History of Agropyrum Doniamim. 261 



In the Journal of Botany (vol. xxv. p. 57, February 1887), 

 Mr Cosmo Melvill writes on the subject under the heading 

 "Agropyrum (Triticum) violaceuin, Hornemann in Scotland." 

 After mentioning that he had found a Triticum on Ben 

 Lawers, he proceeds to say that when he came to examine 

 the grass (some years after collecting it) he found it " to 

 correspond exactly in every minutest particular with speci- 

 mens of Triticum violaceura " from Xorway and Lapland. 

 He further adds that Mr A. Bennett had come to the same 

 conclusion, with the addition that it was " identical with 

 an original specimen of Don's T. aljnnum in the Kew 

 Herbarium." Mr Melvill also notices that " only a small 

 piece of root was gathered with one of the specimens, but 

 this, on a careful examination, would show that the plant 

 was fibro-csespitose, not creeping ; and therefore, assuming 

 this to be Don's original species, Sir J. D. Hooker's theory 

 that T aljnnum is only a form of repens must fall to the 

 ground. Indeed, it is nearer caninurn than rejjeyis ; but to 

 my mind a true and very distinct species from any other : 

 one of the chief characteristics by which it can in nearly 

 every instance be told at a glance is the purple tinge of the 

 spikelets, hence, doubtless, its tri\aal name." 



Comparing one of Mr Melvill's specimens (which he kindly 

 gave to me) with one of Don's (which Mr John Knox, of 

 Forfar, had generously presented to the Perthshire Herbarium 

 of the Perthshire Natural History j\Iuseum), I found that 

 there was not the least doubt of their specific identity ; and, 

 moreover, that they were distinct from A. repens. Further- 

 more, I found that the plant which I gathered on Ben Lawers 

 in 1888 was also the same. That the species was identical 

 with A. violaceum seemed to me a little doubtful, but as I 

 had no specimens of the latter with which to compare the 

 Ben Lawers grass, I was content to accept Messrs Melvill 

 and Bennett's determination. The plant I found on Ben 

 Lawers grows on a rock ledge, where it forms a stout tuft. 

 From it I took a small piece of the root, which has now 

 made a good plant. In the course of its growth it developed 

 a creeping stolon, and since X. J. Andersson describes 

 {Gramiiuce Scandinavice, p. 5) T. violaceum as altogether 

 destitute of creeping stolons, I determined to compare for 

 myself the Ben Lawers grass with T. violaceum. Andersson, 



