74 Botanical Society of Edinburgh. 



Lamia (Cerosterna) trifas«cieli>a. 



Densely covered with short yellow and black hairs ; head yellow, 

 an impressed line along the middle free from hairs ; anteinise with 

 the two first and four last joints black, the other joints yellow at the 

 base and black at the tip ; thorax yellow ; spines and a band connect- 

 ing them black, the band crenated in front ; legs yellow, joints, tarsi 

 and posterior side of second and third pairs of femora black ; scutel- 

 lum at the end covered with yellow hairs ; elytra of a clear ochre 

 yellow, the base from the shoulder to the suture edged narrowly with 

 black ; a transverse black band before the middle, nearly but not 

 quite touching the edge and the suture, widest toward the suture ; 

 another transverse black band just behind the middle, and neither 

 touching the edge nor the suture, narrower than the first band, and, 

 like it, waved both in front and behind. 



Hab. China (Hong Kong). John Bowring, Esq. 



This seems allied to the L. Assamensis, Hope. In the present 

 unsettled state of the Longicorn Coleoptera it would be rash to found 

 genera on mere isolated species ; but it is difficult to refer the pre- 

 sent to any of the modern genera ; it comes perhaps nearest to Cero- 

 sterna. 



botanical society of EDINBURGH. 



Thursday, Nov. 14, 1850. — Professor Fleming, President, iu the Chair. 



The Curator gave a report on the state of the Herbarium, noticing 

 that considerable progress had recently been made in the arrange- 

 ment of the collections. Several important additions of foreign plants 

 were noticed. 



The following papers were read : — 



1. "On the British species of Carex" by John M'Laren. The 

 author stated that the substance of this paper was contained in an 

 essay written for Dr. Balfour's class. He had smce re-examined all 

 the species, with the view of improving the descriptions, and was 

 happy to acknowledge his obligations to Dr. Arnott's edition of the 

 ' British Flora,' for some important particulars which he had not 

 previously observed. The author stated, that in the present state of 

 the science, unanimity could hardly be expected among naturalists 

 with regard to the true limits of species ; but, as it was necessary, in 

 describing the Carices, to adopt an opinion on this subject, he thought 

 it better to lean to the side of simplicity, and rather to unite two 

 plants whose identity might be doubtful, than to retain them as am- 

 biguous and ill-defined species. The result of these alterations is, 

 that about ten of the species described in recent botanical works are 

 considered as varieties. 



While agreeing with Reichenbach in dividing this large and natural 

 family, the subgenera have not been made to depend on the number 

 of stigmas, because, by that arrangement, C. ccespitosa, C. saxatilis, 

 &c., are placed along with the species which have compound andro- 

 gynous spikes, and C. imvclfora and C. nipesfris are likewise sepa- 

 rated from the species with simple solitary spikes. In the general 



