76 SHORT NOtES AND QUEKIES. 



colour, from typical F. palUiUflora, gatliered at the same time. In the 

 series occur souie specimens with perfectly white flowers, and others more 

 or less tinged with purple, and the curvature of the pedicels is very vari- 

 able even in the same plant. In any case, the supposed F. Borai from 

 Brightstone differs widely from the plant given as F. Borcei in Billot's 

 ' Exsiccata.' I may add that Dr. Boswell Synie also refers ilr. Stratton's 

 specimens to F. palUdiJlora. 



■\F. coiifusa^ Jord. On the shore west of Kyde ; hedge at Alverstone ; 

 garden of the Vicarage at Carisbrooke ; Appuldurcombe ! (A. J. Ham- 

 brough). By far the most frequent of the capreolate Fumarice in the 

 island. 



■\F. mm'alis, Sond. Hedge near Freshwater Gate, sparingly, June, 

 1862. The plant gathered here agrees closely with Mr. VVatson's Azo- 

 rean specimens. 



Obs. F. m.icrantJia, Lag. Dr. G. K. Tate reports having found a single 

 specimen, which was not preserved, in waste ground near Yarmouth, in 

 1865. Dr. Bell Salter recorded, I believe inadvertently, F. micraullm as 

 found by himself flowering in January, 1855, near Hyde (Bot. Soc. Edin. 

 Proc. 1855, p. 18). Dr. Bromfiekl speaks of another specimen found 

 by Dr. Salter as either parci/lora or mlcranlha. But I fear this species 

 cannot be accepted as au Isle of Wight plant. 



{To he continued.) 



SHORT NOTES AND QUEEIES. 



WoLFFiA. IN Blossom. — Mr. Henry Gillman, in the 'American. 

 Naturalist' for January, says, — " I have just found (August 28th, 1870) 

 the JFolffia colnwbiaua, Karsten, flowering abundantly in a pool at Sand- 

 wich, Ontario, on the Detroit river. I discovered this station for it more 

 than a year ago, but hitherto have failed to find the flowers till now. 

 Untold millions of these tiny plants covered the surface of tlie water, hid- 

 ing it completely, and lying eii viasse at least three-quarters of an inch 

 thick. I found it also (though not fertile) some miles higher up the 

 river, at Connor's Creek, Michigan, but nowhere else along the shores. 

 Though Gray says ' flowers and fruit not seen,' it has, I think, been 

 found once in flower in the Catskills. The delicate white flowers dis- 

 appear soon after taking it from the water, but on placing some next day 

 in my aquarium the little plants at once ' righted themselves,' and tlie 

 flowers almost instantly reappeared, expanding fresh as ever from the 

 centre of the frond. Last year, in the same pool, it was quite abundant, 

 growing with Lemna minor, L., which was, however, largely in the 

 majority. Now I find the JFolffia has almost taken possession of the 

 pool, driving out the Lemna, which is ' few and far between,' and of a 

 sickly and clegraded type." The European (and British) species, IF. 

 arrhiza, Wimm., has, 1 believe, been seen in flower hitherto only in West 

 Africa by Dr. Welvvitsch, and his specimens were described and figured 

 by Hegelmaier in this Journal, Vol. III. p. 113, and tab. 29. A hint iiere 

 for those with aquaria who try to flower this tiny plant — stint it of water, 

 and expose it to heat. Perhaps growing it on flannel kept constantly 

 wet with warm water, and exposed to the sun, might cause the reproductive 

 energies to overcome the vegetative ones. — Henky Tkimen. 



