44 Linnean Society. [Nov. 19^ 



Read also, " On Cuscuta epilimtm and halophyta." By Charles C. 

 Babington, Esq., M.A., F.L.S. 



The first of these species has been recently added to the British 

 Flora by J. E. Bowman, Esq., F.L.S. , having been found by him 

 growing abundantly on flax, near Trelydan Hall, Montgomeryshire, 

 in August last. The other species, which occurs on the coast of 

 Norway, growing upon Chenopodeee, has not been hitherto observed 

 in this country. The author gives the following characters of the 

 two plants : — 



1. C. epUinum (Weihe), flonim gloraerulis bracteatis sessilibus, squamis 

 palmati-subsexfidis tubo coroUse semper ventricoso adpressis, sepalis 

 carnosis basi deltoideis corolla vix brevioribus. 



2. halophyta (Fries), " floi-um glomerulis subbracteatis" sessilibus, squa- 

 mis bifidis tubo corollas ventricoso adpressis : segmentis bifidis, calyce 

 corolla multo brevioii. 



November 19. 

 Edward Forster, Esq., V.P., in the Chair. 



WiUiam Borrer, Jun., Esq., B.A., of St. Peter's College, Cam- 

 bridge ; Richard Davis, Esq., of St. Helen's Place ; and Christopher 

 Parsons, Esq., of South Church, Essex, were elected Fellows of the 

 Society. 



Read, " A Monograph of the genus Disporum." By D. Don, Esq., 

 Libr. L.S., Prof. Bot. King's College. 



This genus was first suggested by Mr. Brown, in his ' Prodromus 

 Florae NovseHollandiae'; and the name of Z)?5/)orMm was subsequently 

 given to it by Salisbury in the first volume of the Transactions of 

 the Horticultural Society of London. It remained, however, unde- 

 scribed, and almost unnoticed, until the publication of the author's 

 work on the plants of Nepal, in which a detailed description of the 

 genus, and the characters of two additional species were given. 

 The characters of the genus consist in its campanulate perianthium, 

 with the sepals produced into a pouch or spur at the base, in the 

 cells of its ovarium bearing two ovula, in its baccate pericarpium, 

 and in its umbellate inflorescence. These distinctions will be found 

 to be common to all the Asiatic species hitherto referred by most 



