214< THE JOURXAL OF BOTANY 



Fl. (le France, vli. Ill (footnote), 1901— have pointed out its true 

 character. Being an extremely local plant, it is rare in herbaria, and 

 has been hitherto unknown in gardens, so far as I am aware. By the 

 kindness of Prof. Henriques of Coiinbra, who sent me a Hne gathering 

 from the mountains of that part of Portugal, 1 have had the plant in 

 cultivation for two years, and a few notes on it may be useful. 

 Though the leaves resemble somewhat closely those of a lax glaucous 

 form of *S'. reflexum, so that in the barren state it recalls that species 

 more than any other, it very distinct inflorescence at once betrays its 

 close attinity to the South European 8. amplexicaule L. It lias the 

 same very lax cyme of two branches, with one flower in the fork, and 

 two or three on either branch. The flowers are very large for a 

 Sedum, up to f inch in diameter, of a clear straw colour, with patent 

 linear petals, six or seven in number. The sepals also show affinity 

 to S. amplexicaule in the very unusual thickening of the edges, 

 which is so marked a feature of the latter species ; in >S'. pruinatum 

 this is less pronounced. The plant has also the wiry slenderness of 

 amplexicaule. It shows no trace, however, of the peculiar expanded 

 leaf-base which renders S. amplexicaule unique among Sedums. In 

 its mode of vegetative propagation it is quite peculiar. From the 

 axils of some of the leaves in spring slender horizontal shoots arise. 

 They produce distant leaves, do not root, and grow to a length of 6 

 •or even 9 inches. Then the tip of the shoot becomes erect, and if it 

 is in contact with the ground it roots. Except the tip, the shoot 

 soon drops its leaves, and then dies, but remains like a fine wire 

 throughout the winter, joining the living tip, which forms a loose 

 oblong bud, to the ])arent. The erect central shoot, from which tlie 

 rest originated, has meanwhile flowered and died, or bis remained a 

 barren shoot to flower in the succeeding year, when each of the 

 rooted tips goes through the same growth-cycle. The plant has a 

 most distinct appearance, and the contrast between its very glaucous 

 foliage and straw-yellow flowers is pleasing. 



i have a good stock of >S'. pruinatum at present, and if any 

 gardener-botanist would like to grow it, I shall be ha])])y to send a 

 plant. It appears to prefer a light dry humus soil, and its root-system 

 is of the flimsiest description. 



S. SARMEXTOSUM Masters in Gard. Chron. 1878, ii. 626 (excl. var.) 

 (nee *S'. sarmentosum Bunge). 



Masters's descri})tion of '' aS'. sarmentosum Bunge" clearly does 

 not ap])ly to that species, which is an interesting Chinese ])lant, well 

 known in cidtivation. Maximowicz, dealing with the Asiatic Sedums, 

 remarks of the former '• planta . . . mihi ignota." This is the only 

 reference to it which I know. Masters got much of his nuiterial at 

 Kew Gardens, and an examination of the Sedums there revealed a 

 plant in the Succulent House, noteworthy on account of its bright 

 green whorled linear leaves, which was clearly Masters's species, and 

 was, indeed, still labelled S. sarmentosum. The plant was puzzling, 

 and I took it to be possibly one of the numerous sjjecies of the 

 Japonica section of Sedum which are now known to occur in China. 

 I saw it next at Dahlcm, named S. reflexum — which did not help 



