Natural History in the English Counties. 



447 



r F" 



cornfields near Broom- 



field. 

 On Danbury Common, 



.Biltomus umbellktus. In the Chelmer. 



Dianthus Armaria. At Danbury, Sandon, and 

 in the Thrift Wood. 



Siltine noctiflura. In corn fields near Broom- 

 field. 



Sfedum Telfephmm. Near Chelmsford. 



£uphurb«a platyphflla. In corn fields near 

 Broom field, and at Great Leighs. 



i^ubus Idae'us. In woods near Chelmsford. 



Fragkria elktior. In woods near Great Leighs, 

 and at High Easter ; undoubtedly wild. 



Papkver hybridum. In a field near Walton. 



Aquilfegia vulgaris. At Danbury, &c. 



Ranunculus parvifl5rus. Very common about 

 Chelmsford. 



Scutellaria minor. On Danbury and Galley- 

 wood Commons. 



LinSlria spilria. 



Linaria J^latine. 



Linkria minor. 



Orobanche elation 

 great luxuriance. 



Senebifera dfdyma. Near Danbury. This plant 

 has not, I apprehend, been often met with in 

 the eastern counties. 



Caklle maritima. On the sandy shore at Wal- 

 ton. It was blooming, in spite of the wintry 

 blasts to which it was exposed, in the twelfth 

 month (December), 1830 ; and its colours 

 were then much more brilliant than is usually 

 the case in summer. 



Cardamine amara. By the side of the river 

 above Chelmsford. 



JFumJiria claviculata. In many places near 

 Chelmsford. 



FumSria capreol&.ta. At Great Holland. 



Z&thyrus J'phaca 7 At Springfield, near 



iathyrus NissoUa, J Chelmsford. 



Trifolium subterrkneum. On Galleywood Com- 

 mon, and at Danbury. 



Trifblium ochroleucum. 7 -i^ rhp1m<!fnrd 



Trifblium medium. j ^^^^ Chelmsford. 



Trifblium marftimum. Near Walton. (See 

 the note to Peucfedanum offlcinMe.) 



Trifblium fragfferum. Near Walton, 



>4'rctium Bardana. Near Great Leighs. 



C'&rduus tenuiflorus. 1 ^ walton 



Artemisia maritima. j ^^^^ Walton. 



Gnaphklium rectum. In the Thrift Wood, and 

 on Little Baddow Common. 



.4'ster Tripolium. In Walton Marshes. There 

 are two very distinct varieties of this plant : 

 the one of humble growth, much branched, 

 and having the beautiful blue rays very per- 



feet ; the other wanting the rays altogether, 

 attaining the height of 4 ft. or more, and being 

 unbranched, except at the top of the massy 

 succulent stem, where the flowers form a 

 corymbus. Both varieties occur nearly on the 

 same spot. 



J'nula Pulic^ria. Near Thorp, and near Gal- 

 leywood Common. 



J'nula crithmoldes. About Walton. 



Centaur^a Calcitrapa. At Tilbury Fort. 



Orchis latifblia. Near Springfield. 



Gymnadfenia con6psea. Near Great Leighs. 



Gymnad^nia bifolia. Near Broomfield. 



O^phrys apifera. Near Great Leighs, and spar- 

 ingly near Broomfield. 



0"*phrys muscffera. At High Easter. 



Ne<Sttia splrJllis. On Danbury Common. 



jE'pipactis paHistris. On Galleywood Common, 



£pipictis latifolia. At Great Leighs. 



r^pha angustifolia At Sandon and Danbury, 



Sparg^nium natans. Near Lyonshall, Great 

 Leighs. This is, I believe, the first time the 

 plant has been found in Essex : this, as well 

 as all the other Great Leighs stations, was 

 discovered by my companion, Robert Har- 

 rison. 



C^rex pulickris. In a bog on Little Baddow 

 Common. 



Carex arenaria. On the sandy shore at Walton. 



Myriophjrllum spicktum. At Danbury. 



Myrioph;fllum verticillatum. At Broomfield, 

 &c. 



.^''triplex lacini^ta. On the sand at Walton. 



JEquisfetum sylvaticum. On Galleywood Com- 

 mon. 



Ophiogl6ssum vulgktum. At Great Baddow 

 and at Broomfield. 



.^splfenium JVich6manes. On a very dry bank 

 between Chelmsford and Galleywood Common. 



Rl^chnum boreJlle. On Little Baddow Com- 

 mon. 



Lycopbdium clavktum. Once found by my 

 friend, R. Harrison, on Danbury Common, 

 but could not be detected there afterwards, 



Aspidium spinulbsum. \ At Danbury and on 



Aspidium dilatatum. 3 Little Baddow Com- 

 mon. 



Aspidium TTielf pteris. On Little Baddow Com- 

 mon. I believe this to be the only Essex 

 station. 



Osmfinda regMis. On Little Baddow Common, 

 covering some acres, and growing to the 

 height of 6tl. Its wiry roots form mounds 

 of considerable magnitude, the spaces between 

 them being channels of water or of black 

 wet peat. 



I am no geologist ; yet it may not be amiss to state, as far as I am able, 

 the nature of the soil in the various places mentioned above. The imme- 

 diate neighbourhood of Chelmsford is principally red gravel ; at Broomfield 

 there is clay, in many places containing calcareous matter ; and at Great 

 Leighs it still more nearly approaches chalk, as may be supposed from the 

 plants found there. Little Baddow Common is a w^aste of some hundreds 

 of acres, about six miles to the eastward of Chelmsford : it is a hungry 

 loose gravel, and is covered with t/'lex europae^a, Pteris aquilina, Calluna 

 vulgaris, Convallaria majalis, &c. In one or two places is found peat; and 

 it is these spots that produce most of the Little Baddow plants mentioned 

 in the catalogue. The soil in the adjoining parish of Danbury appears to 

 be very similar. Galleywood Common is gravel ; and the Thrift, a wood of 

 three miles in length by about half a mile in width, is generally stiff clay. 

 At Walton, the soil is a dark clay ; the cliffs, which vary from 30 ft. to 

 1 00 ft. in height, are perpetually undermined by the sea, and tumble down 

 in huge masses, frequently exposing to view beautiful specimens of talc, 

 and, in one spot, a great number of shells. There is a stratum of them 

 near the top of the cliff, a large proportion being bi'oken and reduced to a 

 sort of red sand, among which perfect specimens are often to be met with : 



