260 Dr R Buchanan White on the 



The History of Agropyrum {or Triticum) Donianum. 

 By F. Buchanan White, M.D., F.L.S. 



(Read 12th December 1889.) 



About the beginning of the century George Don found, 

 on Ben Lawers, a grass of which he distributed specimens 

 with (as regards a specimen now before me) this label — 

 " Triticum alpinum. Nova species. Alpine wheat grass. 

 Eocks on Ben Lawers." Since Don's time it seems not to 

 have been o-athered till Mr Cosmo Melvill rediscovered it 

 on Ben Lawers in 1878, after which it remained undisturbed 

 for ten years, when I found it again near the place where it 

 had been collected by Mr Melvill. 



In addition to, or perhaps on account of, its having 

 escaped the observation of collectors, Don's grass was almost 

 generally ignored by botanical writers till Mr Mitten {Hookers 

 Journ. of Bot., vol. vii. p. 532) called attention to it as follows, 

 referring it to Triticum hiforum, Brig. : — " The present is 

 one of those plants gathered by the late Mr G. Don, which 

 appears to have been overlooked by other botanists. His 

 label in Mr Borrer's herbarium runs thus : ' Tritiacr/i 

 alpinum. Nova spec. It differs from caninum by its short 

 arista and upright spikes, and from rcjnms by not running at 

 the roots.' No date is mentioned. It is thus clearly evident 

 that he distinguished it as a new species. The only British 

 species with which it can be confounded is T. caninum, from 

 which it may be distinguished by its leaves, smooth on both 

 sides, its usually two-tlowered spikelets, and its want of the 

 long awn ; it also appears to be a more slender plant, with 

 narrower leaves." 



In Hooker and Arnott's British Flora (8th ed., 1860) it is 

 given as var. (S of T. caninum, with the synonym T, 

 hiflorum, Mitten (scarcely of Brignoli). In the Student's 

 Flora (1st ed., 1870) it is mentioned as T. caninum, var. 

 hiflorum. Mitten {T. alpinum, Don MSS.), and is said to be 

 " only T. repcns " — a statement qualified in the 3rd edition 

 by the addition of "judging from the specimen." Nyman 

 (Conspectus) places it with a " ? " under T. violaceum, Horn. 



