458 Mr. Babington on several new and imperfectly understood 



styles 3, short, divergent, with round blunt stigmas ; fruit triangular, 

 longer than the perianth, quite smooth and shining. 



The British specimens of this plant diflFer from the foreign ones by having 

 the stipules rather shorter than the joints of the stem, with fewer ribs ; in 

 every other point they are exactly similar. 



At Christchurch Head on the sandy shore towards Muddiford. Mr. Borrer, 

 to whom I am indebted for specimens. I have it also from Herm Bay, 

 Jersey, gathered by Mr. W. C. Trevelyan. 1/ . 



10. P. Rail. 



Caule procumbente herbaceo, ochreis 2-partitis ovatis demum laceris venis 

 paucis distantibus simplicibus, floribus axillaribus, cariopside Isevissima 

 perianthio longiore. 



P. marinum. Raii Syn. 147- (excl. syn.) 



P. aviculare s. maritimum. Huds. Fl. Ang. i. 171. (excl. syn.) Sm. Engl. 

 Fl. ii. 238. 



P. aviculare |3. Hooker, Brit. Fl. ed. 3. 185. 



This plant appears to be exactly intermediate between P. maritimum and 

 aviculare, agreeing with the first in its fruit, and vnth the second in its habit 

 and stipules, which latter are much shorter than the internodes, and have 

 very few, about 2, unbranched distant nerves ; the leaves are longer than 

 the internodes on the young shoots, but shorter on the old ones ; the mar- 

 gins of the younger ones are slightly revolute ; flowers as large as those 

 of P. maritimum ; fruit much longer than the perianth, quite smooth and 

 shining, not striated with raised points, and quite hidden by the perianth 

 as in P. aviculare. 



The synonyms from the old authors, given by Ray, are referred by Sir 

 J. E. Smith to P. maritimum, in which he is probably correct ; but it is a 

 point very difficult to determine on account of the bad custom which then 

 prevailed of using the same blocks both in British and foreign works. I have 

 not been able to ascertain whether "P. Robert i of Loiseleur," which Mr. Woods 

 finds so similar to our plant as to be perhaps the same species, is published or 

 merely named in manuscript. Mr. Woods's specimens are from the South of 



