BOTANICAL NOTES AND NEWS 187 



like many other Scottish plants, was recognised as distinct by 

 George Don the elder. It may, however, be urged, with some 

 reason, that the letter does not conclusively prove that S. affine was 

 differentiated from S. minimum, Fries, but I think it extremely 

 probable that Don knew both plants. The date of the communica- 

 tion is 1814, and is as follows : " I am satisfied that it is of frequent 

 occurrence in the lakes of Scotland. It is probably referred to by 

 Mr. Neill in his 'Tour to Orkney and Shetland' (1806), see p. 46. 1 

 When I exhibited the plant to George Don, who paid me a visit a 

 short time since, he instantly recognised the foliage, but stated he 

 had never seen it in flower. He had observed it in the Isle of 

 Skye, on Ben Lawers, and at the head of Mar Forest. Should no 

 better name occur, the trivial name longifolium will not be improper. 

 J. Fleming, F.R.S.E." Curiously enough, Smith does not refer to 

 the plant mentioned in the above letter in either edition of the 

 " English Flora." In " Topographical Botany " Mr. Watson gives, 

 under S, affine, " Shetland, Dr. Fleming possibly." On the evidence 

 afforded by this letter, 6". affine is not recorded for Ben Lawers in the 

 " Flora of Perthshire " although it is found in the county, and I have 

 seen it from Skye and South Aberdeenshire. G. CLARIDGE DRUCE. 



Carex eurta, Good, var. dubia, Bailey (sub. eanescens). The 

 determination by Pfarrer Kiikenthal of this as a British plant is of 

 interest, as it is rare in America. As it is difficult sometimes for 

 others to consult the descriptions of these new forms, I give Pro- 

 fessor Bailey's notes, etc., on the var. : 



" Carex eanescens, L., var. dubia, n. var. Culm stiff, i foot high, 

 longer than the long pointed leaves ; spikes 3-6, all approximate, 

 oblong, 10-20 flowered, light tawny; perigynium gradually narrowed 

 into a beak half or more as long as the body, minutely rough on 

 the angles alone, nerved, about the length of or a little longer than 

 the scale. C. helvola, Blytt ? ' Carex Cat,' Bear River Canon, 

 Utah (No. 12313, King's 'Survey'); perhaps also the No. 1018 of 

 Wheeler's ' Survey,' from Tuin Lakes, Colorado. 



"The variety differs from C. eanescens in its stiffer culm, mostly 

 shorter leaves, oblong and approximate spikes, and in the characters 

 of the perigynium, much resembling the European C. helvola (itself 

 a doubtful species), but differing in its narrower scales, and its 

 nerved and rough-angled perigynium."- L. H. Bailey in "Botanical 

 Gazette," No. 8, p. 119 (1884). 



""I * The following is Neill's account of the occurrence of the Sparganium : " In 

 the Loch of Knitching, which occupies a hollow near the top of the high hill of 

 Knitching in the vicinity of the Manse, I observed an aquatic plant, apparently 

 a Sparganium ; but although the plant is abundant, I could not find it in flower. 

 Its leaves float on the surface of the water, in the manner of Poa fluitans. It 

 differs from Sparganiiiin natans in having narrower, coarser, and longer leaves. 

 Any naturalist who may happen to visit Rousay at a different season of the year 

 may find it worth while to examine the plant." 



