FLOWERING PLANTS. 127 
Pyrola rotundifolia, L. Round-leaved Wintergreen. 
Native. First record: Babington, 1839. 
Very rare. Confined to Grande Mare, where scattered plants 
occur all over the marsh. In Bot. Exch. Club Report, 1881, p. 83, 
specimens from this locality queried var. avenaria (?) were passed by 
Dr. Boswell as in his opinion correctly named. In 1893 I sent 
some fresh plants to Mr. Arthur Bennett, who reported (¢ “iz. 
31 July, 1893) that ‘they do diverge from the type towards avenaria 
by the sepals being subparallel for half their length, with the apex 
broader; by the greater length of the pedicels; and by the 3-4 
(11 on the raceme) bracts of the stem.’ In /ourn. Bot., November 
1893, Mr. Bennett published a paper on Pyrola rotundifolia and its 
European forms, and gave a description of the Grande Mare plant, 
showing that it is ‘pretty fairly intermediate between rotundifolia 
and the var. avenaria, perhaps on the whole bearing towards the 
first.’ 
AQUIFOLIACEAE. 
Ilex Aquifolium, L. FTolly. 
Native (?). First record: Marquand, 1891. 
Common, but nearly always planted. There are very few trees 
in the island that have the appearance of being really wild, though 
young plants may frequently be seen on the cliffs springing up from 
seeds dropped by birds. It is worth noticing that Gosselin does not 
include the Holly in his list: perhaps he did not consider it in- 
digenous. Babington does not record it for Guernsey. 
Called in the patois Housse, the feminine form of Houx, which 
is the French name of this tree. The custom of decorating houses 
and churches with holly at Christmas-time was probably first adopted 
by the early Christians at Rome, where the holly, as an emblem of 
good wishes, had long been used at the great festival of the Satur- 
nalia, celebrated about that period of the year. 
OLEACEAE. 
Ligustrum vulgare, L. Privet. 
Native. First record: Gosselin, 1815. 
Common on the cliffs at St. Martin’s and the Forest: frequent 
in hedges inland, where it has been planted. Babington says in 
fl. Sarn. that this species is ‘indigenous at Lancresse Bay and 
Jerbourg.’ 
I do not know whether the Privet has any distinct patois name, 
but in Normandy it is called Zvoéne or Bois blanc. The berries are 
nauseous, and very bitter; when mixed with alum they are said to 
dye wool a permanent green. 
