Bibliographical Notices. 429 



in the. old Swedish herbaria are all the limosum of Smith, and this 

 corresponding with the Linnamn herbarium and not disagreeing with 

 his specific characters, but only with a note in the second Mantissa, 

 a work of but little authority, appears to afford conclusive reasons 

 for reverting to the Linnsean name which has always been thus em- 

 ployed by those authors who looked to Sweden for evidence and not 

 to Smith's ' Flora Britannica.' Before proceeding we may state that 

 Fries distinguishes the two Linnsean plants, saying of E. limosum, 

 " ramulis vagis lsevibus vaginis viridi-dentatis," and of E. fluviatile, 

 " vaginis ramul. atris " (Fl. Scan. 155); he considers both of them as 

 more or less constantly branching, nor can we agree with Newman's 

 observation (at page 7) that the limosum (Linn.) never branches. At 

 that page he separates the unbranched form of the British E. limo- 

 sum from E. fluviatile, but does not characterize it, only stating, we 

 think incorrectly, that it "never, under any circumstances, becomes 

 branched." Should the plants be really different, a character may 

 perhaps be found in the presence of a furrow (division of the rib ac- 

 cording to Newman) on the back of the teeth of the sheaths of E. 

 fluviatile, and its absence from those of E. limosum. 



The change of name which we have just noticed obliges us to adopt 

 another for the E. fluviatile of Smith, and as Ehrhart's E. Telmateia 

 is undoubtedly the oldest, it is of course the one to be employed. The 

 name also of E. umbrosum must necessarily be adopted in place of 

 E. Drummondii, it having the claim of antiquity in its favour. 



Lomaria Spicant (Desv.). — This is the Blechnum boreale of our au- 

 thors, and appears to us not to agree well with either of those genera, 

 but we think with Sir W. J. Hooker that it is more nearly allied to 

 Blechnum than to Lomaria. 



Woodsia ilvensis and W. alpina (Newm.) we must confess our- 

 selves to be unable to distinguish from each other, although the 

 fronds figured by Mr. Newman are very different. If they should 

 prove distinct, it would appear that he is correct in changing the 

 name of hyperborea for that of alpina, Bolton having been its earliest 

 describer. 



Cystopteris montana is a most interesting addition to our native 

 ferns. It was found by Mr. W. Wilson on Ben Lawers. 



We quite concur in the adoption of Roth's genus Polysticum for 

 the Aspidium Lonchitis and its allies. After a careful study of the 

 plants denominated A. aculeatum, lobatum and angulare, a consider- 

 able change has been brought about in our views, which now accord 

 with those of Mr. Newman and many continental botanists who 

 think that the former two are one species, from which the angulare 

 is distinct. The oblique base of the decurrent pinnules in the former 

 contrasts well with the truncate base of the distinctly stalked pin- 

 nules of the latter. Still we must confess that lingering doubts 

 remain, since we occasionally find in some specimens of aculeatum 

 pinnules approaching very nearly in form and mode of attachment to 

 those of angulare. 



Lastrcea. — Some of the species included in this genus, in the al- 



