342 THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 



tions ; the Centaiireas are found with the grass, and also plentifully 

 among the undergrowth, such as young birch and oak, sallows, JErica 

 cinerea, CaUioia vulgaris, Cytisiis scopcfriiis, liuhi, Aoung I^iniis 

 sylvestris : be^'ond is a background of Piuus sylvesfris and Cedriis 

 JJeodara. The Centaureas occurring under these conditions i^ave me 

 the impression of being intrusive species, naturalised but decidedly 

 not aboriginal. Centaurea Jacea, very variable as to bracts and as 

 to whether the heads are radiant or not, is abundant, the var. longi- 

 folia Sehultz-Bip. being well represented. Here are also a n amber 

 of puzzling allied forms very similar to others found in Surrey, where 

 I am disposed to consider them native. The most notable of these 

 allies was G. pratensis Thuill. Under other conditions I would readily 

 accept this as native, as it is a well-distributed British plant, ranging 

 from Kent to Perth, and represented in herbaria under such names 

 as C. nigra var. pallens Koch; C. nigra var. clecipiens (Thuill.) of 

 British authors (Syme, etc.) ; it comprises most of the plants referred 

 by Mr. Williams to C. nigra var. rivuJaris. 



As to the source of introduction of these plants at the Berkshire 

 localit3% the adjoining pla^^ing-fields probably offer the solution, as 

 whilst the ground devoted to the summer games was well mown and 

 rolled, the football ground was covered with a thick growth of 

 flowering and seeding Centaureas of various kinds. Grass-formations 

 do not naturally occur on the dry Bagshot Sands, and tlie playing- 

 fields have no doubt been formed by the laying down of turf or by 

 the sowing of gmss-seed, the Centaureas being present in the turf or 

 the fruits being mixed with the grass-seed. 



IIUBIACE^ BATESIANiE.— II. 

 By H. F. Weenha]^[. 



(Continued from p. 283.) 



Taeenna eketensis Wernham in Journ. Bot. lii. 4 (1914). 



No. 1410. " Vine, forest. Flowers white." 



This species has been represented hitherto only by the original 

 type, discovered by the Talbots in the Eket district of Nigeria in 

 1913. 



Gardenia nigrificans, sp. nov. 



Arbor parva nisi corolla omnino glabra, ramulis gracilibus. Folia 

 anguste elliptica utrinque acuminata apice ipso obtusa, basi acuta 

 petioJo brevi ; venae primaria? subtus prominentes laterales perpaucai 

 (utrinque 3-4) ; stipulcB parva? triangulares inconspicuse acutissimae. 

 Flores inter maximos sessiles axillares solitarii. Calgx spathaceus 

 glaber cons])icuus uno latere fere ad basin fissus insuper in lobis 

 5 linearibus longiusculis divisus apice subacvitis. CoroUce tubus 

 elongatus insuper leniter infundibulariter ampliatus extus minute 

 sericeo-tomentosus insuper sparsius, lobi 5 adscendentes pro rata 

 breves ovato-triangulares acuminati acutissimi glabrati. AntliercB 

 longe tenui-lineares quisque brevissime e corolla exsertse. 



