30 Linnean Society. [April l7j 



Mr. Smith concludes by referring to a statement of Mr. Westwood 

 in his ' Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects,' that he 

 had frequently observed Monodontomerus flying about and entering 

 the holes made in walls by Osmice, in which they were doubtlessly 

 about to deposit their eggs; and to his mention of a species com- 

 municated to him by M. Audouin, in which the males have rudi- 

 mentary wings ; and suggests that it would be exceedingly inter- 

 esting to determine whether the species of Monodontomerus, and the 

 Anthophorabia also, might be identical with the insects observed by 

 Audouin and Fonscolombe. 



April 17. 



N. WaUich, M.D„ in the Chair. 



The Rev. David Landsborough, D.D., was elected an Associate. 



Pvead a paper entitled " Remarks on the genus Atriplex" By 

 Joseph Woods, Esq., F.L.S. &c. 



After observing, that, as far as the British species are concerned, 

 the genus Atriplex had remained till lately as it appeared in the 

 •English Flora' of Sir J. E. Smith in 1828, Mr. Woods proceeds to 

 notice the additions made to it by Mr. Babington. The first of these 

 is A. nitens {A. Hermanni of Moquin-Tandon), belonging to a divi- 

 sion of the genus in which some of the flowers are perfect and pro- 

 duce horizontal seeds. The author thinks the division a sound one, 

 though on one occasion he has found a few horizontal seeds, the 

 produce probably of perfect flowers, in A. littoralis. The second is 

 A. marina, introduced by Linnaeus as a plant found in England, and 

 distinguished from A. littoralis by its serrated leaves. Hudson ad- 

 mitted it under the name of A. serrata, but most of our later bota- 

 nists have considered it as a variety of A . littoralis, and it must be 

 placed among the doubtful species. 



The next group, which has no perfect flowers, and a tendency to 

 produce hastate or triangular leaves, is the one which presents the 

 greatest difficulties. We find here, in the last edition of Mr, Babing- 

 ton's ' Manual,' three new species, besides A. erecta of Hudson, 

 which, though adopted by Smith as a very rare plant, is, if Babing- 

 ton's view be correct, one of the most common. The surface of the 

 seeds and the shape and tubercles of the perigonium or enlarged calyx 



