348 Sir J. E. SiM iTn's Characters of txvo Species of TordyUum, 



I cannot but consider T. /j«/n«7e of Desfontaines, Fl. Atlant.v.l. 

 325. t. 58, as indubitably T. apidum. It accords exactly in size 

 and habit with Dr. Sibthorp's Greek specimens. Willdenow, by 

 some accident, has not adverted to this plant. 



Scopoli's T.siifoUum, FL Cam. cd. 2. v. 1. 194- t. 8, comes very 

 near to our apulum, agreeing in the solitary radiant ptial, with two 

 equal lobes. But ihe flowers are red, not white; the leaflets 

 broader, less divided, and more uniform; and the /)in7 bristly, 

 which last may atford a good specific character. 'Yhe general invo- 

 lucrum moreover is said to consist of only one or two small leaves. 



I cannot conclude these remarks without adverting to T. pere- 

 grinum, Linn. Mant. 55. Sm. Prodr. Fl. Grac. SiOth. n. 633. 

 This is Conium dichoiomum of Desfontaines, Fl. Atlant. v. 1. '^l~\6. 

 t. 66, who seems not aware of its being a Linnafean plant. Its 

 seeds indeed bear some resemblance to those of a Conium ; and 

 i\\e flowers, which the able author just cited never saw, are uni- 

 form, scarcely radiant. The habit and foliage agree with Conium 

 rather than with Tordylium. But, on the other hand, the charac- 

 ter of the involucella dimidiata is not observable, and the crisped 

 margin of the seeds answers better to Tordylium, though their 

 strongly 3-ribbed disk is adverse, and rather belongs to Conium. 

 To the latter genus I should perhaps consent to remove this spe- 

 cies. Professor Sprengel, in his Prodr. Plant. Umbellif. 12 & 21, 

 refers it to Cachrys; but I cannot discover any peculiar coat to 

 the seed, which, according to that learned writer's own principles, 

 might justify such a measure. It is remarkable that he distin- 

 guishes the plant of Linnaeus from that of Desfontaines, though 

 certainly without any foundation. 



Norwich, Feb. 10, 1817. J- E. Smith. 



XXI. 0/j. 



