of a Hybrid Digitalis. 259 



before its flowering, any peculiarity sufficiently striking to class 

 it apart from some of the varieties of lutea, but a little closer 

 inspection immediately detected certain decided points of dif- 

 ference. The whole plant is not so smooth as lutea, having a 

 decided tendency to become downy, and being completely so 

 on the under surface of the leaves, Plate xv. Fig. 2. The gla- 

 brous surface of lutea is one great characteristic of the species ; 

 though, if the D. rigida of Lindley* is to be considered as a 

 variety of it, which he seems to think probable, even this character 

 fails. A few hairs are always indeed distributed here and there 

 in the ordinary state of this plant, and seem to indicate the 

 possibility of a transition from the one condition to the other, 

 dependant probably on certain circumstances of soil or situation. 

 From the ordinary condition of the leaves of lutea, however, 

 those of the hybrid differ in a marked manner. They are even 

 nearly as woolly on the under surface as the leaves of purpurea. 



Examination of the external characters of the Hybrid. 



I shall first describe the external characters of its several 

 organs, comparing them with those of the parent plants. In 

 Plate xvi, the corresponding parts in the fructification of the 

 parents and of their hybrid are arranged in three columns, those 

 of the latter occupying the middle column. A single glance of 

 the eye will thus be sufficient to shew how exactly intermediate 

 most of its organs are both in size and form, and in some cases 

 also in color, to those of the two parents. There are however 

 some remarkable deviations from this condition, which will be 

 presently noticed. 



* Lindley Digitalium Monographia, fol. Lond. 1821. 

 K K2 



