462 MR. G. C. DRUCE ON THE 
ne devaient étre que C. lagopina (approximata) d'un cóté, et 
echinata ou Persooni d'un autre côté. C. helvola me semble 
étre un ancien hybride devenue fixe, et plus ou moins stable, et 
il n'est pas invraisemblable qu'il se présente sous quelques 
formes légérement différentes. De ce point de vue il doit 
être extrêmement difficile de distinguer le C. helvola de nouveaux 
hybrides entre les dites espèces.” 
I may add that the Rev. E. F. Linton has examined the 
Ben Lawers plant, and considers it to be C. canescens x echinata. 
In support of this view of the origin of our Sedge is the 
occurrence of C. echinata in great abundance in the locality. 
But if this be the origin, we ought to see some evidence of the 
presence of C. echinata in our plant. We have seen that 
the offspring of C. norvegica and canescens is a plant with 
strongly ribbed perigynia. Should we not expect then to see 
iraces of ribs on the perigynia of the offspring of two parents 
each possessing ribbed perigynia ? I can see nothing in the 
shape of the fruit of our plant, in its arrangement, or in iís 
veining which suggest the presence of C. echinata. Again we 
might expect, if that suggestion be correct, to find plants 
approaching to one or the other of the assumed parents. I 
earefully looked out for such specimens but did not see any. 
Indeed C. helvola on Ben Lawers was singularly unvaryiDg 
in appearance, being much more constant in character than 
C. flava or C. saxatilis which grew near. At the altitude where 
the plant occurred, C. echinata was in flower while C. canescens 
was fruiting. From the very close superficial resemblance 
borne to our plant by €. Zahnii, the suggestion that C. appe 
mata is the other parent is perhaps more probable. A gains 
this origin of the Ben Lawers Sedge is the fact that the o 
currence of C. approximata iu the Breadalbane range of ; 
has never yet been proved. The nearest observed locality a 
C. approximata is Cairntoul, which must be fifty miles to $ 
north-east, and consequently against the prevailing wind dura 
the flowering season. It may be that formerly C. PPE ing 
occurred in the neighbourhood, but again undoubted MEM 
of C. Persoonii and C. approvimata ave different 1n M Isola 
those of our Scottish plant. I by no means assert that ' s not 
(which may be an analogous plaut to Salis Smithiana) forms 
the offspring of C. canescens in one of its ae to see 
with either C. echinata or C. approximata, but I fai 
— — — 90 PERRO 
