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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCES OSSIP. 



Phyllactidium putCHELLUM. — I have a large 

 number of freshwater plants, Phyllactidium pidchellum, 

 growing upon the glass sides of a tall cylindrical 

 Vallisneria aquarium, and as in Science-Gossip, 

 1867, p. 178, it is requested that new localities for 

 this plant should be made known, I herewith send 

 the information. The water was furnished from the 

 Kennet and Avon Canal at Bath, but it has frequently 

 been supplemented by ordinary rain-water. — R. H. 

 Moore. 



A New Catalogue of British Plants. — The 

 Rev. George Henslow contemplates printing a cata- 

 logue of British plants, arranged according to 

 Hooker's "Student's Flora." Anyone wishing for 

 copies, is requested to communicate with him at 

 86 Titchfield Terrace, Regent's Park, N.W. 



Malformation of the Wallflower. — A pe- 

 culiar growth of this fragrant plant was recently 

 observed by me, the peculiarity in this case partaking 

 of a combination of petals, stamens, and pistil, to 

 form a six-celled body. The sepals of the calyx were 

 dark purple — almost black ; the plant remarkable for 

 vigorous growth. In florists' flowers, stamens and 

 pistils are converted into petals ; in this instance 

 there is a reversion of this phenomenon in a sponta- 

 neous manner. — M. Kino-. 



Autumn Ramble in Epping Forest. — Dr. 

 De Crespigny is hardly right when he says, regarding 

 Agarics (p. 254): "In one sub-genus there is no 

 stem — Pleurotus." The larger species of this sub- 

 genus have a distinct and often very large stem, 

 some indeed being furnished with an annulus. A. 

 (Pleurotus) Ulmarius (illustrated as stemless on 

 p. 252) always has a thick stem. Mr. Berkeley's 

 A. Cecilia certainly grows in Epping Forest, but it is 

 not a "much smaller" species than A. rubescens ; it 

 is in characteristic specimens much larger : indeed 

 A. Cecilia is a decidedly large Agaric ; its correct 

 name is A. strangulatus, Fr., A. Cecilia being a 

 synonym. Why is A. nudus said to be "probably a 

 very dangerous species " ? I have known it eaten 

 without ill-effect during late years. A. (Pholiota) 

 aureus described as growing near the " Wake Arms," 

 does not grow in Epping Forest : the plant mentioned 

 by Dr. Crespigny is A. spectabilis. A. aureus found 

 a place in Berkeley's " Outlines " by an inadvertence : 

 it has only been known of quite late years as a British 

 plant. A few years ago a variety of this species was 

 found at Downton, near Ludlow, whilst I detected 

 the true plant at Perth, three years ago. A. aureus 

 is very rare, whilst A. spectabilis is common every- 

 where.—^ 7 : G. Smith. 



A Strange Place for Marsh Plants. — I have 

 been interested in the record of the occurrence of 

 plants in the new docks at Leith, as given by Mr. 

 Douglas in the last number of Science-Gossip. As 



all the plants given in his list are natives of the south 

 side of the Forth, and are to be found all along the 

 coast from Bowness to North Berwick (in damp and 

 marshy places) it is quite unnecessary to imagine the 

 previous existence of a stream in order to account for 

 their appearance ; most of them used to grow at the 

 Figgat Whins, between Leith and Portobello. — A. 

 Craig- Christie. 



Monstrosity in Digitalis purpurea. — An 

 instance of monstrosity in the flower of a cultivated 

 foxglove came under my notice last summer. It was 



Fig. 26. — "Monstrosity" {Synanthy) in Common Foxglove. 



an example of the malformation called "synanthy," 

 which consists in the more or less complete union of 

 several usually distinct flowers. Dr. Masters, in his 

 "Vegetable Teratology," p. 40, illustrates a somewhat 

 similar case, and indeed shows that the corolla of the 

 foxglove is liable to various forms of monstrosity, such 

 as the production of a spur, the formation of a polype- 

 talous corolla by fission, and the occurrence now and 

 then of a regular corolla. In the specimen I have here 

 figured, the flowers at the top of the raceme not only 



