THYMELAOE^. 163 



676. P. dumetorum, L. 



S. "Among bushes, on the sides of a hollow through 

 which the Western Railroad passes, about one mile 

 from Kejnsham towards Bristol, and near a bend in the 

 river, 1836. (C. C. Babii.gton, Esq., specs.) " W. A. 

 Bromfield, mss. We do not doubt that this is a reliable 

 record, especially as it is corroborated by a statement in 

 Topographical Botany, ed. 2, as follows : — " Som. north. 

 Babingtou sp." W e have not had an opportunity of 

 searching for the plant in the locality described. 



(P. Fagopyrum, L. Is frequently met with as an outcast 

 on rubbish heaps and in waste places.) 



THYMELACE^. 

 DAPHNE, Z. 

 677. D. Mezereum, L. Mezereon. 



Native ? It has been known to grow for a great many 

 years in Churchill Batch, S. The shady hill side is 

 very rough and stony, and covered with dwarf coppice. 

 About a dozen plants were seen in February, 1883, 

 nearly all below the road towards the bottom of the 

 Batch ; but one or two were also found on the other 

 side of the hill growing among brambles. In this 

 situation the shrub has unquestionably the appearance 

 of a genuine native ; although many botanists will not 

 allow the Mezereon to be an aboriginal in England. It 

 is commonly supposed that plants found in the woods 

 originate from the seeds of the garden shrub dropped by 

 birds; and that is likely enough to happen in some 

 instances. But in Churchill Batch the Mezereon 

 bushes which grow in the cottage gardens at the bottom 



