252 Mr. Ch. C. Babingtoii on some species q/'Cuscuta. 



have not considered it necessary to describe any parts except the 

 flowers. 



1. C. Epithymum (Mmxv.); florum glomerulis bracteatis sessilibus, 

 tubo corollse cylindrico, squamis convergentihus fimbriatis subacutis 

 spathulatis basi distantibus, calyce tubo corolla multo breviori, ger- 

 mine spharico, stigmatibus filiformibus. (PL IV. fig. 1 .) 



C. Epithymum, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. Murray, p. 140. 



Flowers small. Calyx reddish ; sepals rhomboidal-ovate, api- 

 culate. Corolla white, with spreading acute segments. Anthers 

 roundish-oblong, blunt or slightly notched at the end. Scales 

 nearly as long as the tube of the corolla, widening from below up 

 to the commencement of the fringed part, then narrowing in a 

 triangular manner so as to be rather acute at the end, separated 

 by rounded spaces, but at the same time connected (as is the case 

 in all the species) by a free membrane forming a continuous 

 deeply lobed corona, situated at the base of the corolla, to which 

 it closely adheres. Stigmas filiform. 



This plant is not uncommon in England, where it is found to 

 grow upon shrubby plants, such as Erica, Vlex, SarothamnuSy &c. 



2. C. Trifolii (Bab.) ; florum glomerulis bracteatis sessilibus, tubo 

 corollae cylindrico, squamis fimbriatis apice rotundatis lateribus 

 parallelis basi distantibus, calyce tubo coroUse breviori, germine 

 obovato, stigmatibus filiformibus. (PI. IV. fig. 2.) 



C. Trifolii, Bab. in Phytol. (Feb. 1843), vol. i. p. 467. 

 C. Epithymum, /3 Trifolii, Bab. Man. Br. Bot. p. 302. 



Flowers rather larger than those of C. Epithymum, white. Calyx 

 occasionally tinged with red ; sepals ovate-lanceolate, acute, often 

 nearly or quite as long as the tube of the corolla. Limb of the 

 corolla spreading, with very acute attenuated segments. Anthers 

 oblong, apiculate, the lobes rather deeply separated below. Scales 

 nearly as long as the tube of the corolla, of equal width through- 

 out, blunt and rounded at the end, separated by rounded spaces. 

 Germen narrowed below. Stigmas filiform. 



In general appearance this plant closely resembles C. Epithy- 

 mum, but is parasitical upon herbaceous Leguminosa. Of late 

 years it has occurred so frequently upon c\oYeY{Trifoliumpratense) 

 in the counties of Norfolk, Sufi'olk and Essex, as to have destroyed 

 a considerable part of the crop. In Loudon's ' Gardener's Ma- 

 gazine' (vol. iii. p. 208) it is stated that the seeds of C. europaa 

 are not unfrequent amongst Dutch clover-seed, and that " the 

 plant is a great nuisance in Holland and Flanders." As a con- 

 siderable quantity of the clover-seed sown in England is im- 

 ported from those countries, and as I have never heard of C. eu- 

 ropcea occurring upon clover, I am led to suspect that the plant 



