161 



Notes on some rare and little-known Plants of Madeira ; by James 



Yate Johnson, Esq. 



{To the Editor of Hooker's Journal of Botany.) 



Madeira, April 6, 1857. 



Sir, — I venture to ask you to allow me to announce in your pages 

 one or two recent botanical discoveries in Madeira, and to make a few 

 remarks on some lately published papers, which may possibly be of use 



. m. h m sm _ * It 



to those who are desirous of completing their lists of our native plants. 



In the course of last summer, Senhor J. M. Moniz (whose quick eye 

 and persevering research Mr. Lowe has very properly commemorated) 

 met with a tree in the north of the island, of which he showed me 

 leaves and fruit some months afterwards. These had the appearance 

 of belonging to Visnea Mocatiera, L. fil., a tree which, as far as I am 

 aware, had not previously been met with at any other place than the 

 Canaries. In the early part of last month, Mr. N. H. Mason (who for 

 several months past has been engaged in collecting plants in this island) 

 sent me flowers and young fruit from the same tree ; and from an exa- 

 mination of these I am able to say that my first conjecture was correct. 

 Although the tree is not uncommon by the roadside in Seixal (a parish 

 on the north coast, to which it seems to be confined), its branches are 

 . there constantly cropped for fodder ; and the young leaves bear so stron 



O 



Webb 



been hitherto mistaken for that shrub. Under such circumstances it 

 never puts out flowers, but on certain wild and almost inaccessible rocks 

 it attains its full growth, and exhibits its flowers in tolerable abun- 

 dance. I submitted flowers and fruit to the examination of Dr. Schacht, 

 the eminent microscopist, of Berlin, who will doubtless hereafter pub- 

 lish the beautiful drawings he has made. In the meantime I may state 

 that much light appears to have been thrown upon the true position of 

 the tree, hitherto so much in doubt. Endlichcr (Gen. Plant, p. 1018) 

 placed it amongst Ternstramacece , but afterwards he was disposed to 

 . rank it with Menace* (see the second Supplement to his Gen Plant, 

 p. 81). Mr. Webb gave a minute, and nearly accurate account of the 

 tree in his ' Phytographia Canadensis/ vol. n. p. 144; and though 

 placing it amongst Ternebrmmiaeem. his remarks show that he was d>s- 

 satisfied with ttot arrangement. Dr. Lindley also placed Fueea amongst 



VOL. IX. 



