162 THE NATURALIST. 



stems ; they were growing at the top of the very steep bank, in an almost 

 inaccessible situation. The next plant noticed was Hypericum montanunii 

 which occurred sparingly by the roadside : here, as elsewhere, H. liirsutum 

 was abundant, and Epilohiiim angustifolium formed brilliant patches of 

 colour. In the cornfields Linarla Elatine, L. spuria, and Iberis amara were 

 observed, the last very plentiful. In the wood which overhangs the road 

 near Medmenham Church, Iris fcetidissima \Yii3 abundant, but not a flower 

 remained to gratify my hopes of collecting it, though none of the plants 

 had advanced far towards seed. Hypericum montanum appeared here, with 

 Chlora perfoliata and EnjthrcBa Centaurvwn and I also noticed two or three 

 young plants of Atropa Belladonna. In a pit at the bottom of the wood, 

 near the road. Reseda luteola grew very luxuriantly, some of the specimens 

 being at least six feet high : in this neighbourhood this species is less 

 common than B. lutea. The chalky banks outside the wood afforded As- 

 perula cynanchica, Hippocrepis comosa, Gcntiana Amarella or germanica, and 

 other more common species. On an old wall near Medmenham church, 

 were a few plants of PyretJiriim Parthenium, a species which, in common 

 with a few others, seems to delight in placing itself in so-called suspicious 

 localities ; Borago officinalis grows here by the roadside. On arriving at 

 the river, I observed a patch of Butomus umbellatus, but was informed that 

 it had been planted : Acorus Calamus was abundant all along the river side, 

 but not a single specimen was in blossom. In walking along the bank 

 towards New Lock, I suddenly came upon a piece of still water, separated 

 from the main stream by a large bed of rushes ; here the vegetation was 

 most luxuriant and varied. The large dark-green leaves "of Nymphcea alba, 

 mingled with the small ones of Niiphar lutea, and set off by the magnifi- 

 cent white and yellow flowers of both, the elegant pink spikes of the float- 

 ing Polygonum amjjhibium, with the large white ones of Sagittaria sagitti- 

 folia, the overhanging branches of the willows, and the tall graceful reeds, 

 gave to the scene an air of almost tropical luxuriance, enabling me to 

 realize, in some faint measure, the glories of the New World rivers. Here, 

 too, was a large patch of the lovely and rare Villarsia nymphcBoides, its 

 delicately fringed blossoms opened wide in the sunlight : I subsequently 

 met with it further down the river, not very far from Marlow Lock. The 

 beauty of this plant is quite lost in the drying, as the divisions of the 

 corolla are concave, and it is therefore impossible to preserve successfully 

 the fringe which is so beautiful. A Cliara was observed here on the roots 

 of a tree. On arriving at the open river, I was much struck with the quiet 



