Aug. 1, 1S6S.] 



HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



173 



of leaflets in the two forms, V. officinalis being said to 

 have from seven to ten leaflets, V. samhucifolia, four 

 to five ; but this number is certainly variable. Under 

 these circumstances, it seems difficult to pronounce 

 with decision upon the subject, bat botanists gene- 

 rally seem to consider V. samhucifolia our common 

 form. We have this year distinguished V. officinalis, 

 with suckers, in one of the chalky lanes near 

 Wycombe. Mr. Watson, in common with many 

 others, does not consider the differences sufficient 

 to constitute a species ; and Mr. Syme, in " English 

 Botany," places V. samhucifolia as a variety of 

 V. officinalis. 



Fig. 169. Halenariu bifolia. 



The Orpine, or Livelong, is the next plant on our 

 list. As Seclnm Telephium, this plaut has been re- 

 corded from most parts of England, but it now 

 appears that the rightful owner of that name is by 

 no means generally distributed, its place being sup- 

 plied by S. Faharia, a'nearly-allied species. The chief 

 difference between the two is, in this case, readily 

 discernible. In the true S. Telephium the uppermost 

 leaves are "rounded at the base, and sessile;" while 

 in S. Faharia they are " all narrowed to a slight 

 petiole." We have not yet met with S. Telephium. 



As might be expected, the large order Composite 

 furnishes us with ample matter for consideration. 

 We will not attempt to investigate the species of 

 Ilieracium or Arctium, because " doctors differ " 

 regarding them, and we have had but little oppor- 

 tunity of examining them for ourselves ; but will just 

 glance at one or two examples from other genera. 

 The Goatsbeard, formerly known as Tragopogon 

 pratensis, was for a long time the subject of much 

 discussion among botanists ; it seems now, how- 

 ever, generally admitted that two species were 

 comprehended under that name. ~Eew can have 

 failed to notice the conspicuous involucre, or whorl 

 of bracts, in which the flowers of the Goatsbeard 

 are usually embedded; and the length of this 

 involucre mainly determines the species to which a 

 specimen belongs. In Tragopogon minor, the com- 

 mon form of Goatsbeard, this is about " twice as 

 long as the flowers ;" in the true T. pratensis, the 

 involucre is shorter than, or only equal to, the 

 flowers. Here, again, is a difference plainly dis- 

 cernible, by which we may examine our specimens : 

 the anthers, which are dark brown in T. minor, 

 are in T. pratensis yellow. T. minor is by far 



the more common form, and, although we have 

 examined many specimens, we have never yet found 

 T. pratensis. Both species are recorded in the 

 Floras of Surrey and Essex, although very few 

 localities are given for it in the former county ; in 

 Cambridgeshire, only T. minor has been found. 

 Both are said to grow in " meadows and pastures "; 

 but T. minor, at any rate, is equally partial to hedge- 

 banks and borders of fields. The Welted Thistle, 

 known indiscriminately to the older botanists as 

 Carduus crispus, or C. acantho'ides, is now separated 

 into two forms, each of which takes one of these 

 names. The common form, C. crispus, has small 

 clustered heads of flowers, and lanceolate leaves, 

 cottony beneath ; while in C. acantho'ides the heads 

 are usually solitary and much larger, and the leaves 

 broader, and not downy beneath. It is "the 

 less common form, and probably a hybrid between 

 C. nutans (the Musk Thistle) and C. crispus." — 

 Bahiugton's Manual. 



The Clover Dodder (Cusctita Trifolii), although 

 an introduced species, was first raised to specilic 

 honours in this country. It had previously escaped 

 the notice of continental botanists, or had been 

 considered a variety of the Lesser Dodder (C. 

 epithymuiii). The two can scarcely be mistaken; 

 C. Trifolii is almost, if not quite, confined to clover- 

 fields, while C. epithjmum is not rare on heaths, 

 growing on furze, ling, thyme, and other plants. 

 The Clover Dodder has yellowish stems and white 

 flowers; the stems of the Lesser Dodder are red, 

 and the flowers white, with red calyces. The Rev. 

 W. W. Newbould remarks of C. Trifolii: "It is 

 most destructive, especially to the second crop of 

 clover, spreading itself in circles, and twining 

 tightly and closely round its victims — in these 

 respects differing from C. epithymum, which spreads 

 itself vaguely, and does not kill the plants on which 

 it grows."— Flora of Fsse.v, p. 203. 



Among the Lahiatcc, we may notice the Black 

 Horehound, formerly known as Ballota nigra. The 

 common coarse-growing form, with dull purple 

 flowers, rough leaves, and an unpleasant odour, 

 which we find on hedge-banks in the neighbourhood 

 of houses, is named B.fatida ; but a second species, 

 B. ruder alls, is found in Herefordshire, which is 

 "very hairy and soft," and has an agreeable scent. 

 Although stress is chiefly laid upon a difl'erence in 

 the form of the calyx -teeth, we can imagine that 

 the more conspicuous features above noted would 

 more readily arrest attention. 



We will just refer to a new species of Bladder- 

 wort, perhaps scarcely a "split," as it is possible 

 that a careful examination of specimens of Utricu- 

 laria vulgaris may result in the discovery of this, 

 U. neglecta, in other localities. Mr. Newbould 

 remarked, in the "Elora of Essex," that it "should 

 be looked for," and, curiously enough, Essex is the 

 only county from which it is at present recorded. 



