SHORT NOTES. "217 



associated with Mr. Bentham in the preparation of the ' Flora 

 Australiensis,' and was referred to by the veteran botanist in the 

 preface to that work as " a young but able assistant" in the Kew 



Herbarium. As is well known, a serious illness, which seemed at 

 the time likely to disqualify him for further work, compelled 

 Mr. Hemsley to resign his post in 1867 ; but, fortunately for 

 science, the termination proved satisfactory, and Mr. Hemsley has 

 steadily advanced in work and knowledge. It is only necessary to 

 refer to the botanical portion of the « Biologia Centrali-America,' 

 to the Botany of the ' Challenger,' and to the important Flora of 

 China, now in course of publication, to show that Mr. Hemsley is 

 fully qualified for the post which he now occupies, and for which 

 his work in the Kew Herbarium for a long period of years has 

 completely fitted him. 



That the three botanists — one in his honourable retirement, 

 two in their new official positions — may long continue to pursue 

 their career of distinguished usefulness is, we are sure, the sincere 

 hope of all their fellow-workers, as it is that of the Editor of this 

 Journal. 



SHOlil NOTES. 



PiUjiex pbopinquus J. E. Aresch., ix Beitain". — In Dr. Trimen's 

 ' Notes on some Scandinavian Plants' i.Journ. Bot., 1872, p. 333), 

 this plant is mentioned as likely to occur in the north of Britain. A 

 form gathered by me in Shetland in 1888 has recently been deter- 

 mined as this hybrid, and it will doubtless be found in many places 

 on the mainland of Britain, where R. crispua and R. domatiau 

 grow together. The resemblance which the plant bears to R. eonr 

 spersus, pointed out by Dr. Trimen, may cause the plant to be 

 sometimes overlooked. Although I was unable to determine the 

 plant with certainty myself, and it seemed to me to differ from R. 

 conspersus, I have apparentlv distributed a few examples of it 

 (No. 1027; under the latter name.— W. H. Be:., v. 



Pavonia hastata Cav. — A plant with the habits of Abutilon or 

 Hibiscus was growing in my greenhouse, and I watched it for a long 

 time, waiting to see its flowers expand ; but at length the buds i as 

 I believed them to be) turned yellow, so I opened them by force (the 

 sepals being united together), and found they contained fully grown 

 seeds. I then examined apparently young buds, and found they 

 contained little crumpled flowers (not much larger than a pin's 

 head), in which the styles were bent back upon the few monadel- 

 phous stamens, so that the stigmas were pressed against the 

 anthers ; seed was thus produced within the unopened petals and 

 cohering sepals, which only open when the seeds are perfectly ripe. 

 For some time the plant continued to produce such clandestine 

 flowers. Then buds which could not be distinguished from them 

 opened and developed large pretty flowers, of a light pink 

 colour, and an inch and a half in diameter. In these large flowers 

 the styles stood erect on a long monadelphous column, upon which 



