NOTES ON A NEW SUBSPECIES OF EUPHRASIA OFFICINALIS. 163 



le minima, mais les caracteres tirent evidemroent plus vers le 

 hirtella. Le nom capitulata me parait bien choisi : les petits exem- 

 plaires montrant les feuilles inferieures distantes entre elles comine 

 dans le minima les superieures avec les fleurs ramasses vers le 

 sonimet de la tige." 



Towards the end of August, last summer, I bad again the 

 opportunity of revisiting the ground on which I first noticed the 

 plant, and I found it abundant and exhibiting exactly the same 

 characters. A little later in the season I went to the Grosse 

 Scheideck, between Grindelwald and Eosenlaui, and I wrote the 

 following notes on the evenings of the 6th, 7th, and 10th of 

 September : — 



" Sept. 6th. To-day I ascended the Grosse Scheideck, and 

 found, in considerable quantity, on the slopes below the hotel, and 

 from this to about 200 feet below it, a small form of Euphrasia, 

 which I at first took for E. capitulata mihi, but eventually recog- 

 nised as a dwarf form of E. hirtella Jord. This dwarf form has 

 pale green foliage, and the lower lip of the flowers is white or pale 

 yellowish white ; in size the plant is somewhat taller than E. capi- 

 tulata, the lower leaves and bracts are more distant, and these as 

 well as the upper bracts are much broader, being almost orbicular, 

 and with cordate base. 



" Later on I came upon a few specimens of my E. capitulata, 

 which occurs but sparsely about here, and sometimes without any 

 glandular hairs. I found I could readily distinguish this eglandular 

 form from purple-flowered minima by the spreading jointed hairs on 

 the stem, those in minima being adpressed, and faintly, or not at 

 all, jointed. This spot seems to be good botanizing ground, as it is 

 broken and rocky, and water collects plentifully in several hollows, 

 forming small pools in which Eriophorum Scheuchzeri Hoppe grows 

 abundantly. 



" Sept. 7th. To-day I explored the broken ground to the east of 

 the hotel, and here I found a taller plant which I knew to be the 

 normal form of E. hirtella. The small hirtella which I noticed 

 yesterday was until this year new to me. I think it likely that 

 botanists have passed it by as a form of E. minima, and that when 

 recognised as small hirtella, it will be found that this subspecies is 

 more generally distributed than is usually supposed. I recollect 

 having noticed it above Miirren, and between the Wengern Alp and 

 the village of Wengern. I am now convinced that E. capitulata 

 must be looked upon as a distinct subspecies of the Hirtella? group, 

 and not as a variety of E. hirtella Jord. The hairs on the stem of 

 hirtella and of capitulata are very variable in length, and are jointed 

 distinctly ; some are spreading, and some are at first spreading and 

 afterwards curved downwards, but they are not adpressed. The 

 hairs on the stem of minima are short, very indistinctly or not 

 at all jointed, and they are curved downwards and adpressed to the 

 stem. The veins of the calyx of E. minima are very frequently 

 dark purple. I have never seen those of E. capitulata other than 

 green with purple spots, but the intermediate spaces between the 

 veins have frequently dark purple streaks or blotches. 



m 2 



