Chrysosplenium alter nifdlium. 397 



difference of colour, and are much more striking, even at first 

 sight, than are exhibited by the figures of the two plants in 

 'English Botany.' That of C. alter nifolium, tab. 54, (plate 

 593, second edition), conveys but a very imperfect idea of this 

 really elegant plant, and must have been drawn from a mise- 

 rable stunted specimen, or from an unusual variety. In all 

 the specimens of C. alternifolium which I have ever seen, 

 (and they have not been few) the lower leaves are truly radi- 

 cal, and on very long, slender, footstalks, as correctly describ- 

 ed in the Floras above mentioned ; indeed, the footstalks are 

 hardly ever shorter than half the height of the stem, which is 

 generally slightly decumbent at the base, but always perfect- 

 ly erect in the upper part, and usually bears two, and some- 

 times three, alternate leaves, while several others are crowded 

 under the terminal, corymbose, flowers. In the figure, the 

 lower leaves can scarcely be called radical, and are represent- 

 ed as on very short petioles. 



That the greater length of the petioles of the radical leaves 

 in my specimens from the above locality, is not occasioned 

 by the rich nature of the soil in which they grew, may, I think, 

 be inferred from the fact, that the length of the footstalks of 

 these leaves bears the same relative proportion to the height 

 of the stem, in very weak specimens in my herbarium, which 

 were collected in another locality where the soil is not so rich 

 and rather stony. 



Sir J. E. Smith observes that the leaves "are rough on both 

 sides with scattered, tubular, jointed hairs;" this I have ob- 

 served to be the case with the radical leaves only, those on 

 the stem being perfectly smooth on both sides. 



I have not been able to find the early, central flower other- 

 wise than four-cleft and octandrous, in any of the specimens 

 which I have examined; and the character of the central flow- 

 er being five-cleft and decandrous appears to be by no 

 means constant in either of the species. 



I cannot feel quite satisfied as to the propriety of including 

 this genus in the natural family Saxifrages, although it is 

 undoubtedly very closely allied to the rather heterogeneous 

 genus, Saxifraga ; but on this point I do not at present feel 

 competent to offer an opinion. 



I may add that the figure of Chrysosplenium alternifolium 

 in 'Flora Danica,' tab. 366, is tolerably expressive of my plant, 

 as is the figure of Petiver, 'Hortus Britannicus,' tab. 6, Jig. 10. 

 The other figures quoted by Sir J. E. Smith in his 'English 

 Flora,' I have not yet had leisure to examine. 



I shall feel grateful to any botanist who will be kind enough 

 to inform me, through the medium of this Magazine, whether 



