at leaft by the more modern Botanifts ; but, as we think, with- 

 out reafon ; for the differences are feveral and material, the 

 proofs of the one having contributed in any way to the pro- 

 duction of the other, none. 



Our plant has a ("mailer bulb-tuber, flenderer leaves ; the 

 larger or upper fegment of its corolla removed from between 

 and fufpcnded over its lateral ones, not enclofed by them as 

 in communis ; the upper lateral fegments are about equal to or 

 even narrower than the three lower ones, while in that they 

 are far broader ; the three lower ones are equal among them- 

 i'clves, or the middle may be a little narrower, but in com* 

 munis this is twice the broadeft ; the anthers are alfo longer 

 than their filaments in this, which is not the cafe there ; and 

 above all our fpecies may be diftinguifhed from the other by 

 its round, folid, fubbaccate feeds, having a thin lamina of 

 reddith pulp between their coats, but which is not quite fo 

 thick as in Babiana, while in that they are dry, chaffy, and 

 flat, edged with a broad membranous wing or border, formed 

 of the tunic, which is much larger than its fmall cartilaginous 

 nucleus, round which its vacant portion is preffed quite flat, 

 nearly as in the Cape fpecies. 



Whenever we have fpoken of Gladiolus communis, this 

 was the plant we had in view ; but as the other has been already 

 publiflied, under that name, by Mr. Curtis, in this work, and 

 fince it is often impoffible to determine which is meant by 

 many Botanifts, we have thought fit to let the original name 

 remain with that, though our plant is doubtlefsly included by 

 Unnius in his books as a variety; or indeed may be the 

 one he intends in his defcription. 



A native of Dauphiny and moft probably of other parts of 

 South Europe. Desfontaines found it in Algiers. It grows 

 among corn and in dry funny expofures on low hills. In our 

 collections it is not now nearly fo common as the communis £ 

 we found it in the Botanic Garden of Mr. Salisbury, Bromp- 

 ton, where the drawing was taken ; quite hardy, flowering about 

 May or June, and propagates abundantly both by feed and offsets. 

 We have no doubt but that there are other European fpecies, 

 that have merged as varieties of each other under one title, but 

 which we fhall endeavour to detect and diftinguifh in our 

 numbers. The Bankfian Herbarium contains a feeded fpeci- 

 men, which feems to be our plant, brought from Madeira, by 

 Mr. Masson. According to Zannichelli (who gives an 

 accurate defcription of the plant) our fpecies grows in the Ve- 

 netian territory, and varies much in the number of flowers; it 

 is called Ghiacgiulq by the inhabitants. G. 



