Mr. Cli. C. Babington on some species of Cuscuta. 253 



which is so frequent in that position in Holland is the C. Trifolii, 

 but not having been able to obtain either specimens or good de- 

 scriptions of the Dutch plant, I am unable to determine with cer- 

 tainty. My friend Mr. G. S. Gibson of Saffron Walden informs 

 me, that one of the crops of clover in which the Dodder was found 

 was also infested with large quantities of Barkhausia setosa, which 

 is a native of the European continent, and was undoubtedly in- 

 troduced with the clover-seed. Centaurea solstitialis occurred in 

 a similar manner in another field. Bertoloni states (Fl. Ital. 

 vol. iii. p. 69) that his C. europcea "pestis pratorum est, in quibus 

 serunt Trifolia, aut Medicaginem sativam-" but as he describes 

 the plant as not possessing any scales beneath the stamens, I am 

 in doubt to what species his description refers. Dr. Lindley con- 

 siders our plant to be the C. sulcata (K-oxb.), of which specimens 

 are preserved in the great Indian herbarium formed by Dr. Wal- 

 lich, and presented to the Linnsean Society by the Hon. East 

 India Company (no. 1320) ; they have capitate stigmas, and are 

 therefore a diiFerent species, neither do they grow upon Legumi- 

 nous plants. After a careful examination of the published cha- 

 racters of the species of Cuscuta, I have been led to the conclu« 

 sion that this plant, and also the following, are still undescribed, 

 and have therefore ventured to publish them as new. 



3. C. approximata (nova species) ; florum glomerulis bracteatis ses- 

 silibus, tubo corollse ventricoso vix calyce longiore, squamis ap- 

 proximatis bifidis : lohis divergentibus latis apice fimbriatis truncatis, 

 germine ovali, stigmatibus filiformibus. (PI. IV. fig. B.) 



Flowers small, whitish, slightly stalked. Sepals rhomboidal- 

 ovate, acute, about as long as the tube of the corolla. Segments 

 of the corolla spreading (?), blunt. Anthers cordate. Scales 

 shorter than the tube of the corolla, widest at the base, deeply 

 bifid ; the lobes truncate, fringed at the end, widely separated at 

 the top, but closely approximating to those of the adjoining scales, 

 from which they are divided by a narrow space which terminates 

 below in a very acute angle. It would perhaps be more correct 

 to describe these parts, not as five scales, but as a continuous co- 

 rona, deeply divided into ten truncate lobes, which are disposed in 

 pairs alternating with the stamens. Germen oval, narrowed above 

 and below, as far as I can judge from the examination of soaked 

 specimens, not having seen it when fresh. Stigmas filiform. 



This plant was found upon Melilotv^ sativa, which had been 

 raised from seed distributed by Col. Sykes, Director of the Hon. 

 East India Company, under the name of Bokhara Clover. I am 

 indebted to my friend the Rev. W. S. Hore of Devonport for the 

 specimens examined. 



Having been unable to find a trace of this plant in books, it 



