Mr. Woods on the British Species of Rosa. 233 



the R. prostrata. Lam. et Dec. Fl. Fr. vi. 536, which seems to be 

 a variety of this species with sliining persistent leaves ; but the 

 latter circumstance has not occurred to me in any EngUsh speci- 

 men. 



This Rose has liitiierto been separated from its nearest affini- 

 ties on account of tiie shape of the fruit : but this has been done 

 erroneously; for thougli tlic full-grown fruit is sometimes nearly 

 globular, the receptacle, while the plant is in dower, is decidedly 

 ovate, except occasionally in starved specimens: it is generally 

 longer in the cymes of flowers than when solitary, differing in 

 this respect from jR. canina and its allies, which have usmilly 

 among the cymes rounder receptacles than those of the solitary 

 flowers. 



The midrib of the leaflet is sometimes furnished with hairs: 

 this peculiarity will occasionally occur on some branches and 

 not on others of the same plant. 



The habit of this Rose is a low bush with long trailing shoots 

 frequently covered with a profusion of flowers opening quite flat. 

 The buds are ftiintly tinged wilh red, but the expanded petals are 

 I believe always white. Mr. Sabine has what he considers as a 

 double variety of R. arvciisis, which retains the blush colour in 

 the flowers, and is extremely beautilul. In this the serratures of 

 the leaves are furnished with glands which have the appearance 

 of double serratures, as in R. provincialis, R. gallica, R. damascena, 

 and J». alba. 



In the long shoots of tliis plant the aculei frequently appear to 

 consist of a short mucro on an expanded base. As the ramifica- 

 tions are repeated, it often happens that tlie expanded base di- 

 minishes in proportionate size, and the mucro becomes a hooked 

 prickle more round and slender than in the family of R. canina; 

 the smallest prickles axe even sometimes quite straight. 



VOL. XII. 2 u The 



