HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



151 



rare in these parts ; I searched for it in vain during 

 three seasons, and at last found it on a wall in the 

 vicinity of Ringwood. Viola lactca occurs on many 

 heaths, and I fancy I once found V. stagnina, but 

 am not certain. Another generally common plant is 

 hereof great rarity : Malachium aquaticum. Claytonia 

 perfoliata grows in profusion in the sand at Mudeford 

 and its neighbourhood, where in the salt marshes may 

 be seen Altluca officinalis, and occasionally in the 

 hedges (but always introduced, of course) Lavatera. 

 The Leguminifera; include some rare species : no one 

 walking across any of the forest heaths and moorlands 

 in the month of August can fail to notice the trailing 

 golden-blossomed Ulex nanus, which in some places 

 attains a height of three feet or more. On the coast 

 we get that very small plant with a very long name, 

 Trigonella ornithopodioides, and Medicago macula/a. 

 Trifolium glomeratum I discovered here last summer, 

 and Vicia orolms, a northern plant, was pointed out 

 to me ; as far as I know it only occurs in one spot, 

 not easily discoverable, but when once seen its deli- 

 cate pale green fern-like leaves are not to be mistaken. 

 Though it is miles from any habitation I cannot, for 

 various reasons, consider it truly indigenous. Agri- 

 monia odorata I discovered two years ago ; it is a 

 much larger plant than its congener, and may always 

 be recognised by its lemon-like fragrance. I almost 

 believe now that Isnardia palustris is extinct, in this 

 part of the county at least. Tilliea mnscosa is 

 frequent on sandy heaths. 



The Umbelliferse do not furnish anything very 

 good, as far as my experience goes, except, perhaps, 

 CEnanthe pimpinelloides, a rather common plant in 

 this neighbourhood, Fceniadum, about Christchurch, 

 and Crithnmm maritimum on the sea wall. Rubia 

 pcregrina seems only to occur under the shade of the 

 clematis before alluded to, so both may possibly have 

 been introduced from the Isle of Wight. Tanacetum 

 vulgare is rare ; Inula crithmoides grows here and 

 there all along the sea wall, and Crepis biennis I 

 have found on the coast. The delicate little Wahlen- 

 bergia hederacea grows profusely in some boggy 

 ground not far from Lyndhurst ; almost all over the 

 Forest the tiny golden stars of Cicendia filiformis peep 

 among the turf; and the splendid large blue corollas 

 of Gentiana Pneumonanthe gleam among the heather 

 on a few moist heaths. Linaria repens is common in 

 hedges at Marchwood, and near Brockenhurst, and, 

 in a few other places, Bartsia viscosa. Orobanche 

 minor also grows near here, though sparingly, while 

 0. major seems peculiar to Beaulieu. 



As everyone knows, Pulmonaria august if olia is one 

 of the great botanical features, and is so widely and 

 plentifully distributed throughout the forest that 

 there is not much fear of its eradication. The lovely 

 little Pinguicula lusitanica is common enough in the 

 bogs, where may be seen the delicate threadlike 

 branches of Utricularia minor, but U. intermedia, 

 though abundant where it exists, is rare. In a few 



bog pools I have met with Sparganium minimum, 

 and in one locality only the singular Actinocarpus 

 damasonium. Of orchids we have a good number : 

 Orchis incur nata I have seen growing with O. 

 latifolia and O. macitlata in the bogs at Holmsley. 

 Since writing my note in Science-Gossip, vol. xiv. 

 p. 138 on Spiranthes ccstivalis, I have been so fortu- 

 nate as to discover it in another part of the forest, 

 well established and in great plenty. It is quite 

 unnecessary here to specify the locality. The tiny 

 Malaxis paludosa I find pretty widely distributed, 

 though doubtless it frequently escapes observation. 

 The habitat of Gladiolus illyricus is in the heart of the 

 Forest, apparently flowering only once in two years — 

 at any rate in some seasons not a single flower is to 

 be seen. Luzula Forsteri, a handsome woodrush, 

 grows both near Brockenhurst, and very abundantly 

 in a wood near Beaulieu. 



The Cyperacerc include some very interesting 

 plants : Rhynchospora fusca grows in almost all wet 

 bogs, Scirpus uniglumis on many heaths, and Sc. 

 Savii commonly in roadside ditches. The Carices 

 are well represented : I have found thirty-three 

 species, and know of three or four more. Among 

 the best I have seen are Carex limosa, C. GSderi, and 

 C. moutaua. The last flowers very early and was 

 almost past when I discovered it last year. It is a 

 rare sedge, and a good addition to the county flora. 



Lastly, the grasses. Among the best I know 

 are : Leerzia oryzoides, in two or three parts, 

 always on river-banks ; Phalaris canariensis, ap- 

 parently wild on the sandy shore at Mudeford ; 

 Gastridium lendigerum, frequent, mostly near the 

 coast ; Agrostis setacea, on heaths near Brockenhurst ; 

 Calamagrostis lanceolata, at Holmsley and Ringwood; 

 Aira setacea (A. uligbiosa "Lon. Cat.'') in several of 

 the bogs near Brockenhurst ; Sclerochloa procumbens 

 near the sea ; Briza minor, occasional, and nearly 

 always in cultivated fields ; Bromus madritensis, 

 not far from the shore, and Triticum acutum at 

 Mudeford. 



Twenty species of ferns are said to occur, but I 

 cannot say whether quite as many are to be had 

 within the district about which I am writing ; I know 

 of sixteen only. The stately Osmunda regalis is well 

 distributed ; I have seen it in half-a-dozen places 

 within a couple of miles of Brockenhurst, sometimes 

 forming large clumps, with fronds three or four feet 

 long, sometimes helping to make the hedge of a field. 

 Lastrea oreopteris is frequent in old woods, and so is 

 L. spinulosa. In most hedgebanksin the south grows 

 Scolopendrium vulgare frequently side by side with 

 Asplenmm trichomanes, which here luxuriates in dry 

 shady banks rather than old walls, for one simple 

 reason — old walls are exceedingly scarce. Asp. 

 ruta-muraria grows sparingly on the ruins of 

 Beaulieu Abbey, and Ophioglossum vulgatum on 

 Ashley Common. Lastrcea thelypteris grows some- 

 where in the vicinity of Lyndhurst ; the exact spot I 



