104 ANNALS OF SCOTTISH NATURAL HISTORY 



affords fine pasturage. This is so well looked after by the 

 sheep that there is not much left for any other collector. 

 New Shetland records are marked *. 



Linncei, Presl. This plant must be expunged from the 

 Shetland List. It was recorded partly on my own, partly on 

 another determination ; but the plants prove to be a form of 

 S. siilnilata. I had suspected this, and it is now confirmed 

 by Dr. Ostenfeld. 



Montia lamprosperma, Cham. ; Syn. M. rivularis auct. nonnull. 

 (non Gmelin). -This is a new name, rather than a "new 

 British plant," as it has been called. In his last article in 

 the "Botany of the Faroes" (iii. 853) Dr. Ostenfeld, 

 following Dr. Harald Lindberg, adopts the above name in 

 place of M. rivularis, on the sufficient ground that Gmelin 

 did not describe the seeds. In consequence of this omission, 

 we find that M. rirn/aris is variously placed by different 

 authors. On proceeding to examine my material, both British 

 and foreign, I found that the separation of M. fontana into two 

 forms was not quite the simple matter that I had supposed it 

 to be ; for we have, in Britain, three distinct forms of seed 

 which may be characterised as follows : 



1. Seeds entirely covered with large coarse tubercles, and 



quite without reticulations; black, dull or slightly shining. 



2. Seeds covered on their face with rather coarse reticula- 



tions, but with about three rows of much smaller and 

 more conical tubercles on each side of the keel, which 

 is also minutely tuberculate ; black and perhaps rather 

 more shining. 



3. Seeds entirely covered with fine reticulations which are a 



good deal longer and narrower than those of form 2 ; 

 black, or more usually dark brown or purplish brown, 

 polished, and quite without tubercles. 



I propose the following arrangement of these forms ; the 

 counties named are those whence I have specimens, and must 

 not be taken to represent their distribution or comparative rarity. 



Montia fontana, L. 



ssp. minor, Gmelin. 



var. a. chondrosperma, Fenzl ap. Ledeb. (syn. M. fontana, 

 Cham, in " Linmea," 1831, pi. 7, fig. i. M. 

 fontana, var. minor, Syme). Seed form No. i. 

 Surrey. 



/>. intermedia, Beeby ined. (syn. M. fontana, var. minor, 

 " Bab. Man." ; M. rivularis, Garcke ?). Seed form 

 No. 2. Cornwall W., Surrey. 



