Bibliographical Notices. 



herborized this region, however, during a longer period — the interval 

 between the spring of 1839 and the close of last year. The pro- 

 vinces of Algiers and Oran have been the chief fields of his labours, 

 and in those districts he has added no fewer than thirty genera and 

 200 species (including ten entirely new) to the lists published by 

 Desfontaines. Eighteen hundred species, exclusive of cultivated 

 plants, are enumerated in this catalogue. They are arranged in Lin- 

 nsean order for convenience of reference to the ' Flora Atlantica/ 

 This is a defect, and renders the book not so convenient as it might 

 be for a work of reference. 



The new species described by Mr. Munby are the following :— 

 Orchis sagittata, Galium brunneum, Phlomis mauritanica, Melissa can^ 

 didissima, Genista barbara^ Ononis spicata, Anthyllis bidentata, La- 

 thyrus luteus, Hippocrepis minor and Cistus sericeus. There are enu- 

 merated also several unpublished or little-known plants, of which we 

 may expect an account when the researches of the French commis- 

 sion are published — as, Boucerosia Munbyana, Decaisne, Narcissus 

 Clusii, Dunal, Arisarum aspergillum, Dunal, Biarum Borei, Decaisne, 

 Anthemispiscinalis, Durieu, Medicago corrugata, Durieu, Cistus Clusii, 

 Dunal, and Helianthemum pomeridianum, Dunal. 



Among the genera added to the Algerine flora are Epilobium, Agri^ 

 monia, Thalictrum, Cochlearia, Coronopus, Succowia, Morecandia, Sida, 

 Leobordia, Androscemum {officinale), Podospermum and Geropogon, 

 Among the more interesting species are Iris filifolia of Boissier ; Cte- 

 nium elegans of Kunth, brought from the desert of Angad, whence 

 also comes Ranunculus gramineus var. luzulcefolius, and a beautiful 

 Salvia identified by the author, probably incorrectly, w'ith Salvia la- 

 nata, Roxburgh, a Himalayan plant ; Phlomis floccosa, Helianthemum 

 caput felis, Lycium intricatum, Convolvulus tenuissimus and Rosa She- 

 rardi. 



It is probable that Desfontaines was mistaken in the identification 

 of many of his species, for we find in such genera as Ranunculus, 

 Veronica, Medicago, Helianthemum, Cyperus and Carex, that many 

 of the species marked by him as common have not been found by 

 Mr. Munby, who found however allied species not mentioned by 

 the French botanist. Thus Veronica Cymbalaria appears by Desfon- 

 taines to have been enumerated as V. hedercsfolia, V. pracox as ar- 

 vensis, Ranunculus ophioglossifolius as R. Flammula, Geranium aconi- 

 tifolium as G. sylvaticum, and Bellis sylvestris as Doronicum bellidi' 

 astrum. 



Among the plants enumerated by Mr. Munby is the Nitraria tri- 

 dentata of Desfontaines, brought from the desert of Soussa near 

 Tunis. He conjectures this to be the true Lotus-tree of the ancients. 

 It is called Damouch by the Arabs, who are aware of the semi- 

 intoxicating qualities of its berry, much more likely to give rise to 

 the fame of the Lotus than the dry and unpleasant fruit of the Zizy- 

 phus lotus, or that of the Celtis australis, to which the infatuating 

 food of the Lotophagi has been in turn referred. The locality of the 

 Nitraria would also agree well with the realm of the famous Lotus- 

 tree. E. F. 



