178 MR. 4. G. MORE ON GLADIOLUS ILLYRICUS. 
me to state that he finds the English Gladiolus to agree exactly 
with Continental specimens of G. Illyricus issued by C. Billot. 
Gladiolus communis (Linn.) is a much larger plant, and is easily 
distinguished from the other two species by its larger flowers and 
much stouter leaves. The range also of G. communis appears to 
be more exclusively southern in Europe. 
It will be remembered that Dr. Arnott, in the latest edition of 
the British Flora, treats * Gladiolus communis?" as an introduced 
plant. Mr. Bentham, also in his * Handbook,’ writes, “ Possibly 
accidentally introduced ;" but I believe that the occurrence of 
Gladiolus Illyricus in the Isle of Wight supplies an important 
link in support of its being indigenous to Britain. 
There can be no doubt as to the identity of the present speci- 
men. Fortunately, the finder noted down the date in her journal at 
the time, and made a drawing of the plant while it was still fresh. 
Further, there is a tradition on the spot: it has long been known 
to the inhabitants of a neighbouring farm-house that a wild Gla- 
diolus grows in the woods at Shanklin. 
The specimen now exhibited was found in the middle of the 
wood, in a spot remote from cottages; nor am I aware that G. 
Illyricus is at all cultivated as a garden-flower. 
The nature of the British stations (heaths and heathy woods) 
agrees perfectly with what is known of the place of growth of G. 
Illyricus in the north-west of France. 
If G. Illyricus appears to belong to the south and west of 
Europe, its position in Britain is not unlike that of several other 
species which, though absent from North and Middle Germany, 
extend along the shores of the Atlantie as far as the British Isles. 
Arum Italicum, Rubia peregrina, Cyperus longus, Agrostis setacea, 
&c. will readily occur as examples of this; and no doubt all these 
plants are influenced by the comparative mildness of the maritime 
climate of the west of Europe. 
If very rare in Hampshire and in the Isle of Wight, G. Z/lyricus 
is also said to be exceedingly scarce in the Loire district of 
France, as indeed might be expected from its outlying position in 
both countries, where we may suppose it to be at the extreme 
limit of its range. 
It is hoped that any botanist who may succeed in discovering 
other plants at Shanklin will not fail to publish the details, since, 
however great the geographical probabilities of its wildness, it 
would be very desirable to have more than a single root to youch 
for Gladiolus Illyricus being indigenous to the Isle of Wight. 
