Potentilla and Tormentilla. 251 



plants." The strong expression " very rarely indeed," may 

 be tested by comparing it with the proportion borne (in the 

 totals in Mr. Babington's second table) by 109 (or, as some 

 may prefer, 118) to 2676; and the "consequently," with the 

 relation of 109 to 107, as this last number is the mean of 94? 

 and 120 added together. 



M. Seringe, the individual who elaborates the potentillas 

 in De CandohVs Prodromus (pars ii. p. 571 — 586.) and there 

 appears to follow Nestler, Schranck, Lehmann, and the 

 younger Haller (but not De Candolie, as far as we can 

 perceive), in referring the tormentils to the genus Potentilla, 

 appends to the description of his and their Potentilla Tor- 

 mentilla, which is the Tormentilla officinalis of Smith, the 

 qualifying remark, " variat calyce 4-fido aut rarius 5-fido, 

 petalis 4 aut rarius 5." [it varies, with a calyx 4-cleft, or 

 more rarely 5-cleft, and petals 4, or more rarely 5.] The 

 younger Mailer's name for Tormentilla officinalis Smith is 

 Potentilla tetrapetala. 



Mr. Babington sent two dried specimens along with his 

 communication ; one in which the smaller sepals were 5 in 

 number, the larger sepals 5, and the petals 5 ; in the other, 

 these parts were severally 6 in number. In both specimens 

 all these parts were symmetrically placed, that is, according 

 to the rule of alternation ; so that the supernumerary petals 

 were clearly not derived from the casual expansion of a 

 stamen into a petal, which is known to be no rare occurrence 

 in flowers whose stamens are numerous, as well as an occa- 

 sional one in flowers whose stamens are few. To give in- 

 stances, we name the genera Ranunculus, Ficaria, CamelhVz, 

 -Rosa, Althaea (rosea, the hollyhock), Dianthus, &c. &c, 

 and, we think, may fairly add, Tormentilla officinalis itself; 

 for says Smith, in his English Flora, vol. ii. # p. 427. : — " The 

 late Miss Johnes of Hafod gathered the tormentil in Car- 

 diganshire with double blossoms like little yellow roses;" 

 and it is highly probable that in this case the supernumerary 

 petals were derived from transmuted stamens. The thought 

 arises that the variety gathered by Mr. Babington with 

 9 petals might, possibly, be an approach to the same con- 

 dition. 



Tormentilla reptans L., the larger British tormentil. — On 

 this species Smith observes (E. F., ii. 428.) "The lowermost 

 flowers have occasionally 5 petals and 10 segments to the 

 calyx, as in the T. officinalis : " to which remark we may 

 append the question, Does it vary as frequently, and as widely, 

 as Mr. Babington's tables have shown the T. officinalis 

 Smith to do ? A question that can only be answered by an 



