PHYTOLOGY, 



NOTES ON THE POEMS OF OALTHA PALUSTRIS- 

 By F. Buchanan White, M.D., F.L.S. 



AS the flowering season of Caltha jxilustrls is now at hand, it 

 is a suitable time to call the attention of Scottish botanists 

 to the need of a thorough investigation of the forms of this plant 

 which occur in this country, since these seem to be at present but 

 imperfectly known. My own attention has been more particularly 

 drawn to this subject by a paper in " Verhandlungen der k.k. 

 zoologisch-botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien" (xxxvi. Band, p. 347), 

 by Dr. Giinther Beck. The following is a translation of the more 

 important parts of this paper : 



Caltha palustris L. 



A. Mature follicles gradually narrowed, towards the apex, into the 



beak, curved, and in the upper part somewhat hooked. 



1. C. COrnuta Schott, Nyman. 



Follicles S-curved, patent, or more often deflexed, gradually 



narrowed into the short beak ; beak at most 2 mm. long. 



Var. typica. G. Guerangerii Bor. 



Leaves incise-serrate on the auricles, crenate or subentire in 

 front ; stem-leaves* generally crenate, more rarely crenate-toothed, 

 reniform triangular, mostly broader than long. 

 Central Europe, France. 



Var. C. latifolia Schott, Nyman. G. grosseserrata Pntck. 

 Leaves coarsely, often incise-serrate-toothed all round ; stem- 

 leaves incise-toothed, semi-orbicular. 



Alpine and sub-alpine places : Transsylvania, <S:c. 



Dr. Ueck's expression is " folia fulcrantia," which means leaves that have 

 a bud in the axils. As most of the cauline leaves of Caltha, except perhaps 

 the very uppermost, are of this nature, T have used the more familiar expres- 

 sion "stem-leaves." 



