THE FLORA OF CHErSTOW 179 



the banks of the Wye." Sfellaria apetala and neglecta are given 

 — we consider rightly — full rank as species. 



Ruhi records occupy eight pages, Hoses but two. The group 

 Sorbns is well represented — S. latifolia, S. Aria, and var. tomentosa 

 G. & Gr., >S'. rupicola Hedl. (Syme's plant, deservedly raised to specific 

 rank), and S. Moiigeoti Soy- Will, subsp. amjlica Hedl. The hybrid 

 /S*. Aria X torminalis also occurs. 



Amongst the Potamogetons, one is surprised to note that P. lucens, 

 P. picsillus, and P. densus are wanting. Carex Leersii F. Schultz 

 is superseded by O. muricata var. virens Koch, although as long ago 

 as 1898 Kiikenthal wrote " G. virens Koch est inextricabilis." The 

 critical hybrid Glyceria cleclinata xpUcata is reported. 



It is not pleasant to read that " many of our rare plants, especially 

 Orchids and Ferns, are rapidly disappearing through the thoughtless- 

 ness and greed of collectors," and that on this account *' it has been 

 deemed advisable not to state the exact spots where they can be 

 found." We fear that some gatherers for the Exchange Clubs have 

 been to blame for this in the past, and we trust that any ground for 

 complaint will be avoided in the future. 



We note with some surprise that Mr. Shoolbred dismisses " with 

 little doubt" the claims to nativity on the rocks below Chepstow 

 Castle of Brassica oleracea, which he considers became established 

 there "from seed" thrown down with rubbish from the Castle garden. 

 His knowledge of the locality entitles his opinion to respect, but the 

 plant in situ convoys to the visitor the impression of a native. 

 Mr. Shoolbred quotes the record m the New Botanists' Guide (JS^l), 

 but the plant was observed by Banks in 1767 " growing everywhere 

 among the rocks and in great plenty upon the walls " of the Castle 

 (see his Journal published in Proc. Bristol Nat. Soc. ix. 17). A 

 specimen collected by Banks on his second visit (with Lightfoot) to 

 Chepstow in 1773 (see Journ. Bot. 1905, 298) is in the National 

 Herbarium. It is curious that Mr. Shoolbred should have omitted 

 any allusion to Lightfoot's early references, as his name is mentioned 

 by Mr. R-iddelsdell in connection with them on the page cited. It is 

 interesting to note that, besides the Brassica, Banks found Coclilearia 

 anglica and Lepidium ruderale as long ago as 1767 at Chepstow, 

 where the latter now is only a casual. Alopecurus bulbosus, Hordeum 

 sylvaticum, Triticum caninum, BuUa peregrina, Sedum rupestre, 

 Ophrys apifera, O. muscifera, Cephala7ithera ensifolia, Euphorlia 

 strict a, and Mentha rotundifoUa were all found at Chepstow by 

 Banks and Solander in 1773 '(see Journ. Bot. I.e.) and a Bromus 

 entered as '' tectorum'' which Mr. Riddelsdell identified (I.e.) as 

 " B. madritensis L. and a N.C.B." — a plant not included in 

 Mr. Shoolbred's Flora. 



There is a useful and interesting introduction, in which are sum- 

 marised the most striking features of the Hora, the geological 

 formations, and the sources of information (which, as has been shown 

 above, have not been exhausted), with acknowledgements of help 

 from various botanists, including the late W. Moyle Eogers and 

 E. S. Marshall, to the latter of whom, with his wife, the volume is 

 dedicated. Among the books quoted is the somewhat slight Flora of 



