INTRODUCTION Clll 



read in synonymy, and on more than one occasion recorded the same 

 plant under two names. The ninth record is a definite one, 'Mille- 

 folium palustre galericulatuvi, Ger. . . . Hooded Water Milfoile. About 

 Oxford.' This is Utricidaria vulgaris, L. The tenth, a possible Berk- 

 shire record, although usually considered to be in Hertfordshire, is 

 that of the Fi'og Orchis, called by How * Orchis Batrachites, Frog 

 Satyrion,' which he says grows 'by Barkway'.' Merrett's Pinax, as 

 will be seen, adds ' and other places round Oxford.' The plant is 

 Habeimria viridis, Br. The eleventh plant recorded is a form of Pa2Kiver 

 Rhaeas, L., namely, ' flore variegato, near Redding.' The twelfth, 

 ^ Poeoniafoemina, Female Peiony,' is not a native, being of garden origin 

 and no longer to be found in the locality given by How. The 

 thirteenth recorded species, one already noticed, is an undoubted 

 plant of the county still to be found 'by Redding,' Sium latifolium, L., 

 which How gives as 'Sium majus latifolium, Ger., Great water Parsnep,' 

 though Gerard spoke of it as simply Siiu)i, majus. The fourteenth 

 notice is of ' Solanum lignosum flore albo. In a lane going to Newbridge 

 from Tubney,' found by Mr. Stonehouse — a white-liowered form of 

 Svlanum Dulcamara, L. The fifteenth plant is ' Verhascum foemina flora 

 luteo magno, Bauhine's female Mulleine with gi'eat yellow flowers. 

 Found by Redding.' This may possibly have been Verhascum Thapsus, L. 

 or V. nigrum. The sixteenth is ' Verhascum octavum, Caes., Blattaria 

 Phoenicia, Tab., Flore purpureo, Gesn., Purple Moth Mulleine. Neer 

 Oxford, Mr. Thomas.' Most likely the semi-natiu'alized V. Blattaria, L., 

 not the true V. Phoenicia. 



The foregoing notices of plants recorded by How and others havf 

 been dealt with at some length in order to show that the identifica- 

 tion of these early records is by no means easy or in many cases 

 precise ; indeed, many of these references have little value in a 

 scientific sense, although they may possess some antiquarian interest. 



In the Library of Magdalen College is preserved an interleaved copy 

 of the Phytologia which evidently belonged to How, as it contains 

 a large number of MS. notes added by How from material supplied by 

 Wm. Browne, John Goodyer, and others. The words ' Rec. 30 Apr. 

 1659 ' are inscribed on the first page in Goodyer's handwriting. On 

 the death of Goodyer the book probably came into the possession of 

 Wm. Browne, Fellow of Magdalen College, and the general notes 

 show that How contemplated a second edition of the work. Many 

 of the records in it were afterwards given in Merrett's Pinax. The 

 notes of principal intex'est to our Berkshire flora are as follows : 

 ' Cynoglossum flore albo, neere Redding' ; this refers to a white-flowered 

 form of C. officinale (see Catalogue of the Oxford Botanic Garden). 



1 ?In Hertfordshire, but not cited by Mr. Pryor in the Plora of that 

 county. 



