MR. C, E, SALMON ON A HYBRID STACHYS, BDF 
A Hybrid Stachys. By C. E. Sarmon, F.L.S. 
(With one Text-figure.) 
[Read 17th January, 1918.] 
For some years I have grown in my garden Stachys germanica raised from 
Oxfordshire seed kindly given me by Mr. S. H. Bickham (see Watson Bot. 
Ex. Club Rep. 1912-13, p. 405), and close by several flourishing clumps of 
Stachys alpina which came to me from Mr. J. W. White's garden at Clifton, 
and whose origin was the only British station in West Gloucestershire 
(Journ. Bot. 1897, p. 380 ; 1898, p. 209). 
Early last summer I noticed, in close proximity to the above, a 
partieularly vigorous plant sending up several stems and bearing root-leaves 
that in colour and hair-clothing could be neither those of germanica nor 
alpina, and later, when the plant was in full bloom, which occurred just 
after the period when ©. alpina was at its best and before that of 
S. germanica, it became obvious that I had an interesting hybrid between 
these two species. 
The colouring of the plant, as a whole, was almost intermediate between 
the silvery-grey tone of germanica (caused by the abundance of its white 
silky tomentum) and the comparatively green tint of alpina. 
On its strong stout stems, between three and four feet high, overtopping 
both its parents (as they grow in my garden), an abundance of bright flowers 
were borne, larger than those of either alpina or germanica and of a different 
colour. Those of alpina are of a dull purple, inclining to brown, and 
germanica bas corollas of a decidedly pleasing pink tint ; the flowers of the 
hybrid were clear bright purple, slightly paler near the throat. 
The next step was to ascertain what was known and had been written 
about this hybrid, and I found it had been described as long ago as 1789 
when William Aiton (then of the Royal Gardens, Kew) gave it specific rank 
as Stachys intermedia, with the following diagnosis :—* S. verticillis multi- 
floris, calycibus subpungentibus, foliis oblongis subcordatis crenatis, caule 
sublanato. Oblong-ieav’d Stachys. Nat. of Carolina. Introd. about 1762. 
Fl. June & July” *. 
This deseription is very good as far as it goes, but there must be some 
error as regards the country of origin ; neither S. germanica nor S. alpina 
(and consequently the hybrid) are known to occur in America. An 
authentic specimen, probably sent by Aiton himself, may be seen in the 
British Museum Herbarium labelled: “ S. intermedia. Hort. Kew. Julio 
1764," and this matches my examples extremely well. 
: * Hort. Kewensis, ii. 301. 
LINN, JOURN,—BOTANY, VOL. XLIV. 
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