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THE PONDWEEDS OF HEREFORDSHIRE. 
By the Rev. A. Lry.* 
I am to limit myself to-day to a single class of plants; and I choose for my re- 
marks one which is not a favourite for study even amongst professed botanists ; 
while in the affections and attentions of the outside world, I do not think they 
occupy any place at all, not even that of Docks, Goosefoots, and Nettles,—for I 
should not be surprised if some of my listeners had never heard of them before. 
Thus they stand in unenviable contrast to the plant of history and lore, of 
curious form and unique odour, the Asarabacca, with which Dr. Bull fascinated 
our ears at our last meeting. 
The subjects of our present remarks are foe of ponds, ditches, and 
rivers. We botanists call them Potamogetons ; which I should prefer to-day to 
english as ‘‘Pondweeds.” Very few botanists “‘take up” the Pondweeds. 
They are ugly (at least until you look closely into them, but not then); they 
often grow in ugly places—ditches, canals, and so forth. Then too, they are hard 
to get at; and they share for that reason the neglect of other deep-water plants. 
Tt is not every botanist who is ready, even on a July or August day, to wade— 
perhaps swim—in a muddy ditch or pool for a Pondweed. Ten to one, there is 
no boat to be had ; and the consequence is either that they are passed by altogether, 
or that a few wretched scraps are dragged out with the umbrella-handle, or walk- 
ing stick, and do duty as representatives of the Pondweeds in otherwise well- 
appointed herbaria. 
Still for all this (shall I say for this very reason ?) there are both rare and 
interesting Pondweeds. It is with a view of inducing some to look for them, that 
I have ventured upon this subject to-day. 
The genus is represented (taking Dr. Joseph Hooker in the Student's Flora 
as our guide) by about 50 known species, in the world. Of these, some 14 are 
British ; but the 14 species are brought up in the last edition of the Zondon 
Catalogue of British Plants, by the enumeration of sub-species and varieties, to 
30 names, representing plants more or less different. Considering the complete 
absence of all that can be called fen, or fen-ditches, and the comparatively small 
area of pool or canal in the county, I do not think that Herefordshire is badly 
represented in Pondweeds. 
We may divide these 30 names, with sufficent accuracy for present purposes, 
into 11, representing plants possessing broad leaves both submerged and floating, 
but the latter of dissimilar shape and texture from the former. Of these we have 
three or four—natans, polygonifolius, salicifolius, and perhaps rufescens ; the first 
alone in abundance. Then there are eight with only submerged leaves, but still 
broad—of which we have six ; lucens with its varieties acwminatus and decipiens, 
* This paper was read by the Rev. A. Ley on June 17th, 1881, and ought to have appeared 
on page 46.—The manuscript, so long lost, has only just been recovered. 
