V. narbonensis, which has an immense geographical range, 
in cultivated and virgin soil, from Southern France to the 
Caucasus, and from North Africa to Arabia, Persia, and 
North India, is a variable plant, the stipules being some- 
times almost entire, the number of leaflets varying from two 
to eight and from quite entire to acutely deeply toothed. 
_ Their nervation too varies, though I never find the few 
almost straight nerves of V. Faba, the leaflets of which are 
three-nerved from the base. Then again, though V. Faba 
was no doubt found apparently wild by Lerche, there is 
no evidence that it was indigenous; and Boissier, whose 
knowledge of the Oriental Flora was unrivalled, expressly 
says that he never saw it inanindigenous state. The only 
author who expressly claims to have seen V. Faba wild is 
Munby, who includes it in his “ Catalogus Plantarum in 
Algeria sponte nascentium,” as being found at Oran. His 
specimen is in the Kew Herbarium, and ticketed by him- 
self, ‘ Vicia Faba, L., spontanea in pascuis argillosis, 
Figuia, Oran, Maii, 1865,” but Cosson, whose knowledge of 
Algerian plants ranked with Boissier’s of Oriental, affirms 
that he has never seen a wild specimen from North Africa. 
For some of the above information J am indebted to 
M. De Candolle’s valuable “‘ Origine des Plantes Cultivées,”’ 
where all the very earliest authorities for the history of 
the cultivated bean are given, together with much interest- 
ing information. This author does not favour the 
hypothesis of Vicia narbonensis being the origin of the 
Bean; but rather appears to consider the two plants 
as generically distinct. On the contrary, Bentham, 
who made the Leguminose a life-long study, says in the 
‘Genera Plantarum ” (vi. p. 525) that V. Faba only differs 
from narbonensis in the thicker subfleshy or coriaceous 
pericarp, and is perhaps a race of that species produced 
by cultivation. 
The specimen of V. narbonensis here figured was raised 
from seed by Messrs Sutton and Co., the eminent seeds- 
men, and sent by them to Kew for determination in June 
of last year.—J. D. H. 
Fig. 1, Standard; 2, wing; 3, keel; 4, stamens; 5, portion of ovary and 
ovule :—all enlarged. 
