OCCUEUENCE OF MEDICAGO LAl'PACEA IN BEDFOBDSHIRE. 25 



cum, I have seen in the Lea, near Hyde Mill, within a yard or two 

 of the county boundary, if not actually within its limits. There 

 appears to be some doubt as to previous records, as neither plant is 

 given for Bedfordshire in " Topographical Botany." 



Ibens amara is still found in something like abundance on the corn- 

 lands near High Down, on the borders of Herts. Its existence has 

 long been known there (Fl. Herts, p. 25). Fumaria Vaillantii occurs 

 in the same fields, and also about Dunstable, in which neighbourhood, 

 as well as at Luton, i^. wMcrflw^Aa seems to be commoner even than F. 

 officinalis. The erasure indicated under F. Vaillantii, in " Topo- 

 graphical Botany " (ii., p. 592), has been accidentally misplaced, and 

 was intended to refer to another county (Huntingdonshire). 



It will be seen that most of these observations are confined to 

 that portion of Bedfordshire which is drained by the affluents of the 

 Thames — the Lea, the Mimran, and the Ver. It will probably 

 be found that the Flora of this division will present many peculia- 

 rities, in the way of presence and absence, when contrasted with 

 that of the county at large, which, with the exception of a small 

 tract of country in the north-western angle, which is included in that 

 of the Nene, belongs altogether to the basin of the Ouse, and of its 

 tributaries, the Ouzel, Ivel, and Kime, and to a very limited extent 

 the Cam. The natural districts thus defined will be available for 

 purposes of botanical geography. 



For the localities of the undermentioned plants I am indebted to 

 the MS8. of the Eev. W. W. Newbould, by whom, or by Mr. W. 0. 

 Aikin, they were first observed in the county. 



Hanunculus heterophyllus (restricted). Near Shefford. 



R. pseudo-Jluitans. R. Lea, above Luton. 



Poly gala vulgaris (true). Warden, Caddington. 



Ononis spinosa. Eaton Socon, Goldington. Abbot's plant is liable 

 to some degree of uncertainty. 



Lotus tenuis. Near Bedford ; between Farndish and Puddington. 

 There is also a specimen from Hawnes in Ed. Forster's herbarium in 

 the British Museum. 



Z. major. Between Luton and Dunstable ; Bassmead. 



Ficia gracilis. Near Clapham. 



Rubus rhamnifolius. Maulden. 



R. discolor. In many places. 



Fpilohium roseum. Caudle Ford. 



E. tetragonum (true). Bedford, Elstow, &c. E. obscurum is not 

 certainly known to occur. 



Galium palustre and elongatum are both found in the county. 



Arctium minus (true). Caddington, &c. 



Tragopogon pratensis. T. minor only has been at present noticed 

 in Beds. 



Lactuca virosa. By the railway near Bedford ; perhaps the remains 

 of cultivation. 



Z. m,uralis. Between Luton and Dunstable. 



Taraxacum erythrospermum. Occasionally. 



Sonchus asper. In many places. 



Hieracium tridentatum. Near Shefford. 



Ctiscula Trifolii. Bassmead. 



