54 Linnaan Society .•^- 



suture, so as to expose to view the numerous shining black seeds, in 

 structure like those of Hollbollia. 



The characters of this remarkable plant are so striking that no 

 lengthened detail is necessary. It will suffice to call attention to its 

 importance, as affording an indication of the value of characters in 

 the class of plants to which it belongs. An inspection of the figure 

 (which is intended to form one of the plates of Dr. Hooker's * Illus- 

 trations of Himalayan Plants' now in preparation) shows that, not- 

 withstanding its remarkable alteration from the character which has 

 hitherto been considered as most essential to Lardizabalece, it is an 

 undoubted member of that group. At the same time it illustrates, 

 by many points of structure, the relationship of that tribe to all the 

 surrounding orders. The proof which it affords that the apparently 

 very aberrant structure of fruit in which the ovules are scattered 

 over the whole surface of the ovarium, is compatible in the same 

 order with the normal structure, and is therefore reducible to it, and 

 as it were only a modification of it, is especially interesting, and 

 sufficiently, the authors trust, justify them in bringing the plate just 

 completed to the notice of the Society. 



Read also observations " On the Identity of Pinus hirtella and 

 Pinus religiosa of Humboldt, Bonpland, and Kunth." By Berthold 

 Seemann, Esq., Ph.D., F.L.S. 



Dr. Seemann states that a short time ago, when determining the 

 Coniferce gathered by himself in the western parts of Mexico, he 

 was glad to find that he had amongst them specimens of the Pinus 

 (Abies) hirtella ; but on comparing them with those named Pinus 

 (Abies) religiosa in the herbaria of Sir W. J. Hooker and Mr. Ben- 

 tham, he observed that the latter too, without exception, had hirtel- 

 lous branches ; and again, on examining specimens of P. religiosa 

 growing in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew, as well as at various 

 other horticultural establishments, he found that they did not differ 

 in any way from those of hirtella collected by himself. As the only 

 difference between P. religiosa and P. hirtella insisted upon by 

 writers on Coniferce consists in the former having glabrous, the latter 

 hirtellous branches, he was forced to conclude that all the spe- 

 cimens of P. religiosa which he had seen in this country ought to 

 be called P. hirtella, unless it could be shown that P. religiosa had 

 (notwithstanding Humboldt's, Bonpland's, and Kunth's description) 

 hirtellous branches. In order to ascertain this point, he addressed 

 a letter on the subject to Mr. George Gordon, at the Horticultural 

 Society's Gardens at Chiswick, a gentleman of great practical ex- 

 perience, who, in a letter dated Chiswick, Nov. 11, 1854, kindly 

 replied, that " having taken a good deal of interest and pains in the 

 matter, when Mr. Hartweg was collecting in Mexico, and begged 

 him to examine minutely Humboldt's and Bonpland's localities, and 

 see what their A. hirtella was, he did so, and could discover no 

 other species than the ' Oyamel,' or Abies religiosa. He found 

 Abies religiosa, and carefully examined the same in various places 

 between 15° and 22° S. Lat.; but its chief range was about 19° and 



