316 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



1898 ; in two places at Craig-an-Lochain, Killin, one being among 

 boulders at the base of the west precipice, alt. 1800 ft., the other on 

 a rocky bank near the centre of the range at about the same altitude. 

 The Shetland locality for this species is interesting, as it appears 

 generally rather to avoid a maritime climate. It has not been found 

 on the Faeroes, which have been well searched, nor does it occur on 

 the islands off the west coast of Norway, according to Herr Kaalaas. 

 It is also rather rare in the inner fjord region, but is fairly common 

 on the east side of the country. — Symers M. Macvicar. 



Note on Ghik^a Schweinf. & Volkens. — In this Journal for 1896, 

 p. 128, I described as a new species of Graderia (G. speciosa) a plant 

 collected by Dr. Donaldson Smith in Somaliland. I remarked that 

 it was an interesting addition to the genus, differing from the two 

 previously described species in its much larger, more open flowers, 

 and in the complete disappearance of the sterile half of the anther 

 in the posterior stamens. In the next year Drs. Volkens and 

 Schweinfurth published {Liste des plantes recoltees par les Princes 

 Demetre et yicolas Ghika-Comanesti dans leur voyage au pays des 

 Somalis ; Bucarest) a new genus — Ghikcea — of the same section of 

 Scrojyhularineo', with one species — G. spectahilis. This genus, which 

 is without doubt my Graderia speciosa, is retained by Engler (Bot. 

 Jahrb. xxiii. 507, where also a figure of the flower is given, t. xiii. 

 figs. J, k), and also by Wettstein in the Supplement to the Pjianzen- 

 familien (Nachtrag. 297), the distinguishing generic character being 

 the complete absence of the sterile portion of the posterior anthers. 

 Through the courtesy of Professor Engler, I have just had an 

 opportunity of examining a flower of Ghikaia spectahilis, and, 

 though there is some variation in the size of the corolla, I have 

 little doubt that the plant collected by Dr. Donaldson Smith is 

 conspecific with Ghika:a spectahilis. I have thought it worth while 

 to mention this, as it is obvious from the construction of the name, 

 Ghikica spectahilis, that Graderia speciosa has been overlooked not 

 only by the original founders of Ghikaa, but also by subsequent 

 workers, all of whom make it a rule to retain through generic 

 vicissitudes the original species-name of a plant. — A. B. Rendle. 



NOTICE OF BOOK. 



Irish Topographical Botany. By Robert Lloyd Praeger, B.A., 

 B.E., M.R.I. A. 8vo, cloth, pp. clxxxviii, 410 ; six maps. 

 Price 10s. London : WiUiams & Norgate. 



Those who know something of Mr. Praeger's work in the study 

 or the field will expect a really good book from his pen ; and it may 

 be said at once that this anticipation is here fulfilled. It is, indeed, 

 many years since anything of so much value to British botanists 

 generally has appeared, although one would hardly have looked for 

 this in a treatise limited to Irish plants. 



The author states in the Preface that he was led to undertake 

 his task by observing the absence of census-numbers for Ireland in 



