ON THE BRITISH DACTYLOID SAXIFRAGES. 2S3 



" Habifa't in Spouheraia inter Whiterhurg et Birrgsponlmm in 

 saxis et rupibus, quos longe lateqiie tapetis more pulcherrime obducit 

 maxima in abundantia. Floret Majo, Jiinio. Seraina Julio, Augusto 

 raatnra. 



" Prime aspectu S. hypnoidem ob stolones suspicatus sum, sed luijus 

 specimina vere alpina in Helvetia et Pyrenaeis lecta possideo, qute 

 longe a nnstiate Sponheraica plauta discrepant, neque minus diversa 

 est a S. ceespitosa vera, Linn., et S. decipieiite, Ehrli., quae in Her- 

 cynia, nee non in Franconia prope Mackendorf crescit. Dift'ert hsec a 

 nostrate cauUbus adsceudentibus, saepe altioribus (non erectis, strictis) ; 

 foliis radicalibus anguste cuneiformibus, margine pilosis, pilis longis, 

 moUibus, ali)is, in petioluin decurreiitibus, omnibus fere tripartitis ; 

 laciniisovalibus ohtusis (nee quinquepartitis, laciniis lineari-acuminatis 

 aristatis) ; coroUis minus pateutibus, petalis dorso semper e basi multi- 

 striatis (nee tristriatis). 



The name sponhemica has been widely used upon the Continent 

 since its publication in 1806, but substantially the same plant was 

 characterized in England three years earlier by Haworth in his ' Mis- 

 cellanea Naturalia,' under the name of S. qiunqiiejida. The following 

 is Haworth's account of the plant : — 



" S. foliis stolonura erectorum quinquefidis, laciuiis lanceolatis, 

 lineola longitudinali subexaratis. 



" Habitat in Alpibus Scoticis, D. Don. Floret Maio. 



" Descriptio. Affinis praecedenti {S.f/eranioides) at multoties minor. 

 Stolones erectiusculi, rubri, pilis albis remotiusculis vestiti. Folia 

 rosarum aggregata 5-11-fida, stolouum sparsa 5-fida vel rarius 3-fida 

 caniosa longe petiolata, pagina utrin(|ue glabriuscula, raargiuibus pe- 

 tiolisque ciliato-pilosis. Caules ruljri, Hexuosi, subquinqueflori. Brac- 

 teae iniae trilidae, cetevaeelliptico-lanceolatae, trinerves, recurvatae. Flores 

 raajusculi, petalis albis cuneato-obovatis, basi nervisque tribus abbre- 

 viatis flavicautibus." (Ifawortli, Misc. Nat. (1803) p. 163.) 



I have examined an original specimen from Haworth in Mr. Borrer's 

 collection, and it differs from Keichenbach's specimen of sponhemica 

 only by having the leaves slightly hairy, with more spreading, slightly 

 more compound lateral lobes. The S. cond&nmta, figured and de- 

 scribed by Gmcliu in the same work as sponhemica, is evidently only 

 another form o*' the same variety, with a laxer habit and narrower 

 leaves, which might easily be matched in British exaniphs. Vnder 



