tract of country to which the present work refers), but grows in Por- 
tugal (Welwitsch !), Andalusia (Nyman), Algiers (Schimper! Durien !), 
Sicily, and Sardinia (Nyman). It is interesting to observe that this 
plant, though most closely related to A. stellata, Lam., has very fre- 
quently a branched flower-scape, bearing a second flower and involucre. 
Some authors seem to consider this as a monstrous growth; but as the 
branched scape is the rule, and not the exception, in all strong and well- 
developed plants, this can scarcely be maintained. Several of the spe- 
cimens in the British Museum Herbarium and in that at Kew exhibit 
this feature: in the latter collection, out of 24 specimens, 11 present a 
branched scape and 13 a simple scape, like that of A. stellata, Lam. Of 
course as the branch is always developed later than the primary flower, 
some of the 13 unbranched specimens might subsequently have become 
branched.* Indeed, we may suspect that whenever we see an un- 
branched scape in A. palmata, Linn., there is latent in that plant the 
power to produce a branch and second flower. This brings to mind the 
interesting subject of latent characters, so clearly discussed by Mr. 
Darwin in his last great work.f At page 61 Mr. Darwin, after having 
described a great number of cases in which long-hidden characters have - 
reappeared in individuals, and thus revealed a forgotten or unsuspected 
descent, when referring to the wonderful nature of the germ which 
contains all these tendencies, says, ‘‘ But on the doctrine of reversion as 
given in this chapter, the germ becomes a far more marvellous object; 
for, besides the visible changes to which it is subjected, we must believe 
that it is crowded with invisible characters, proper to both sexes, to 
both the right and left side of the body, and to a long line of male and 
female ancestors separated by hundreds or even thousands of genera- 
tions from the present time ; and these characters, like those written on 
paper with invisible ink, all lie ready to be evolved under certain known 
or unknown conditions.” | 
Anemone trifolia, Linn., is a species most nearly allied to A. nemo- 
rosa, Linn., but is easily distinguished by its very regularly toothed 
leaves, while those of our English plant are irregularly cut and toothed 
like those of A. ranunculoides, Linn. This species replaces A. nemo- 
rosa, Linn., along the shore from San Remo to Genoa, this latter species 
usually growing higher up among the mountains, though I have found 
one small patch of plants of A. nemorosa, Linn., in the Varena Valley, 
near Pegli. I do not know of any habitat for A. trifolia, Linn., west of 
San Remo, but I suspect that it is to be found in the Tenda district. 
A. ranunculoides, Linn., abounds amongst the mountains north of 
Mentone and on Mte. Ceppo and Mte. Bignone, near San Remo. 
Expnanation oF Prats LI. bis.—Fig. A 1, immature achene of 
natural size. A 2, the same, magnified. Fig. B 1, head of fruit of 
natural size. B 2, one of the achenes of natural size. B 3, the same, 
magnified. Fig. C 1, head of fruit, magnified. 
* Anemone palmata, y. albida, figured and described by Sims in the ‘ Botanical 
Magazine,’ t. 2079 (1819), is represented as having a branched scape. 
+ ‘Animals and Plants under Domestication,’ ii. pp. 50-61. 
