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HARDWICKE'S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



BOTANY. 



ASPLENIUM SEPTENTRIONALE AT DOLGELLY. — 

 It has been known for some years amongst a few- 

 lovers of nature that not only Asplenium septcntrioiiale 

 but also A. gcrmanicum, Weiss, grew in the Dolgelly 

 district, and it has only been from a desire to preserve 

 the plants from extirpation that the habitat has not 

 been made public. Now that it is known, it may be 

 well to place the discoverers' names on record. 

 Asplenium septcntrioualc was discovered in 1867 

 growing on an old wall not far from the river Maw- 

 dach, by Mrs. Chamberlain Barlow, of Edgbaston. 

 The plants of it (two only I think) were of course 

 spared, and for some months I saw them every 

 time I passed the locality, peering stealthily at them, 

 for fear they should be discovered by some ruthless 

 collector, and believing at that time they were the 

 only plants in the country. After a considerable 

 interval, when I revisited the spot, the wall had been 

 altered or repaired, and the little ferns had dis- 

 appeared. Some time afterwards the Rev. W. Foley 

 Vernon, of Shrawley, searched the crags on a hill 

 that rose up behind the old wall, and had the plea- 

 sure of finding both A. scptcntrionale and A. ger- 

 manicum in tolerable abundance, and I have a fine- 

 grown plant of each which I owe to his kindness. 

 I enclose a few fronds. May I ask your botanical 

 contributors if they know of any locality where 

 one only of these two species is indigenous without 

 the other occurring somewhere in the immediate 

 neighbourhood? An acute observer has informed 

 me that they are always found together, and sus- 

 pects a more intimate relationship than is generally 

 supposed to exist between them. — T. Belt. 



Gentiana acaulis (L). — Without in the least 

 wishing to impeach the veracity of Mr. Colebrook, 

 especially as he is "as certain as he is of his own 

 existence," that this plant was growing upon Cader 

 Idris in August, 1862, I would inform him firstly 

 that, so far as my experience goes, the G. acaulis of 

 the Swiss Alps is in its full bloom towards the middle 

 of June, and completely and entirely over by July, 

 ripening its seed in that month. Its place is then 

 taken by G. bavarica, and others of that section, as 

 well as G. campcstris, Germanica, and Amarella, 

 which are essentially August flowerers. With regard 

 to the remarks, "the present plant has no stalk, 

 whence its name acaulis, but cultivated in gardens it 

 becomes [sic] one," — does Mr. Colebrook here in- 

 tend to make a playful allusion to its peregrinatory 

 powers, as well as origin, the word stalk being a 

 double-entendre in the sense of a stalker. I believe 

 G. acaulis was found at Stafi'a in the month of June, 

 1834-5 ; but doubtless it had escaped from cultiva- 

 tion, as the plant has never been seen there since that 

 time. Concerning the subject of Mr. Colebrook's 

 other query — Cotoueastcr — I obtained it in the month 



of June, 1874, from the one situation on the Great 

 Ormeshead, where it is still to be found ; and I must 

 say that had I not been guided to the spot by one 

 who knew it well, I might be still searching, but in 

 vain, for it. Associated with it, in the clefts of the 

 limestone rock, was abundance of the local Potcntilla 

 vcrna.—J. C. M. 



Gentiana acaulis. — I have been interested in 

 reading the remarks on this plant that have appeared 

 lately in the pages of Science-Gossip. Many years 

 ago I came across what I had no doubt was Gentiana 

 acaulis, growing in tolerable profusion, and, as might 

 be supposed, truly wild on the downs between the 

 Needles and Freshwater, in the Isle of Wight. It 

 was a small plant, without stalk, about i^ inch 

 high, half of which comprised the large bright blue 

 flower. At that time I was not aware that Gentiana 

 acaulis was "not a native," so I made sure of my 

 prize, and gathered as much of it as the strong wind 

 blowing at the time would suffer me to do. On 

 subsequent examination and reference to Sowerby's 

 "English Botany "and other authorities, I came to 

 the conclusion, and I believe rightly, that it was the 

 veritable Gentiana acaulis. A little further down the 

 slopes of the hill, upon the same occasion, I came 

 upon Gentiana Aviarclla, so I had an immediate 

 opportunity of comparing the two flowers and 

 observing the wide difference between them. Some 

 time after this I became aware that the lovely little 

 Gentiana acaulis had been excluded by botanists from 

 its former place in the British Flora, and I have often 

 wondered since how it came to pass that its beautiful 

 blue flowers had found that accidental lodging far 

 away from houses and gardens, up on the wind-blown 

 heights of the Freshwater Downs. I have never 

 visited the spot since, and I should be glad to know 

 whether any of the readers of Science-Gossip have, 

 like myself, ever met with it in their wanderings in 

 that locality. — Isabella H. Knox. 



Plant Chemistry. — Professor Church has ex- 

 amined the colouring matter of the well-known 

 bordering plant with variegated leaves, Coleus Ver- 

 shajjeltii, and thinks that it is identical with a-nobin, 

 the colouring matter of red wines, as well as with 

 other substances extracted from blue and purple 

 flowers. 



Solanum Dulcamara. — Can any of your readers 

 give me any information as to the properties of the 

 berries of this plant ? " Chambers's Encyclopaedia" 

 says, "red berries of tempting appearance, which, 

 being poisonous, are not unfrequently the cause of 

 serious accidents, particularly to children." Garrod, 

 in his " Materia Medica," says he has administered 

 half a pound of the ripe fruit as a conserve, and 

 without any definite effect. Buffon says " the scarlet 

 berries are not poisonous, five pounds weight given 

 in the course of ten days did not produce poisonous 



