SOME CRITICAL SPECIES OF ECHIUM. aui 
E. polycaulon are: (1) The relative proximity of Salamanca to Plasencia, 
whereas lusitanicum has only been found hitherto in northern Portugal and in 
Galieia in three localities in the frontier province of Orense (see Merino, 
Fl. de Galicia, ii. p. 155, 1906) ; (2) That a plant identical with Bourgeau's 
specimens of polycaulon from Plasencia existed under thename of salmanticum 
in several botanical gardens long before Boissier described his species, and in 
fact within 10 to 20 years of Lagasca’s publication, thus raising a strong 
presumption that the seeds had come from Lagasca himself. 
Of these early garden specimens of. salinantieum identical with polycaulon 
the following have come to my knowledge: (1) Herb. Boiss. ex Hort. 
Genev., leg. Duby anno 1822; teste Buser ex Coutinho, 1. c. ; (2) Leipzig, 
anno 1835 ; teste Braun in litt, ined. ad J. Gay; (3) Hort. Neap. Novembri 
1836 ; misit Tenore in Herb. Gay ; (4) Hort. Carlsruh., unde semina misit 
Braun ad J. Gay anno 1839; (5) Hort. Paris. in Herb. Gay, anno 1843 ; 
(6) H. R. Neap. in herb. Ten. 
The difference between Æ. salmanticum = polycaulon and E. lusitanicum, L. 
= Broteri, Samp., was recognised by J, Gay in his MS. notes in Herb. Kew 
before the publication of polycaulon. In addition to the specimen of 
lusitanicum received from A. de Jussieu, to which I refer in my notes on 
E. lusitanicum of Herb. Linn., Gay’s herbarium contains two good examples 
of a plant grown in the Jardin des Plantes in 1843 from seed sent from 
Carlsruhe by A. Braun on Feb. 1, 1839, as Æ. salmanticum, Lag. Both are 
identical with Bourgeau’s no. 2467 referred to above. Now lusitanicum and 
polycaulon resemble each other in their remarkable method of growth ; 
Coutinho, Fl. Port. ii. p. 499, says they are perennial plants producing 
lateral stems below the rosette of basal leaves *. This had been described 
for lusitanicum by Brotero, Fl. Lus. i. p. 290, as follows : * Caules quinque 
ad duodecim ex eadem radice, sub rosula foliorum radicalium, primum 
obliqui, dein ineurvati, erectiusculi ; folia radicalia in orbem prostrata, 
pedalia et longiora, ad medium biuncialia aut latiora, lanceolata." Gay 
observed the same character in the specimens he saw alive in the Jardin 
des Plantes, but not in the scraps of lusitanicum from the herbaria of 
Tournefort and Jussieu. He consequently thought that his cultivated plant 
must be identical with Brotero’s italieum — lusitanicum, L., and suggested 
for it, but fortunately did not publish, the name Æ. Broterianum. 
On Feb. 1, 1839, Braun writes from Carlsruhe to Gay: ‘ Von Echium 
salmanticum schicke ich Samen ; gehen sie Ihnen auf, so bekommen Sie die 
merkwürdigste Species aus diesem Genus, die von allen andern günzlich 
abweicht durch ihren Wuchs. Als Sie meine “chia im Jahre 35 durchsahen, 
schrieben Sie an ein schlechtes Exemplar aus dem Leipziger Garten: * Species 
* Another perennial species from Spain and Portugal, Æ. rosulatum, Lange, has the same 
habit, 
