322 ON LYCOPODIUM COMPLANATUM, L., AS A BRITISH PLANT. 



of late considered to be only a form of L. aljnnum, gi'owing in a 

 rather low situation." Prof. Babington lias also a barren specimen 

 of so-called />. ctnupJanatum, found by Mr. John Lloyd at Lower 

 Wagners Wells, in the parish of Bramshot, Hants, where the soil is 

 a sandy peat (' Gard. Chron.,' 1867, pp. 808, 997), but which, like 

 the Worcestershire plant, he has referred to L. alpinum; and he 

 has omitted all reference to L. complanatum in the 8th edition of 

 his ' Manual.' 



With regard to its continental distribution, the following 

 reference to L. complanatum is given in Spring's ' Monographic des 

 Lycopodiacees ' (p. 101) : — " Hab. in sjdvis apertis Europae .... 

 Per totam Europam frequens (Gallia, Germania, Scotia, Scan- 

 dinavia, Pannonia); prope Petropolin." It also occurs in Belgium, 

 Denmark, &c. The Scotch record I am unable to trace, but a 

 plant near L. complanatum is contained in the British Museum 

 Herbarium, localised Sidlaw Hills ; I should refer this to L. 

 alpinum, as also a similar i^lant, collected by Prof. Lawson in 

 Skye, and my own specimens from Scuir Ouran, West Boss, 

 which are more flattened and luxuriant than ordinary alpinum. 

 From its continental distribution its occurrence in Britain might 

 reasonably be expected, both geograx^hical and climatal circum- 

 stances being favourable. 



Lycopodium complanatum, Linn. Sp. Plant., 1567. — Stems exten- 

 sively creeping, subterranean, with few scattered small leaves ; 

 ascending branches terete, dichotomously branching, with uniform 

 coriaceous scattered leaves (never tipped with a hair), spirally 

 arranged ; secondary branches repeatedly dichotomising, ultimate 

 divisions very compressed, concave on the inner and convex on the 

 outer surface; the leaves of two kinds, arranged in four rows, the 

 lateral series triangular and acute, with long decurrent bases, those 

 on the inner surface small and subulate, borne at intervals on the 

 slender rounded axis, on the convex surface the leaves are 

 larger, linear-lanceolate and adpressed. The peduncles terminating 

 the primary or secondary branches are terete and covered with 

 uniform, linear-lanceolate, adpressed, entire leaves, spirally 

 arranged. The peduncles dichotomously branch once or twice at 

 the summit, each division bearing a spike. The spikes, two to six in 

 number, are cylindrical, and the bracts, unlike the leaves, are 

 broadly ovate, with an acute apex, and somewhat decurrent base ; 

 the margin is slightly serrated. The kidney-shaped spore case is 

 sessile, and separates along the outer margin into two valves. ^-i' 



The Eev. H. P. Beader has sent the following details of its 

 English habitat : — 



"At the head of one of the many valleys which intersect the 



otswolds about Stroud, the ground is broken up into several 



ferny knolls, divided by streamlets ; and upon the side of one of 



these knolls the Lycopodium, recently identified as coniidanatum, 



* [For tbis description of the species we are indebted to the kindness of Mr. 

 Carrutbers, wbo ba^ drawn it up from a Gloucestershire specimen, presented to 

 the National Herbarium l>y the Kuv. H. P. Reader. — Ed. Journ. Bot.] 



