provement, which is at first rapid, gradually, after a long series of 

years, is diminished in amount, and eventually so far arrested that, 

practically speaking, a limit to improvement in the desired quality is 

reached. 7. By still continuing to select, the improvement is main- 

tained, and practically a fixed type is the result. 

" On the Flora of the Strait of Magellan and Went Coast of Pata- 

gonia." By Dr. R, O. Cunningham. The chief point of this paper 

was that, beginning at the eastern entrance of the strait and proceed- 

ing westwards to Cape Pillar and northwards througli the channels ex- 

—

294 BKITISH ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT KXETER. 

tending to the Gulf of Perras, iliree distinct regions or areas may be 

recognized, each of which possesses a certain number of species of 

animals and plants peculiar to itself, as well as of a certain number 

common to its neighbours. 

In the Chemical Section the subjects mentioned below were brought 

forward : 

— 

" On some Neio Snhstances extracted from the Walnut" By Dr. T. 

L. Phipson. Between the shell and the kernel of the Walnut there 

exists a thin membrane called the episperm, which closely envelopes 

the cotyledons, and is composed here, as in most other fruits, of a 

double membrane, the inner one being very thin, quite white, trans- 

lucid, and perfectly devoid of taste, whilst the external one is much 

coarser in structure, more or less coloured, has a very bitter, disagree- 

able taste, and contains certain substances which formed the subject 

of this paper. Prom this membrane Dr. Phipson had extracted a 

substance which he called nucitannic acid, the most remarkable pro- 

perty of which is that when boiled with dilute hydrochloric acid it 

splits up into glucose and another new substance, called rothic acid, 

" On the Amount of Soluble and Insoluble Phosphates in Seeds.'^ By 

Professor Grace Calvert. The Professor said that the results of various 

experiments he had made was that 100 parts of cotton fibre yield, 

when repeatedly washed with water, a quantity of acid phosphate of 

magnesia ; both husks and seeds also yield certain proportions. The 

results showed that the phosphates exist in much larger quantity in the 

seed than in the other parts of the pod. Experiments upon Wheat 

flour of various kinds showed that whilst the flour contains only a 

trace of the phosphates, especially soluble ones, the bran contains a 

large quantity. These facts tend to prove that the phosphates and 

the mineral matters contained in Wheat are not combined with the 

organic matter, but are in a free condition. Other investigations go 

to prove that although habit and pride have gradually led us to prefer 

white bread to brown, yet this is an error when we consider the nu- 

tritious properties of Wheat, especially as food for children, phosphates 

being essential for the formation of bone and blood.

295 

NOTE ON SAMBUCUS CHINENSIS, Lhvll. 

By H. F. Hance, Ph.D., etc, 

I pointed out in my ' Adversaria in Stirpes Criticas ' (Ann. Sc. Nat. 

ser. 5, V. 217), that the character assigned to this species by De Can- 

doUe is erroneous,— the flowers being all hermaphrodite, and what 

Lindley took for females being merely abortive flowers, in the shape of 

fleshy, grandnlar, yellow, cup-shaped bodies, without a trace of either 

stamens or ovary, which increase somewhat in size, turn green, and 

then wither. I have since found that Professor Miquel (Fl. Ind. Bat. 

vol. alt. 124) had previously suspected the en-or ; and he has, as I 

think, without sufticient reason, availed himself of the presence of these 

bodies, which are of no strnctural value, to found thereon his subgenus 

Scyphidantlie. He remarks on the closeness of -S". Chinenm to S. Ja- 

vonica, Keinw., which latter, again, Drs. Hooker and Thomson, in the 

' Pr?ecursores,' note as a native of China, without, however, adducing 

Lindley's name as a synonym. I have little doubt that the two are 

identical, for there is nothing in Miquel's character to show a difference. 

Junghuhn describes the fruit of the Java plant as yellow. Hooker and 

Thomson as black, whilst about Canton it is certainly red when ripe. 

A plant gathered by Maximowicz, at Yokohama, Japan, in 1862, and 

sent me from the herbarium of the St. Petersburg garden, under the 

name of S. Thunhergiana, Eeinw. (which I cannot find published), is 

absolutely identical Avith the south Chinese one ; 

but Professor Miquel, 

failing to recognize this identity, has, in his ' Prolusio Florae Japo- 

nicse,' described this as distinct, giving the name, however, as a manu- 

script one of Blume's, and not noticing the abortive flowers ; he sug- 

gests a possible affinity with S. Wlghtiana, Wall., a species which, 

though described by Wight and Arnott, is omitted by Hooker and 

Thomson, probably through oversight, as no explanation is given. 

Though I believe Keinwardt's name of S. Javanica is the oldest, as he 

has possibly given two to the same plant, it seems preferable to fall 

back on that of Lindley. S. ebuloichs, Desv., recorded from the neigh- 

bourhood of Canton, I have never seen. 

I may here note that Dr. Williams informs me that my S. JFilUawsii 

is planted in the country around Peking to mark tiie boundaries of 

fields, and is known by the curious name, " kung tau lau 'rh," literally, 

" the old fellow that shows high-roads." He adds that it is very 

rarely met with in flower, being cut down for fuel.

296 

NOTE ON MELJSTOMA REPENS, Desroim. 

By Henry F. Hance, Ph.D., etc. 

The plant first described in Lamarck's ' Encyclopcdie,' in 1797, 

under the above name, was transferred by De Candolle, in his revision 

of the family to which it belongs, to the genus Osheckia* M. Nau- 

OF THE GENUS FREMONTIA. 297 

of such typical Melastomata as M. decemjidum, Eoxb., and M. Malaba- 

thricum, L., and of wliicli a very good representation has been given 

by Wight ;* the five longer ones have purple anthers and a connective 

longer than themselves, also purple ; the base bicalcarate, and, as well 

as the filament, yellow ; in the five shorter ones, the tips of the exap- 

pendiculate anthers reach as high only as the spurs of the longer ones, 

the locelli are transversely rugulose, and with the filaments are entirely 

vellow. With respect to the fruit, so far from being a dry capsule, it 

is a pleasantly- tasted, black, thoroughly succulent berry, when ripe, 

whilst the fruit of none of the other Chinese species ever become so 

at all, or are indeed more than fleshy in texture whilst ripening, and 

eventually quite dry, and would be more correctly described as " cap- 

suite primum carnosulce, demum exsuccse." Tlie calyx-tube has 

simple sparse bristles, the lower portion formed of green cylinch'icnl 

prolongations of the cellular tissue, on which are seated red bulb-like 

simple hairs. The laciriise, too, though ciliate, are destitute of those 

penicilliform tufts characteristic of most Osbeckiae. Naudin (loc. cit.) 

observes of the Chinese plant, " A cseteris Mdastomatihus habitu dis- 

crepat, indole autem floris illis maxime congruit." The latter part of 

this sentence is strictly correct ; with regard to the former, the plant 

is sui generis, diftering quite as much from the upright twiggy Osbeckite 

as it does from the shrubby 3Ielastomata, but it looks more like a 

dwarf member of the latter genus, from its broad leaves and the 

thicker texture of the petals. As Dr. Hooker places Osbeckia in a di- 

vision of the tribe characterized by " antherse sequales, connectivo vix 

aut non producto, iaappendiculato," and assigns to the genus a " cap- 

sula," whilst he locates Melastoma in one distinguished by "antheraj 

insequales, longiorum connectivo basi longe producto," and attributes 

to it a " bacca," it is manifest that the plant under consifleration must 

be placed in the latter genus, and it is possible that Dr. Hooker, when 

writing as he did, overlooked the composite nature of Blume's unten- 

able genus. 

ON THE GENUS FEEMONTIA. 

There are certain plants which have an unfortunate history. Na- 

poleona is one of these ; no two botanists have described it in pre- 

* Illust. Ind. Bot. i. t. 95. 

VOL. VII. [OCTOBKR 1, 1869.] Y

298 THE NOKTHERN LIMIT OF EDIBLE BERRIES. 

cisely the same terms. Fremontia is another. The discrepancies arise 

from natural variations in the plants, but chiefly from the examination 

of imperfect material. The beautiful yellow-flowered shrub Fremonlia, 

at present so little known in gardens, was first of all placed among the 

Mallows, till an examination of fresh not " mummified" specimens 

clearly showed the plant to belong to Sterculiaceae and not to Malvacetie. 

But even up to this time the plant is described as destitute of corolla 

(the yellow portion being considered as calyx). This view, however, 

is quite negatived by recent specimens, before us as we write, and in 

which there is a small five-leaved calyx outside the large yellow corolla. 

This calyx, however, or rather the greater portion of it, speedily falls 

off", and hence at first sight of a fully developed flower there appears to 

be no calyx. The stamens are opposite to the sepals and alternate 

with the petals,—a circumstance which might have suggested the no- 

tion that the yellow segments were truly petals. The early shedding 

of the calyx is due to the formation of a very large quantity of thin- 

walled oblong cells, which readily disintegrate, allow the sepals to fall 

off at the slightest touch, and leave exposed a quantity of white mealy 

material. The same thing takes place even in a more marked degree 

in the base of the column of stamens, which becomes ultimately de- 

tached from the base of the petals. There seems to be some difticulty 

in the propagation of the Fremontia, which is the more to be regretted, 

as it is calculated to be one of the brightest ornaments of the shrub- 

bery. 

— 

Dr. Masters in ' Gardeners^ Chronicle.'' 

THE NORTHERN LIMIT OF EDIBLE BERRIES. 

In a series of maps on physical geography, published by the National 

Society, there is one by Dr. A. Petermann, showing the distribution of 

the most important fruits over the globe. In most parts of the map, a 

line describing the northern limit of edible berries is laid down con- 

siderably below the frigid zone, while I find, by referring to specimens 

in herbaria, that it is above the Arctic circle, and runs almost parallel 

with latitude 72° N. Beyond that boundary no plants with succulent 

fruits, no members of the genera Rnbm, Cornus, Empetrum, Vacciniiim, 

and OxycoccHS, seem to grow ; and it is stated that in Lapland, dur- 

ing some summers, berries do not ripen. The only berry-bearing

LORD Howe's island. 299 

plant which I have seen from a station considerably above that limit 

is Vacciii'mm Fitls-Idaa, which Capt. W. Penny gathered in Bushnan 

Island, on the N.W. shores of Greenland, in latitude 76° N., long. 

66° W. Possibly there may be some mistake about the locality, as no 

other expedition has brought home the Cranberry from so high a 

latitude. If, therefore, to settle the question, Arctic explorers will 

but collect the leaves of any beiTy-bearing plant, however sour, bitter, 

or insipid the fruit may be, they woidd confer a benefit upon geogra- 

phical botany. 

It may be asked, at a time when renewed efforts are being made to 

explore the Arctic regions. Does vegetation extend as far north as the 

pole itself? I answer. Yes ; if th.cre be land, there are also plants. It 

is known that excessive cold during the winter exercises but a limited 

influence upon a vegetation which, like the Arctic, enjoys the protec- 

tion of a thick covering of snow, and is besides in a state of inactivity. 

The temperature of the summer, the months of July and August, has 

by far the greatest share in the distribution of vegetable life in the 

northern regions. Now the lowest temperature during that time is 

not to be found in the most northern point as yet reached by any 

expedition, but in Winter Island, on the eastern shores of Melville 

Peninsula, where the mean monthly temperature in July and August 

ranges between 34° and 36° Fahrenheit. That spot, which may be 

called the phytological pole, is covered with vegetation ; and know- 

ing as we do that plants do grow, not only in a soil frozen underneath, 

but also (as in the Kotzebue Sound) on the top of icebergs, there 

is no reason to suppose that the terrestrial pole is destitute of plants. 

—B. Seemann. 

VEGETATION OF LORD HOWE'S ISLAND. 

By Charles Moore, Esa. 

I have lately had an opportunity of visiting Lord Howe's Island, 

which lies off our coast (Sydney) some 300 miles. It is small in ex- 

tent, and scarcely known to any but navigators. A few observations 

relative to the botany of the place, may therefore be interesting to your 

readers. The island is situated in lat. 31° 36' S., and long. 159° 5' Ft

300 LOUD Howe's island. 

It is somewhat semicircular in form, about 4-J miles in length, and 1} 

miles at its widest part. On its southern extremity there are two 

mountains, over 2500 feet high ; 

from the base of these to the northern 

end, where the ground again rises to an elevation of about 1200 feet, 

the intervening space is of a low, undulating character. The whole of 

the island is densely covered with a vegetation mainly consisting of 

trees, shrubs, and Palms, there being no barren spots upon it, except- 

ing the precipitous cliffs of the mountains and coast. From this de- 

scription of its size and breadth it will be apparent that the greater 

part of the island is subject to the effects of the sea breeze ; yet, on 

the southern and most exposed side, Palms and exogenous trees grow 

down to high-water mark, and, except in being dwarfed, seem to be 

otherwise entirely unaffected by exposure. 

After passing the first belt of trees, a species of Pig (Ficus) abounds, 

and occupies much of the low-lying grounds. In general appearance 

it greatly resembles F. macrophjlla of our eastern coast. It differs, 

however, from that plant by its smaller fruit and foliage, by the under- 

part of the leaves being more ferruginous, and by its great tendency 

to produce adventitious roots from its branches, which, after reaching 

the ground, become stem-like, so that in many instances it is difficult 

to determine the original trunk. In this respect it is the most remark- 

able species of Mcus I have met with in this part of the world. The 

largest tree of the kind which I noticed was, as nearly as possiidc, 

about 100 yards from tlie extremity of the branches on one side to 

that on the other, and had very numerous root-stems. It was a glori- 

ous sight, and one long to be remembered. In two or three instances 

these trees were found forming, as it were, a circle round an open space. 

This, it was plain, was caused by the original tree dying off entirely in 

the centre, and its branches in consequence becoming so many separate 

individuals. It is called Banyan by the settlers, after its great proto- 

type of Indian notoriety. No other species of Ficm was observed. 

Among these Pigs, and in every situation upon the island, whether 

high or low, to the extent of my investigations, two similar, but very 

distinct species of Areca Palm abound, one of which is called by the 

settlers" the Cabbage, or Thatching Palm, from the fact of its fronds 

being the only material used for thatching upon the island. This is 

numafcd by the base of the foot-stalk of the frond doubling just below 

the pinna?, at which point it is worked on a batten, secured in the roof

LOUD Howe's island. 301 

for this purpose. The stalks are brought rather close together on the 

iuside, forming a row of ribs, which has a somewhat neat appearance, 

and the feathery spray, or piunas, on the outside, become an outer 

covering, of from 7 to 8 inches in thickness, rendering the interior im- 

pervious to wet, and cool and comfortable to the inhabitants ; it will 

last from eight to ten years. The other Palm, equally abundant, and 

iutermixed with the one just noticed, is not used for any special pur- 

pose. It is of a more slender habit, having shorter and more arching 

fronds, with the pinnae rising from the rachis instead of falling as in 

the former, giving it a rather peculiar appearance, from which it is 

called by the settlers the Curly Palm. Both of these produce very 

large quantities of fruit, the drupe being of an ovate form, about 1 

inch in length, and both have simple spadices (the latter having the 

longest), produced from among and below the lower fronds. The seeds 

of both kinds are eaten with the greatest avidity, and are, indeed, the 

principal support of the lai'ge bodies of settlers' pigs, running in most 

parts of the island. 

At an elevation of about 1500 feet, nearly the limit of the preceding 

species, another and vePt"^ beautiful Palm occurs, called the Umbrella 

Palm by the settlers. It has large pinnate fronds, with a branching 

spadix, bearing a large plum-like fruit, which is of a reddish colour 

when ripe. This tree is comparatively rare, and is strictly confined to 

the sides of the two high mountains, on the tops of which another and 

smaller species of Palm than any of the preceding kinds is said to 

grow in very great abundance, the fruit yielding the chief food of the 

wild pigs running about in that part. . I 

speak of this Palm only from 

hearsay, as neither I nor any of the party who visited the island with 

me succeeded in reaching either of the mountain tops. The settlers, 

who frequently go there to bunt wild pigs, describe it as comparatively 

low in stature, and bearing a profusion of roundish-shaped fruit. This 

island, tberefore, though very small in extent, produces four distinct 

species of Palms, none of which, I think, are described. 

Among other endogenons plants, those chiefly remarkable are two 

species of Pandanus ; one, found principally near the coast, with a 

stout, straight stem, bearing fi'om its sides a small number of the usual 

root-like supports ; the other having a much more slender stem, and, 

from an early stage, supported by other very nmnerous, slender, stem- 

like roots, which are borne to a very considerable height, up to a point

302 LOUD Howe's island. 

where the stem brandies off. The general appearance of this tree, 

which frequently attains a height of from 40 to 50 feet, is very sin- 

gular indeed : 

the 

whitish-coloured root-like bodies, or forked, adven- 

titious stems, occupying as much space below as the branches do above, 

and thus making the tree resemble an hour-glass. This is a more inland 

plant than the former, and grows up to a very considerable elevation. 

The next and only plant of this class of any particular interest be- 

longs to li'idacere, and is found only in two or three parts of the island, 

and that sparingly. One is puzzled to think how such a plant could 

be indigenous to this quarter of the world, so far distinct is it from 

most of its congeners. Seed vessels only were obtained, Avhicli resem- 

bled those of the genus Moraa ; the flowers were not seen, but from 

the description given of them by the settlers, who call them the " wed- 

ding llowers," they would be referable to the genus named ; 

the leaves 

of the highest plant obtained were about 6 feet in length, and 3 inches 

wide at the broadest part. 

Crinuni pedunculatum was abundant in many parts of the moist 

sandy shores ; it was the only Amaryllid noticed. Orchids were rare, 

only two kinds being seen ; one, a species of Dendrobinm, grew spa- 

ringly upon Figs, and in rocky, shady places ; another, a species of 

Snrcochilus, was observed attached to trees high upon the hillsides. 

The Grasses were equally scarce, only three indigenous kinds being 

gathered, viz. Spinifex, running along the sands of the coast ; a CJdoris, 

and a Polypogon, the two last only in one or two places in the interior. 

In all the clearances made by the settlers not now in cultivation, our 

Couch Grass, Cynodon Dacfylon, and our Tufty Grass, Sporobolus elon- 

gatus, both evidently introduced, have taken possession of the ground. 

A single species of Carex, a Cyperns, and a Lamjrrocarya, are all that 

represent the Order Cyperaceie, while Jimcus maritimus, Smilax lati- 

folia,in\(\ a Commelynaceous plant are the only other endogenous plants 

observed. 

It would occupy too much space, and would be out of place in this 

sketchy description of the botany of the island, to enumerate all the 

exogenous plants collected ; I shall, therefore, coniine myself to those 

which grow in the greatest abundance, and which mainly characterize 

the vegetation, namely, Layunaria Patersoni, an Australian as well as 

Norfolk Island plant ; an Ochrosia, remarkable for the abundance of 

its deep red-coloured fruit and bright green foliage; two species of

LORD Howe's island. 303 

Acronychia, Olea paniculata, a Pisonia, allied to P. Brunonlana, a 

Tetratithera, a Maba, a Myoporum, Baloghia luckla, and an unknown 

Myrunaceous tree, bearing large quantities of a small oval, reddish 

fruit, and singular as being the only tree on which was found the very 

curious parasite Fkcmti distichum (Bauer, lUustr.). This grew only 

on the extremities of the top branches, and had the effect of apparently 

destroying altogether some of the trees on which it had fastened itself. 

These plants, with the Ficiis referred to in the early part of this paper, 

constitute at least three-fourths of the trees and shrubs in the island. 

The Myrtaceae, which might naturally be expected to have been 

strongly represented upon an island so contiguous to the Australian 

coast, were confined to a small species of Melaleuca, called by the 

settlers " Kilmoque," and used by them as a substitute for tea ; and 

an arborescent species of Leptospermum, very rare indeed, as only one 

tree of the kind was found, which was dead, and had seed vessels only 

upon it. ProteacefB were altogether wanting, and not a type of the 

Australian Ze^?

304 NEVT PUB),ICATIONS. 

common to all these countries, was found here in many places. The 

other branches of Cryptogamic botany I had no time to investigate, 

but the Mosses and Jmujermannice were comparatively scarce. Lichens, 

particularly the larger kinds, such as Pannelia and Sticta, were very 

frequent on both rocks and trees on the higher grounds. Along the 

coast, and washed ashore, were numerous kinds of Seaweed, but they 

appeared to be jirincipally small fucoid forms, intermixed with a few 

filamentous kinds. 

To those acquainted with the botany of Australia and adjoining 

islands it will be apparent, from the sketch here given, that the plants 

at this island more nearly resemble those of Norfolk Island, from 

which it is distant some 500 miles, than those of any other country. 

The Leptospernium and Melaleuca are almost the only plants which link 

its flora with that of Australia, all the other kinds being chiefly types 

of genera found on Norfolk Island. This resemblance will be more 

clearly indicated when, at some future time, I shall give a detailed 

account of all the plants observed and collected during my three days' 

sojourn upon this interesting little island.— Gardeuerfi' Chronicle. 


The Br'Ukh llubl ; an AUewpt to dlscrhn'mate the Species of Itnbus 

known to inhabit the British Isles. By Professor Babington. 

London: Van Voorst. 1869. 8vo, pp. 305. 

Essai Mo7io[/raphifiiie stir les Rubas da Bassin de la Loire. Par L. 

Gaston Genevier. Angers: Imprimerie Lachese. 1869. 8vo, 

pp. 343. 

The two last years have been fertile in Bramble literature ; for 

besides the appearance in Germany of Kuntze's ' Reform Deutschcr 

Erombecren,' both in England and France the tv/o botanists who have 

devoted themselves to the monographic study of the Brambles of their 

respective countries, have both published, in full detad, the result of 

their labours. 

It is now more than a quarter of a century since Professor Babington 

first treated upon the British liiibi in the original edition of his 

' Manual,' and twenty-three years since he elaborated them fully in his


' Synopsis.' The cliauges which have been made, from time to time, 

ill the six successive editions of tlie ' Manual ' show that he has steadily 

kept the genus under observation. The present work may be regarded 

as a new edition of the ' Synopsis,' considerably enlarged in plan, and 

of course brought up to the present level of the author's knowledge 

and opinions. It was intended to have been accompanied by a set of 

quarto plates, but as the preparation of these has been, by unavoidable 

circumstances, much delayed, it is purposed that they shall appear 

when ready as a separate work. As regards arrangement, species 

limitation, and nomenclature, the work does not offer any alteration, 

as compared with the two last editions of the ' Manual ;' but whilst in 

the latter we have the bare diagnoses, we have here a table showing 

the distribution of the species through the geographico-botanical pro- 

vinces of the island, an historical sketch of the progress of the know- 

ledge of the genus in this country ; 

a general sketch of the variation in 

character which we get within tlie bounds of the genus ; a table show- 

ing, in exlenso, the literature of the subject, and under each species 

besides a Latin diagnosis, and a complete characterization in English, 

a full list of synonyms with explanations respecting them, and a list 

of special stations arranged in geographical order. It is a thorough 

atid exhaustive explanation of the result of the work which the author 

has bestowed upon the genus since he first took it in hand, and of 

course needs no recommendation of ours to help it to fall into its place 

as the standard handbook to be used by all who wish for information 

on the subject. 

M. Geneviei*, though he belongs to ^ younger generation of botanists 

than Professor Babington, has devoted himself to the study of the 

Brambles of the centre and west of France for nearly twenty years. 

He learnt his botany at Angers, under Professor Boreau, and after- 

wards settled in medical practice at Mortagne-sur-Scvre, in Vendee, 

but has recently removed to Nantes. Though he has had a mono- 

graph of the Eiifjl of his field of study sketched out for the last dozen 

years, he has only issued two or three short papers in the ' Memoirs of 

of the Societe Academique d'Angers,' and now gives to the public, for 

the first time, the detailed result of his observations. His work con- 

sists almost solely of detailed descriptions, extending on the average 

to more than a page each, of 203 forms which he admits to specific 

rank, the characters upon which he relies mainly for distinguishing them

•306 NEW PUBLICATIONS. 

from one another being indicated by means of italics, and the descrip- 

tive portion of the work being followed by an analytical key, con- 

structed upon the same plan as those given in Boreau's ' Flore du 

Centre.' 

The point suggested by the works upon which Ave feel most inclined 

to remark, is the question of what is the proper rank in the scale of 

nature, and what the relationship to each other of the individualities 

characterized in them. Since Weihe and Nees von Esenbeek pub- 

lished the ' Rubi Germauici,' the authors of floras and monographs for 

tracts of country in Central and Western Europe fall easily into 

three sets, in the plan they have followed in dealing with Brambles. 

First come those who, like Koch and Bcntham, treat Rubus fruticoHus 

as a single undivided species. The second and most rmmerous class 

follow Weihe and Nees in admitting and characterizing a comparatively 

limited number of so-called species. To this second class belong 

Arrheuius and Fries in Scandinavia, Dumortier in Belgium, Wimmer 

and Von Garcke in Germany, Godron in France, and Mercier in 

Switzerland ; and in Britain Professor Babington having made his 

debut as a fair average representative of this class, has in no way 

changed his position through the course of his successive writiags, his 

present work, as regards the general plan of species-limitation, being 

quite in accordance with the Synopsis of 1846. And we have a third 

class of authors to which belong P. J. Miiller and Wirtgen (as tested 

by his fasciculus) in Germany, and which, by his present work, M. 

Genevier represents for France, who acknowledge and define a very 

much larger number of what they also call " species." 

The following passage will show clearly in what light M. Genevier, 

as representing the third class, regards the species which he has esta- 

blished and characterized. 

" In the introduction to^his ' Diagnoses ' of new and misunderstood 

species," M. Jordan says, " We have not in our researches quitted for 

a single instant the domain of positive reality. It is not theories, but 

material facts that wc have to furnish ; it is not a certain manner of 

viewing things, or a particular opinion that we are going to express, 

but facts well and duly proved by the ordinary process of experience 

that we proceed without fear to submit to tiie examination of all 

friends of science. We have simply to unfold that which we have 

seen, experimentalized upon, proved, that which even those who are


tlic most disposed to contradict us, might have seen and proved, like 

us, or better than us, if they had devoted themselves to the same 

inquiries with materials similar to ours. We have not been able to 

resist the desire to quote tliese words of the learned author of the 

' Icones,' which indicate, much better than we could have done, the 

point of view in which we have placed ourselves to study the genus 

Riibus, of which we have undertaken the history." (Genevier, ' Essai,' 

pp. 1-2.) 

Taking Professor Babingtou as a representative of the second class, 

we find that he also, unless we greatly mistake his meaning, holds that 

the " species " which he adopts or establishes are (excluding mistakes 

arising from imperfect information which fuller inquiry will rectify) 

individualities of an absolute character bounded by nature with a line 

of strict limitation. The rule which he lays down, or general principle 

of species-limitation which he enounces, is as follows : 

" If a Bramble is found to retain the same appearance, under different 

circumstances of soil and exposure, although many of its characters 

vary considerably, we may conclude that it is a true species and form 

some idea of its range of variation." (' British Eubi,' p. 19.) 

To this any botanist who represents the first or third class imme- 

diately objects. " If it varies considerably under different circumstances 

it does not retain the same appearance," and the Miillerian asks, " By 

what rule, other than by a measure fixed arbitrarily in your own mind 

in each special case, do you unite together under one name as a single 

' it,' half-a-dozen or a dozen forms which I can undertake to dis- 

tinguish ?" To this inquiry we do not think that Professor Babingtou 

could return any answer that would satisfy an unprejudiced umpire. 

For our own part, we can only say that we heartily wish,— that, at any 

rate it would save an enormous amount of trouble, — if he had in this 

work and his other writings on this subject, and if the numerous writers 

of the class which he represents had as firm ground under their feet 

as they seem to think that they are standing upon ; but we cannot 

admit that the ground is firm, for this reason, amongst others, that 

after having examined authenticated specimens of every one of Pro- 

fessor Babington's species, and studied most of them in a growing 

state, we have had the opportunity of comparing with M. Genevier's 

work, a large collection of English and French specimens labelled by 

the latter, and that we cannot see that the 203 species iw the one case, 

—


individualized and defined in perfect good faith as the deliberate result 

of the labour of many years, cover a wider range of form, or a materially 

greater degree of variability within that range, than tlie 43 species in 

the other, individualized and defined with a sincerity and an amount 

of labour which every one in England, who knows anything about the 

matter, is fully prepared to appreciate. 

The one point on which we have felt disappointed in Professor 

Babington's work is, that he says so little about the result of his ex- 

periments in cultivating Rubi. His only material allusion to the matter 

is an entirely general one, " More than forty of the supposed species 

liave been raised from seeds in the Cambridge Botanic Gardens, and 

the produce has not varied in form or characters from the parent 

plants." As bearing upon his plan of species-limitation we should 

have liked very much to know, in exact detail, which are tlie plants 

to which he here alludes, and for how many generations each of them 

has been reproduced. But as the matter stands, we cannot form the 

slightest idea to what extent he has been guided by the result of his 

experiments in planning out the rank of the forms. 

Holding, as we have just indicated, tliat into whatever number of 

portions the original Rubns fndicosiis be subdivided, they cannot 

possibly be separated and characterized as absolutely limitable indi- 

vidualities, we would strongly recommend to our rising generation of 

collecting botanists the study of the Fruticose Ruhi, as furnishing one 

of the best means within their reach of gaining sound conclusions on 

the nature of species. Let them in the first place, leaving books and 

names altogether on one side, gather some autumn the forms which 

grow in the neighbourhood where they live, and try to reckon up 

meanwhile how many they can individualize, and note down what are 

their distinctive marks. After having done this, let them take Pro- 

fessor Babington's book and get access to a set of specimens named 

authentically after it, and compai'c their own specimens and notes with 

these. And then, if possible, let them, another autumn, visit some 

other neighbourhood, and pursue there the same process that they fol- 

lowed at homo; and we feel confident, if they do this with reasonable 

care, that whatever be their after botanical experience, they will find 

their time has not been wasted.


Vef/etahle Teratology : an Account of the Principal Deviations from 

the tmtal Constrnction of FUmts. By Maxwell T. Masters, 

M.D., F.L.S. With numerous Llustrations by E. M. Williams. 

London (Ray Society) : 1869. Pp. 534. 

An immense quantity of matter relating to the abnormal conditions 

so frequently met with in plants has been written, and Dr. Masters 

has done a good and useful work in concentrating it by a judicious 

selection of those facts " which seemed intrinsically the most important 

or those which are recorded with the most care." He has embodied 

these in the volume before us with his own numerous observations 

and those of many correspondents. 

No English work specially devoted to the subject has been hitherto 

published, with the exception of Thomas Hopkirk's ' flora Anomala,' 

a small book printed so long ago as 1S17. On the Continent, how- 

ever, several treatises of more importance have appeared, though none 

so comprehensive in scope as the book under notice, which is un- 

doubtedly the best on the subject. One good result which may be 

expected to accrue from its publication is a diminution in the repeated 

descriptions in the journals of well-known malformations—such as 

monstrous forms of Plantain, Cardamine pratends or TrifoUnm repens— 

by students and amateurs to whom, as Dr. Masters remarks, Teratology 

" seems always to have presented special attractions " and owes " a 

large number of its records," but who are prone, as a class, to con- 

sider all observations of eqiral value, whereas as the author shows, 

" the frequency of a particular change in one species . . . may be so 

great as far to exceed the instances of its manifestations in all the 

rest put together " (p. 488). 

Dr. Masters's book is eminently a record of facts, and their arrange- 

ment is a matter of some importance. Teratology being defined to be 

" the history of the irregularities of growth and development, and of 

the causes producing them," tlie most philosophical mode of grouping 

the various conditions met with would seem to be one depending on 

those causes, a plan Dr. Masters thinks impracticable. Tliis is probably 

true in our present ignorance of them, and so another method suggests 

itself, viz. according to the organs affected. This arrangement is not 

adopted as it " has only convenience to justify it," but it may, perhaps, 

be said that in the existing state of knowledge of the subject conve-


nience of reference might well be made a primary object. An arrange- 

ment by organs would also Lave done away with a considerable part 

of the repetition which is a somewhat marked feature of the volume, 

though under any treatment some repetition is unavoidable, as several 

deviations from customary structure frequently coexist. 

The author arranges all abnormal conditions under four great 

primary heads:—1. Deviations from ordinary arrangement; 2, from 

ordinary form ; 3, from ordinary number ; 4, from ordinary size and 

consistence. Under the first head are included cases of unusual 

cohesion and adhesion, of fission, dialysis, and solution, as well as 

the numerous forms of prolification and the production of adventitious 

organs. In the second class are placed examples of the persistence 

of early conditions (stasimorphy), incomplete or excessive development 

(including regular and irregular Peloria), and the various kinds of 

metamorphy of organs or perversions of development, including the 

usual conditions in double flowers, as well as many deformities and 

irregularities not due to disease or parasites. In the third division we 

find cases of multiplication of parts, and of diminution or non-develop- 

ment, whilst in the fourth are grouped enlargements (not patholo- 

gical), outgrowths (enation), atrophies, and degenerations. Under 

each of the smaller sections the examples are arranged in an anatomi- 

cal series, and lists are often given of the species particularly subject 

to the anomaly under observation ; bibliological references are copi- 

ously inserted, and show how extensive is Dr. Masters's acquaintance 

with the literature of his subject, and how desirous he is to give accu- 

rate information. 

The chief object of the study of "monsters" is, as was long ago 

discerned by Bacon, to obtain light on the trae nature of ordinary pro- 

ductions. This is kept in view throughout the book ; indeed the 

author urges the claims of teratology to be considered of equal import- 

ance with the study of development, in framing a true morphology, 

since the laws regulating the two are the same. "Already," he says, 

" teratology has done much towards showing the erroneous nature of 

many morphological statements that still pass current in our text-books. 

. . . Thus organs are said to be fused which were never separate, dis- 

junctions and separations are assigned to parts that were never joined, 

adhesions and cohesions are spoken of in cases where, from the nature 

of things, neither could have existed " (p. xxxiv.). It must, liowcver,

BOTANICAL NEWS,. 311 

be allowed that fallacies are much more likely to be fouml in terato- 

logical data than in the more definite and orderly conditions met with 

in developmental investigations. Considerable light would probably 

be thrown on moi-phology by a careful study of the early condition of 

abnormal organs and their phases of development. 

We think Dr. Masters, however, might well have introduced somewhat 

more inferential speculation than he has done ; his short and scat- 

tered remarks on morphological subjects are of so much interest that 

one cannot but feel the want of more similar matter. Suggestive notes, 

however, on the nature of the so-called inferior calyx, of the placenta, 

the ovule, and some other organs, the homological nature of which is 

still an open question, will be found in the body of the work, and are 

again alluded to with other matters in the " general conclusions " at 

the end of the volume. 

We cannot praise the figures ; absence of artistic beauty is of secon- 

dary importance, but vagueness is shown in some of them, especially 

in regard to the relative position of organs, which lessens their utility ; 

in those made from the author's own sketches, the fault rests with the 

engraver. 

An excellent Index supplies copious references not only to subjects, 

but also to the various species mentioned. 


The Bi-itish Association has not been productive botanicallj. The President 

dehrcred a carefuilj-worded anti-Darwinian address, the effect of which 

will, however, be neutrahzed by that of the incoming Darwinian President, 

Professor Huslej. The anti-Darwinian papers read were as feeble as they were 

imscientiflc, and they were justly treated as a good joke. Darwinism must be 

attacked by a very diiferent class of arguments from those heard at Exeter. 

We learn witli pleasure that Mr. M. C. Cooke is engaged in the preparation 

of a ' Handbook of British Fungi,', which will contain figures illustratin"- the 

principal genera, and references to those of the species. Intending subscribers 

should communicate with Mr. M. C. Cooke, 2, Junction Yillas, Upper Hollo- 

way, London. The subscription price is half-a-guinea. 

M. Alphonse de Candolle sends us his reply to the various objections that 

have been raised to his ' Laws of Botanical Nomenclature,' a reprint from the 

' Bulletin ' of the Botanical Society of France. If this paper is going to be 

translated into English, we trust it may be done in such a manner as not again 

to impose upon «s the necessity of either passing over these laws in their foreign

312 


dress in silence, or using terms in speaking of the rendering which might 

offend tliose with wliom we have every wish to stand we'l. 

On the 14th of September, the centenai'y of Humboldt's birthday was cele- 

brated in many parts of Germany, thougli it was much to be regretted tliat so 

great a name was here and there made the watchword of political and re- 

ligious parties. But it could iiardly be expected that all should cordially join 

in celebrating the birthday of a man who has oniy just passed away, who 

held such advanced views as Humboldt did, and wlio was so fond of indulg- 

ing in criticisms. A whole generation should have been born and buried be- 

fore any celebration of the kind ought to have been attempted. 

Of Von Krempelhuber's ' History and Literature of Lichenology, from the 

Oldest Time to the year 1865,' the second and concluding volume has appeared. 

It may be ordered from the author (3, Anialien Strasse, Munich ; or througli 

Williams and Norgate). The work has been printed at the author's risk and 

expense, and is the result of much careful research and labour. 

From Vienna we receive an acceptable reprint of Dr. A. Engler's ' Index 

Criticus Specierum atque Synonymorum Generis Saxifragse,' which first ap- 

peared in the ' Transactions ' of the Zoologico-Botanical Society of that place. 

It fills forty-four closely printed pages, and cannot fail to be highly useful to 

the working, systematic botanist. Tlie author accepts 167 species of tiie genus, 

distributed under 17 sections. 

A scrap of botanical news, published in our August number, that " we had 

received full and authentic particulars respecting the share which Dr. Hooker 

is alleged to have had in preventing certain honorary distinctions being con- 

ferred upon some Englishmen who visited the great Horticidtural Exhibition at 

St. Petersburg," has, we regret to learn, been misinterpreted. So far from 

wishing to imply censure, we held (though tliis may appear a gratuitous remark) 

that the illustrious botanist acted in a manner of which all right-minded 

men could not help ajjproving. 

We have to welcome the appearance of Trimen and Dyer's long-expected 

* Flora of Middlesex ' (Hardwicke), and Dyer and Church's edition of S. W. 

Jonson's ' How Crops Grow ' (Macmillan) 

Dr. Arthur Schott we have to thank for sending us a set of his ' Phytographical 

Glimpses of the Tropics of America,' illustrating the vegetation ol Yucatan 

and New Granada. 

Next year will see the production of an illustrated work on new and rare 

British Hymenomycetous Fcingi from the pen of W. Wilson Saunders, F.E.S., 

and Worthington G. Smith, F.L.S. It will consist of descriptions and figures 

of some 200-300 species. 100 coloured plates (super-royal in size) are being 

drawn on stone by Mr. Smith, partly from original drawings by Mr. Saunders 

and partly from his own. Many of the species ai-e xnipublished, and others 

new to science. Subscribers may send their names to Mr. Van Voorst. The 

book will appear in four parts, each containing five Plates, price 10s. Any 

rare species would be thankfully received by Mr. W. G. Smith, 12, North 

Grovt> West, Mildmay Park, London, N. 

The next number of this Journal w ill contain a double Plate ; no illustration 

is issued witli this. 

.

313 

ON THE GIGANTIC NEW AKOIDEA FROM NICARAGUA. 

{GODWINIA GIGAS, Seem.) 

By Berthold Seemann, Ph.D., E.L.S. 

(Plates XCVI. and XCVII.) 

This is the largest Avoid, both in leaf and flower, of which we have 

any knowledge. It was discovered in January, 1869, near to Javali 

Mine in the Chontales Mountains of Nicaragua, where it grows in 

broken ground near rivulets {quebradas) amongst brushwood. I have 

never seen it in any other part of tropical America, but from information 

lately received, I am led to believe that this, or a plant very much 

like it, is found in the mountains of neighbouring Central American 

Republics. 

The root-stock with its whorl of roots, turned topsy-turvy, much re- 

sembles an old man's head, bald at the top ; in the two specimens dug 

up it was 3 ft. 2 in. in cii'cumference, and weighed from 90 to 92 

ounces. There are no roots whatever in the lower part of the corm, 

which is perfectly smooth and white ; all are placed in a whorl around 

the top, and between them many young corms, by which the species 

propagates itself, are nestling. The plant has only one leaf at a time, 

and after that has died off, the flower spathe makes its appearance, 

both being of gigantic dimensions. The petiole (of the largest speci- 

mens measured in Nicaragua) is 10 ft. long, and 10 lines in circum- 

ference, covered with minute spiny projections, and with a metallic 

beautifully mottled surface (brimstone-yellow, barred and striped with 

purple), giving it the appearance of a snake standing erect. The blade 

of the leaf (which is green on both sides) is 3 ft. 8 in. long, so that the 

whole leaf is 18 ft. 8 in. long (Engl, measurement). The blade is 

divided into three primary sections, which are again repeatedly sub- 

divided, the extreme divisions being ovate-acuminate. The peduncle 

is 3 ft. long and 4 in. in circumference, mottled, and with minute spiny 

projections as the petiole, and furnished towards the base with several 

large bracts. The flower-spathe is the greatest curiosity, measuring as 

it does, 1 ft. 11 in. in length, and 1 ft. 8 in. in width. It is of a thick, 

leathery texture, outside of a dark bluish-brown, and inside of a dark 

brownish-red, with the exception of the base and those parts surround- 

ing the spadix, which are whitish-yellow. The spadix is only 9 in. 

VOL. VII. [NOVEMBER 1, 1809,] Z

314 ON THE GIGANTIC NEW AROIDEA FROM NICARAGUA. 

long, and 9 lines across, and bears heriua£lirodite flowers, the technical 

description of which is given below. 

The plant grows with great rapidity—several inches during a single 

night,—and the flowers emit the odour peculiar to many Aroidese 

and other dark-coloured flowers. The plant has nothing to do with 

AniorphopJiallus and kindreds with which it agrees in habit ; it, how- 

ever, is closely allied to Dracontimn, both inhabit and technical characters, 

but chiefly difl^rs from that 'genus in having twice as many 

stamens as perigonal segments. It therefore constitutes a new genus, 

which I have great pleasure in dedicating to Mr. George Godwin, 

F.E.S., F.B.H.S., etc., architect, author of ' Another Blow for Life,' 

etc., one of the founders of the Art Union of London, and Editor of 

the 'Builder,' a gentleman who has rendered much willing and substan- 

tial aid to literature, science, and art, and who, by his active support 

of window-gardening in the metropolis, has spread amongst even the 

humbler classes that taste and love for plants without which, after all, 

the race of botanists would soon become extinct. 

Additional details will be found in the ' Journal of Botany,' Vol. 

VII. p. 278, where also one of the specimens is described, which Mr. 

W. Bull, of King's Road, Chelsea (to whom the plant was consigned), 

exhibited at a meeting of the Eoyal Horticultural Society at Kensing- 

ton. This specimen (leaf only) attained within a few inches the 

dimensions I noted in Nicaragua, and had it not begun to sprout 

during its passage to England, and suff'ered at tip from pushing against 

the lid of the box in which it was planted, there can be no doubt that 

even this year it would have quite equalled them. Mr. W. W. Saunders 

having pointed out the interest attaching to the plant, the Royal Hor- 

ticultural Society recorded its appreciation of it by awarding to this 

novelty an honorary distinction. 

GoDWiNiA, Seem. (gen. nov. Aroidearum). Spatha inferne convo- 

luta, erecta, apicem versus fornicata, aperta, persistens. Spadix peri- 

gonanthus, stipitatus, spathfE limbo multo superatus, cylindricus, 

liber, erectus, densi- ac pluriflorus. Florlculi perigonio 6-sepalo, sepalis 

apicem versus dilatatis, fornicatis, vertice convexulis, in prtefloratione 

irregulariter imbricatis ; stamina 12, biseriata, ex teriora sepalis al- 

terna,_interiora sepalis opposita, filamentis parum compressulis, apice 

repentino in connectivum tenue acuminatum angustatis, pistiUo multo 

brevioribus, anthera? loculis suboppositis, lineari-cllipticis, apiculo

NOTES ON ISLE OF ÎGHT PLANTS. 315 

iiuUo praeditis, conuectivum autera superantibus, rimula a])icali latera- 

liter dehiscentibus, extrorsum versis, pistillum elongatura, ovario 

ovoideo 3-loculari, in stylum longum subrepentino attenuatum, stigmate 

3-partito, e centro styli apicis partitionibus spatliulato-linearibus 

angustis protenso-extensum, septis ovarii non ex toto perfectis, locula- 

meutis l-ovii!atis, ovulis e placenta infra medium loculamenti ex axi 

exsertis, funiculo brevi sufiFultis, anatropis. Fructus ignotus.—Folium 

solitai-ium, hysterantium, petiolo lougo crasso elato aculeolato maculato, 

vertice 3-chotomo v. 3-cruri, craribus in laminam tritomam abeuntibus, 

partitionibus principalibus pinnatipartitis v. conflueuti-pinnatipartitis, 

costa iterato-dichotomanti. Spatha et spadix saturate violascentes, 

prior magis in brunneo-rubrum, posterior magis in cseruleum. Species 

unica : 

— 

1. B. gigas. Seem. (sp. nov.), Tab. nostr. n. 95 et 96. Seem. Journ. 

of Bot. 1869, p. 278.—Mountains of Chontales, Republic of Nicara- 

gua, between the Javali Mine and the Quebrada de los lajas (Seemann !) 

Explanation op Plates XCVI. and XCYII. (double Plate).—Fig. 1, 

leaf (portrait of) ; 2, spathe drawn to same scale (portrait of) ; 3, rhizome 

drawn to same scale as leaf and spathe ; 4, part of stem (portion of) ; 5, portion 

of segments of leaf, ditto to show venation ; 6, base of spadix ; 7, diagram 

of flowers ; 8, flower from above ; 9 flower, side view ; 10, flower -with perianth 

segments reflexed to show ovary ; 11, section of ovary ; 12, summit of 

style; 13, stamen, inner side; 14, stamen, outer side; 15, section through 

anthers ; 16, perianth segment from outer side (flattened out) ; 17, perianth 

from inner side to show veining (partly flattened out). The corm and flower, 

from a sketch of Mr. Antonio Fairburn (made in Nicaragua) ; the leaf from 

the growing plant m Mr. W. Bull's possession, taken by Mr. W. G. Smith, 

and tlie dissection of flower by Dr. H. Trimen, from Nicaraguan specimens 

preserved in spirit at the British Museum. 

NOTES ON ISLE OF WIGHT PLANTS. 

By Fred. Stratton, Esq., F.L.S. 

Ratmnculus Flammula, var. /3. pseudo-reptans, Syme, Tolerably 

common. This plant was sent to the London Botanical Exchange 

Club last year, and is mentioned in the curator's report. The Isle of 

Wight plant seems to be a late summer or autumn state only of R. 

Flammula, but it is remarkable how entirely in many localities it sup- 

plies the place, at a later period of the year, of the parent plant. The 

flowers are very much smaller, and have generally a star-like appear- 

ance, from the petals being narrow and widely separated ; 

bearing, in 

z 2

316 NOTES ON ISLE OF WIGHT PLANTS. 

this and some other respects, the same proportion to those of R. 

Mammula as the flowers of Caltha radicaus do to those of C. palustris 

(fide Icon. E. B. ed. 3, vol. i.)! 

Fumaria Borcei, Jord. Brixton, Isle of Wight. In a series of 

specimens collected by me at this locality, there are some which agree 

perfectly with the description of F. Borai, Jprd., in the third edition 

of ' English Botany ' (vol. i. p. 106), and also with specimens in my 

herbarium, of that plant, collected by Mr. Boswell Syme at " Auchter- 

tool, Fife, September, 1868." Other specimens from the same locality 

at Brixton have a very decided resemblance to the authentic speci- 

mens of F. palUdlflora, Jord., in the British Museum herbarium, and 

especially to a plant collected by Mr. Borrer in 1848 at Bonchurch, 

named by him F. capreolata alblflora, which Mr. A. G. More has 

identified as F. palUdiflora, Jord. These latter plants from Brixton 

also agree with the book descriptions, having recurved fruit-pedicels 

and creara-colonred flowers with dark tips. Probably F. palUdiflora 

and F. Borai are distinct, but the book characters of each are certainly 

not well marked in any of the plants before me. The character given 

by Prof. Babington and Mr. Boswell Syme to F. p(dUdiflora of the 

length of the fruit being rather more than the breadth, is given by 

Lloyd in his ' Elore de I'Ouest de la France ' to F. Borai, and he 

also appears to have transposed in his descriptions of the fruit-pedicels 

of the two species the terms " epais" and " rare." A specimen in my 

herbarium labelled " F. pallidi/o?-a, Jord., hedgebanks, Cuchandall, 

CO. Antrim, Ireland, June 28th, 1866 ; 

S. A, Stewart," is clearly Borcei. 

Crucianella stylosa, De Cand. This plant has established itself in a 

lane near Carisbrooke Castle, no doubt from some garden, and flowers 

freely, but I have not noticed any fruit formed. I noticed the plant 

in 1866, but I have no doubt it existed there long before that time. 

It is mentioned in * English Botany,' ed. 3, vol. iv. p. 233, amongst 

the excluded plants, as having been found by Mr. J. G, Baker on the 

embankment near Scarborough Railway Station, Yorkshire. 

Senecio campestris, De Caud. The only locality given in Dr. Brom- 

field's 'Flora Vectensis,' is one copied from the 'Hampshire Repository,* 

vol. i. p. 121, in which it occurs on the authority of the present Dean 

of Winchester and the Rev. Mr. Poulter, " Cin. alpina (campestris) 

Belhan, pi. I. W," Neither Dr. Bromfield nor any one else ever 

ascertained where this locality was, and the plant was therefore deemed 

,

NOTES RESPECTING SOME PLYMOUTH PLANTS. 317 

lost to the island. I am happy to say that in July, 1868, it was found 

by Mr. J. G-. Baker and Dr. Tate on the south-eastern extremity of 

Westover Down. Dr. Tate kindly took me to the locality on the 5th 

of July last, when we found the plant abundant and in full bloom ; it 

grows principally on the rough sloping ground, and also more sparingly 

on the unbroken turf higher up. 

Callitriche hamulata, Kutz. Staplers, near Newport. New to the 

island under this name. 

Polygonum aviculare littoi'ale. Link. Totland, Freshwater ; in a 

disused brickfield near the shore. 

EchinocJdoa Crus-galli, Beauv. One fine plant only, observed on 

the rough ground ne^r the shore at Freshwater Gate. August, 1869. 

New to the Isle of Wight ; (?) and to Hants. 

Dr. Tate, F.L.S., has added the following plants to the flora of 

the Isle of Wight :— 

Fumaria micrantha, near Yarmouth. 

Biplotaxis tenuifolia, near CliflF End Fort, Freshwater. 

Folypogon Monspeliensis, above Yarbridge on Norton side. 

Keuôrt, Isle of Wight, October 13th, 1869. 

NOTES KESPECTING SOME PLYMOUTH PLANTS. 

By T. E. Archer Briggs, Esq. 

Hypericum dubium. Leers.—Veiy rare in the neighbourhood of 

PhTuouth, for within twelve miles of this town I have seen it in only 

one locality, situated in the vale of the Lynher, between Pillaton Mills 

and Clapper Bridge, Cornwall. There, in July last, were about a 

dozen plants, growing mostly either on a bank by the stream that 

supplies the mill, or on a damp hedgebank, between two marshes. 

Hypericum undulatum, Schousb. H. Bcsticum, Boiss. Lond. Cat. 

ed. 6.— Several roots in a boggy piece of ground by the road leading 

from S. Mellion to Pillaton, Cornwall, July, 1869. Copiously in tbe 

valley of the Lynher, between Pillaton Mills and Clapper Bridge, 

growing mostly about springs in a moist pasture, and by the side of a 

drain parting a vrood from a marsh. Further west it becomes more 

general, and in the parish of Probus, a few miles from Trui'O, it is one

ai8 NOTES RESPECTING SOME PLYMOUTH PLANTS. 

of the commonest species in marshy valleys, growing with Pedicularis 

palustris, Myrica, etc. 

• 

Medicoffodenticulaia, WiWd.—Many plants on a low cliff at Seaton, 

near Looe, Cornwall, June, 1869. 

Lathyrns Nissolia, L. Plentiful in a piece of ground rendered 

waste, w'ithin a few years, by the Plymouth fortification works, situated 

between S. Budeaux and Honicknowle, June, 1869. Some plants 

produced flowers of a flesh colour ; others had them of the ordinary 

crimson tint. This Latkyrus seems not so much as naturalized any- 

where near Plymouth. 

Acjrimonia odorala, Mill.—By the road leading to Quethiock village 

from the St. German's and Callington road, Cornwall ; in some quan- 

tity, and not confined to one spot, July, 1869. Less plentiful in a 

lane near Landulph, in the same county. 

Pyrus Scandica, Bab.—I now consider this handsome shrub indige- 

nous in the neighbourhood of Plymouth {vide Seemann, Journ. Bot., 

Vol. VI. p. 327). Two large bushes grow in a native wood, principally 

of oak, between Koborough Down and the river Plym, near Hoo 

Meavy. One of these had in August last many cymes of unripe fruit, 

and close by were two young bushes that had sprung from seed 

one of them of only two or three years' growth. In a neighbouring 

wood was another fine bush, with fruit. The allied species, Pyrus 

tormhialis, Ehrh., is thinly scattered over S.W. Devon and S.E. Corn- 

wall, in hedgerows and copses. 

Epilohium lanceolatum, Seb.—On rubble from the S. Devon slate 

quaiTies, between Ugborough and Ivybridge, copiously. May, 1869. 

Physospermnm Cornubiense, De Cand.—The fact that this species 

grows plentifully in the neighbourhood of Bodmin, Cornwall, has been 

long known to British botanists ; but probably êw are aware that an- 

other portion of this county also produces it in great abundance. I 

did not know that such was the case until I met with the following 

statement, from an anonymous Avriter in the ' Journal of- the Royal In- 

stitution of Cornwall,' April, 1868 :— "Some of our rarest plants are 

fortunately so abundant in the localities in which they are found, that 

there is- not the slightest possibility of their extermination. This is 

the case with the Physospermum, which abounds in every bushy field 

in a direct line between Halton Quay, on the banks of the Tamar, and 

Newton Perrers, on the river Lynlier. My attention was first drawn 

;

NOTES RESPECTING SOME PLYMOUTH PLANTS. 319 

to this plant by Mr. Kemptliorne, of Callington, wlio found it growing 

in a field near Newton Ferrers. On grassy knolls among the heath 

and furze of Vernico, the Phi/sospermum is particularly plentiful." I 

have, to some extent, verified the above statement during the past 

sumnaer, for, within the tract of country indicated, I have found it in 

abundance in woods by a tributary of the Lynher, near Pillaton, and 

also quite common in many spots near Clapper Bridge. It has, more- 

over, a wider range than the writer above quoted gives it, for it is 

plentiful in spots on and about Hammet and Hayfield Downs, between 

Newton Fen'ers and Quethiock. 

Galium verum, L. ; iS. ochroleucum, Syme, Eng. Bot. ed. 3 ; Lond. 

Cat. ed. 6.— A. patch of this occurs on a cliff near Lugger's Cave, 

above Whitsand Bay, Eame, Cornwall. Plants of both Galium vei'um, 

a. luteum, Syme, and Galium Mollugo, L., grow near it. 

Valerianella Auricula, De Cand.—In a cornfield between Quethiock 

and Hammel Down, Cornwall ; growing with V. dentaia, Koch, 

July, 1869. 

LysimacJiia vulgaris, L.—Near Plymouth I have seen this species 

only in the valley of the Lynher, and there but sparingly. It occurs, 

however, many miles further west, near Probus, Cornwall, where I 

gathered it recently. 

Centunculus minimus, L.—From its small size this is often over- 

looked, and so is probably a commoner species than many suppose. 

During last July and August I found it at the six following localities, 

all within twelve miles of Plymouth, but at none of which, so far as I 

am aware, had any one noticed it before. In a damp spot, on Crown- 

hill Down, near Newnham Park, growing plentifully with Radiola Mil- 

legrana, Sw., a species it is very commonly associated with ; in two or 

three spots (abundant in one) in a bushy meadow between Bickleigh 

and Roborough Down ; in two others in the vale of the Plym, between 

Meavy and Hoo Meavj' ; these localities are in Devon. On Yiverdon 

and Pillaton Downs, and iji a vale by a tributarj' of the Lynher, over 

which passes the road from S. MeUion to Pillaton village, Cornwall. 

At the last station it was in August last plentiful by the cart-track in 

the vale, a few gunshots above the bridge. 

Littorella lacuslris, L.— In and about two ponds near the " China 

Clay Works," on Crownhill Down, near Plympton. In the neigh- 

bourhood of Plymouth the Littorella is a very rare plant.

320 NOTES ON SOME PLANTS OF QTAGO, NEW ZEALAND, 

CJienopodium Bonus-Henricus, L.—Four plants in a waste spot 

close to Newton Ferrers House, an old mansion, formerly the seat of 

the Cory tons (now of Pentillie), near Pillaton, Cornwall, August, 

1869. Within twelve miles of Plymouth I have met with it in only 

one other spot, near another Newton Ferrers, which is in Devon. 

There, too, it occurs close to an old mansion, Puslinch House. It is 

most clearly a denizen at both places, througt its having been formerly 

cultivated as a potherb. 

Habenaria hifolia, " Br. ;" Bab.—Many specimens on Ringmoor 

Down, near Sheepstor, Devon. June, 1869. Pillaton Down, Corn- 

wall. 1869. 

Narcissus hijlorus. Curt.—Some patches of this on top of a hedge- 

bank, bounding an orchard, at Kingsmill, near Landulph, Cornwall, 

and also in the orchard. April, 1869. Sparingly with the double- 

flowered variety of Narcissus poeticus, L., in an orchard near Bo- 

ringdon House, Weston Peverell, in the spring of the same year. 

Some botanists seem to consider N. biflorus a native in the West of 

England, but at all the spots where I have hitherto seen it in Devon 

and Cornwall, it is clearly nothing more than a denizen. In an or- 

chard, at Bickleigh, the double-flowered N. poeticus is as abundant as 

I have ever seen N. bifiorus in any one locality. 

Botrycliium Lunaria, Sw.—Eare, near Plymouth. It, however, oc- 

curred very plentifully in a grassy pasture, rather more than 800 feet 

above the sea-level, a few miles from Plympton, in June, 1869. The 

same locality produced OpMoglossum vulgatum, L., but not so abun- 

dantly as it did the Botrycliium. 

The places mentioned above are in Devon, unless the contrary is 

stated. 

4, Portland Villas, Plymouth^ October 6, 1869. 

NOTES ON SOME PLANTS OF OTA GO, NEW ZEALAND. 

By W. Lauder Lindsay, M.D., F.R.S.E., F.L.S. 

Genus I. Epilobium. . 

Wîth Dr. Hooker, I feel at a loss Avhether to regard some at least 

of the Otago Epilobia as species, or as mere forms of a comprehensive 

Protean type. It is only the non-possession of a sufficiently complete

NOTES ON SOME PLANTS OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 321 

01* extensive suite of specimens—which might ilhistrate fully the varia- 

tions of individuals—that prevents my adopting that view which re- 

gards the plants in question, as forms rather than species* Between 

several of the plants separately named in Dr. Hooker's ' Handbook of 

the New Zealand Flora,' there are not, so far as I have observed, any 

good or permanent differential characters of specific value. And I can- 

not doubt that a study of any considerable suite of individuals in their 

living state will lead to a reduction of the present number of book- 

species ! There is a general physiognomical resemblance between the 

Otago and British Epilobia ; and one at least of the former, E. tetra- 

gomnn, L., is British. 

In cultivation in this country, some of the Otago Epilobia appear 

to be hardy. Mr. Gorrie informs me that several small woody species, 

which were contained in soil and Tree-fern-stems sent him some 

years ago from Otago, have successfully stood out several winters in 

northern exposures at Trinity, near Edinburgh. 

1. E. junceum, Torst. Uplands, about Fairfield, Saddlehill, 12-15 

in. high; Chain Hill ranges, 8-10 in. ; ranges about Pinegand, Lower 

Clutha ; December, in flower, W. L. L. Apparently one of the com- 

monest Otago species. Some of its states resemble, in general aspect, 

our E. palustre, L., and E. parvijiorum, Schreb. Its leaves are occa- 

sionally infested by the parasitic ^cidium Otagense, Linds.f 

The Saddlehill plant is certainly not very pubescent or tomentose. 

The young flower and leaf-shoots only are covered with a very fine 

white tomentura. There is a very slight puberulence observable here 

and there on the stem ; while the mature leaves are glabrous on both 

surfaces, or they have occasional traces only of puberulence. Branches 

about 1 ft. high. Lower leaves linear-oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 

about 1 J in. long and under \ in. broad ; distantly alternate ; margin 

variously sinuate-serrate. Upper leaves entire, smaller, and more 

linear. 

The Finegand plant is shorter, more procumbent, and more leafy. 

There is less tomentosity of young leaf and flower- shoots, and of calyx- 

tube. Puberulence exists on young leaves only. Leaves smaller, nar- 

* I am disposed to agree with Dr. Miiller, who, in his ' Vegetation of the 

Chatham Islands,' makes only one species of Epilob'mm and Veronica ! 

t " Observations on Otago Lichens and Fungi," Trans. Royal Society of 

Edinburgh, vol, xxiv. p. 431, plate xxx. figs. 69, 70.

322 NOTES ON SOME PLANTS OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND 

rower, generally only 

-g^ in. broad, sometimes as long as in the Sad- 

dlehill forms (which are 1 j in.) ; sinuate ; toothing seldom very 

sharply marked ; few leaves (and only young ones) entire or nearly so. 

2. E. pubens, A. Rich. Among " scrub " on roadsides, Caveraham, 

Dunediu, 20-25 in. high ; December, in flower, W. L. L. Stem much 

branched. All parts of plant puberulent. Puberulence best marked 

on the young branchlets and leaves, and on the midribs, veins, and 

margins of the mature leaves ; least distinct on the lower woody parts 

of the stem, which are sometimes almost glabrous. Central leaves 

much the largest, about 1 \ in. long, and \ in. broad, but variable in 

size ; upper and lower ones smaller. Margin generally irregxdarly 

sinuate-serrate ; sometimes entire, or entire only in lower half or third. 

Leaf-petioles seldom exceed \ in. long ; sometimes they are ^ in. 

Flower small, about \\ in. in diameter, whitish. 

In specimens from Tarndale, Nelson, in my herbarium (collected by 

Dr. Sinclair), the plant is shorter and less ramose. There is less pu- 

berulence of all its parts ; less serrature of leaf ; shorter capsules. 

Leaves occasionally opposite, and broader in proportion to their length 

than in the Caversham plant. 

3. E. macropus. Hook. Ranges about Finegand, Lower Clutha 

December, in flower, W. L. L. Branches generally 5-6 in, high, deep 

red ; puberulent throughout, the puberulence best marked, as usual 

(where it exists), on the younger branchlets. Leaves membranous, 

ovate, and uniform in size ; seldom exceed ^ in, long, and \ in. broad. 

Upper and lower smaller than intermediate ones. Margin irregularly 

and very slightly notched, or almost entire ; sometimes entire, espe- 

cially in lower leaves. Leaf-petioles very short, so that young, and 

especially upper, leaves appear subsessile. Flower peduncle neither 

slender nor long (generally under \ in. in length). 

In Tanidale specimens in my herbarium, the plant scarcely differs 

from the Otago form. There is, however, less puberulence of branches 

and a longer flower-peduncle (here sometimes \ in. long). 

4. E. alsinoides, A. Cunn. Uplands about Stoneyhill ; December, 

in flower, W. L. L. Subprocumbent. Branches flexuose, leafy, gene- 

rally under 6-8 in. long ; puberulent (puberulence being best marked 

in young branchlets, on their tips). Leaves broadly ovate, entire; a 

few upper ones with the indistinct, sinuate toothing of those o^ junceiim, 

puhetn, and macropus ; glabrous on both surfaces ; largest about ^ in. 

long and ^ in. broad. Calyx and capsule whitc-tomentose. 

;


5. E. rotundifolium, Forst. Banks of the stream, Abbott's creek, 

Greeuisland, 5-6 in. high ; November, in flower, W. L. L. Stems 

under 6 in. high, puberulent, but puberulence only well-marked supe- 

riorly (on young shoots). Leaves glabrous on both surfaces, sometimes 

with traces of puberulence. Central leaves (about centre of stem), as 

usual in the Otago Epilobia, larger than upper and lower ones. Longest 

leaves about ^ in. long, and somewhat less in breadth. Outline of 

leaf sometimes suborbicular. Margin sinuate-serrate ; teeth sharper 

than in the other Otago species above mentioned ; 

but unequally or ir- 

regularly so, as is also usual in the New Zealand Epilobia. Leaves 

opposite, so shortly petioled as to become sometimes, in the upper 

and lower parts of the plant, subsessile. I have never seen the leaves 

uniform in size and form throughout the plant. Flower whitish. 

Thouirh I did not mvself meet with others, T believe there are few of 

the 17 New Zealand species of Epilobium that do not occur in Otago. 

Genus IL Hypericdm. 

ITiere are only two New Zealand species, both of which occur in 

Otago. These species are connected by pmâge-forms, and the remarks 

which I have had occasion elsewhere* to make regarding the problem 

of unity or plurality of species in certain genera of Otago plants are 

very applicable here. I am disposed to consider H. Japonicum as 

merely a dwarf, straggling, procumbent, slender condition of H. gra- 

mineum. 

1. H. gramineum, Forst. Chain Hill ranges, common ; Uplands 

arouud Sloneyhill ; December, in flower, TV. L. L. Generally 6-8 in. 

high, growing in tufts. Resembles in general aspect the British H. 

linariifolium, Vahl. My specimens have as great a tendency to pro- 

cumbency as Japonicum. Branches about 6 in. high : 4-angled character 

not always distinct. Leaf oblong-lauceolate, with revolute margin ; 

generally under \ in. long, and \-\ in. broad. Frequently acquires in 

drying various shades of buff or brown. Flowers 2 or 3 ; peduncles 

subdivided (branching secondarily) or simple. Sepals in herbarium 

assume the orange-red tint of the corolla. 

2. E. Japonicum, Thunb. Eanges about Finegand, Lower Clutha, 

abundant; December, in flower, W. L. L. Generally 3-4 in. high, 

* 'Contributions to New Zealand Botany' (1868), p. 102: illustrations in 

the genera Aciphylla, Geranium, Crualtheria, Wahlenhergia, Veronica, Sophora, 

Phormium, Coriaria.

324 NOTES ON SOME PLANTS OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 

with a comparatively large, conspicuous, orange flower ; tas some- 

what the aspect of the British \H. humifusum, L. Branches 2|-3 in. 

high. Lower leaves oblong-ovate ; upper ones lanceolate-oblong, as 

in gramineum. Leaf generally broader and more spreading from the 

branch than in gramineum : revolution of its margin not so common, 

though the tendency exists. Flowers in twos ; peduncles simple, very 

short or inconspicuous amid the terminal leaves. The plant is smaller 

in most of its parts than—without, however, any proper distinction from 

—(jraminmm, to which I do not hesitate to refer it. Not even as 

a specially named variety would I separate it, regarding it as I do as 

a mere small /on« or condition oi gramineum. It is by the separation 

and naming of such forms or conditions that classification becomes 

burdened with an unnecessary and mischievous number of pseudo- 

species ! 

Genus IIL Parsonsia. 

Its species are " Supplejacks " or " Lawyers "—climbers on forest 

trees ; and, especially when in flower, among the most handsome orna- 

ments of the New Zealand " Bush." The genus resembles Rubus in the 

variability of leaf even on the same plant. According to my specimens 

P. alhiflora and P. rosea are very difi'erent plants (as to leaf and whole 

habit). P. rosea is not, however, in flower, so that I cannot properly 

compare them, I believe they will be found, like so many other New 

Zealand species, to be connected by passage-forms. 

1. P. alhiflora, Eaoul, (P. heterophylla, PI. N. Z.,) East Taeri bush 

November, young, W. L. L. The "Kaiku" (or "Kai-ku") of the 

North Island Maori (Colenso). Buchanan recommends it for culti- 

vation in this country as a covering (a creeper) for bowers, after the 

manner of Jasmine. In flower, smell, and habit, it somewhat resem- 

bles the common garden Jasmine, whose representative it may be held 

to be in New Zealand. Its fine, large, terminal panicle of white flowers 

renders it one of the handsomest " Supplejacks " of Otago. In drying 

for the herbarium, all its leaves assume a brown or blackish-broAvn 

colour, blackest on the upper shining surface ; the under side having 

a duller leathery aspect. The foliage then resembles that of some 

species. of Metrosideros when dried, e.g. M. Incida. Corolla dries to a 

brownish-yellow ; 

My plant is a stout woody shrub, resembling in its branches and 

lobes about as long as the tube. 

foliage Metrosideros lucida. Puberulence of stem, branches, and naidrib 

;

NOTES ON SOME PLANTS OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND. 325 

of leaf (under surface) very slight and witli difficulty distinguishable, 

unless uuder the lens ; best noticed on the young flower-panicles 

(flower-pedicels and calyx). Leaf generally 2 in. long and f in. broad, 

more or less broadly ovate, sometimes lanceolate or broadly obovate or 

obcordate, usually acuminate or mucrouate, sometimes retuse. Margin 

more or less entire, but some leaves have a very irregular sinuate 

outline : or they exhibit irregular notches, which are a tendency to 

the greater sinuosity of outline that characterizes the leaves of rosea. 

Midrib distinct on both surfaces, especially lower. Transverse veins in- 

distinct on either side and especially on upper surface. 

2. P. rosea, Raoul (P. capstilaris, Fl. N. Z.). East Taeri bush, 

climbing on Ruhns amlralis ; Christie's Bush, Saddlehill ; November, 

in flower, W. L. L. In the climbing form on Rubus australis, the 

stem is slender, twining, finely puberulent, the hairs being yellowish 

and very fine, as in albiflora. Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, but as 

coriaceous as in albiflora, 2-2\ in. long and \ in. broad, broadest at 

the roundish turgid base, tapering gradually to a point. Margin iiTe- 

gularly sinuate. Upper leaves nearly entire, lanceolate ; all leaves very 

shortly petioled. 

In the more shrubby form of the plant there is much branching 

the branches spreading irregularly, and variously twisting and doubling 

on themselves. Stem and main branches glabrous ; ultimate ramuscles 

(especially young shoots) puberulent as in albiflora. Leaves vary 

greatly in a single specimen, much larger and narrower than in the 

climbing forms 3|—4 in. long sometimes, and \ in. broad, always 

broader at base and tapering to a point. Margin irregularly sinuate 

or notched : or sinuosity or notching is so inconspicuous that the leaf 

is almost entire ; all these variations of margin occurring sometimes 

on the same branch. Margin also frequently revolute. Leaves as co- 

riaceous as in albiflora, drying to the same colour; sometimes twist on 

themselves like the branchlets. 

Genus IV. PlMELEA. 

This is one of many Otago genera (e.g. Coprosma, Gualtheria, 

Coriaria, Panax, Wahlenbergia^ etc.) the book- descriptions of whose 

species I find it impossible with my limited series of specimens satis- 

factorily to follow. I have a strong conviction that certain presently 

considered species are possibly mere forms, and that a careful revision 

of such genera, with the aid of large suites of specimens, especially in 

;

326 NOTES ON SOME PLANTS OF OTAGO, NEW ZEALAND, 

the living state by local botanists, ought to lead to a great reduction 

of the present number of book-species ! 

1. P. prostrata, Vahl. Sand-dunes about mouth of Kaikorai 

Stream ; Kaikorai Hill ; Signal Hill, North-east Valley, Dunedin ; November 

and December, in flower, W. L. L. Dr. Hooker named my 

Otago plant P. Urvilleuna ; but, in his ' Handbook' (p. 244), he de- 

scribes the latter as a North Island species only, and evidently refers 

such plants as mine to P. prostrata. Without a fuller suite of speci- 

mens before me, it is impossible to give a final opinion ; but from com- 

paring Dr. Hooker's descriptions of P. Urvilleana and P. prostrata 

with each other and with my plants, I find myself unable to recognize 

any valid specific distinction between them. In some of my plants 

the villosity of the young and ultimate ramuscles is marked ; and the 

distinction between whiteness and greyness of the hairs is not one that 

is very evident or satisfactory. In all my specimens the leaves are 

similar, of comparatively uniform character, about -^ in. long, mostly 

ovate or ovate-oblong, subacute or obtuse at tip, crowded more or less, 

and frequently imbricate. Branches sometimes 16-20 in. long. Some 

forms of the shrub are erect or suberect ; the same form occurring on 

the sea-level (sand-dunes) and on the hill-ranges {e.g. Kaikorai, 1093 

feet), riower-tube as villous as the ultimate ramuscles, and with the 

same white, long, silky hairs. Perianth-lobes shorter than the tube. 

Of teu New Zealand species of Plmelea, at least five others (appa- 

rently) occur in Otago, some of them ascending to elevations of 

5500 ft. (on the Canterbury Alps, P. Lyallii, Hook, f.), viz. P. Gnidia, 

Forst. ; P. Trave?'sii, Hook. f. ; P. virgata, Vahl ; P. sericeo-villosa. 

Hook. f. 

Genus V. Convolvulus {Calystegia, Fl. N. Z.). 

Another of the numerous Otago genera that require revision by local 

botanists, with a view to the clearer definition, on the one hand, or the 

fusion on the other, of itsNpresent book-species. O. Tugurioruni, C. Sol- 

danella, C. sepium, and C. erubescens—with the British C. arvensis, L. 

appear to me to pass into each other by imperceptible gradations ; 

I do not see where or how the specific demarcation-lines or defitiitions 

can be properly drawn ! 

. 

— 

and 

1. C. Tuguriorum, Br. Among " scrub," and in the forest, Stoney- 

hill bush ; December, in flower, W. L. L. A climber, with the habit, 

in certain respects, of C. sejnum, and in others of C. arvensis. The


latter, however, has a different form of leaf. Between Tuguriorum 

and sepium there are sometimes considerable differences, as regards the 

size of the plant, size and form of leaf, form of bracts, and other cha- 

racters, especially if the contrast be made with the larger forms of the 

latter species. Nevertheless they do not seem to me to be properly 

separable. In my specimens of Tuguriorum, stem and leaves are 

glabrous. Leaf about 1 in. long, acuminate, 2-lobed at the base, 

broadly cordate. Bracts as long as the calyx, broadly ovate, acuminate. 

2. C. Soldanella, Br. Sand-dunes about the mouth of the Kaikorai 

October, young, W. L. L. The " Pauahi "* or " Nahinahi " of the 

North Island Maori,—terms, however, pi'obably applied also to other 

species of the genus. 

Roots several feet long, trailing over or in the sand, like those of va- 

rious of our littoral "Bents" (grasses or sedges). Leaves glabrous, 

cordate-reniform, not decidedly broader than long, about 1 in. both in 

length and breadth, subacuminate, less reuiform and with a much 

more acute apex than in any British specimens, in some respects 

intermediate in character between those of Tuguriorum and sepium, 

but stouter than either. 

Though I did not myself meet with them, C. sepium, L., and C. eru~ 

lescens, Br. also apparently occur in Otago. The former is " Pauahi 

and " Pohiiehiie " or " Pohue" (Colenso) of the North Island Maoris, 

who also probably apply the term "Wene" to its young shoots (Wil- 

liams), its rhizome, like that of Pteris aquilina, var. esculenta,-\ having 

once formed one of the native /ooc^s. Certain forms of C. sepium closely 

approach those of C. Tuguriorum ; they appear, moreover, to affect the 

same habitat, and to occur occasionally intermixed, whence it hap- 

pens that they are apt to be confounded,—if they are to be considered 

separate species, an arrangement of the propriety of which (I have al- 

ready stated) I have some doubt. In Holstein specimens of C. sepium% 

(from Wedel, on the Elbe), the leaves are very delicate and mem- 

branous, 4 in. long by 3 in. broad. 

Genus VI. Solanum. 

1. S. aviculare, Forst. In the bush, Jeft'cott's station, Stoneyhill, 

* E. g. "Panaclii," applied also to C. sepium (Colenso). 

t Vide my paper on " Otago Ferns," Trans, of Botanical Society of Edinhurgli, 

vol. ix. p. 40. 

X " Notes on the Flora of Holstein ;" ' Phytologist,' new series, vol. i. 

p. 369. 

" ;


and Christie's station, Saddlehill, abundant ; November, in flower, 

December, in fruit, W. L. L. The " Kohoho " or " Kohokoho "— 

the " Poroporo,"* "Poropora," or " Poporo "— of the North Island 

Maori (Colenso). 

A large, very handsome shrub, resembling, on the large scale, our 

8. Dulcamara, L., with large, orange-coloured, edible berries, the size of 

a cherry. Leaves very variable as to form and size, on different parts 

of even the same plant; simple or entire and lanceolate, and then gene- 

rally shorter than those which are divided, though sometimes 9 in. 

long ; 

or variously hastate or palmate, or irregularly notched or divided 

(subpinnatiti(l). In out-door summer cultivation in Britain, the plant 

is said to grow very rapidly, and to be of robust habit. It attains a 

height of 5-6 ft. in one season. The leaves are described as becoming 

large and of a beautiful dark green, rendering it a handsome showy 

acquisition to British gardens. It is propagated with ease both from 

cuttings and seed. It requires a rich deep soil, and copious waterings 

in summer, and to be kept nearly dry and in a temperate house in 

winter.f 

I did not meet with -S'. nigrum, L., which is represented as being 

extremely common in the North Island. It is probably to it that the 

Maoris apply tlie terms "Peoi" and "Eaupete," though one or both 

may also pertain in pari to 8. avlculare. 

Genus VII. Myosotis. 

1. M. antarctica. Hook. f. {M. australis, PI. N. Z.). Uplands about 

the base of Stoneyhill and Saddlehill, 6 in. high ; hills above the 

Porbury Heads, Dunedin, a dwarf form, in spreading tufts not above 

2 in. across when laid quite flat; December, in flower, W. L. L, 

Tarndale and Dun Mountain, Nelson, in Herb. Dr. Sinclair at Auckland, 

and in my own herbarium. My specimens from elevations of about 

500 ft. in Otago, do not diS'er much from those collected at a heiglit 

of 4000-5000 ft. in the ^Tarndale district by Dr. Sinclair. In both 

cases, the dense clothing of white hairs gives the plant quite an alpine 

physiognomy. In certain respects, it represents and resembles the 

common Biitish M. arveusis, Hofi"m., and M. collina, Hoflm, 

2. M. capitata. Hook., f. On the Trap clifls, Shaw's Bay, mouth 

of the Clutha ; December, W. L. L. Specimens from the Dun Moun- 

* In common with S. nigrum, according to Colenso. 

t Kelly, " Report on the Subtropical Garden of Battersea Park," 1865.


tain, Nelson, in Dr. Sinclair's herbarium, much resemble in the beauty 

of the large flower and in general aspect our M. alpestris Schmidt, 

whose representative in New Zealand it is in some measure. 

Of a total of 9 New Zealand species of Myosotis, at least 7 occur in 

Otago. Some of them are subalpine or alpine, ascending to 6000 ft. 

(e. g. M. Hedori, Hook. f.). 

Genus VIII. Typha. 

1. T. angustifoUa, L. East Taeri swamps ; Fluegand lagoon, Lower 

Clutha, W. L. L. North Taeri swamps (Martin) ; swamps on banks 

of the Clutha (Buchanan) ; 

(Sullivan). 

swamps of the Matukituki, Wanaka Lake 

Dr. Hooker, both in the Flora N. Z. and the Handbook (p. 276), 

restricts its distribution to the North Island. But here he is certainly 

in error, inasmuch as the plant is more or less abundant in the 

swampy grounds of the low lands throughout the South Island also.* 

To the settler the plant is well known as the " Eaupo " or " Bul- 

rush ;" and the swamps in which it is plentiful—sometimes to the exclusion, 

for the most part, of other phsenogamic vegetation—are known 

as *' Eaupo swamps" (" VVaraupo" of Dieflfenbach), just as "Flax 

swamps" or "Tussock swamps" are spoken of. So familiar, indeed, 

are the plant and its economical applications to the natives, that not 

only as a whole, but special of its parts or products have one or more 

Maori designations. Thus the plant as a whole is their " Karito," 

" Kopupungawha," " Kopu-pungawa" (or its contraction " Ngawha"), 

or " Koware." The root, which is eaten both raw and cooked by the 

natives,t is " Koreirei" or " Kouka."$ The down of the seeds is 

" Huue" (" lahune" of the East Cape and " Tahunga" of the Ngapuhi 

dialects ; and a sort of cake or bread made of the flower-poUen, as 

well as the pollen itself, are the " Pungapiinga" (East Cape dialect). 

Prior to, and in the earlier days of, the colonization of New Zealand, 

the huts (or " Whares") both of settlers and natives were, frequently 

at least, lined and thatched, if not sometimes also built, of " Raupo" 

stems ; but few of these huts or of the " Whares " built, lined, or 

* The Middle Island of Dr. Hooter's ' Flora N. Z.' and ' Handbook.' Vide 

my ' Contributions to New Zealand Botany,' p. 7. 

t Thomson's ' New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 157. 

J A term also applied to Cordyline indivisa. While with " Koreirei " may be 

compared the word " Korari," which pertains to a much more familiar indigenous 

plant, Phormium tenax. 

VOL. VII. [NOVEMBER 1, 18G9.] 2 A


roofed with Tree-fern stems and leaves, or with " Totara" bark, wood, 

or shingle, are now to be seen in the vicinity of European settlements. 

"Raupo" is sometimes associated with " Maori Heads"* {Carex vir- 

gata, var. secta), as one of the landmarks of the dangerous swamps of 

the interior, which have been described by Sullivan and other explorers 

(e. g. in the Matukituki district, about Lake Wanaka). 

Genus IX. Libertia. 

1, i. grandiflora, Sweet, (i. ixioides, var. mncrocarjpa, Fl. N. Z.). 

Church Hill, Dunedin ; Greeuisland coast-cliffs ; sand-dunes about 

mouth of the Kaikorai ; ranges between Kaikorai Hill and the Taeri 

Plains ; November, in flower, W. L. L. In its panicle and flower- 

stem the plant somewhat resembles our AUsma Plantago, L., a genus, 

and belonging to an Order, not represented in New Zealand. The 

capsule, stem, and leaves are the seat of a very minute, black, puncti- 

forra, parasitic SphcBria. riower-stem is 10-15 in. long. Leaf some- 

times 3 ft. long, and \-\ in. broad ; linear and grass-like, but rigid 

and coriaceous. I suspect L. grandiflora is properly but a form of 

L. ixioides—which is the " Turutu" of the South Island Maori (Lyall), 

a terai also applied to Dianella intermedia, Endl. (N. 0. Liliacecs)— 

having larger flower and fruit. The size of the latter is, however, an 

inconstant character, and an unsafe basis, therefore, per se, for classi- 

fication. 

What appears to be my Otago plant (white-flowered) has stood 

well, in open ground, several winters (1865-66-67) at Trinity, near 

Edinburgh; as yet, however, flowering sparingly (Gorrie and Anderson- 

Henry). 

Genus X. Drosera. 

1. D. binata, Lab. Swamps, Abbott's Creek, Chain Hills; Decem- 

ber, in flower, W. L. L. Leaf-petioles 2 in. long, or under. Leaf- 

lobes simple, with a tendency to fibrillose division at tips, \\ in. long, 

and -p_ in. broad. Glandular hairs of leaf mostly fringe its margins ; 

they are filiform and very long, sometimes \ in. in length. Scape 

5 in. high. Cyme 5-6-flowered. Sepals glabrous. AU parts of 

flower dry to a deep black. 

Genus XI. Salicounia. 

1. S. J«6?ica, Willd. Sand-dunes on the Greenisland coast; No- 

* Vide author's Paper on " Otago Glumacese," Trans. Botanical Society of 

Edinb., vol. ix. p. 74.


vember, young, W. L. L. Resembles and represents oiir S. herbacea, L. 

than which it is a somewhat larger plant. Joints about f in. long, 

under i 

Genus XII. Ac.*;na.* 

in. broad ; seldom 2-lobed at tip. 

Buchanan reports f a new species as occuning on the banks of the 

* Vide also ' Contributions to New Zealand Botany,' p. 57. 

+ " Sketch of the Botany of Otago " [appended to the Survey-Report of the 

South-Eastem districts, by the late Alexander Garvie, C.E., District Surveyor], 

by J. Buchanan, of the North-East Valley, Duuedin ; late of the Government 

Survey Department, and subsequently Botanist attached to the Geological 

Survey under Dr. Hector. 

This 'Sketch' or 'Report' was in MSS., was not published, though an 

official, and so far a pubhc document ; and perhaps was not drawn up for publication. 

I had an opportunity of perusing it, while in Otago in 1861, by 

favour of the officials of the Provincial Government Survey. It testified 

abundantly to its author's botanical acquirements, enthusiasm, and industry, 

and to the ingenuity of his views on the relations of plants to the soil on which 

they grow in Otago. But he appears to have accompanied the Survey simply 

as an amateur, with a view more to the acquisition of a general knowledge of 

the physiognomy of the Otago flora than to making specific collections or 

contributions to the said flora. He was apparently unprovided with proper 

apparatus and opportunities for the preservation, or even the collection, of 

plants. He tells us he was able only to pick up a few plants now and then in 

the hurry of liis " march." Few of them were examined while fresh ; he 

aimed in liis ' Sketch ' at giving only the generic names, and frequently not 

even them. He had evidently no facilities for reference to hei'baria or publications 

that might have assisted him in the determination of species. Hence 

he has committed, in his said unpiiblished report, errors of a kind that could 

scarcely, under the circumstances, have been avoided ; errors, however, 

•which, though quite permissible and pardonable, under these circumstances, 

prevent our attributing a full value to, or bestowing unhesitating confidence in, 

his observations as therein recorded. It is but fair to the reputation of an excellent 

NaturaHst, who has since done good service to the Botany of New Zealand, 

and whose good services have been commemorated by Dr. Hooker, by the attaching 

his name to not a few new species of plants, to explain that, so far as 

I am aware, his essay was the first that had been written on the Botany of 

the districts referred to ; that it was not published ; and that imder the whole 

circumstances of its production it is not fairly open to ordinary scientific 

criticism as a botanical "guide " or " Florida." 

The kind of errors into which Buchanan has fallen in the "Sketch" above 

alluded to, may be illustrated by the following citations :—He mentions a 

Jacksonia (N. O. Leguminosce) ; an Orchis ; species of Aster, Chrysantliemum, 

Hieracium, Leontodon, Sedum, etc. as occurring in Otago ; whereas the 

' Handbook of the Flora of New Zealand ' records none of these gmera as being 

also speaks of Laurels (N. O. Laurinew) 

represented at all in New Zealand ! He 

as growing in the bush on the Clutha Islets, and in other parts of the South- 

Eastern districts. According to the 'Handbook,' however (p. 238), the only 

representatives of the Order in New Zealand are the genera Tetranthera, Nesodaphne, 

and Cassytha, which are exclusively North Island trees ! 

Simdar errors have been necessarily committed under similar circumstances 

by other local botanists. Tims Martin describes Knightia excelsa, Br. (N. O. 

Proteacece), the " Honeysuckle-tree " of Wellington— the " Rewa-rewa " of the 

2 a2

332 DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW SPECIES OF VITIS. 

Clutha, ill the interior of the province ; probably what Dr. Hooker 

subsequently called in honour of that active local botanist A. Buchunani, 

though it may be A. adsceudens, Vahl, or A. micropht/lla, Hook, f., 

both of which also occur in the central lake districts of Otago. 

DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW SPECIES OF VITIS FROM 

CENTRAL AMERICA. 

By Berthold Seemann, Ph.D., F.L.S. 

Vitis (Cissus) CJiontalensis, sp. n., Seem. mss. ; glabra, ramulis an- 

gulatis; foliis 3-foliolatis, foliolis lateralibus oblique ovato-acuminatis, 

terminal! elliptico, omnibus dentatis ; 

cymis compositis, cymulis 10-12- 

floris, pedicellis calycibus coroUisque coccineis, petalis 4 triangulari- 

ovatis acuminatis (deciduis) ; staminibus 4, antheris ovatis (filamen- 

tisque flavis) ; ovario ovato-acuminato (viridi), stylo elongato (coc- 

cineo), stigmate punctiformi. 

This elegant climber is very abundant in the wooded mountains of 

Chontales, Republic of Nicaragua, Central America, where it covers 

rocks and trees, and by its graceful habit, lovely green foliage, and 

bright scarlet flowers (which appear about Christmas), forms a con- 

spicuous object of the scenery of that region. It was introduced by 

me, together with two other species of Vitis, and handed over to Mr. 

William Bull, of King's Road, Chelsea, 

Vitis (Cissus) Javalensis, n. sp., Seem. mss. ; ramulis teretibus striatis 

petiolisque glabris ; foliis simplicibus cordatis acuminatis mucronato- 

dentatis, supra pulchre pubesceute-velutinis viridibus, costa venisque 

purpurascentibus, subtus glabris purpurascentibus ; cymis compositis 

(coccineis) 

. 

This is another apparently undescribed Vitis from the Chontales 

mountains, where it grows about the Javali gold and silver Mine, but 

it is not so abuiulant as V. Chontalensis, nor does it flower so freely. 

The flowers, however, are of as bright or even brighter scarlet than 

Maoris— as occurring in Otago, where its wood is said to be commonly used 

lor fencing. The flower, he says, is like that of our Honeysuckle. But, according 

to the ' Handbook ' (p. 241), this is exclusively a North Island tree. 

If so, Martin is in error as to tlie genus and species. It does not however 

follow that the ' Handbook ' is right and he wrong ; for I have shown in the 

present paper at least one conspicuous instance of error—in citing a common 

New Zealand plant, the Typha angustifolia, as exclusively restricted in its 

distribution to the North Island ! ( Vide also Pimelea prostrata.)

ON VERNACULAR NAMES. 333 

those of V. Chontalensis, whilst the leaves are much more handsome, 

rendering it a highly ornamental plant. This species is also in Mr. 

Bull's possession. 

ON VERNACULAR NAMES. 

Mr. James Collins, in his " Notes on some new or little-known 

Vegetable Products " (* Pharmaceutical Journal,' August, 1869), in 

speaking of the East Indian " Nag-kassar," and after stating that the 

name is spelt in various ways, and applied to sevei'al distinct plants, 

says,— 

" This is a good illustration of the value to be set on native 

names. Though Dr. Seemann, who has paid great attention to ver- 

nacular nomenclature, observes justly,* *that the medical man, the 

chemist, or traveller, by simply asking the native name, would instantly 

have the scientific appellation, and that they are less fallible than 

generally supposed,'— yet it is not sufficient to find in any book, how- 

ever high an authority it may be, the native name appended to a sci- 

entific one, to identify them ; it is only a means to an end, not the 

end of inquiry itself. Native names are exceedingly valuable, but are 

frequently misapplied by traders and others, and they point out generic 

affinities rather than specific distinctions." 

Now, I am sorry that I cannot agree with Mr. Collins that " Nag- 

kassar " is a good illustration of the value to be set on native names ; 

on the contrary, I hold that it is a very bad one. It seems to be a 

general term for the products of certain plants yielding a yellowish 

dye ;t aîd it would be just as reasonable to say that our collective 

term " Corn " is a proof of the slight value to be attached to 

vernacular names of plants, because it embraces the products of 

cereals belonging to widely separated genera. It is certainly not a 

characteristic of genuine native names that they have a collective 

meaning, or, as Mr. Collins puts it, " point out generic affinities rather 

than specific distinctions." On the contrary, any one who will take 

the trouble to examine lists of names used by unscientific peoples or 

* ' Popular Nomenclature of the American Flora.' Hanover. 1851. 

(Preface.) 

t Sauerwein, in ' Bonplandia.' 1856, p. 300. Article " Nag-kassar."

334 ON VERNACULAR NAME3. 

nations, will find proper names for almost every plant, and an almost, 

or even an entire absence of such generic or collective names as would 

be welcomed by the botanist,—and for this simple reason, that such 

generic terms can only spring up amongst people after they have com- 

menced to generalize, and must not be sought for Avhere philosophical 

thought has not yet penetrated. This I maintain, with a collection of 

no less than 30,000 vernacular names by my side,—all alphabetically 

arranged. 

Mr. Collins, in quoting certain parts of the preface of my 'Nomencla- 

ture of the American Flora,' paraphrases them in such a way (though 

putting them between marks of quotation) that I am made to say very 

different things to what I actually did say. I never hinted that a 

vernacular name could possibly be " the end of inquiry itself." I 

stated merely : "A well-arranged synopsis of the vernacular with the 

corresponding scientific names would prove highly useful. . . . The 

medical man, the chemist, the traveller [the merchant], in fine, any one 

coming in contact with the vegetable kingdom, would be equally 

benefited. By simply asking the native name, they would instantly 

have the scientific appellation, the Icey to further inquiries. Occasional 

mistakes may indeed occur, but these are the exception, not the rule." 

I regret, with Mr. Collins, that vernacular names are frequently 

misapplied by traders and others, though, in proportion, probably not 

more so than scientific ones. Much that is at present unsatisfactory 

about them would be set aside if we had a code of laws for them 

as we now have, thanks to the illustrious Alph. de Candolle, for our 

scientific nomenclature. But until then there will be much miscon- 

ception and slovenly work. To travel no further, we have as yet not 

even a complete collection of the popular names of the British Flora, 

the so-called English book-names being often quite worthless render- 

ings of scientific names, not such as are used by the people ; 

and Mr. 

Britten and friend* will do good service if they collect them from the 

lips of the people. 

* The two have issued the following advertisement : 

" Local Names.—It is desired to collect as many as possible of tiie local 

names of British plants ; and the assistance is requested of all who take an 

interest in the subject, or who may have the opportunity of ascertaining and 

recording them. Any lists sent to Mr. James Britten, Eoyal Herbarium, Kew, 

W., or to Mr. Robert Holland, Mobberley, Knutsford, will be thankfully received 

and acknowledged." 

—

ON VERNACULAK NAMES. 335 

Mr. Collins, whose honest labours in the little-cultivated field of 

economic botany are worthy of all encouragement, should be the last 

to depreciate the value of popular names. A closer study than he 

has made of them will doubtless convince him that they are of greater 

service to the working botanist than he seems at present inclined to 

concede. Besides the uses pointed out in my preface, above quoted, 

they furnish important data for the history of plants, and, in many 

cases, they serve as a guide to their native land, or the countiy where 

their uses were first discovered. We may search ancient records for 

the place whence the Sugar-cane was derived ; no hints are conveyed ; 

but in looking to the etymology of the name we recognize in " Sugar, 

Azucar, Zucker, Saccharum," only so many corruptions of a Sanskrit 

root, qarkara, diiecting our ideas into a quite new channel of inquiry, 

transporting us from the banks of the Thames, the Po, or the Khine, 

to the sacred waters of the Ganges ; fi*om the nineteenth centuiy to 

the remotest period of Indian history. 

Many names are so euphonious, and constructed so cosmopolitically, 

—if that expression be admissible,—that they are readily received into 

different languages. Hence the extensive range which some enjoy, 

and their numerous modifications. From an opposite character a 

great, or rather the greater number, is very local. Such names as 

Coatzontecoxochitl will never pass beyond the lips of the nation that 

invented them ; their very nature is opposed to it. Yet we must not 

condemn them on that account. However barbarous they may appear 

to those unacquainted with the language to which they belong, they 

assume a more favourable aspect in the eyes of the initiated, and, it is 

hardly necessary to add, are pronounced by them with as much ease 

as we do those belonging to our own native tongue. 

How many vernacular names are formed is illustrated when a people 

exchange one country for another. The immigrant aiTives at his new 

home full of high expectation ; he not only hopes to have left behind 

all the discomforts of bis native land, but also trusts to meet again 

objects which from childhood have been dear to him. Everything is 

examined,—the stones, the plants, the animals. The trees under the 

shade of which he used to sit, the fruits which in his bovish davs he 

gathered are sought for. At last they are found. But lo ! on 

closer 

examination they turn out to be similar, but uot identical. He is dis- 

appointed, and his disappointment is for ever recorded in such names

336 NOTE ON ABfiUS CANTONIENSIS. 

as bear the prefixes of hog's, devil's, dog's, and others indicative of 

inferiority or contempt. But man is not permanently discouraged by 

disappointment. Certain substances are necessary to him, and a closer 

investigation is set on foot. The Spaniard settling in South America 

could not dispense with his Eoble (Oak). In vain, however, did he 

search the forests ; in the hot low lands it was nowhere to be found. A 

durable wood was required ; experiments were made, and, ultimately, 

substitutes fixed upon to which the old name was transferred, though 

these belonged to very different species, genera, and even Natural 

Orders than does the Oak of his native country. 

The meaning of vernacular names is not always clear. Many have 

been in use from time immemorial, and their origin is lost in the mist 

in which the early annals of our race are shrouded. Of others, how- 

ever, belonging to a more modern formation, the sense is apparent, and 

we cannot, in many instances, sufficiently admire how^ well those names 

are adapted to the plants that bear them, and how well the most pro- 

minent features, the most striking peculiarities have been expressed. 

Daisy, the day's eye,—how appropriate for a flower only open between 

the sun's rising and setting ! Macpalxochitlquahuitl, the Handflower- 

tree,—how characteristic of the plant, how evident to every beholder 

Strawberry ! how well this indicates the now prevailing practice of 

English gardeners laying straw under the berry in order to bring it to 

perfection, and prevent it from touching the earth, which, without that 

precaution, it natmâlly does, and to which it owes its German name 

Erdbeere ; making us almost forget that, in this instance, " straw " 

has nothing to do with the practice alluded to, but is an obsolete past 

participle of " to strew," in allusion to the habit of the plant. 

NOTE 01^ ABEUS CANTONIENSIS. 

By H. E, Hance, Ph.D., etc. 

B. Seemann. 

The possession of good fruiting specimens of this species, detected 

for the first time in Danes' Island, Wharapoa, by one of my sons, 

enables me to complete its description, thus :— " Leguminibus ob- 

longis compressis apice uncinatis v. apiculatis, seminibus istbmis cel- 

lulosis separatis oblongis compressis olivaceo fuscoque marmoratis, 

— !

KOTE SUR LA FA.MILLE DES EQUISETACEES. 337 

strophiola conspicua cerina medio perforata, marginibus iu annulum ob- 

longum funiculum brunneum spiniformem legumini arete adhjerentem 

amplectantem elevatis." 

In this plant the racemes are frequently so abbreviated that the 

purplish-pink flowers arise at the same level from the clavate or globu- 

lar node-like termination of the branch, a mode of inflorescence precisely 

similar, though on a smaller scale, to that of Canavalia. When 

this character and that of the presence of stipella;, before indicated by 

me, are taken into consideration, it will, I think, be admitted that 

Ahrus would be better removed from Viciece, where Mr. Bentham has 

placed it in the ' Genera,' to Phaseolece, with which it was associated by 

De Candolle, and Wight and Ai'nott. A. Cantoniensis diifers from its 

congeners by the conspicuously strophiolate seeds ; but that this cha- 

racter is only of secondary importance, may be inferred from the fact that 

Rhynchosia, another Phaseoleous genus, includes species some of which 

have seeds with a caruncula, whilst others are destitute of that appen- 

dage. 

•O'- 

AIRA ULIGINOSA, WeiU. 

Erratum, p. 281.—By an awkward inadvertence on my part, the 

name of Aira Jlexuosa was written for the head-title of my communica- 

tion about A. uUginosa. As the two specific names are rightly applied 

in the general text, and even the right authority given for the name in 

the head-title {Weihe, not Linn.), a botanical reader will easily infer 

that "Jtexuom " was simply an error of the pen. 

Hewett C. Watson. 

NEW BRITISH PLANT. 

Hleracium stoloniflorum, Waldst. et Kit., has been found by Pro- 

fessor Balfour and Mr. J. Sadler growing in great profusion on the 

Grantou Railway banks, on Saturday, 16th October, 1869. 

NOTE SUR LA FAMILLE DES EQUISETACEES. 

Par M. Eugene Coemans. 

1. Les genres Calamites, Amivlaria et Sphenophyllum possedent, 

tous trois, non-seulement des minces, mais aussi de grosses branches 

ou tiges.

338 NOTE SUE LA FAMILLE DES EQXJISETACEES. 

3. Ces genres avaient, tous trois, un wood-cylinder interieur, que 

nous confoudons sous le nom de^Calamites, et une ecorce d'un pareu- 

chyrae laclie et perissable. 

3. Cette ecorce etait exterieurement lisse dans les genres Calamites 

et Annularia, du moins sur les grosses tiges ou branches. Pour les 

Sphenophyllum nous manquons d'observations bien sures. 

4. Cette ecorce etait extremement fine et transparente dans le g. 

Annularia. On la trouve parfois autour des tiges A^ Jnnularia radiata 

corame une mince pellicule gazeuse, portant des traces de cellules qui 

rappellent celles des tiges de Sparganium et d'autres plantes aqua- 

tiques. 

5. Les tiges nommees Calamodendron appartiennent certainement a 

un de ces trois genres. Mais auquel des trois ? Ces trois genres se 

rencontrent dans les localites ou on a trouve les Calamodendron. A 

leur forme on dirait que ce sent des rhizomes. Comme nous avons 

parmi les Ecpiiseturd vivaiits des especes qui ont le rhizome solide, il se 

pent qu'il y ait eu a I'epoque houillere des Calamites oifrant dans 

leui's rhizomes une structure difFerente de celle de leurs tiges. 

6. Les racines des Calamites et des Annularia se ressemblent com- 

pletement ; elles rappellent celles des Arundo Phragmitis, et autres 

plantes aquatiques. Les Calamites et les Annularia fournissent 

d'assez longs rhizomes avec des racines rayonnant de chaque nceud. 

Je n'ai pas encore vu de tiges de Sphenophyllum avec racines, 

7. Les Calamites cmettaient des stolons a angle droit avec le rhi- 

zome. J'en ai un de ces stolons d'un jard de long et sans noeuds. 

8. II n'est pas prouve que les Calamites n'avaient pas sur leurs rhi- 

zomes des feuilles modifiees ou des especes de gaines. Ces organes 

devaient tenir a I'ecorce qui a presque toujours disparu. On trouve 

raeme des fragments d'ecorce de Calamites avec des feuilles avortees et 

paraissant parfois soudces a la base, 

Le g. Hippurites a cte fonne pour de pareils fragments. Trouve en 

Belgique et en AUemagne. 

9. Le genre Cyclocladia ne se rapporte certainement qu'a des frag- 

ments de rhizomes, pourvus d'ecorce et portant des cicatrices de 

grosses racines. 

10. Le genre Hnttonia n'existe pas ; on a donne ce riora a de jeunes 

vigoureuses pousses de Calamites ou bien a de robustcs epis scapi- 

formes.

NOTE SUR LA FAMILLE DES EftUISETACEES. 339 

11. 11 y avait chez les Calamites des tiges dimorphes, ainsi la plu- 

part des Huttonia sont des scapi fructiferi. 

12. II y avait chez les Calamites des ochreoles {ocJireola), qui ont 

ete decrits comme des games d'Eqnisetites. J'ai vu au Musce de Paris 

un Amndaria avee una ochreole a lobes arrondis. 

13. Le genre Eqiiisetites n'existe pas; tout ce qui a ete decrit comme 

E. priscus, E. infundibuliformis, E. liugulatHS, E. dnb'ms, se rapporte 

a diifererites parties de Calamites, suiiout a des Calamites garuis de 

leur ecorce ou d'ocbreoles. 

14. Le Calaviosyrix Invicthnviensis n'a rien de commun avee les 

Calamites, ce n'est qu'une tige de Sigillaria avee des cicatrices de ra- 

cines adventives. 

15. Le genre Phyllotheca, Brong., a ete tres-mal decrit par les 

auteurs ; c'est une vraie Equisetacee avee les gaines des Equisetum et 

les feuilles des Calamites. 11 foruie une niagnifique transition du 

genre antique au genre moderne. 

16. Les tiges feuiUues des Calamites et des Annularia sont souvent 

tres-difEciles a distinguer 

Calamites, foliis l-nerviis. 

: 

Annularia, foliis 1-3-nerviis, nervis parallelibus. 

Sphenophyllum, foliis multinerviis, nervis dichotomis divergenti- 

. bus. 

N.B. \JAn. longifolia montre souvent des feuilles a trois nerfs tres- 

distinctes. 

17. Les Calamites, les Annularia, et les Sphenophyllum, etaient des 

Equisetacees. J'ai des tiges fructiferes de ces trois genres. Tous 

portaient des clypeoles garuis de sporanges, alternants avee des verti- 

cilles de feuilles plus ou moins modifiees. 

18. Chez les Calamites il y a des strobili proprement dits, mais 

chez les Aiumlaria, et les Sphenophyllum, les clypeoles se trouvent par- 

fois a I'aisselle des feuilles des rameaxu superieurs. Les Equisetacees 

de I'epoque houilltre sont done comme les Lycopodiacees, ou les spo- 

ranges sont places en epis ou simplement a I'aisseile des feuilles le long 

de la tige. 

19. Le Staphyllopteris alata, Lesquereux, du Male's Coal-bank, 

dans I'Arkansas, n'est qu'une tige sporangifere du Sphenophyllum 

sajcifragcrfolium, privee de feuilles. 

20. Dans les Calamites et les Annularia les feuilles des epis se re- 

fractent parfois dans les epis mures.

340 EPILOBIUM OBSCURUM IN ORKNEY OE SHETLAND. 

21. Les sporanges s'ouvraient a leur face intenie, tournee vers le 

pedicelle du clypeole, comrae daijs les Equisetum vivants. 

22. Chez les Splienophyllum le nombre de sporanges attaches a un 

merae clypeole varie dans la meme espece. J'ai trouve des clypcoles 

aplatis portant 4, 5 et 6 sporanges. 

23. Les sporanges etaient attaches, chez les Sphenophyllum, au bord 

du clypeole, comme dans les Equisetum vivants. 

24. Chez les Calamites, les Jnnularia et les Sphenophyllum, le 

nombre de feuilles et de stries de la tige varient dans la meme espece, 

comme chez les Equisetnm vivants. 

25. On trouve chez les Calamites differentes formes d'epis. 

26. Je ne puis distinguer les epis isoles de Calamites, ^ Annularia, 

et de SpjJienophyllum, cependant les epis A'Annularia longifolia se re- 

connaissent a leurs gros sporanges ai-rondis. 

27. Ordo EQUISETACEiE. 

1. Subordo, Calamiteee. 

1. g. Calamites. 

2, g. Aunularia. 

8. g. Sphenophyllum. 

4. g. Phyllotheca. 

2. Subordo, Equisetese. 

1. g. Equisetum. 

28. Je crois que les Calamites, les Annularia et les Sphenophyllum 

etaient des plantes aquatiques ou de marals. 

1. L'ecorce des Annularia indique une plante aquatique. 

2. Les Calamites et les Annularia out parfois des feuilles et des 

racines au meme noeud. 

3. Chez les Sphenophyllum on volt les feuilles se diviser et devenir 

capillaires au has des tiges, comme chez les Batrachium. 

—\ 

EPILOBIVM OBSCURUM, Schreb., IN OEKNEY OR 

SHETLAND. 

In looking over a collection of plants made this summer in Orkney 

and Shetland by the Rev. C. L. Acland, I noticed specimens of Epilo- 

bium obscuruni, Schreb., which is not included in Mr. Watson's ' Flo- 

rula Orcadensis ' (unless Niell's E. tetroxjonum be this plant), or in

MEMORANDA. 341 

Mr. Ralph Tate's ' Flora of the Shetland Isles.' Mr. Acland believes 

that it was gathered in the latter islands, and that Euphrada Odontites, 

L., of which there were specimens, was also collected there; this is 

not included in Mr, Tate's paper. As E. obscurum has not been re- 

corded from either group, it seems worth making a note of. 

Royal Merbarium, Kew, W. 

MEMORANDA. 

James Beitten. 

Deied FioWEHS.—We have been favoured by Mrs. Scrivenor, of Alvingham 

Kectory, Louth, Lincolnshire, with the sight of a group of flowers in which the 

colours have been exquisitely kept ; and we should be glad to receive some 

dried HeUotropes, Forget-me-nots, and other Boraginea, in which the colour 

is preserved with difficulty, as we do not find any of these plants amongst the 

group. As the process by wliich Mrs. Scrivenor has achieved her object may 

interest some of our readers, we subjoin a detailed description of it :— "A great 

mistake usually made by those wlio attempt drying flowers is to look upon 

weight and pressure as an essential part of the process. This is the chief Cause 

of failure. To keep the colour in a flower, we should not take all the pains we 

can to squeeze out the juices in which that colour resides. All our efi'orts, 

then, must be given to retain the colour by drying up thejuices, and no more 

pressure must be used than will be required to heep thefiower flat. The flowers 

for drying must be free from all damp and dew. If it is possible, they should 

have had not less than seven or eight hours' sun upon them. Cut those only 

which have just arrived at the full perfection of their bloom ; 

if at all past it, 

and beginning to fade, the drying pi'ocess will fail to preserve their colour. 

Do not hold them when cut in your hands, but throw them as they are gathered 

into a large handkerchief lightly, so that they may not press one upon 

another. If the flowers are at all bruised or broken, it would be best to discard 

them at once, as tlie juice would escape through the injured part. When 

you have gathered your flowers, take them from their foliage, leaving the stalk 

hght a candle, and hold the flower- 

to each flower from one to two inches long ; 

stalks one by one in the flame, until about a quarter of an inch is quite burnt 

this prevents the juice from escaping. Some flowers of a very bright red, purple, 

or magenta hue,—such as some of the Cinerarias, Pyretlirums, and those of a 

fleshy texture, sucli as the Dielytria,—require to have their stalks dipped from 

ten to twenty minutes in a weak solution of water and muriate of lime in crys- 

tals before burning ; while very fleshy green leaves should have their stalks 

first put in a solution of saltpetre and water. Provide yourself with some 

blotting-pads. The size sold for 4c^. or Qd. per quire will be found most con- 

;

342 MEMORANDA. 

venient; and several quires of thin white blotting-paper. We will suppose wc 

are going to dry Scarlet Geraniums, Periwinkles, single Magenta Stocks, and 

Laburnums, as they are some of the flowers most liable to change colour. 

Take your blotting-pad, raise the whole of the blotting-paper from the cover 

on each side. For the Geraniums, Periwinkles, and Stocks, take each bloom 

out singly, and, having burned the stalks as directed, bore a number of holes in 

one of the thicknesses of blotting-paper suiBciently .large to admit the calyces 

of the flowers, and so far apart that, when the flowers are arranged, no on e 

bloom shall touch another ; pass the stalk and calyx of each flower through 

the pad, so that the petals of the flower shall rest flat upon the surface of the 

blotting-paper, and no part of them be pressed against the calyx. Arrange 

each truss of Laburnum (having passed its stalk through the pad) in such a 

manner that the blooms shall be distinct upon the paper ; now lay the other 

thickness of blotting-paper over the petals, and, holding the two pads together, 

turn them over on one of the covers. Gently press down the stalks and 

calyces, which will now be uppermost, and shut down the other cover upon 

them ; tie round and round both opposite edges of the pad with cotton, taking 

care to make all the edges meet perfectly. Prepare as many pads as you re- 

quire in this manner ; then prop them up at about a yard's distance from a 

bright fire, or put them in a very gentle oven. Wlien one side of the pad is 

80 hot that you can just bear your hand upon it, turn the other side to the 

heat, and repeat the process for an hour. Then open the pads, and examin e 

the flowers ; if they feel like smooth paper to the touch, they are sufiiciently 

dried, but, if tliey have still any feshy feeling about them, the pads must be 

reclosed, and the exposure to heat continued ; bxit after the hour they must 

be carefully watched, the pads being frequently unclosed for the purpose of 

examination, as a very little too muck heat will cause the flowers to scorch and 

turn brown. Some flowers will, of course, take longer drying than others even 

of the same kind ; so that it is impossible to lay down any exact rules as to 

the time required ; but no flower will need more than three hours. Great 

care must be taken in removing the flowers from the pad, as the process of dry- 

ing renders them exceedingly brittle. The best method is gently to enlarge 

the holes on the side on which the stalks are, and, having seen that the stalks 

and calyces are free, to take hold of the petals on the otlier side between a small 

ivory folder and one finger, and draw the flowers out ; put them away imme- 

diately between sheets of white writing-paper, taking care not to lay one flower 

over another. Eemove the top sheet of blotting-paper from each side before 

using the pad again. Double flowers, such as Stocks, small Roses, Narcissus, 

etc., must have layers of cotton-wool or small pieces of blotting-paper placed 

between the petals, after they have been arranged in the blotting-pads, and be- 

fore they are subjected to any heat or pressure. Calceolarias must have cottonwool 

or very fine sand very carefully put inside each flower ; tlie flower being 

just sufficiently filled to retain its shape without any fear of its bursting. The 

Fuchsia should have a part of its calyx passed through the paper, with a little 

cotton-wool put between the flower and tiie surface of the paper, and also 

between the corolla and sepals, so as to keep tlie form of the flower as much


as possible. Blue flowers in general do not require heat ; jou may put them 

between sheets of plain white blotting-paper, five or six sheets on each side, 

passing the stalks and calyces, as directed above, tlirough holes made in one of 

the thicknesses, and subject them to just sufScient pressure to keep the flower 

from wrinkling. In the same manner, Ferns, white, and some variegated -leaved 

plants, such as Centaurea, Begonias, and Caladiums, may be treated. The 

fancy-leaved Geraniums require heat ; but these, as well as other plants with 

variegated foliage produced by high cultivation, will often fail to repay the most 

careful treatment, as they are very apt to lose their distinctive markings under 

the di-ying process. For mounting the flowers you require a sheet of white 

cardboai'd, a pair of scissors or a penknife, gum, and a small camel-hair pencil. 

The gum must be vei-y strong, and prepared as follows :—Take three oimces of 

gum ai-abic ; pour upon it just sufficient hot water to dissolve it ; then add a 

tablespoonfid of spirits of wine. The gi-eatest care and patience is required in 

the manipulation of the flowers ; 

they must be taken up between the blade of 

your penknife and one finger. It is well to arrange them first on the card- 

board without fastening them, and, having arrived at a satisfactory effect, to 

fix the arrangement in your own mind ; then remove the flowers and proceed 

to buQd up your design, gumming the flowers one by one in the position you 

have assigned them. The smallest dab of gum in the middle of the back of the 

flower or leaf is sufficient to hold it in its place, A cardboard mount, round 

or oval, must now be placed on the cardboard on which the group is fixed, and 

the whole covered with a sheet of glass, and fastened round the edges so as to 

exclude the air. These groups may be framed as pictures, or mounted as fire- 

screens and table-tops. If hung up as a picture, it must be on a wall looking 

north ; and, however they are used, care must be taken that the sun's rays 

shall not rest upou them. They must also be kept free fi'om damp." 

COKRESPONDENCE. 

On a Poisoning Solution for Botanical Specimens. 

Great differences exist in the strength of the poisoning solutions for herbarium 

specimens recommended in the various botanical text-books commonly 

in use by students. Thus, Desvaus and De Candolle advised spirits of wine 

wholly, Lindley the same, half saturated with corrosive subHmate, wliich latter 

proportion could scarcely be much less than a seventh or eighth of the weight 

of the spii'it ; Germain de Saint-Pierre directs the proportions to be 15 grammes 

of sublimate to the Htre of spirit (nr 231-5103 grs. troy to 1'7608 imp. pints) 

Duchartre, a solution of double this strength ; 

whilst Balfour recommends half 

a drachm of sublimate to each ounce of camphorated spirit or naphtha. 

Dried plants are unusually subject to the attacks of insects in southern 

China, especially diu-ing the south-west monsoon, when the temperature is 

;

344 

high, and the air frequently surcharged witli moisture. Duphcates and other 

unpoisoned specimens then require tlie greatest attention, and, unless carefully 

protected from access to the air, become moulded, and too frequently overrun 

and in a week or two partially devoured by insects. 

It may not be unacceptable to working botanists to have a recipe which, 

under these unfavourable conditions, I am accustomed to use in my own herbarium 

; and wliich, after nearly twenty years' experience, I can testify to as 

being entirely etBcacious in preserving all plants to which it is thoroughly 

applied from the incursions of their troublesome little enemies. It is as 

follows : 

— 

Rectified spirit . . .16 fluid ounces. 

Corrosive sublimate . 6 drachms. 

Creasote 40 drops. 

Let the mixture stand, agitating occasionally, until the sublimate is dissolved 

and, when required for use, dilute with an equal volume of hoUands, or, if more 

convenient, proof spirit. 


H. F. Hance, Ph.D. 

Professor Asa Gray is returning early this month to his native country, after 

a tour in Europe. 

Dr. Hooker, we hear, is actively at work in preparing a new British Flora. 

From Professor Behn we have a pamphlet, written in reply to some remai'ks 

of Dr. Kiichenmeister, on the proposed reforms of the ancient Imperial German 

L. C. Academy Naturae Curiosorum. There are two diametrically opposed 

views held about this matter. The one party hold that only such men as liave 

already won tlieir laurels elsewhere should be admitted into the Academy, the 

other think it is the special business of the Academy to search out promising 

young men for admission, and thus give them an opportunity of bringing forward 

tlie result of tlieii- labours. The latter have certainly the ancient charter 

on their side. There is much to be said on both sides of the question. It may 

appear a greater lionour to be admitted into a scientific body when only 

long-established reputation is a passport for admission, but few men will ap- 

preciate it to its full extent>fter they have passed through all the drudgery 

without the support of a patronizing corporation, and still fewer of that class 

will regard it as a fresh spur to exertion. On the other liand, by admitting 

promising, untried men, great mistakes may be made. Humboldt acted on the 

latter principle : he mainly looked to the rising scientific generation, and to 

that ho gave his principal support. He had the keenness to single out Liebig 

when the" latter, perfectly unknown to fame, was reading a short paper, and he 

was equally fortunate in many others whom he countenanced, but he is ad- 

mitted tohave fallen also into some sad mistakes.

W.G.Smith.del.etlith. 

Tab. 98. 

Vincent BrooksI)ay& Son. Imp

Tcub. 99. 

.1 T T Tj.1^ ViTir.f»nt Br ooks D avJ^ Son Imp 

.

345 

PEZIZA (DISCINA) MACROCALYX, Riess ; A NEW 

BRITISH FUNGUS. 

13y Worthington G. Sjhith, Esq., F.L.S. 

(Plates XCVIII. and XCIX.) 

This fine Peziza was found by my friend Mr. J. Aubrey Clark, of 

Street, Somerset, in March of the present year. It grew in a Fir 

wood at Street in some plenty, and the specimens were half buried in 

the ground. I am indebted to Mr. C. E. Broome for the name and 

a reference to Fresenius' ' Beitrage,' p. 75, where it is described and 

indifferently figured in outline. The following particulars, freely trans- 

lated from the German, exactly accord with the Street plants. 

" This fungus is found underground in forests of Fir-trees singly, or 

from two to five together ; in its progressive development it rises 

about one-half out of the ground. At first it is closed, but later it 

splits star-like from the top downwards to the middle of its cups, or 

sometimes even further down still, into from seven to ten more or less 

pointed strips. The exterior is a dirty pale blue, clothed with a thin 

white transient fur, and at the base of the cup is a short stem. In 

large-sized specimens the cup itself reaches a height of three inches, 

with a similar breadth, deeply cup-shaped with the rim at length bent 

outwards. Its substance consists of a soft, spongy tissue, composed 

of very large cells, elongated on the outside, and growing more and 

more globular towards the inner side, attaining a thickness of one line. 

The inside of the cup is covered by the hymenium of at first a pale, 

and later a dark violet, formed of tubular, truncated asci, each contain- 

ing eight elliptical sporidia one quarter of a millimetre long, and of 

branched, articulated paraphyses of the same length : each sporidium 

containing one or two drops of oil. This Peziza, to judge from the 

figure in Greville's ' Scottish Cryptogamic Flora,' is closely related to 

P. vesiculosa, and might even be taken for a variety of that species 

were it not for several reasons against it. Besides its different place 

of growth, it dilfers especially in the colom- of the hymenium, and the 

peculiar shape of the paraphyses." 

It was originally my intention to have written a paper for the 

' Jom-nal of Botany ' on abnormal growth of Fungi, and their bearing 

VOL. VII. [DECEMBER 1, 18G9.] 2 B

346 WHAT IS THE TIIAMES-SIDE BRASSICA ? 

on the structure and morphology of Agaricus and Boletus ; and Plate 

XCIX. was to have been one of ,a series in illustration of the subject, 

but as the other subjects (some of them of a diagrammatic nature) 

are not lithographed, I must content myself by merely explaining at 

the end of this paper the first figures here published. 

The following rare species of Ascomycetes Fungi have passed under 

my observation during the present year : 

Peziza (Discina) onotica, P.—Ringwood, Hants. The Eev. W. H. 

Lucas. 

P. (Saixoscypha) radiculata.—In great abundance on a hedgebank 

near my own residence. The vivid yellow colour of this species gave 

the bank the appearance of being covered with yellow crocuses. 

P. (Sarcoscyplia) lanuginosa. Bull.—This recent addition to our 

flora came up in several places under cedars in March and April last, 

notably at Guy's Cliif, Warwick, and in the neighbourhood of Ware, 

Herts. It was, however, totally absent from its original station at 

Fetcham Park. 

Morcliella crassipes, Pers.—I found several specimens of this gigan- 

tic morel in the spring, in the woods about Little Munden, Herts. 

Explanation of Plate XCVIII.— Figs. 1, 2, 3, Peziza (DiscinaJ macrocalyx, 

Riess ; 4, section of ditto ; 5, asci and paraphyses, X 300 diam. 

Explanation of Plate XCIX.—Fig. 1, Russula alutacea, Fr. ; 2, R. furcata, 

Fr. ; 3, Agaricus fOmphaliaJ muralis, Sow. ; 4, Marasmius oreades, Fr. 

; 6, Russula heterophylla, Fr. ; 7, Boletus edulis, Bull. 

5, {Collybia ?) 

WHAT IS THE THAMES-SIDE BRASSICA? 

— 

By Hewett C. Watson, Esq. 

A species of Brassica occurs in many places along the Thames, on 

both sides of the river, and on its intervening islets, where it separates 

the counties of SuiTcy and Middlesex. The plant may be held tho- 

roughly established there, if not an aboriginal native, extending its 

occupancy from the immediate margins and osier-grounds of the river 

to the ditch-sides and hedgebanks of the adjacent fields. Botanists 

are not agreed on the specific name which this plant ought to bear, 

sevei'al of them having entirely mistaken the species itself, and thus 

having misapplied to the plant of the Tlianies side the name belonging 

to a different species, to one wliich is most likely neither native nor well- 

;

WHAT IS THE THAMES-SIDE BRASSICaV 347 

establisbed in Bi-itain, and whicli has never been found in Surrey by 

me, although a resident for thirty years and upwards. 

In the original ' Botanist's Guide ' of 1805 Mr. Borrer wrote of the 

plant thus :— " Brassica Napus ? What appears a remarkable va- 

riety of tliis species, with erect siliquse and bristly leafstalks, grows 

about the Thames at Hampton and Kew." Thirty years later, in the 

' New Botanist's Guide,' we find the plant reported by Mr. Winch 

under a different name, thus : — 

" Brasuca campastris. By the Thames, 

near Hampton, abundantly, 1839." In tlie Supplement to the latter 

work, dated 1837, the same plant was reported on my own observa- 

tion thus :— " Brassica campestris. A plant presumed to be this 

species, grows in plenty on the sides of the Thames for several miles, 

both above and below Dittoii." This description would include the 

locality of " Hampton," previously recorded by the two older botanists 

named. I turn now to records of recent date. 

The ' Flora of Surrey ' is dated in 1863 ; being a posthumous work, 

edited from materials left' by Mr. J. D. Salmon, and saved to science 

through tjie judicious liberality of Mr. W. V\ . Saunders. Doubtless 

the editor would feel unwilling to alter the notes of localities which 

had been collected by Mr. Salmon, unless on the clearest evidence of 

errors. Hence, probably, the confusing inconsistency in the Flora 

named, where this one Thames-side Brassica comes twice, as if two 

different species, and under two different specific names. It is theie 

entered secondly as Napus, on the authority of Mr. J. T. Syme and 

Mr. J. S. Mill, having been also given firstly as campestris from my 

own notes to the editor. 

In 1869 we have the ' Flora of Middlesex,' by Trimeu and Dyer, a 

work highly creditable to its authors. Unfortunately, in their attempt 

to set us right about this plant, they have adopted the error and re- 

jected the truth. They treat the species as certainly i\'«/'2« ; correct 

the supposed blunder of Winch in calling it campestris ; ignore my own 

record of this latter plant ia the Supplement above quoted ; and 

declare that they have not observed B. campestris in Middlesex. 

As the plan of their Flora does not include descriptions, but gives only 

the names of species, and as its authors state no reason for their own 

reference of the plant in question to Napus instead of campestris, we 

must seek elsewhere for a test of their coiTectness or otherwise in thus 

deciding. 

O T, 9

348 WHAT IS THE THAMES-SIDE BRASSICA ? 

Apparently, there is the excellent authority of Mr. Syme for the 

name which is adopted in the ' piora of Middlesex ;' but Mr. J. T. 

Syme's use of the name is quoted from a record in the ' Phytologist 

so long back as 1852. I recognize in the present Mr. Boswell-Syme, 

of 'English Botany,' third edition, our best living authority for the 

nomenclature and description of British plants. And I propose here 

to show, in reliance on his own words, that lie could not possibly now 

refer the Thames-side plant to Napus, although he may erroneously 

have done so in 1853, through not then having become familiar with 

it in its early growth,—say, between August and April. In the third 

edition of ' English Botany,' in which the descriptions of our Britisii 

plants are so ably re-written by its editor, we find an aggregate Bras- 

slca folymorplia subdivided into three segregates or subspecies, which 

are thus distinguished by their diagnostic characters and places of 

growth :— 

(1.) Brassica Napus.—Leaves all glaucous and glabrous. Elowers 

remaining till the corymb expands into a short raceme.—A weed in 

cultivated ground, or more frequently the remains of a field of Rape- 

or Cole-seed. 

(2.) Brassica campestris.— Leaves all glaucous, the radical ones 

hispid, the rest glabrous. Flowers falling off before the corymb 

lengthens into a raceme.—A weed in cultivated ground, and by the 

banks of rivers and ditches. "Swedish Turnip." 

(3.) Brassica Rapa.—Radical leaves green not glaucous, hispid 

stem leaves glaucous and glabrous. Elowers falling off before the 

corymb lengthens into a raceme.—A straggler in cultivated ground, 

usually the remains of a field of Turnips. " The Turnip." 

The editor remarks on the difficulty of distinguishing his third sub- 

species from the other two, and he states that B. campestris is the 

only one which can be considered at all " well established " in this 

country. Yet, if the characters assigned to the first subspecies are 

correct, it should be easy to show that the Thames-side plant cannot 

be Napus, whatever else it may be pronounced. Its radical leaves are 

neither glaucous nor glabrous, being dark grass-green and much his- 

pid ; and the petals fall early, leaving the elongated raceme formed of 

young pods, not of flowers. How thus can it be Napus? Surely 

not because it wants all the three distinctive characters attributed to 

Napus ! Moreover, it is not simply " a weed in cultivated ground," 

';

WHAT IS THE THAMES-SIDE BRASSICA ? 349 

or only the remains of a field of Eape- or Cole-seed," for it has been 

many years " well established .... by the banks of rivers and 

ditches." 

But is the specific name campeslris any more con-ect than the one 

here discarded ? This question can hardly be answered off-hand in 

the affirmative, because it involves a decision whether the name of 

campedris applies to the wild state of the Rape or the Swede or the 

Turnip. It is evident that ]\ii'. Boswell-Syrae has described the 

Swede for Brassica campestris, and has assumed that onr " well- 

established " Thames-side plant is the wild state of the Swede, not 

the wild state of the common or true Turnip. But its grass-green 

(not glaucous) and bristly radical leaves negative the assumption. My 

conviction is, on a familiarity with the plant during thirty years, that 

the Thames-side Brassica is simply the wild stock of the true Turnip, 

scarcely differing from this latter except by the non-enlargement of the 

root into an esculent globe. On dry banks exposed to the sun the 

radical leaves are more hjspid than usual in the cultivated varieties, 

and they frequently acquii'e a dark or purplish tint, which is not at all 

glaucous ; but in damper ground they have the grass-green hue of the 

Turnip, and are less hispid. 

Whatever is done with the Swede, the position of campestris, as the 

wild stock of the Turnip, seems to be in accordance with the views of 

most botanists. In the ' Manual of British Botany ' Professor Ba- 

bington places Rapa as a variety of campestris, and distinguishes it 

only by its "root caulescent fleshy," words, indeed, that would better 

describe the Swede than the true Turnip, for the esculent enlargement 

of the former is continued upwards somewhat into the stem, while 

that of the true Turnip is entirely radical. In the ' Summa Vegetabi- 

lium ' Fries also places Rapa as the cultivated variety of campestris. 

A similar view is adopted by Grenier and Godron in the * Plore de 

France,' and by Koch in the ' Synopsis Florae Gerraanicse,' though 

their nomenclature differs. The French authors follow Lamarck in 

using the expressive name asperifolia for the species, making cam- 

pestris (L.) its type form, and Rapa the esculent-rooted variety. The 

German author uses the name Rapa for the species, but equally 

makes that of campestris (L.) apply to the type form. 

There is some confusion, however, through treating typical campes- 

tris as an annual, and describing the annual form as and for flic

350 ON A NEW SPECIES OF OREOPANAX. 

species, as if the biennial form were a divergent variety. Seeds wliich 

&germinate 

in spring, among corn or elsewhere, produce plants which 

soon run up to a stem, and which (on that account?) have more 

simple and less hispid leaves than are usually seen as radical leaves on 

the biennial plant. As we see the species by the Thames side the 

seeds germinate and become plants early in the autumn. These live 

through the winter, and flower in the succeeding spring or summer. 

They have a tuft of green and rough radical leaves, which are more 

lyrate-pinnatifid than the leaves of the annual form. As the flowering- 

stem rises from this winter tuft in the followîng spring, the leaves pro- 

duced on it are smooth and become glaucous in hue, especially up- 

wards. This biennial form seems to be the ti-ue type for the species 

at any rate, it is so in our climate. 

A confusion between the wild states or stocks of Napus and Rapa 

is of ancient date. Possibly the crossing of names in the two lan- 

guages may have somewhat contributed to the confusion in England, 

where we cross-translate Rapa or Rapiim into T\\r-7iep (the old and 

correct spelling), and Nap?is into Rape. Near two centuries ago Eay 

thus w'rote under the head of " Napus sylvestris." ..." Est haec for- 

tasse Rapum svlvestre non bulbosum Lobelii Adv. Carte planta ilia 

quse in insula Eliensi seritnr, unde oleum Rajje Oil dictum exprimitur, 

huic eadem videtur ; 

proinde Rapum sylvestre et Napus sylvestris una 

eademque fortasse planta sunt ; quod si diversse fuerint, quam pro 

Napo sylvestri hactenus habuimus, Rapum potiiis sylvestre censenda 

est : siquidem Napus sativa nobis peregrina est ; quidni et sylvestris ?" 

('Synopsis,' ed. 2, p. 167.) 

What Napus sylvestris may be it -is not in my power to say, never 

having seen a w ild Rape ; but, if asked by any modern Ray to point 

out what Rapum sylveslre is, ray reply would be,—the wild form of the 

Turnip, the biennial campestris, the rough-leaved Thames-side Bras- 

sica. 

ON A NEW SPECIES OF OREOPANAX, PROM CHON- 

TALES, NICARAGUA. 

By Berthold Seemann, Ph.D., P.L.S., etc. 

The genus Oreopanax is not numerously represented in Nicaragua. 

In the pine region of the mountains of New Segovia and ]\Iatagalpa, 

;

ON A NEW SPECIES OF OREOPANAX. 351 

I only noticed on rivulets one species, which goes there by the names 

of " Manu de Leon" and " Pata de Danta," in allusion to the shape 

of the leaves, which are sufficiently large to be useful for wrapping up 

cheese, soap, etc. It is about 30 feet high, and has palmate leaves, 

tomentose-pubescent on both sides, and with pinnatifid lobes. The 

flowers are whitish. It may possibly be O. Guatemalense, of which I 

have not yet had an opportunity of seeing an authentic specimen, and 

I will therefore leave it in abeyance. But a second species is very 

plentiful about the Javali Mine, in Chontales. It is so much like O. 

capitata, that at first I mistook it for that widely diffused species, until 

I remembered that 0. capitata is an erect tree, w^hilst this species is an 

epiphyte, which, like some of the Ficus of the country, closely embraces 

a tree by its stout roots, and gradually kills its host both by its weight 

and by stifling it. It was from a tree that had thus been killed I 

obtained fresh specimens of this species, which I named : 

0. destructor (sp. n.), Seem. ; epiphytum ; petiolis elongatis (3-6 

unc. long.), foliis oblongis v. obovato-oblongis acuminatis, basi cuueatis, 

apice abrupte acuminatis, integerrimis, venis primariis 3, 2 lateralibus 

angulum acutum formantibus, utrinque glabris, supra lucidis ; 

racemoso-paniculatis ; 

— 

floribus 

pedunculis pedicellisque pubescente-tomentosis ; 

drupis obovatis obtusis (nigris). — Nomen vernaculum Chontalense 

" Tempisque moutanero" (v. v. sp.). 

Branches stoutish, terete. Leaves alternate, the two lateral veins 

extending beyond the middle of the blade. Leaves perfectly glabrous 

in fruiting specimen, and on upper surface shining like those of Ivy. 

Inflorescence terminal, the fruiting heads composed of 3-5 drupes, 

the latter crownied by several styles. Perfect flowering specimens I 

have not seen. 

The natives informed me that about Leon (Nicaragua) thereds a 

Tempisque, which however is a tree, used in processions on Palm Sun- 

day, the frait of which is eaten. It may possibly be 0. capitata, which 

if memoiy serve uie right, I have noticed about that city. 

Oreopanax Xalapense, Dene, et Planch., has lately been named Mo- 

nopanax Ghiesbreghti, Kegel, Gartenflora, 1869, p. 35, t. 606 ; the 

author having mistaken an abortive ovary of a male flower, with its 

consolidated styles, for a fertile ovary of a hermaphrodite flower, thus 

has failed to recognize the genus Oreopanax.

352 

NOTE ON AIRA SETACEA, Hudson (A. ULIGINOSA, IFelhe). 

By Heney Trimen, M.B., F.L.S. 

{Botanical Department, British Museum.) 

Ill the Banksian herbarium is a grass labelled by Sir Joseph Banks 

" Aira setacea, Cawston decoy, 12 miles north of - Norwich—Mr. Briant, 

1776." It is the plant known by modern botanists as Aira uUginosa, 

found in T^rance, Germany, and Kussia, and to which attention has 

lately been directed in this country by Baker, More, and Watson 

(m/e 'Journal of Botany,' Vol. IV. 176 ; Vol. V. 72 ; Vol. VII. 265, 

281). 

A. setacea was founded by Hudson (Fl. Aug. ed. i. 30) on a plant 

collected by Mr. Stillingfleet on Stratton Heath, Norfolk, a locality a 

few miles distant from Mr. Briant's, above quoted. A specimen from 

" Stratton Heath, 1780," is in the Smithian herbarium, on the sheet 

labelled " A.Jlexmsa, (3, Fl. Brit.," but is too young for complete iden- 

tification. In the second edition (p. 35) Hudson refers the plant to 

Aira montana, L. ; he repeats the Norfolk station, and adds that the 

plant is common on sandy heaths in Yorkshire and Lancashire. A 

detailed description is given, from which it is evident that the species 

intended is A. nUgiuosa, of Weihe ; the long acute membranous ligule, 

the smaller more erect and closer panicle, the equal glumes and stalk 

to the upper floret being all mentioned. It is thus also evident that 

the specimen in the Banksian herbarium is correctly named. 

A. montana of Linnaeus, to which Hudson subsequently referred the 

plant, is ill all probability a mountain form of A. fiexuosa, with darker 

glumes and a more contracted panicle. The short diagnoses in Fl. Lapp. 

49, Fl. Suec. 25, and Sp. Plant, ed. i. 65, are insufficient for certain 

determination, but the reference to Scheuchzer's ' Agrostographia,' 216, 

and the habitat given, in dry sunny places, tend to show that the grass 

meant was not the one in Question. Unfortunately the Linnsean her- 

barium throws no light on the subject, the three specimens named A. 

montana being, according to Colonel Munro (Journ. Linn. Soc. Bot. 

vi. 42), all dift'erent, and all members of other genera than Aira. In 

Scandinavia this alpine form appears to be very common, and Fries 

states that there exists a complete series of plants connecting A. 

setacea {uliginosu) with it. The two plates (107, 108) in Parncirs 

' British Grasses' represent such northern states of A, Jlexuosa, some-

SOME ACCOUNT OF CHESHIRE KUBI. 358 

what approaching A. setacea, but obviously distinct from it. It is 

possible that Eries is not acquainted with trae A. setacea. The A. 

montana of Dickson's Hortus Sice. Brit., from " the mountains of Scot- 

land," is, however, certainly A. setacea. 

It appears then, that Hudson's name remains good, and must stand 

as that of the species. The synonymy is as follows : 

Aira setacea, Huds. Fl. Aug. ed. i. (1760), p. 30. 

A. montana, Huds. Fl. Aug. ed. ii. (1778), p. 35 ; Dicks. Hort. Sice. 

Brit. fasc. 18 (1802), p. 4 (non L.). 

A. flexuosa, var. /8, Sm. Fl. Brit. (1800), i. p. 85, and Eng. Fl. 

(1824), i. p. 104 (excl. reference to Leers, whose figure is clearly A. 

flexuosa') . 

A. scabro-setacea, Knapp, Gram. Britt. (1804), t. 32. 

A. uliffhiosa, Weihe in Bonninghausen, Prod. Fl. Monast. (1824), 

p. 25. 

Desc/iainpsia Thuillieri, Godr. and Gren., Flore de France (1855-56), 

iii. p. 508 (includes also Aira discolor, Thuillier, which Boreau (Fl. du 

Centre, 700) considers distinct from uligiuosa). 

The plant has occurred in this country in the following localities : 

Sti-atton Heath, Norfolk, Mr. Stillingfleet (Hudson and Herb. Smith 1) 

Cawston decoy, Norfolk, Mr. Briant (Herb. Mus. Brit !) ; Fleet Pond, 

North Hants (H. C. Watson; Angusshire, Mr. J. Mackay (Herb. 

Smith !) ; Forfar Heath, G. Don (Knapp) ; near Forfar, G. Don (Herb. 

Kew. et Winch, flde Baker) ; Loch of Drum, Aberdeenshire (Herb. 

Mus. Brit. !) ; Cregduff Lough, Roundstone, Connemara, A. G. More 

(Herb. Mus. Brit. !). 

— 

SOME ACCOUNT OF CHESHIRE RUBI. 

By the Hon. J. B. Leicester Warren, M.A., F.L.S. 

This attempt to put on record the various Rubi-ioxm?, which I have 

up to the present time personally observed in Cheshire is merely 

similar to what Mr. Briggs has done for the Brambles of Devon. 

I am convinced that, when the distribution of our native subspe- 

cies of Riibi has been properly investigated, much subsidiaiy light 

will be thereby thrown upon the study and discrimination of these 

difficult plants. Trying some years ago to make a list of Cheshire 

— ;

354 SOME ACCOUNT OF CHESHIKE KTJBI. 

plants I found, late in my labours, a complete liiatus at the genus 

Ruhus. I had left Brambles till the last, and vei^y unwillingly I set 

about them. They soon, however, l)ecame interesting ; and I really 

believe that much of the disgust with which many excellent botanists 

regard Brambles would disappear if they only gave them a fair trial. 

My provincial list of Rubi is as yet very incomplete, but I am in- 

clined to think that even in its present state, it may assist somewhat 

local inquiries. I may state that in no instance have I named a sub- 

species on my own authority. Mr. Bloxam and Mr. Baker, without 

whom this list would never have been composed, have always been 

most kind in naming forms submitted to them. Still, the person who 

sees these plants growing, and at his door, is at an immense advantage 

over even the best rubiologist, who merely sees dried and often imper- 

fect specimens. Therefore, whatever eiTors occur in the present list, 

I am solely responsible for. And therefore, though the assistance I 

have derived from Messrs. Bloxam and Baker is immense, I distinctly 

do not wish to make them responsible for any false record, for which 

solely this paper and its writer have to answer. 

The districts are the county hundreds, viz. (1) Macclesfield, (2) 

Bucklow, (3) Eddisbury, (4) Wirral, (5) Broxtou, (6) Nautwich, 

(7) Northwich. District 1 is the present electoral division of East 

Cheshire; 3 and 7 comprise Mid-Cheshire; 3, 4, 5, and 6, West 

Cheshire. With Mid-Cheshire I am best acquainted. District 4 

and the north of district 3 are the littoral parts of the county. With 

very few exceptions all the names, even of farms, which I use may be 

found in Cassell's fourpenny County Map of Cheshire. 

1. R. IdcEus, L.—General and prevalent. (2.) Common in this dis- 

trict. (3.) Oakmere. (4.) Parkgate. (5.) Broxton Hill. (7.) Peover 

Heath. The ternate-leaved form grows in the Willow Bed, Tabley. 

2. R. fssus, Lindl.— I have as yet never seen true R. suberectu/s, 

Anders., in Cheshire. R. Jis^cs seems mainly to take its place. I suspect 

this form will certainly occur in all our hundreds. (1.) Lindow Com- 

mon. (2.) Pickmere Moss, abundant. (7.) Rudheath, plentiful ; road- 

side, a mile south-east of the " Three Greyhounds." 

3. R. pUcatus, W. and N.— (1) Lindovv Common, north-west end ; 

less coinraon there than R. fissus. (2.) Knutsford racecourse, good 

and typical ; Tabley Hill sand-pit. (7.) Sparsely on Kudheath, and 

untypical, on the Lower Peover side of the ' Three Greyhounds.'

SOME ACCOUNT OF CHESHIRE RUBI. 355 

4. R. affitiis, W. and N.—A decidedly northern Bramble, and here 

generally and commonly distributed. Very ericetal in its stations, like 

the two previous forms. This is, when dried, sometimes hard to dis- 

tinguish from the R. rhamnifol'ms of Surrey heaths, but in a growing 

state these Ruhi seem to rae sufficiently distinct. (1.) Between 

Stockport and Mottram, near Macclesfield. (2.) General, e. g. Tabley 

Lake side. (4.) Near a quarry between Eastham Hotel and Brom- 

borough Park wall. (7.) Back Lane, Lower Peover, and Rudheath, 

abundant. Mr. Baker has established the identity of this prevalent 

Yorkshire and Cheshire form with R. nemoralis, Miill. (See Gene- 

vier, p. 188.) 

5. R. Lindleianus, Lees.—A most prevalent and unmistakable 

form. (2.) Very common. (4.) Heswâll Hills, near Parkgate. (7.) 

Lower Peover, common. 

6. R. rhamnifoUus, W. and N.—Embracing here a range of several 

forms, of which the shade ones require more attention, which, if we 

combine the subspecies, is hereabouts sufficiently general. I doubt if 

some of these do not rather belong to R. calvatus, Blox., so I shall 

only give the distribution of a form which is certainly rliamnifolius 

with, flat, broadly-ovate, cuspidate, and cordate terminal leaflets densely- 

grey felted beneath. (1.) Tabley Lane on Tabley Hill; hedge just 

above the sand-pit. (7.) Peover, back lane, near the Brook, and 

Eudheath. 

7. R. discolor, W. and N.—Curiously partial and local in Mid- 

Cheshire, where it bears marks of accidental importation, occurring 

near canals, tan-yards, railway stations, etc., and seldom in fields or 

hedges removed from the highway roads. As, however, we approach 

the hilly districts of East Cheshii'e, or the sea towards the west, it be- 

comes gradually more abundant. In Wirral and North Eddisbuiy, 

that is to say, in littoral Cheshire, it is the prevalent Bramble. All 

the discolor of Central Cheshire, which I have yet carefully examined, 

seems to me the smaller, less pilose, more stunted R. rusticanus, Mer- 

cier, and not the true discolor of W. and N. so general round London, 

for example. The nearest Cheshire plants to this last I gathered near 

Biley, Middlewich, a district in its vegetation much more markedly 

southern than Knutsford, though not so many miles from it, as the 

general occurrence there oi Acer and R. ccesius, L., shows ; 

but, not hav- 

ing seen the Bilev discolor in flower, I do not wish to record true discolor

356 SOME ACCOUNT OF CHESHIRE RUBI. 

in Clieshivc at present. (1.) Near Macclesfield, general. (2.) Quite 

local, e. g., tan-yard, Higher Tabley ; more abundant towards Lymon, 

Carrington, Thelvvall, and thfe north. (8.) General ; Weaverham, 

Tarvin, Tarporley. (4.) The prevalent form ; Eastham, Hoylake, 

Wallasey, Moston. (7.) Still local in the north of this hundred, but 

occurs at Lower Peover ; plentiful near Biley ; Peover, back lane. 

8. R. lencostachys, Sm., p. w«î7«5, Weihe.—Very fairly general; 

common round Knutsford. (1.) Observed by the road between 

Stockport and Mottrara. (2.) General; Tabley Hill Lane. (4

SOME ACCOUNT OF CHESHIEE BTJBI. 357 

Blox.—A general form in Cheshire ; with flat, orbicular, cordate, cus- 

pidate, hard, short-felted tenniual leaflets, coriaceous, approaching 

rhamnifoUiis in many respects. In Sussex, Middlesex, and Surrey the 

terminal lenflet is generally only broadly ovate- acuminate, the point 

being attenuate, and curved sidewards, while below the leaflets are 

much more softly yet thinly clothed. The last form also occurs in 

Cheshire, but the orbicular cuspidate leaflet is the iide, the last the 

exception. (2.) Every hedge-lane near Knutsford ; occurs also often 

as an isolated bush in their pasture margins. (4.) Near Bromborough 

Park wall, near Eastham Hotel. In ' Liverpool Flora ' given as car- 

pbiifoliiis, that is, of Bloxam, not Babington. (7.) Biley; Lower 

Peover ; very general. 

14. R. macrophjllus, W., 8. ampUficatus, Lees.—Not very typical, but 

still satisfying, I think, the name. The beautiful form of Thames 

Ditton, Surrey, and Bishop's Wood, Hampstead, may be taken as the 

type. (2.) Armstrong's Cover, Tabley, that is, the wood near Tabley 

Lane end, and sparsely in Bound Wood, Tabley ; 

apparently not com- 

mon, but naturally. Except at home, I have had less access to wôod 

forms than to roadside ones. I can give a better account of the septal 

than the syl vatic forms. Where game is much preserved, coverts are 

forbidden ground. 

15. i?. mucronulatits, Boreau.—I have only observed this on the Mow 

Cop range, wdiich bounds Cheshire to the south. Once ascending the 

chain directly from the town of Congleton, where you come upon it by 

the roadside to Biddulph about a mile or so from the station, and 

again at the village of Mow Cop, some miles to the south-west. It is 

a form with a hill tendency. (5.) Hills above Congleton. 

16. R. Sprengelii, Weihe, a. Borreri, Bell- Salt.—A prevalent 

Bramble of Cheshire heaths. (1.) Near Mottram. (2.) Common; 

Bound Wood, Tabley ; Pickmere Moss. (7.) Budheath ; Lower Peo- 

ver Heath. Anv London botanist may see this form between the 

" Spaniards," Hampstead, and Bishop's Wood; and again sparsely on 

the heath before you come to the " Spaniards." 

17. R. scaber, Weihe.—(2.) Boadside above Clayhouse Farm, 

Plumbley ; Bound Wood, Tabley, very fine bushes ; Tabley Garden 

Wood. (4.) A single bush, near the wall of Bromborough Park, 

Eastham side. 

18. ^. rudis, Weihe.— I have only obsei-ved this well-marked form in

358 SOME ACCOUNT OF CHESHIRE IIUBI. 

one lane and the adjacent field-hedges, where, however, there is plenty of 

it over an area of a few acres. Mr. Baker says of these specimens that 

they are unusually typical for the north of England. (2.) On Morrey's 

farm, Bexton (in the Ordnance and Cassell's maps, " Black Hill 

Farm "), near Knutsford. I suspect local in Cheshire. 

19. R. Reuteri, Mercier.— (2.) White House Farm and the Grange 

Farm, Plumbley ; plentiful in company with R. rudls on Black Hill 

Farm, Bexton ; thinly but generally scattered over all this immediate 

neighbourhood. Like Hypericum, jmlchrum, seldom much of it in one 

place, but nearly everywhere sparsely. An enormous bush, however, 

on the Grange Farm, near the Waterless Brook. This is a coarse radu- 

lesque form, evidently to be placed between R. rudis and R. Radula. 

A year or two ago I named it R. saxlcohis, Miill., from a Continental 

specimen in Mr. Baker's collection. I have lately found that M. Ge- 

nevier, in his ' Rnhus du Bassin de la Loire,' states that Mr. Baker's 

coarse Yorkshire Radula, which I hold identical with the Cestrian, is 

thus. to be named. His description sufficiently fits, and he notices the 

alliance to R. saxlcolus, Miill. Mr. Bloxam seems inclined to put this 

form to R. Radula, /B. Leighto)di, Lees. 

20. R. Radula, Weihe.—Rather a local Rubus, in Mid-Cheshire, and 

seldom typical. (2.) Laneside, towards Arley, in Plumbley, near 

Trout Hall, Plumbley. (7.) Rudheath, in company with the R.fissus, 

in an exposed heathy spot. These specimens are, according to Mr. 

Baker, " excellent typical Radula,'' and, indeed, the only quite typical 

Radula I ever got in Cheshire. 

21. R. KceUeri, Weihe.— Local. (2.) In the hedge by the laneside, 

one hundred yards south of Flitto Gate Farm, where it grows very 

densely for thirty or forty yards. 

22. R. infeslus, Bab.— Rather local. (2.) Sparse bushes, in 

Tabley Hill Lane. Finest bushes by the road which crosses the Cheshire 

Midland line, beyond Mc^n-ey's Farm, or Black Hill Farm, Bexton. 

(7.) Roadside, between Bradshaw Brook and Rudheath. 

23. R. pallidus, Weihe.—Very common ; the general undergrowth 

of plantations in Cheshire ; the weak forms puzzling and easily mis- 

taken for Bellardine Brambles. (1.) Disley and Whaley Bridge. (2.) 

Very coinmon. (4.) Near Eastham. (6.) Near Crewe station. (7.) 

Lower Peover, Rudheath, etc., general. 

24. R. divenifolius, Lindl. = dmnelonm, h.ferox, Lees.— (1.) Dis-

SOME ACCOUNT OF CHESHIRE RUBI. 359 

ley, Lindow, near Stockport, on the Mottram Eoad. (2.) The common 

hedge Bramble of the district. (6.) Near Crewe Park Gate. 

(7.) Lower Peover, Eudheath, very prevalent. 

25. R. diversifoUiis, Lindl., var. concinnus, Baker = nemorostis pilosus 

(Jide Bloxam).— (2.) Near Trout Hall Parinhoiise, in the lane, 

on both sides ; again in Pour Lane End, Plumbley, etc. ; in hedges all 

about Plumbley Moor. (7.) All about the Back Lane, Lower Peover 

also near the old Fox Covert. 

26. R.fuscus, W. and N.— (2.) Enter Smoker Hill Farm, Plumb- 

ley, from the Norwich road, pass through it, and search the first large 

field-hedge to the right. This farm is unmarked ; it is a little on the 

Manchester side of the ' Smoker Inn,' in Watling Street. (7.) Koad- 

side, just short of tbe firs, at Eudheath, between Bradshaw Brook and 

the ' Three Greyhounds.' Perhaps the same plant as Professor Babing- 

ton's R. villicauUs, /3. derasus, aud Geiievier's R. adsitus. 

27. R. festivus, Wirt.— (2.) Prevalent about Tabley Hill, Knuts- 

ford racecourse, especially near Tabley toll-gate and Bexton ; all along 

Tabley Lane. (7.) Near Bradshaw Brook, laneside, whicb joins Eudheath 

Eoad ; apparently rare in this hundred, though very common 

in 2. 

28. R. Balfouriamis, Blox.—I believe thinly, but generally distri- 

buted in this neighbourhood, but easily overlooked. (2.) Turnpike 

roadside, at intervals, from the Ewe-tree, Tabley, to Mere,— this part 

of the road marked as Tabley Street ; again, some enormous panicles 

from a bush or two growing in company with the R.fuscus, in Plumbley 

(to whicb refer), on Smoker Hill Farm. Abundant along the southern 

side of the Smoker wood, the only, station I have yet seen it growing 

in any quantity. 

29. R. corylifoUus, Sm., y. purpureus, Bab.—Not by any means a 

prevalent hedge Ruhus in Cheshire. R. diversifolius occurs nine times 

to its once. Still it is generally but sparsely distributed. I am not 

certain whether I have ever seen a. subliistris, Lees, in Cheshire, except 

once at Biley, near Middlewich. (1.) Between Stockport and Mot- 

tram. (2.) Tabley Hill Lane ; Clay House Farm. (4.) A field pit, 

near tbe river, about half a mile on the new ferry-side of Bromborough 

Pools, joining the Mersey. I believe this was var. sublustris, but am 

not sure. (7.) Biley (var. sublustris, Lees), New Covert, Lower 

Peover (y. purpureus) 

. 

;

360 CORRESPONDENCE. 

30. R. ulth(jeifoUns, Host.— (4.) Plentifully by the road ide leaving 

Parkgate for the village of Neston. This plant seems to me quite 

identical with the prevalent Sussex altlimfolim, which I studied this 

year in great plenty from Hove to Worthing. Mr. Eobinson also finds 

the plant at Frodsham, in Cheshire, so likely enough it is a common 

form of littoral Cheshire. I named a specimen for that gentleman a 

few yeai's back, which he had sent to the London Exchange Club, 

U. corylifolh(s, fS. conjungens, as I believe Mr. Borrer so named the 

Hove plant. I now confess, that as far as altlieeifolius means anything, 

I believe both the Cheshire and Sussex plants exactly fit the name 

but Mr. Bloxam says, " I rather consider your Hove plant as a variety 

of R. coryliforms.'" 

31. R. cfBsius, L.— Rare in Cheshire. (7.) The roadside at Biley 

Brows, near Middlewich ; the only spot in Cheshire which, beyond 

doubt, I have seen it in. I have a specimen of apparently a weak 

csesian form from the sandhills at Parkgate, but I am not convinced 

that it is, beyond contest, R. casius, so I will leave district 4 blank, 

—the weaker forms of R. Cfssins and the " dumetorum " group being at 

times so difficult to distinguish. My record of R. casius in the ' Liver- 

pool Flora ' must, till I can again get upon our sandhills, be read with 

this qualification. 

COREESPONDENCE. 

On Vernacular Names. 

The perusal of Dr. Seemann's article ou ' Vernacular Names ' in the last 

number of the Journal, will doubtless direct attention to a much-neglected sub- 

ject, though, unfortunately, I was the peg on which the remarks were hung. 

At the outset, however, a word of explanation is required. In quoting from 

his preface to the ' Nomenclature of the American Flora,' I did not wish to be 

understood (and I am sorry if,^nadvertently, I conveyed the impression) that Dr. 

Seemann deemed vernacular names the ' end of inquiry,'—my sole object being 

to show that they were of great value, and to none more so than to the economic 

botanist. From the full quotation given by Dr. Seemann, it will be seen 

that he is of the same opinion. 

With regard to the term ' Nag-tassar,' it affords to my mind an illustration 

of the cai'e that should be taken in dealing with existing native names. In vari- 

ous works I found the name always quoted as that of the trees mentioned {Mesua 

ferrea, Calysaccion longifolium, etc.), and not as a dye obtained from several 

;


])lants. Howercr, it is often the case that names are stated to be those of trees, 

whereas they may be only those of the products common to several. 

Though I value vernacular names most highly, and do not depreciate them 

as I am chai'ged with doing, yet it must be remembered that very different 

opinions have been expressed respecting them. 

Dr. Wight says, " We must bear in mind that in India, as in England, tlio 

same plants have diffei-ent names in different provinces, and not unfrequently 

the same name is given to a variety of plants, or, vice versa, a great variety of 

names to the same plant, rendering the knowledge of very difBcult acquisition, 

and, when acquired, of comparatively little value. Added to these impedi- 

ments to the acquisition of a correct knowledge of vernacular names of plants, 

we know that these names, being preserved, not by description and figures, 

which limit them invariably to the same species, but by tradition, are therefore 

in the course of time, through mistakes of persons repeating them, liable to 

change by being applied to plants different from those to wJiich they were 

originally given,—the only way, indeed, to account for the wide discrepancies 

often found in the names given to the same plants by different persons speak- 

ing the same language." (' Illustrations of Indian Botany,' vol. i., Introd. Notice, 

p. ii.) 

And again, Surgeon-Major Balfour has the following :— " I may mention that 

care is required against placing undue reliance on native terms. It is a very 

prevalent, though erroneous impression that unediicated, and even wild, races 

possess accurate knowledge of natural objects, when in truth the whole of their 

thoughts through hfe are directed to procuring their own subsistence. In the 

preface to the ' Flora Andhrica,' Mr. Walter Elliott gives as authorities Drs. 

Koyle and Griffiths in favour of, and Drs. Wight, Wallich, and Carey against, 

the use of vernacular names ; yet he remarks that it is the commonest and 

most useful plants that are known by definite and generally-received appella- 

tions. Dr. Waring observes, in a recent number of the ' Madras Quarterly 

Journal,' that an entire dependence on native names, without reference to bo- 

tanical characters or sensible properties, will often lead into error; and Dr. 

Hooker, in his ' Himalayan Journals,' mentions that throughout his travels he 

had been struck with the undue reliance placed on the native names for 

plants." C Timber Trees of India,' Madras, 1862, preface.) 

It should be added, however, that neither Dr. Wight nor Dr. Wallich pos- 

sessed any accurate knowledge of the different Indian languages, which greatly 

weakens their opinion on this particular point. I cannot, howeveit, resist the 

temptation of quoting from a letter (dated Batavia, Oct. 1854) by Mr. Motley 

to Mr. Mitten, bearing on the subject :— 

"... These mountaineers, however, are botanists to an extent you would 

hardly expect among so-called savages. Every plant has its native name, and 

given upon the system of generic and specific names. For instance, when I 

asked a man the name of a little Pavetta, he said at once, " I never saw this before, 

and I don't know its own name, but its ' mother-name' is so-and-so," men- 

tionintr the native generic term for Pavetta, Ixora, and such plants in general. 

The authors of the ' Catalogue of the Buitenzorg Garden ' have thought these 

VOL. VII. [DECEMBER 1, 1809.] 2 C

362 CORREbPO:JfDENCE. 

names worth recording, and I think they ai'e right ; for I saw many plants I 

slioiild not have seen, especially among the EriccB, but by asking for them by such 

names given in the Catalogue ; and it is wonderful, on looking these over, to find 

how well the system is carried out. It is, of course, imperfect, but remarkable for 

l>€ople with no written language ; 

they do not speak Malay or Javanese, but a 

peculiar dialect called Sundanese." (Kew Journ. Botany, vol. vii. 1855, p. 80.) 

lu a recent conversation, Motley's remai'ks as to the accuracy of vernacular 

names my friend Dr. J. E. de Vrij fully bore out, mentioning, at the same 

time, that in Java there was a collective name for the genus Ficus 

(Kiara), and tlie only error the natives made was in applying it to a species 

of Quercus {Q.fagifor>nis,Jimgh. in Seemann's ' Bonplandia,' 1858, p. 83, cum 

icon.*), exceedingly Ficoidal in habit, and found by himself and Dr. Junghuhn. 

Though native names are frequently the only clue we have to tlie origin of a 

product, yet at present there is much need for caution with regard to their use ; 

traders, as a rule, applying them almost indiscriminately. Many plants, too, have 

distinctive names for the individual, and its different parts and product {e.g. 

Cocos nucifera, L.), these names being frequently quoted indifferently, thus 

giving rise to numerous mistakes. The change of country, of cither native 

tribes or civilized immigrants, has a great influence on vernacular nomencla- 

tiu-e, the names of the plants of their native country being bestowed on those 

of the new. Dr. Ernst, in his valuable paper on the " Medicinal Plants of 

Venezuela and their Vernacular Names" (Seemann's 'Journal of Botany,' 

Vol. III. p. 143), says, "... In Venezuela a plant often bears very different ver- 

nacular names. . . . The names I have collected are either of Indian or Spanish 

oi'igin. At Caracas the Indian names are generally so corrupted that their 

original form could be traced only by a good Indian scholar, whilst in the in- 

terior, where the Spanish influence was less felt, many vmcorrupted Indian 

names are still in use." He obserTCs that the Spanish names are of three kinds, 

viz.—1, Names introduced with the plants from Europe ; 2, Names of European 

plants transfen-ed to American ones, which in habit or use bear some resemblance 

to them ; and 3, Names newly invented, and not used for any plant before, 

seldom having an intelligible meaning. 

Native names, at present, are scattei'ed through innumerable publications, 

and a vmiversal nomenclature would be an immense boon. To make such a 

work as complete as possible, it would be desirable that lists of plants, with 

their vemacidar names, should be solicited from botanists of the localities with 

which, they are best acquainted. These should si)ecify, witli regard to such 

names, localities where used,\ynonymy, if any, whether pure or introduced, 

derivation and meaning, whether applied as a collective or individual term, or 

to the parts or product of a plant. I shall be glad to receive any such lists, 

other than British. 

Di\ Scemann has referred to my labours in economic botany. Whatever 

value, however, they may have, much of the credit belongs to him as editor of 

* This does not seem to be taken up by De Cand. (Prod. xvi.). Is it identical 

with Castanopsis argentea ?—Ed.

NEW rUBLICATlONS. 363 

tliis Journal. I should nevei' have thought of publishing my maiden essay on 

" Caoutchouc," unless he had encoiu-aged me to do so ; whilst the kindly recog- 

nition with which it was received, decided me, in a great measure, in continuing 

to work up kindred subjects. In thus expressing myself, I know well that I do 

but echo the sentiments of many others who won their first spurs in the fair 

field opened to tliem in the pages of this Journal. 

11, Ar.hur Street, Deptjord, S.E. James Collins. 

November, 1869. 


Flora of Middlesex : a Topographical and Historical Account of the 

Plants found in the County, tcith Sketches of its Physical Geography 

and Climate, and of the Progress of Middlesex Botany during the 

last Three Centuries. By H. Trimen, M.B., F.L.S., and W. T. 

Dyer, M.A. Loudon : 

With a map. 

Hardwicke, 1869. 8vo, pp. xli. and 428. 

For a botanist who asks for variety of situation, or estimates the 

interest of his area of study by tlie abundance and number of rare 

plants which it furnishes, Middlesex does not by any means offer a 

promising field of research. As a botanical county, it is much inferior 

to Surrey or Kent. With the exception of Kutlandshire, it is the 

smallest county in England. Its total area is under three hundred 

square miles, of which at least a sixth is taken up by the houses and 

roads of London. In the remainder there is very little to diversify 

the character of tlie stirface, for although, as we pass in a north- 

western direction the population becomes scanty many miles before 

the county limit is reached, there are no hills of any importance, and 

very little heath or woodland remains, and even in its original condi- 

tion, the soil must have been very uniform in character. But, on 

other groimds, its botany possesses a special interest. A large pro- 

portion of the earlier investigators of English plants lived in London 

in the days when it was difficidt and expensive to make distant jour- 

neys for collecting, so that many of the specimens which were used as 

the foundation for the figures and descriptions of the older books were 

gathered within its boundaries ; and for no other tract in England 

have we such a multifarious collection of stations placed on record in 

print, or preserved in the older herbaria at the British Museum and 

in other places.


It is perhaps a matter of surprise, that during the many years 

wliich have ehipsed since geographical botany put in a claim to be 

ranked as a distinct department of science, a detailed Flora of the 

county has not been before attempted ; considering the interest 

which it possesses in showing, not only how the character of a 

flora is modified by human agency, but also as bearing upon the 

history of tlie gradual growth of London, and the history of British 

botany aad British botanists. But it is easy to see that with- 

out a large amount of labour incurred in gathering together and 

arranging the old records, the work could not be adequately done. 

This the authors of the work before us have thoroughly understood, 

and they have been willing, in gathering them from all available 

sources, published and unpublished, and carefully sifting them, to 

spend an amount of pains and labour which certainly merits for them 

the thanks of all who are interested in English botany. A great 

part of the value of their work arises from the fact that they have 

been able to see so well that Middlesex botany possesses in this way 

a unique interest of its own, and that instead of merely following 

in the track of those who have written county Floras before them, 

they have not spared to spend the unusual amount of labour that 

was necessary to develope to the full the historical interest of the 

subject ; and it makes their book, over and above its value as a record 

of stations and distribution, one that can be read with pleasure and 

instruction by those who take no special intei-est in botanical details. 

The first part of the book is devoted to a sketch of the physical 

geography, geology, and climate of the county, and is illustrated by 

a coloured map, showing the area occupied by the different strata and 

the boundaries of the seven districts, founded on river-drainage, through 

which the dispersion of the species in the body of the work is traced. 

Along the northern border of the county the ground rises into a ridge 

that for several miles readies a height of between four and five hundred 

feet above sea level. A similar ridge of equal height bounds London 

on the north at Highgate and Hampstead. Between the two is a de- 

pression, out of which rises only the isolated hill on which the village 

of Harrow stands. The south-western third of the county is a low flat, 

nowhere" more than twenty feet above the Thames level at Staines. In 

the character of the soil, we get in the county two well-marked divi- 

sions, underlaid by beds dill'ering but slightly in age but materially in


mechanical constitution. The ridge of chalk-down that forms the rim 

that encloses the tertiary strata of the London basin, stretching from 

Hampshire and Wiltshire, through Berkshire and Hertfordshire to C'ara- 

bridgeshii'e, and the north-west of Essex, only just touches the extreme 

limit of Middlesex at two points. On the south of this, filling up rather 

more than the northern half of the county,—reaching down on the east, 

within the metropolitan limits, to Eegent's Park and Holloway,—the 

Loudon clay fills up the whole of the low levels, capped only with the 

barren sandy and gravelly beds of the Middle Eocene in a few places 

on the ridges, as at Harrow and Harapstead Heath. The greater part 

of this clay tract is covered with soil that is far too tenacious to be fit 

for arable cultivation. " In few counties," writes Mr. Clutterbuck 

(see p. XXV.), " is the meadow and arable land so nearly divided, or the 

extent so clearly defined ; and though not without exceptions, the sur- 

face occupied by the London clay and the valley-drifts respectively, 

determines the extent under grass and under the plough. The part of 

the county in which the London clay is at or near the surface consists 

of gently rising hills, with small valleys gradually worn away by the 

surface drainage. In the farms, all operations are made subservient 

to haymaking for the London market." In the southern tract, which 

fills up rather less than half of the county, the surface beds are valley- 

drift (gravel, brick earth, and alluvium), and the soil is much more 

tractable and fertile. The eastern part of this tract is now nearly all 

built over. Passing westward to Chiswick, Hammersmith, Isleworth, 

and Brentford, what is not taken up by houses, roads, and parks, is 

almost all occupied by market gardens ; and this leaves only on tlie 

west a tract of about ten miles across each way between Tvvickenliam, 

Staines, and Uxbridge, in which corn is grown to any considerable 

extent. Our authors' sketch of the physical geography and climate of 

the county is very full and clear. The only point on which we have 

any fault to find is, that they have not understood clearly the rela- 

tionship of the British to the European flora as influenced by climate. 

As this is an important point, and their misconception will very likely 

lead others astray, we will quote their paragraph on this subject, and 

interpolate a running criticism on the sentences. 

" Plants which would not bear complete exposure to frost will often 

survive, with slight shelter, frosts of short duration ; and near the 

western coasts, where the influence of the sea has greater effect, espe-


cially in mitigating the winter, comparatively tender plants flourish in 

the open air throughout the year. A warm winter is an essential con- 

dition for the existence of tender" plants viiih. pet'ennial stems. (So far 

very good.) In the neighbourhood of London, on the other hand, the 

semi-spontaneous exotic plants which belong to the vegetation of cli- 

mates with a higher mean temperature are necessarily annuals. (It does 

not follow from climatic causes that they should be annuals, so that 

this sentence placed in connection with the preceding one, conveys a 

wrong impression.) Many of them are more abundant in some years 

than in others, a warm spring being essential to allow them to reach 

maturity before the first frosts. Provided that the summer heat is suffi- 

cient to allow them to ripen their seeds, annuals are capable of a more 

extended northern duration than perennials. (Sentence very obscure.) 

With regard to perennials, the following remarks may be quoted from 

Mr. Baker :— " In general terms, the polar limit of species liable to be 

killed by frost runs across Europe from N.W. to S.E. diagonally with 

the parallels of latitude ; and to sum up in a single comprehensive 

phrase the relations of the British to the Continental flora, we may say 

that the north limits of the plants as regulated by temperature radiate 

from our island like the spokes of a wheel from the axis." (By restrict- 

ing this comparison to perennials it is spoilt, and conveys quite a wrong 

impression. It is true only when applied to the British flora as a 

whole. It is annuals that furnish the ascending spokes of the wheel, 

the evergreen perenrtials the lowest descending spokes, the biennials 

and decicluoits-leaved perennials the intermediate ones.) P, xxxix. 

Upwards of three hundred closely printed pages are occupied by the 

list of species, with a detailed account of their dispersion through the 

seven drainage districts. A full list of special stations is given for all 

but the common ones, and especial pains is taken under this head with 

the flora, present and past, of the metropolitan tract. Under each 

species are given any old n^mes under which it has been recorded, as a 

Middlesex plant, and the date of the first notice of its occurrence. Of 

the care with which the history of the species is traced, and with which 

the records of their occurrence have been gathered together, we shall 

best give an idea by an extract. 

48. Sisymbrium Ieio, L. London Rocket. 

Irio IcBvis apu/a, Col. (Merrett). Erysimum latifolium Neapolitanum, Park. 

(Ray). Erysimum latifolium majus (jlahrum, C. B. P. (Morisoii). Cyb. Brit, 

i. 150 ; iii. 38-i ; Coiiip. 102. Curt. F. L. f. 5 (drawn from a Lonclo)i plant).


367 

On walls and dry waste ground, very rare. A. or B. July, August. 

VII. Almost everywhere in the suburbs of London, Merretf, 66. Especially 

on earth mounds between the City and Kensington ; 

in 1667 and 1668, after 

the City was burnt, it grew very abundantly on the ruins round St. Paul's, 

R. Cat. i. 104. Copiously about Chelsea, Morison, ii. 219 ; where, and also in 

the ' Prreludia ' of the same author, p. 498, is an interesting account of the 

growth of the species after the great fire. Plentifully on the Lord Cheney's 

wall at Chelsea, Fet. Midd. Between Brick Lane and Islington, Fet. Bot. Lond. 

291. At the end of Goswell Street, Hill, 338. Frequent enough about Lon- 

don, Curt. F. L. In Chelsea garden and all that neighbourhood a troublesome 

weed, E. B. 1631. Brompton, Mr. Borrer ; about Haggerstone and near 

Chelsea, E. Forster ; opposite Shoreditch Workhouse, L. W. Dillwyn ; B. G. 

408. Growing in 1832 beneath brick walls by the side of a then new road 

leading from Earl's Court to the new church near Walliam Green, which road 

passes the north boundary of the Cemetery, not very plentifully. . . . Mr. Haworth 

told me that when he first came to live at Chelsea, about 1790-95, it used 

to grow in great abundance in various places by the roadside between Little 

Chelsea and Hyde Park Corner, Pamplin {v. s.). See also JVew B. G. 97. 

Fu'st record, Merrett, before 1666 ; also the first record as British. We 

have seen no specimens collected since 1832, nor ever met with it ourselves, 

though no doubt it was formerly very abundant, as the above localities are con- 

firmed by specimens in all the older herbaria collected near London. [P. 33.] 

The total number of native and naturalized species claimed by our 

authors for the county is 859, out of which 58 are supposed to be wovf 

extinct, and 133 are very rare. Besides these, they mention 120 

casual introductions and garden escapes. Adapting the species limits 

to those employed by IVIr. Watson in ' Cybele Britannica,' and com- 

paring the county list with that for Britain as a whole, we obtain the 

following results, and we give also the North Yorkshire table for com- 

parison : 

— 

Type of Distribution. 

British . . . 

English 

Intermediate . 

Scottish . . . 

Highland . . . 

Germanic . . . 

Atlantic . . . 

Local or Doubtful 

Britain. 

532 

409 

37 

81 

120 

127 

70 

49 

1425 

North 

Yoi'kshire. 

526 

301 

33 

44 

32 

38 

7 

11 

992 

Middlesex. 

465 

300 

4 

5 

44 

3 

826


The deficiency in the upper line of numbers, it must be borne in mind, 

is caused by the absence from Middlesex of a large number of character- 

istically maritime species. Fr6m the 826, the 58 species require to 

be deducted to represent the flora as it now stands. No doubt the 

county list is far more likely to be lessened than increased in the future. 

The remainder of the work is occupied by a series of interesting 

biographical notices of the older botanists who have contributed to the 

knowledge of the flora of the county. This is derived to a consider- 

able extent from unpublished material, the Sloane manuscripts in the 

British Museum being the principal source of fresh information. Mr. 

Worthington Smith has contributed a list of the Hyraenomycetous 

Fungi of the county ; the Rev. J. M. Crombie a notice of its Lichens; 

and Dr. Braithwaite and the Eev. W. M. Hind, a list of Mosses and 

Hepaticse. 

Compendium of the ^ Cybele Britannica,-' or, British Plants in their 

Geographical Relations. By Hewett Cottkell Watson. Part II. 

Thames Ditton. Printed for private distribution. 1869. (Pp. 201- 

424.) 

It is just a year since we noticed (' Journal of Botany,' Vol. VI. 

374-377) at some length the first part of this excellent and useful 

book. Mr. Watson has carried out tlie intention he expressed in the 

preface to that part, and has not allowed 1869 to pass away without 

completing liis ' Compendium ' so far as the native species are con- 

cerned. 

In this second part, 880 species are treated in accordance with the 

formula of eight lines, which we explained in our notice of Part I. 

The amount of information comprised in each of these formula? is 

really amazing, and each aff"ords an excellent example of what may be 

effected by a judicious system of condensation and abbreviation. 

It is quite unnecessary ô recommend a book which must take its 

place as essential to the library of every British botanist. In a work 

of such extent there must be, of course, many points upon which any 

two individuals will hold different opinions ; but, after all, the book is 

mainly a record of facts, and it is on this account that it is of so great 

value, and lays all students of our native flora under obligation to its 

author. On p. 348, in the list of counties for Wolffia arrhiza, 

" Hants " is erroneously entered for Kent.

— 


There is yet a third Part to be expected, treating of the segregate 

species, and the '• aliens " and " casuals." We trust Mr. Watson will 

have health and leisure to complete it. 


Professor Belin, of Hamburg, has been elected, by the majority of the 

Council of President Adjuncts, President of the Imperial German Academy 

Naturas Curiosorum, and has accepted the office. 

Mr. Kurz, of Calcutta, sends us a reprint of his ' Supplementary Remarks ' 

to his ' Revision of Indian Screw-pines ' (Seem. Journ. Bot. Vol. V. p. 93), wliich 

he has published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and we also 

receive a translation of this, made by Dr. Hasskarl, and recently pubhshed 

in the Ratisbon Flora. Mr. Kurz does not seem to have noticed the remarks 

on Sandwich Island Fandanem, made by the late Horace Mann in his * Enu- 

meration of Hawaiian Plants ' (Proceedings of American Academy) . The fol- 

lowing errors and omissions, wliich crept into his paper in our Journal, are thus 

corrected: Typha elephantina, p. 95, read folia .... basi triquetra, lateribus 

concavis, supra plana ; instead of " excavato-trigona." II. Pandanece, p. 91, 

add Ovarium superum. III. CyclanthecB, p. 94, add Ovarium inferum. The 

FreycinetiecB are to be transferred to II. Pandaneca. Pandanus furcatus, var. 

Indica, p. 102, read drupse valde convexse, for " concavae." Pandanus Icevis, 

p. 127, read spadix masc, etc., sed hae Isevissimse, instead of " brevissimse." 

Mr. Kurz has also printed in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 

a paper on Pandanophyllum and allied genera, among them Scirpodendron, the 

most gigantic of all CyperacecB, the leaves being 6-9 feet long. 

Professor Alexander Braun has recently read before the Berlin Academy 

papers on Isoetes Kirhi, of New Zealand, a malformation of Podocarpus Chi- 

nensis, and some Oaks struck by lightning which, as well as all that proceeds 

from the pen of that thoughtful and conscientious botanist, will be studied with 

interest and profit. 

The last published part of De Candolle's ' Prodromus ' contains the follow- 

ing Natural Orders : 

— 

Laphniphyllacece and Buxacece, by Miiller Arg. ; 

Empe 

trecB and CannabinecE, by Alph. de Candolle ; Urticea, by WeddeU ; Piperacece, 

by Casim. de Candolle ; Chloranthacea, by Solms ; and Oarryacece, by Alph 

de Candolle. Ths next part is to complete this great work, but we hope and 

trust that the editor may be induced to reconsider his resolve, and not exclude 

the Monocotyledons, as he now means to do. Indeed, the extension of the 

' Prodromus ' is of such vital importjince, that all our academies and natural 

history societies ought to assist, by all means in their power, even largely, 

pecuniarily, if it should be required, to promote it. 

Professor OUver has published a most acceptable handbook, entitled, ' First 

Book of Indian Botany' (Macmillan and Co)., an adaptation of the author's 

* Lessons in Elementai-y Botany,' for use in India. 

VOL. VII. [DECEMBER 1, 1869. 

J 

2 D 

.


We have to record the appearance of two new periodicals devoted to popular 

science, ' The Academy,' published by Murray, and ' Nature,' pubUshed by 

Macmillan. 

The Queen haa been graciously pleased to give orders for the appointment of 

Joseph Dalton Hooker, Esq., M.D., Director of the Eoyal Botanical Gardens at 

Kew, to be an Ordinary Member of the Civil Division of the Third Class, or 

Companions of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath. 

The following inscription to the memory of the late Professor Daubeny has 

been placed in the chapel of Magdalen College, Oxford : 

XP. 

• AB GLOEIAM " DEI 

ET • IN • MEMORIAM 

CAKOLI • iEGIDII • BKIDLE • DATBENY • " M D 

ANNOS • LI • HVIVSCE * COLL ' SOCII 

IITEEABVM • HVMANIOKTM ' EXIMIE ' DOCTTS 

• * CHEMI^ BOTANI^ffi GE0L0GH.5; 

SCIENTIA • INSIGNIS 

AMICIS • AMICISSIMVS 

' TAM ACADEMIC QVAM ' COLLEGIO ' DEVINCTVS 

• DEVM TOTA • MENTE * COLVIT 

IN ' CHEISTO • OBDOEMIVIT 

DIE • MENSIS • DECEMBEIS ' XIII 

A • S • MDCCCLXVII 

AVE • ANIMA • 

.ffiTATIS • LXXIII 

— 

SIMPLEX ' PIA ' DESIDEEATISSIMA. 

Mr. J. Collins, the zealous Curator of the Museum of the Pharmaceutical 

Society, has been made a member of the Natural History Society of Caracas. 

The fourth part of Mr. J. W. N. Key's ' Flora of Devon and Cornwall ' has 

just been published. It carries on the enumeration to the end of Scrophula- 

rinecB.

Abrus Cantoniensis, Note on, by H. 

F. Hance, 336. 

Academy, 

344. 

Imperial German L. C, 

Acsena, 331. 

Actinocarpus, 220. 

Capillus- 

37 

INDEX. 

Adiantiim Cantoniense, 234 ; 

Juuonis, 234 Capilllus- Veneris, 

; 

235 ; diaphanum, 235 ; Edgeworthii, 

235 ; Guilelmi, 235. 

Agaricus atro-caervileus, 251 ; brevipea, 

249 ; corticatns, 250 ; decipiens, 

249 ; euosmus, 251 juba- 

; 

tus (Tab. XC), 62 ; retirugis, 251 

salignus, 251 ; sphagnicola, 250. 

Agrimonia odorata, 318. 

Aira flexnosa, 352 ; montana, 332, 

353 ; scabro-setacea, 353 ; setacea, 

Hudson (A. uliginosa, Weihe), 

Note on, by H. Tiimen, 352 ; uliginosa 

(by mistake flexuosa) in 

England, by H. C. Watson, 281 

uliginosa, Discovery of, in Galway, 

by A. G. More, 265. 

Alisma, 219, 220; Plantago var., 144. 

Alismaceae, 220. 

Alopecurus fulvus, 146. 

American Seeds, Importation of, to 

Australia, 212. 

Anadyomene stellata, 150. 

Anderson, Thomas, Report on the 

Cultivation of Chinchona in Bengal 

for the year 1867-8, 155. 

Andromeda polifolia, 140. 

Aneilema melanostictum, 167. 

Annularia, 337. 

Aroidea, On the Gigantic New, from 

Nicaragua, by B. Seemann, (Plates 

XCVI. and XCVIL), 313. 

Ai-throstylis, Note on the Genus, by 

H. F. Hance, 63. 

Asparagus officinalis, 143. 

Aspidium devexum, 238; odoratum, 

238. 

Asplenium comj)timi, 236 ; Gcerin- 

; 

gianum, 237 ; incisimi, 237 ; Klotzschii, 

236 ; Niponicum, 237 ; normale, 

236 ; Pekinense, 237; Thwaitesii, 

237. 

Aster salignus, 92, 139. 

Australia, Importation of American 

Seeds to, 212 ; Cocoa-nut in, 213. 

Babington, Professor, British Eubi, 

304. 

Backhouse, James, Death of, 51. 

Baldellia, 224. 

Balfour, Professor, Discovery of New 

British Plant by, 337. 

Behn, Professor, elected President of 

Imperial German L. C. Academy, 

365 ; Pamphlet on Impl. German 

L. C. Acad. Nat. Cur., 344. 

Bencomia, 207. 

Bloxam, Rev. A., On Rubus Briggsii, 

A new species found in Devonshire, 

(Plate LXXXVIII.) 33. 

Boletus aestivalis, 2 52 ; variegatus, 

252 ; viscidus, 252. 

Botanical Societv of Edinburgh, 32, 

60, 87. 216, 248. 

Botrychiimi Lunaria, 320. 

Bouche, C, Re-vision of the Genus 

Sangmsorba, 202. 

Brassica campestris, 347; Napus, 347 

Rapa, 348. 

Brassica, What is the Thames-side 

one ? by H. C. Watson, 346. 

Braun, Professor A., Revision of the 

Genus Sanguisorba, 202. 

Briggs, T. R. A., Stations of, and 

Notes respecting some PljTnouth 

Rubi, 33. 

Notes respecting 

some Plymouth Plants, 317. 

Brigham,W. T., On Horace Mann, 168. 

British Association, Meeting at Exeter, 

282, 311. 

Britten, J., Collecting Local Names 

of British Plants, 32. 

;

372 INDEX. 

Britten, J., On Epilobium obscxirum, 

340. 

Brong-niart, M., Notice of a Fossil 

" 

Lycopodiaceous Fruit, 3. 

Buchenau, Dr., Index Criticus Butomacearum, 

Alismaceanim Juncaginacearumque 

Hncusque Descriptarum, 

219. 

Butomacere, 219. 

Butomacearum, Alismacearum Juncaginacearumque 

Hucusque Descriptaruni, 

Index Criticus, Auctore 

Dr. Fr. Buchenaa, 219. 

Butomopsis, 219. 

Calamintha mentldfolia, var. Briggsii, 

141. 

Calamites, 337. 

California, The Pines of, 96. 

Calisaya Barks of Eastern Bolivia, by 

J. E. Howard, (Plate LXXXVII.) 

1. 

Callitriche hamulata, 317. 

Capparis magna, of Loiu-eiro, Note 

on, by H. F. Hance, 41. 

Carex ericetorum, 145 ; involuta, 145. 

Carruthers, "VV., on the Genus Knorria, 

(Plate XCIII.) 153. 

— 

— 

on the Plant Remains 

found in the Cretaceous and Tertiary 

Strata of North America, 82. 

Cams, Dr., Death of, 280. 

Cassinia, 259. 

Catanthes, 230. 

Celmisia, 260. 

Centunculus minimus, 319. 

Cheilanthus (?) Chusana, 235 ; tenuifolia, 

236. 

Chenopodium album, 142 ; Bonus- 

Henricus, 320 ; rubrum, 142. 

Chimmo, W., liis Dredgings in Atlantic, 

92. 

China, Notes on the Fern Flora of, by 

H. F. Hance, 234. 

Chinchona Calisaya, var., 2 ; officinalis, 

159. x 

Chinchona in Bengal, Report on the 

Cultivation of, for the year 1867-8, 

by T. Anderson, 165. 

Chocolate-tree, new kind of, 276. 

Chontales Mountains, Vegetation of, 

277. 

Clavaria furaosa, 252. 

Cocoa-nut in Australia, 213. 

Cocmans, Eugene, Note sur la Famille 

(Ics fiqiiisetacees, 337. 

Colchicum autumnale, 143. 

CoUema lichinodeum, 105. 

Collins, Mr. J., Preparing Paper on 

Guttas, 216 ; made member of Na- 

tural History Society of Caracas, 

370 ; on Vernacular Names, 360. 

Colour-Reaction as a Specific Character 

in Lichens, 91. 

Compendium of the ' Cybele Britannica.' 

Pai-tll. By H. C. Watson, 

368. 

Composita?, Notes on some, of Otago, 

by W. L. Lindsay, 252. 

Coniferaj, Geographical limits of 

West Coast of America, 273. 

Convolvulus, 326 ; translucens, 165. 

Cooke, M. C, Handbook of 

Fungi, 311. 

Coprinus radians, 251. 

Cornus, 298. 

British 

Cotton Cultivation in Nicaragua, 272. 

Cotula, 262. 

Craspedia, 260. 

Crombie, Rev. J., New British Lichens, 

48, 105, 232. 

Crucianella stylosa, 316. 

Cunningham, R. 0., Letter on Magellan 

Vegetation, 88. 

' Cybele Britannica,' Compendium of, 

by H. C. Watson, 368. 

Cycadacese, On the Sexual Organs of 

the, by F. A. U. Miquel, 64, (Plates 

XCI. and XCII.) 93. 

Cycnogeton, 224, 230. 

Damasonium, 224 ; 

flavum, 219. 

Daubeny, Professor, inscription to 

the memory of, 370. 

De Candolle, Publication of the Prodromus, 

369. 

Delesseria sinuosa, 150. 

Delessert, Franz, Death of, 31. 

Delima, Note on, by H. F. Hance, 

115. 

Deschampsia Thuiliieri, 353. 

Desmarestia aculeata, 151. 

Devon and Cornwall, Flora of, by J. 

W. N. Keys, 58, 370. 

Diatomacea;, 88, 152. 

Dickie, Professor, Notes on Range in 

Depth of Marine Algae, 148. 

Didymocarpus lanuginosa, 235. 

Didymodon luridus, 248. 

Dipseudochoiion, 224. 

Dottinga on the Roadside in Nicaragua, 

Panama, and Mosquito, by B. 

Secmann and Capt. Pim. 271. 

Dracocephalum riipestre, 166.

Dried Flowers, 341. 

Drosera, 330. 

Dublin, Trinity College, Appointment 

of Dr. E. P. Wright to chair 

of Botany, 60. 

Duckweeds, Uses of, 9. 

Dye (yeUow) stuff, 277. 

Dyer and Chui-ch, their edition of 

'How Crops Grow,' 312. 

Dyer, ilr. Th., a candidate for Let's 

Readership, 247. 

Echinochloa Crus-galli, 317. 

Echinodorus, 224. 

Ecklon, Christian F., Death of, 31. 

Edible Berries, The Northern Limit 

of, by Dr. B. Seemann, 298. 

Edinburgh Botanical Society, 32, 60, 

87, 216, 248. 

Eleusine Coracana, Note on the Chinese 

Name of, by H. F. Hance, 116. 

Elisma, 225. 

Empetrum, 298. 

Endocarpon Crombiei, 233. 

Engel, his Index of Saxifraga, 312. 

Epigaea repens, Variations in, by 

Thomas Meehan, 78. 

Epilobium, 320 ; anagalloides, 138 ; 

lanceolatum, 318 ; 

obscurum, 340. 

Equisetacees, La Famille des. Note 

sur, par E. Coemans, 337. 

Equisetum Moorei, 147. 

Erechtites, 262. 

Euphoi'bia Esula var., 143. 

Exeter, Meeting of British Association 

at, 282, 311. 

Flora of Middlesex, by H. Trimen 

and W. T. Dyer. 363. 

Flora Yitiensis, by B. Seemann, 216. 

Flowers, Dried, 341. 

Fossil Lycopodiaceous Fruit, Notice 

of, by M. Brongniart, 3. 

Fraxinus rhynchophylla, 164. 

Fremontia, On the Genus, 297. 

Fucus \-itifolius, 150. 

Fumai-ia Borasi, 138, 316. 

Funaria Hibemica, 216. 

Funghi Sospetti e Velenosi del Territorio 

Senese, per F. Valenti- 

Serini, 207. 

Fungi, British, Handbook on, bj' M. 

C. Cooke, 311. 

Galeopsis versicolor, 142; Tetrahit 

var. 141. 

Galium verimi, 319. 

INDEX. 373 

Genevier, L. G., Essai Monographique 

sur les Eubus du Bassia de 

la Loire, 304. 

Gentiana Pneumonanthe, 140. 

Gigantic Trees, 275. 

Gnaphalium, 263. 

Gray, A., Prof., Return to United 

States, 344. 

Grimmia anodon, 248. 

Grindon, Mr. L. H., Echoes in Plant 

and Flower Life, 279. 

Guilfoyle, W. R., A Botanical Tour 

among the South Sea Islands, 117, 

121. 

Gulliver, G., Notes on Lemnaceas 

and on the Discoverj^ of the Raphidian 

Character in Systematic 

Botany, 9. 

Gymnogramme vestita, 235. 

Habenaria bifolia, 320 ; Miersiana, 

On, by H. F. Hance, 161. 

Hance, H. F., De Nova Rhamni 

Specie, 114. 

Note on Abrus Cantoniensis, 

336 ; Capparis magna of 

Loureiro, 41 ; Chinese name of 

Eleusine Coracana, 116; Delima, 

115; Fern-Flora of China, 234; 

Melastoma 

genus Ai-throstylis, 63 ; 

repens, 296; Panicimi Manshuricum, 

41 ; Sambucus Chinensis, 295 ; 

Thesium decurrens and T. Chinense, 

42. 

On Habenaria Miersiana, 

161. 

On the Phoemx of 

the Hongkong Flora, 15. 

On a Poisonins: Solution 

for Bot. Specimens, 353. 

On Wilkomm and 

Lange's Spanish Flora, 85. 

Sertulum Chinense 

quartum, 163. 

Harrisonia Bennettii, 41. 

Harvey, Prof., Memoir of, 86. 

Hawaiian Plants, Statistics and Geographical 

Range of, by Horace 

Mann, 171. 

Hegelmaier, Dr. F., The Lemnacese, 

a Monograph, 245. 

Hemiaiia ciliata, 138. 

Herrania purpurea, 276. 

Heterostylus, 230. 

Hieracium coUiaum, 32 ; stoloniflorum, 

Discover)^ of, in England, 

337.

374 INDEX. 

Holland, Mr. R., CoUecting Local 

Names of British Plants, 32. 

Hooker, Dr., at St. Petersbiu'g Exhibition, 

247, 312; made Conlpanion 

of the Order of the Bath, 

370 ; preparing a British Flora, 

344. 

Howard, J. E., On the Calisaya 

Barks of Eastern Bolivia, (Plate 

LXXXVII.) 1 ; The Quinology of 

the East Indian Plantations, 241. 

Humboldt's Birthday, Anniversary 

of, 312. 

Hyacinth, a green one, 87. 

Hydnum gelatinosum, 252. 

Hydrocleis, 219. 

Hygrophorus calyptrseformis, (Tab. 

XC.) 62. 

Hymenomycetous Fungi, New and 

rare British, bj-^ W. G. Smith, 

(Plates LXXXIX.,XC., and XCV.) 

61, 249. 

Hypericum, 323 ; dubium, 317 ; undulatum, 

317. 

Hypoderris, On a New Species of, by 

Charles Prentice, 240 ; Seemanni, 

240. 

Hygrophorus calyptraeformis. Note 

on, by Anna Russell, 116. 

Indigofera melilotoides, 163. 

Isle of Wight, Notes on Plants of, 

by F. Stratton, 315. 

Juncaginacefe, 230. 

Jxmcago, 230. 

Juncus nigritellus, 144. 

Keys, J. W. N., Flora of Devon and 

Cornwall, 58, 370. 

Ivnorria, On the Genus, by W. Carruthers, 

(Plate XCIII.) 153. 

Krempelhuber, his Lichenology, 312. 

Lactarius controversus, 

LXXXIX.) 61. 

(Tab. 

X 

Lagenophora, 261. 

* 

Lasiolepis paucijuga, 42. 

Lathyrus NissoUa, 318. 

Lawson, M. A., On the Flora of Skye, 

108. 

Leaves, oblique ones, 60. 

Lecanora badia, 108. 

Lecidea aphanoides, 107 ; commaculans, 

106 ; Crombiei, 49 ; deducta, 

233 ; inserena, 107; leptostigma, 49 

lithophiliza, 106 ; ni;i>stula, 48 

melaphana, 107; mesotropa, 49; 

oceUata, 108 ; postuma, 50 ; pnecavenda, 

232 ; sarcogyniza, 106 

subturgidula, 

tenera, 232. 

48 ; spododes, 233 ; 

Leefe, J. E., his Salictum exsiccatum, 

86. 

Leersia oryzoides, 146. 

Lemnaceae, and on the discover)^ of 

the Raphidian Character in 83^8tematic 

Botany, Notes on, by G. 

Gulliver, 9. 

Lemnaceae, Von Dr. F. Hegelmaier, 

245. 

Lemna pol^nrrhiza, 9 ; 

tiisulca, 10, 12 

minor, 12. 

Lentinus tigiinus, 251 ; lepideus, 251. 

Lepidostrobus, 4. 

Leucojum sestivum, 143. 

Libertia, 330. 

Lichens. New British, by Rev. James 

Crombie, 48, 105, 232. 

Lilaea, 230. 

Limnocharis, 219. 

Limnophyton, 225. 

Linaria vulgari-repens, 140. 

Lindberg, S. 0., En liten Proflit pa 

Namnforbistring, 58. 

Lindsay, Dr. L., On Colour-Reaction 

as a Specific Character in Lichens, 

91. 

On the Economical 

Value and Applications of the 

Leaf- Fibre of New Zealand Flax, 

22, 43. 

Notes on some Compositse 

of Otago, 252. 

Remarks on his Paper 

on Chemical Reaction as a Specific 

Character in Lichens, 214. 

Notes on some Plants 

of Otago, 320. 

Litorella lacustris, 319. 

London Botanical Exchange Club, 

Report of the, 136. 

Lord Howe's Island, Vegetation of, 

by C. Moore, 299. 

Lysimachia vulgaris, 319. 

Madura tinctoria, 277. 

Mann, Horace, Statistics and Geographical 

Range of Hawaiian 

Plants, 171- 

— Obituarj' of, bv W. 

T. Brigham, 168. 

Marine Algae, Notes on range in 

depth of, by Professor Dickie, 148. 

;

Martius, Carl Friedrich Phillipp von. 

Decease of, 17. 

Masters, Dr., On the genus Fremontia, 

297. 

On Vegetable Teratologv, 

309. 

Masters", M. T., and H. J. Veitch, 

Appointment of, as English Representatives 

of Horticiiltxiral Society 

of Russia, 31. 

Maundia, 230. 

Medicago denticulata, 318. 

Meehan, Thomas, on Variations in 

Epigaea repens, 78. 

Melastoma repens, Note on, by H. 


Meller, Dr., Death of, 212. 

Mentha Mouletiana, 141. 

Microseris, 260. 

iliers, J., On the genus SvTnbolanthus, 

(Plate XCIV.) 217. 

Miquel, F. A. W., On the Sexual 

Organs of the Cycadacece, (Plates 

XCI. and XCII.) 64, 93. 

Mistletoe, A moncBcious, Exhibition 

of a Specimen of, 87. 

Monopanax Ghiesbreghtii, 351. 

Moore, C, Vegetation of Lord Howe's 

Island, 299. 

Moran (a dye-stuff), 277. 

Morchella crassipes, 346. 

More, A, G., On the Discovery of 

Aira uliginosa in Galway, 265. 

Museum, British, Appointment of 

H. Trimen as Assistant in Botanical 

Department, 215 ; Official Report 

on the Botanical Department of 

the, 266. 

Myosotis, 328. 

Names, Local, Collection of, 32. 

Names, Vernacular, On, by B. See- 

by J. Collins, 360. 

mann, 333 ; 

Narcissus biflorus, 320. 

New Zealand Flax, Economical Value 

and Applications of the Leaf-fibre 

of, by W. L. Lindsay, 22, 43. 

Nomenclature, Laws of, 311. 

Nostoc caladarium. Discovery of, by 

H. C. Wood, 86. 

Nylander. Dr., Remarks on Dr. Lindsay's 

Paper •' On Chemical Reaction 

asa Specific Cliaracter in Lichens," 

214. 

Oblique Leaves, 60. 

Olearia, 253. 

" 

INDEX. 375 

Oliver, Professor, his First Book of 

Lidian Bottmy, 369. 

Oreopanax, On a New Species from 

Chontales, Nicaragua, by B. Seemann, 

350. 

Oreopanax destructor, 351 ; capitatum, 

351 ; Xalapense, 351. 

Omithogalum, 230. 

Otago, Notes on some Plants of, by 

W. L. Lindsay, 320. 

Ottelia, 225. 

Oxalis stricta, 138. 

Oxycoccus, 298. 

Panama, Flora o^ 271. 

Pandaneae, Supplement to, bv Kurz, 

369. 

Pandanophyllum, 369. 

Panicum Mandshuricum, Note on, by 

H. F. Hance, 41 ; 

Williamsii, 41. 

Parmeha lanata, var. subciliata, 50. 

Parson-sia, 324. 

Periodicals, New Popular, devoted to 

Science. 370. 

Peyssonelia abyssicola, 152. 

Peziza (Discina) macrocalyx, ,Riess, 

a New British Fungus, by "W. G. 

Smith, (PlatesXCVIIT. and XCIX.) 

345 ; lanuginosa, 3"46 ; onotica,346 

radiciilata, 346. 

Pharmaceutical Congress, 216. 

Phegopteris plumosa, 146. 

Phoenix farinifera, 16 pumila, 16. 

; 

Phoenix of the Hongkong Flora, On 

the, by H. F. Hance, 15. 

Phormiimi tenax, On the economical 

value of, 22, 43. 

PhyUophora Brodiaei, 151. 

Physospermmn Comubiense, 318. 

Phytolacca Pekinensis, 166. 

PiUaea geraniifolia, 236. 

Pilularia globulifera, 146. 

Pim, B. and B. Seemann, Dottings 

on the Roadside in Nicaragua, Panama, 

and Mosquito, 271. 

Pimelia, 325. 

Pinus Banksiana, 59 ; 

rubra, 59. 

Pithecolobium Saman, 275. 

Plant and Flower Life, Echoes in, by 

li. H. Grindon, 279. 

Plant, New British, Discovery of, 337. 

Plymouth Plants, Notes respecting 

some, by T. R. A. Briggs, 317. 

Poeppig, Edward, Death of, 31. 

Poisoning Solution, On a, for Botanical 

Specimens, 343. 

Polygonatum officinale, 142. 

;

376 INDEX. 

Polygonum aAdculare, 317 ; var., 143 ; 

pteropus, 167. 

Polypoclium CMnense, 239 ; lomaîoides, 

239 ; lingua, 239. 

Polyporus eanguinolentus, 61. 

Potamogeton filiformis, 

Poterium, 205. 

Poteridium, 203. 

li-t. 

Pottia minutula, 248. 

Prentice, Charles, On a New Species 

of Hypoderris, 240. 

Pteris pellucida, 236. 

Pulmonaria angustifolia, 142. 

Pyrenopsis homoeopis, 48. 

Pyrus Scandica, 318. 

Quinology, The, of the East India 

Plantations, by J. E. Howard, 241. 

Ranunculus aquatilis, 136 ; Flammula, 

var. Pseudo-reptans, 137; Flammula, 

315; Steveni, 137. 

Eaphidian character in Systematic 

Botany, Discovery of the, by G. 

Gulliver, 9. 

Remains, Plant, found in the Cretaceous 

and Tertiary Strata of North 

America, by W. Carruthers, 82. 

Rhamni Specie, De Nova, Auctore 

H. F. Hance, 114. 

Rhamnus oreigenes, 114. 

Rimularia limborina, 50. 

Rubi, British, Professor Babington's, 

248, 304. 

Rubi, Plymouth, Stations of and 

Notes respecting some, by T. R. A. 

Briggs, 33. 

Rubi, Some Account of Cheshire, by 

the Hon. J. B. Warren, 353. 

Rubus Briggsii, Blox., On a New Species 

found in Devonshire, by Rev. 

A. Bloxam, (Plate LXXXVIH.) 

33. 

Rubus du Bassin de la Loire, Essai 

Monographique sur les, Par L. G. 

Genevier, 304. \ 

Rubus, 298 ; affinis, 34, 355 ; altha;folius, 

360 ; Balfourianus, 40, 359 ; 

Bloxami, 38 ; caesius, 40, 360 ; calvatus, 

36 ; cari)inifolius, 37, 356 

corylifolius purpureus, 359 ; cory- 

lifolius, 40 ; discolor, 35, .355 ; diversifo'lius, 

39, 358 ; diversifolius 

concinnus, 359; festivus, 359; fissus, 

354 ; foliosus, 40 ; fusco-atcr, 38 ; 

fuscus, 359; Gijntheri, 39 ; M.tjus, 

34, 354 ; infestus, 358 ; Ku-hlcri, 

; 

38, 358; leucostachys, 36, 356; 

Lindleianus, 355 ; macrophyllus, 

37, 356 ; macrophyllus ampUficatus, 

357 ; mucronulatus, 37, 357 ; 

pallidus, 358 ; plicatus, 34, 354 

pyramidalis, 39 ; Radula, 38, 358 ; 

ramosus, 35, 356 ; Reuteri, 358 

rudis, 38, 357 ; rhamnifolius, 34, 

355 ; Salt'eri, 36, 356 ; saxatilis, 40 ; 

scaber, 357 ; Sprengeli, 357 ; siiberectus, 

34 ; villicaulis, 37, 356. 

Russell, Anna, Note on Hygrophorus 

calyptrseformis, 116. 

Russia, Horticultural Society of. Appointment 

of M. T. Mastei-s and 

H. J. Veitch as English Representatives, 

31. 

Sagittaria, 220, 235. 

Salter, W. J., Death of, 280. 

Sambucus Chinensis, Note on, by H. 


Sanguisorba, 203. 

Sanguisorba, Revision of the Genus, 

by Prof. A. Braun and C. Bouche, 

202. 

Sapranthus Nioaraguensis, 272. 

Saimders, W. W., and W. G. Smith, 

on British Hymenomycetous Fungi, 

312. 

Scheer, Frederick, Obituary of, by 

B. Seemann, 268. 

Scheuchzeria, 230. 

Schnitzlein, A., Death of, 31. 

Schott, A., his niustrations of American 

vegetation, 312. 

Scirpodendi'on, 369. 

Scirpus parvulus, 144 ; fluitans, 145. 

Scrivenor, Mrs., on Diied Flowers, 

341. 

Seeds, Transportation of, 241. 

Seemann, B., and B. Pim, Dottings 

on the Roadside in Nicaragua, 

Panama, and Mosquito, 248, 271. 

Seemann, B., Description of two 

New Species of Vitis from Central 

America, 332. 

— Flora Viticnsis, 216. 

Obituaiy of Frederick 

Scheer, 268. 

On the Gigantic New 

Aroidea from Nicaragua (Plates 

XCVI. and XCVII.), 313. 

On the Northern Limit 

of Edible Berries, 298. 

On Vernacular Names, 

333. 

;

Seemann, B., Return of, to England, 

215. 

Senecio, 258 ; campestiis, 316 ; viscosus, 

140. 

Sertviliim Cldnense Quartum, by H. 

F. Eance, 163. 

Shetland, Notes on Botanical Excursion 

in, 248. 

Sisymbrium Irio, 366. 

Skye, On the Flora of, by M. A. 

Lawson, 108. 

Smithia salsuginea, 164. 

Smith, W. G., on New and Rare 

Hvmenomycetous Fungi (Plates 

LXXXIX., XC, and XCV.), 61, 

249. 

Peziza (Discina) macrocalyx, 

Riess, a new British Fungus 

(Plates XCVIII. and XCIX.), 348. 

Solanum, 327. 

Solution, Poisoning, for Botanical 

Specimens, 343. 

South Sea Islands, A Botanical Tour 

among the, by W. R. Gruilfoyle, 

117, 121. 

Spanish Flora, 85. 

Sparassis crispa, 252. 

Sphenophyllum, 337. 

Spilonema Scoticiim, 105. 

Stratiotes nymphoides, 220. 

Stratton, F.. Notes on Isle of Wight 

Plants, 315. 

Symbolanthus, On the Genus, by 

John Miers (Plate XCIV.), 217. 

Tcnogocharis, 230. 

Teratology, Vegetable, by M. T. 

Masters, 309. 

Tetroncium, 230. 

Thalictrum saxatile, 136. 

Thesium decurrens and T. Chinense, 

Note on, by H. F. Hance, 42. 

Thomson, Dr. T. C. Wyville, Appointment 

of, to the Chair of Botany in 

the College of Science at St. Stephen's 

Green, 60. 

Thuja and Libocedrus, 86. 

Tree, Gigantic, 275. 

Tree worship, 275. 

Trifolium hvbridimi, 138. 

Triglochin, 230. 

INDKX. 377 

Trimen, H., Note on Aira setacea 

(A. uliginosa, Weihe), 352. 

His Appointment to British 

Museum, 215. 

and Dyer, W. T., Flora 

of Middlesex, 363. 

Triplosporites, 4, 5 ; Bro'WTiii, 8. 

Typha, 329. 

Vaccinium, 298. 

Valenti-Serini, F., Dei Funghi Sospetti 

e Velenosi del Territorio Senese, 

207. 

ValerianeUa Auricula, 319. 

Valisneria, 229. 

Vernacular Names, On, by B. Seemann, 

333 ; by J. Collins, 360. 

Vemonia clivormn, 164. 

Vespuccia, 220. 

Victorian Government Botanist, Report 

of the, 183. 

Vitis Chontalensis, 332 ; Javalensis, 

332. 

Vitis, Description of two New Species 

of, from Central America, by B. 

Seemann, 332. 

Vittadinia, 261. 

Watson, H. C, on Aira idiginosa (by 

mistake flexuosa) in England, 231. 

Compendium of the 

Cybele Britannica, 368. 

Wliat is the Thamesside 

Brassica, 346. 

Warren, the Hon. J. B., Some Accoxmt 

of Cheshire Rubi, 353. 

Wendland, H. L., Death of, 279. 

Wilkomm and Lange's Spanish Flora, 

85. 

WoliEa, 9, 12 ; arrhiza, 144. 

WoUaston Fimd, 86. 

Woodsia Hvensis, 234 ; hyperborea, 

234 ; macrochlEena, 234 ; polystichoides, 

234. 

Woodwardia angustiloba, 236 ; auriculata, 

236. 

AA^right, Dr. E. P., Appointment of 

to the Chaii' of Botany, in Trinity 

College, DubHn, 60. 

Zoysia Sinica, 168. 

VOL. VII. [decembkr 1, 1869.] 2 E

PRINTED BY 

XAYLOB AND CO,, LITTLE QUEEN STREET, 

LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS.

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P

Da. SEEiiA>->-'s ' JOUENAL- OF BOTANY, BEI- 

TISH AND FOREIGN,' tas now completed its.Seventli 

Tolume. It coutains 99 Lithographic Plates, mostly coloured, 

and many Woodcuts. From the commencement of 1863, it 

has been the only Journal of its class in England, and the 

list of more than 100 contributors and correspondents 

printed in the last number contains the names of the 

majority of our leading botanists. 

It is with great regret that we hear from Dr. Seemann 

that, notwithstanding the acknowledged value of the bulk 

of its contentsrthe.sale of the Journal has hitherto been 

quite insufficient .to go\^ its expenses. Up to^;he_present 

timB the Editor has met the deficit from hia own pocket, 

but" he has now resolved- to suspend the publication with the 

present number, unless means can be found to make it pay 

its expenses. 

It cannot be expected that Dr. Seemann,. whose disinter- 

ested efforts for so long a period entitle him to the gratitude 

of all botanists, can continue to support at his own 

charges a Journal devoted to their interests, but it will be 

a orreat loss to all employed in botanical pursuits if it has 

to be given up. 

It is, however, in reference to British Botany that, the 

want of. such a periodical will be especially felt. All stu- 

dents of our native fljora are therefore earnestly requested 

to help to sustain the* existing Journal, by sending in their 

names as subscribers, and by using every efibrt to< increase 

its circulation.

The importance of Britisli Botany has always been fully 

recognized in the Journal, all the more important dis- 

coveries have been recorded in its pages, and most of the 

new British species have been figured. With the object of 

giving greater prominence to this part of the work, the 

Editor has requested Mr. J. Gr. Baker, of the Kew Her- 

barium, and Dr. H. Trimen, of the Botanical Department, 

British Museum, to undertake its superintendence, and they 

have consented to do so. 

If the Journal can be continued, it is intended that each 

number shall contain, besides original papers, a complete 

summary of all important articles which have been re- 

cently published, at home or abroad, relating directly 

or collaterally to the British flora, and also accounts of 

books and papers of value and the botanical news of the 

month. Several botanists have promised to supply monthly 

articles on these subjects. 

The undersigned therefore invite all British botanists to 

co-operate in the work of supporting the 'Jouenal of 

BoTAisT,' both by subscribing themselves, by inducing others 

to do so, and especially by contributing to its pages. 

C. e. Babington, M.A., F.R.S. M. A. Lawson, M.A., F.L.S. 

J. G. Baker, F.L.S. 

* 

M. T. Masters, M.D., F.L.S. 

J. H. Balfour, M.D., F.RS. D. Moore, Ph.D., F.L.S. 

T. R. A. Briggs. a. G. More, F.L.S. 

J. Britten. 

^^ 

F. Stratton, F.L.S. 

W. Carruthers, F.L.S. H. Trimen, M.B., F.L.S. 

G, Dickie, M.D., F.L.S. Hon. J. B. L. Warren, M.A., 

A. Dickson, M.D., F.R.S.E. F.L.S. 

W. T. T. Dyer, B.A. Perceval Wright, M.D., 

F.L.S.

The ' Journal op Botany ' will he puhlished on the \st 

of each month, and ivill appear ivith regidarity after the 

January number, ivhich must be delayed. The Sub- 

scription is now reduced to I2s. pefr annum, which 

shoidd be paid in advance to the printers and publishers, 

Taylor and Co., Little Queen Street, Lincoln's Lm 

Fields. 

Authors can have separate copies of their contrihutions 

on payment of the Printer's charges, a statement of which 

will be sent with the proof. 

December, 1869.

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