rUMAEIA CAPEEOLATA OF BRITAIN. 159 



others which inhabit the regions bordering on the Mediterranean 

 Sea, constitute the Section CapreolatcB of Hammar, in his ' Mono- 

 graphia Generis Fumariarum,' for a copy of which I am indebted 

 to my celebrated friend Fries. 



This group of Fumarias has long been the subject of discussion 

 amongst botanists, and it stiU remains difficult to ascertain the 

 characters considered as distinctive by the describers of the species ; 

 for the descriptions are scattered through various books, some of 

 which are rarely to be met with, and being drawn up by writers 

 holding different views concerning the value of characters, are often 

 not of easy comparison. As early as the year 1839 Dr. Walker- 

 Arnott (Edinb. Bot. Soc. Eep. iii, 106) described as varieties of 

 F. capreolata, under the names of a. amtralis, /3. Beichenbachii, 

 and y. Anglica, three plants (preferring to consider them " as well- 

 marked varieties to separating them as ill-defined species "), which 

 I believe to be the F. speciosa, F. pallidiflora (including F. JBorai), 

 and F. muralis (perhaps including F. confusd) respectively. As 

 Dr. Walker- Arnott had not noticed what I consider as the real 

 distinctive characters of these plants, he exercised a sound judgment 

 in calling them only varieties ; but I rather wonder that in his 

 editions of the ' British Flora ' he does not mention them — even as 

 such. The possession of authentic specimens, received from Mr. 

 Leighton, enables me to identify Dr. "Walker- Arnott 's plants, and 

 to award to him the credit of being apparently the first botanist 

 to notice them. In 1841 Mr. Leighton (Fl. Shrop. 344) carefully 

 described two forms of the supposed F. capreolata, and adds, that 

 that which he distinguishes from the type of the species " merits 

 attention and further remark," which, however, he does not seem 

 ever to have given to it. His supposed type of F. capreolata I 

 believe to be the F. muralis, Sond., and his second form is the 

 F. Borcei ( Jord.) and the-F. capreolata /3. LeigJitonii of my 'Manual.' 

 Mr. Sonder (Koch, Syn. ed. 2. 1017) described his F. muralis in 

 1844; Mr. Jordan his F. confusa in 1848 (Cat. Dij. 18), his J^. 

 Borcei in 1849 (Cat.Gren. 15), his F. speciosa in the same year 

 (Cat. Gren. 15), and his F. pallidijlora (Schultz, Arch. 305) in 

 1854. 



Before proceeding to define the characters of these plants, care 

 must be taken that the species allied to F. agraria (Lag.) are sepa- 

 rated from the true Capreolatce. They all have very markedly 

 tubercular-rugose fruit, — a rugosity very different from the slightly 

 rough (dry) fruit of some of our plants. None of them have 

 been found in Britain, the climate of which is too cold for them. 



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