270 Botanical Society 0/ London, 



PROCEEDINGS OF LEARNED SOCIETIES. 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



5th April, 1839.— Dr. D. C. Macreight, V.P. in the Chair. 



The continuation of Mr. Edwin Lees's paper " On the species of 

 Tilia natives of England," was read. 



After noticing where the author considered the Tilia indigenous, 

 he mentions that the Tilia parvifolia (Ehr.) is undoubtedly the 

 most common in Britain whatever may be the case on the continent. 

 Ray records it as frequent in Essex and Sussex as well as in Lin- 

 colnshire. According to Mr. Bicheno, in Smith's * English Flora,' it 

 grows plentifully in Stokenchurch Woods, Oxfordshire, and the 

 author found it abundantl}' in the western parts of Worcestershire, 

 forming in some spots the principal part of the coppice wood, as well 

 as about the wild ravines of the vale of Neath, Glamorganshire, 

 beautifully overhanging the waterfalls of that romantic region. The 

 author saw no reason to doubt its indigenousness. Many singularly 

 grotesque old trees of this species occur about the bases of all the 

 Silurian Hills from Malvern to Ludlow, drawings of which were ex- 

 hibited. 



Dr. Bromfield states, in Watson's * Botanist's Guide,' that he was 

 informed " that there are entire woods of this species " at Buckland 

 near Ashburton, Devonshire. It is singular that Mr. Watson him- 

 self considers the fact of there being woods of this species as leading 

 to '• the presumption of the trees being planted and not indigenous.'' 

 But surely the converse of this must appear to the majority of re- 

 flecting botanists ; and strangely^enough, on this principle, Tilia gran- 

 difolia, which is only found in scattered trees or groups, would have 

 a stronger claim than the far more common Tilia parvifolia. Besides, 

 we surely consider the occurrence of a wood or coppice of any parti- 

 cular tree, say the hazel, the alder, or the holly, as indicating a greater 

 adaptitude of the soil or locality to the nourishment of that parti- 

 cular species, which has thus established its home or head quarters 

 at the spot ; and on this principle botanists find it advantageous to 

 attend to the habitats of plants. 



^ 19th April.— Dr. William H. Willshire, in the Chair. 

 A paper was read from Mr. Arthur Wallis " On the Orchideae of 

 Essex." The northern parts of Essex are characterized by chalky 

 deposits, extending from Cambridgeshire and Herts, occasionally in- 

 terspersed with loamy sand, and on the high ground alluvial clay. 

 Travelling southward the soil still consists of heavy loam, and in 



