16 THE NATURALIST. 



tolerably open, occasionally gland tipped, both sides of the leaf glabrous 

 and glandless, or with a very occasional gland on the midrib beneath. 

 Petioles without hair, but often with a few setss and aciculi. Stipules 

 with erecto-patent, lanceolate auricles, glabrous on the back, but some- 

 times slightly gland-ciliated. Peduncles invariably solitary and bractless, 

 erect in fruit, usually glabrous, but sometimes more or less aciculate and 

 setose. Calyx tube sub-globose, glabrous, purple where exposed, segments 

 entire, naked on the back, and either the same at the edge or furnished 

 with a gland or two, from three-eighths to half an inch long, shorter than the 

 petals. Flowers usually nearly white, sometimes more or less tinged with 

 red, measuring from one inch to one and a half across when fully expanded. 

 Styles villose. Fruit coriaceous, shining, glabrous, usually purplish black 

 when ripe, but sometimes reddish, in shape subglobose, or even some- 

 what depressed, three-eighths to half an inch broad, crowned by the truly 

 persistent somewhat coriaceous purplish sepals, which are hardly if at all 

 lengthened out and flattened at the point. Fruit ripening in September 

 and October. 



The only British specimens which I have seen to which the above 

 description does not apply, are — one gathered by Mr. Eobertson, in Castle 

 Eden dene, Durham, which has an ovate ampulliform fruit, twice as long 

 as broad, but otherwise as above — and one gathered by Mr. Borrer, at 

 Brighton, which has a very prickly and setose peduncle, and in which the 

 lower part of the fruit is prickly and setose also. This latter is doubtless 

 the variety y aculeatissima of Woods, and the former probably his var, s. 



Our plant is the pimpinellifollia of several continental authors, who 

 give spinosissima as a distinct species. Eeichenbach (Fl. Excurs,) assigns 

 to his pimpinellifoUa globose fruit, glabrous peduncles, and simply serrated 

 roundish leaves, and to his spinosissima ovate fruit, hispid peduncles, and 

 doubly serrated oblong leaves ; but this does not give quite a correct 

 idea of either, if Deseglise is correct in quoting the latter as a synonym of 

 his E. Fdpartii. This latter, of which specimens are given in his '* Herba- 

 riam Rosarum," has roundish oval doubly glanduloso-serrated leaves, the 

 midribs beneath finely glandular, and the stipules gland-ciliated, the 

 peduncles and globose calyx tube varying from glabrous to roughly acicu- 

 late and setose. U. myriacantha, De Can. is described as having doubly 

 glanduloso-serrated leaves, which are glendular-beneath, and densely 

 aciculate and setose peduncles and fruit. R. spreta, Deseglise appears to 

 differ from spinosissima principally by its fewer prickles and less hairy 



