210 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



SHORT NOTE. 



ScAPANiA cRASsiRETis Bvijhn IN Britain. — AmoDg a collection 

 of hepaticffi made iu Perthshire by Mr. P. Ewing in July, 1900, 

 was one which I had little doubt was this species. The locality 

 was Ben Heasgarnich, on a wet rock at 3200 ft. alt. The plant 

 differed considerably in appearance from a series of Norwegian 

 specimens in my possession, being shorter and rather stouter. I 

 sent specimens to Herr Kaalaas, who confirms the name. He 

 writes : " The result of my examination is that it really must 

 belong to S. crassiretis Bryhn, although it differs in some degree 

 in habit and size from Norwegian specimens of the plant. The 

 essential characters, however, are quite the same," This species 

 was first described by Bryhn in Recue Bryologigiie, 1892, p. 7. 

 There is also a description of it in Kaalaas' De Distrib. Hep. in 

 Norveg., 1893, p. 248. It has hitherto been only known from 

 Norway, where it is apparently nowhere common, but has a wide 

 distribution, occurring also on the west coast among Atlantic 

 species. It is a slender and, typically, an elongate plant, forming 

 compact reddish-brown tufts on wet alpine rocks. The antical 

 lobe of leaf is half the size of the postical, obliquely cordate or 

 reniform, incumbent, widely crossing the stem, margin entire, with 

 obtuse apex, cuticle verruculose. S. piuyurascens is the only plant 

 which might be mistaken for it in the field, but the antical lobe is 

 of a different shape, not or seldom crossing the stem, and is usually 

 denticulate ; it is also generally of a brighter reddish colour. The 

 lax form of S. resupinata, as it occurs on our hills, has a consider- 

 able resemblance to it, but in this state it does not grow on wet 

 rocks, but on rock ledges or grassy banks among other species and 

 mosses. It does not form compact tufts in those positions, and the 

 antical lobe is dentate. The only other species occurring on the 

 hills with any resemblance to it is S. (Bqiiiloba, but in this the 

 antical lobe is not incumbent, and the apex is acute ; it also does 

 not occur on wet rocks. S. nemorosa and S. aspera need not be 

 considered in the field in this connection, as they are, at least in 

 Scotland, exclusively low-ground plants. Under the microscope 

 S. crassiretis can be distinguished from its allies by its cell structure. 

 The cell-walls are greatly incrassate, the lumen being stellate, and 

 the trigones very conspicuous. This stellate appearance seems to 

 be constant, and is a marked feature. Flowers and fruit of this 

 species are unknown. — Symers M. Macvicar. 



NOTICES OF BOOKS. 



Disease in Plants. By H. Marshall Ward, Sc.D., F.R.S. 

 Macmillan & Co. 8vo, pp. xiv, 309. Price 4s. 6d. 



There are already before the public a number of books that 

 treat of the diseases of plants. The present work does not compete 

 with these, but, as the title indicates, deals rather with the plants 



