344 THE JOURNAL OP^ BOTANY 



Dumoi'tier, who seems to have overlooked the fact that Boreau 

 had, fifteen years previously, raised the plant from varietal to 

 specific rank, thus descrihes it" in Bull. Soc. Roy. Bot. Belij. vii. 

 p. 353 (1868) : — " Caulibus diffusis, foliis remotis ovatis elonga- 

 tisque, stipulis pinnatifidis lacinia media crenata, sepalis angusto- 

 lanceolatis, capsula vix brevioribus." The note which follows I 

 here translate : — " Made a variety by De Candolle in his Prodromus, 

 it constitutes a true species, and we have indicated it as such to 

 all our friends in our excursions along the dunes. It grows in 

 Flanders, in Zeeland, in Holland, and in the north of France, 

 without ever varying ; we have cultivated it for a long time with- 

 out its showing any modification." In Index Kewensis both 

 Boreau's and Dumortier's references are quoted, as though there 

 were a doubt about priority of date. 



Wildeman & Durand, Prodr. Fl. Beige, iii. p. 355 (1900), give 

 as the stations of var. sabulosa on the Belgian coast, Nieuport, 

 Ostend, and Heyst. Within the limits of Ostend and Heyst, the 

 plant, however, does not occur, as the ground is either built over 

 or converted into ' digue-de-mer.' Beyond Heyst to the north- 

 east, it is a feature of the sandhills from Duinbergen (which means 

 " sandhills ") through Knocke to the Dutch frontier ; and beyond 

 it, across the Zwyn creek to Breskens, opposite Flushing, further 

 than which I did not proceed. 



From the living plants the following description of var. 

 sahulosa is drawn up, omitting the characters which are common 

 both to V. tricolor (in the aggregate) and to subsp. Curtisii : — 



Perennis, 8-20 ctim., glabra vel levissime parceque pilosula. 

 Radix in sabulum longe recteque descendens. Caules diffusi, sat 

 ramosi. Folia inferiora longe petiolata, ovalia ; intermedia 

 lanceolato-linearia ; superiora elongata linearia crenulata, in 

 petiolo parum decurrentia. Stipula^ utroque latere ina3qualiter 

 et irregulariter pinnatitidse ; lobi laterales lineares integri acuti 

 patentes ; lobus medianus lineari-oblongus, dentibus 1-2 rotun- 

 datis praeditus. Bractese ovali-lanceolatfe, basi leviter denticulatoe, 

 sat infra pedunculi curvaturam sitae. Petala calycem tertia vix 

 parte excedentia, obovalia ; inferius latius cuneatum, calcare 

 transverso cylindraceo. 



Forma discolor.—Ra,dix caulibus multum longior, usque ad 25 

 ctim. (cum caule 15 ctim.). Folia inferiora (lamina) 10 x 6^ mm., 

 petiolo aequilongo. Stipulae latere distali magis divisae, lobis 

 distahbus (quoad foHum) 5-6, lobis proximalibus 2. PeduncuH 

 45-54 mm. Bracteae 5 mm. infra curvaturam. Petala superiora 

 et lateralia coeruleo-violacea, inferius luteum. 



Stat. Along the ridges and exposed upper slopes of sandhills. 



Forma concolor. — Eadix caulibus subasquilonga, saepe circiter 

 15 ctim. Folia inferiora (cum petiolo) 26-34 mm. StipuliE latere 

 proximali magis divisae, lobis proximalibus (quoad folium) 4-5, 

 lobis distalibus 2. Pedunculi 39-58 mm. Bractete 5 mm. infra 

 curvaturam, 7-2 mm. infra calycis basin. Petala omnia coeruleo- 

 violacea, sed inferius interdum basi lutescenti-ocellatum. 



Stat. Usually in the hollows and along the lower (less ex- 

 posed) slopes of sandhills. 



