8o The Scottish Naturalist. 



Galium verum L. (a) Sc. Nat. vol. i. 156, formed by Ccci- 

 domyia galii Winnertz. I have found on G. verum what I 

 took to be a distinct kind of gall, but which Mr. Miiller 



, informs me is also formed by C. galii. It occurs -along 

 with the form described, from which, however, it differs con- 

 siderably ; it is not glossy ; its colour is different, being dull 

 green or dull reddish ; it is usually of smaller size, and is 

 much more compact in structure, and frequently bears a few 

 stunted leaves at the apex ; like the form described they 

 split open when matured to allow the escape of the larva. 

 This form is more local than the other. 



(b) Sc. Nat. vol. i. 156, during July and August this gall is 



inhabited by several larvae of Cecidomyia ? Rather 



local. 



(c) The gall-like body described on the same page is 

 formed by mites (Phytoptus ?) Very common everywhere. 



(d) This gall consists of a projection from the stem, usually 

 a little above a node, flattened laterally, somewhat coni- 

 cal in form, and ending in a beak curved downwards. 

 Length from above downwards about £', projects from 

 stem }i'. It is green, naked, and slightly wrinkled; it is 

 monothalamous, and the side farthest from the stem is 

 very thin. Each contains one whitish Ceeidomyious larva. 

 Common in " Dee " in June and July. 



Carex punctata in Scotland.— The Rev. J. Farquharson announced, at the 

 February Meeting of the Botanical Society of Edinburgh, his discovery pf Carex- 

 punctata, in the parish of Colvend, Kirkcudbrightshire. He noticed at the same 

 time some of the rarer plants of the parish which had been pointed out to him 

 by the Rev. J. Fras«r of Colvend. These are all tolerably well known and 

 include Cladium mariscus, Scutellaria minor, Lychnis viscaria, &c. He 

 seems, however, to have overlooked Spergularia rupestris which is common on 

 the rocky shore of Colvend — the only Scottish habitat at present known for it. 



Mosses.— Botanists will welcome the appearance of " A Synopsis of the 

 British Mosses " by C. P. Hopkirk. It was quite time for a new work on 

 this interesting group of plants, for since the publication of the " Bryologia 

 Britannica,'' eighteen years ago, the number of species recorded as British has 

 considerably increased, hence in the Synopsis we find descriptions of 562 

 species, or 116 more than in the Bryologia. In the Synopsis, in addition to a 

 lucid description of each species — in which the chief distinctive characters are 

 pointed out, and no unnecessary plethora of words used — the habitat of each 

 species is noticed, and a/ew localities given for the rarer ones. With Leighton's 

 "Lichen Flora," Cooke's "British Fungi," and Hopkirk's "Mosses," the 

 British Cryptogamic Botanist ought to be thankful at having so many works 

 71 p to date. 



