THE BRITISH SPECIES OF ARCTIUM 115 



especially from immature specimens of A. Lappa or poor examples 

 of A. vulgare, while the heads of A. minus, when pressed, often 

 look so large that students may well be excused if they fancy that 

 they recognize hybrids with one of the two other species. I hope 

 to recur to this subject, however, at a later time, as I have plants 

 in various localities under observation, though I believe that all 

 will prove to be robust specimens of A. minus or small shade- 

 grown forms of A. Lappa. As regards Britain, undoubted hybrids 

 have yet, it appears, to be found, and the theory sometimes 

 mooted that A. vulgare — that is, A. intermedium of Lange — con- 

 sists of a series of varying hybrids is quite untenable. On the 

 other hand, we have in this country several for nice : for instance, 

 A. minus, as well as A. vulgare, may be green or purplish in general 

 coloration, and all three species may have more or less arachnoid 

 heads. In some years the arachnoid condition is much less 

 evident than in others, or it may be entirely absent ; this is 

 usually the case in a dry season, though it cannot yet be asserted 

 with certainty that drought is the sole cause of the disappearance 

 of the " wool." So also green and purplish forms may grow in 

 the closest proximity, though not in the same patch. It is notice- 

 able that the green form of A. minus constantly has light pink 

 flowers, like those of A. Lappa, whereas the purplish form has the 

 darker flowers of A. vulgare. Exceptionally arachnoid specimens 

 of the green form of A. vulgare probably misled Babington into 

 giving them the appellation of A. pubens, as far as we can judge 

 from his herbarium and his description. 



By the International Eules we must take as our starting point 

 Linnasus's Species Plantarum, ed. i. (1753), where the genus 

 stands as Arctium. Lappa as a generic name must therefore be 

 discarded. 



In conclusion, I give a somewhat extended synonymy of 

 the British members of the genus, adding that of A. tomcn- 

 tosum in brackets, for it is possible that it may yet be discovered 

 within our islands, perhaps on the dry sands in Norfolk or 

 Suffolk. Herein I have had the inestimable advantage of the aid 

 of Dr. Moss, Curator of the Herbarium at Cambridge. As early 

 as 1761 Hill (Vegetable System, iv. 28) gave very fair descriptions 

 and unmistakable figures of three British species, so that the 

 confusion that has subsequently arisen as to their proper names 

 is very largely due to students ignoring his work. 



The Great Burdock must stand as A. Lappa L. Sp. Plant. 

 816, excl. var. {$." 



The Small Burdock must stand as A, minus Bernhardi Syst. 

 Verz. Erf. i. 154. It is the Lappa minor of Hill. 



The medium-sized Burdock must stand as Arctium vulgare 

 mini. The name is really due to Hill, and it is with the greatest 



* It is perhaps worth noting here that the only specimen in the Linnean 

 Herbarium is very poor, and consists of a short branchlet with very small 

 leaves and tomentose heads. Linnaeus labelled it I. Lappa, but it may be 

 A. vulgare. In Smith's Herbarium we find only two examples, referable to 

 A. minus (certainly) and ".-1. nemorosum" (probably). 



K 2 



