Mr. C. C. Babington on some species o/Epilobium. 237 



as a distinctive character ; but if allowance be made for excep- 

 tions in the case of individual plants, it does seem to afford 

 valuable help in grouping the species. This is the more desi- 

 rable from the true biological characters which separate the 

 species being often not noticeable in the flowering state of the 

 plants. The characters referred to are the mode of extension of 

 the plants from year to year. The plants are either turionate, 

 stoloniferoics, or rosulate ; the stoles are either scaly or leafy, the 

 scales are somewhat inflated or not so. The leaves upon these 

 offsets gradually increase in size from the base to the end of the 

 shoot, and their pairs are all separated by long joints ; are all 

 placedc lose together and forma rosette ; or those at the end of 

 the stole are so placed as to form a rosette, the others being 

 distant. Taking these as the primary characters of the divisions, 

 we obtain an arrangement which differs but little from that 

 founded upon the stigma which has usually been employed. 

 The following is the arrangement proposed : — 



I. Turionate ; that is, producing radical suckers. 



1. E, hirsutum, 



II. Stoles autumnal, rosulate. Stem erect. 



f Stem mostly round. Stigma A-cleft. 



2. E. parviflorum. 



3. E. montanum. 



4. E. lanceolatum. 



ft Stem with raised lines. Stigma entire. 



5. E, roseum. 



6. E. tetragonum, 



III. Stoles eestival, long-jointed throughout, with small leaves. Pri- 



mary stem erect. Stigma usually entire. 



7. E. obscurum. 



IV. Stoles sestival, long-jointed, with small leaves, ending in 



autumnal bulbs which become detached. Base of stem cord- 

 like. 



8. E. palustre. 



V. Stoles aestival, leafy, rosulate. 



9. E. alpinum. 



VI. Stoles sestival, leafy, not rosulate. 



10. E. anagallidi folium. 



VII. Stoles sestival, scale-bearing, not rosulate. 



11. E. alsinifolium. 



