1917-18.] BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH 299 



the species Franchet recognised the Hkeness to Nomocharis 

 in the form of bulb and the crested petaline glands. At 

 that date N. meleagrina, with its almost similar perianth- 

 segments, was unknown, and Franchet naturally laid stress 

 upon the dimorphous perianth as a mark separating 

 Nomocharis from his new species. Now we know the 

 character fails in generic diagnosis, and the stamens subulate 

 from the base in F. lopJioj^Jiora are alone left of the points 

 of difference named by Franchet to distinguish it from 

 Nomocharis. Here, now, in Nomocharis Wardii we have 

 an approach to the abolition of this staminal distinction. 

 The filaments are inflated, though not to the extent of 

 those in the first described species of Nomocharis, and in 

 consequence of this less inflation the subulate top of the 

 filament appears as a gradual attenuation of the swollen 

 portion — does not sit like an apiculus on its summit. Whilst 

 treating F. lopliophora as a Fritillaria, Franchet did not do 

 so without qualification. He recognised those characters 

 of the bulb and the petaline glands, to which I have drawn 

 attention, as alien to Fritillaria, and he proposed to consti- 

 tute under the name of Lopliophora a new section of 

 Fritillaria, to be characterised thus : — " Bulb squamate ; 

 perianth-segments not dissimilar, traversed at the claw by 

 crested fimbriate lamellae ; staminal filaments subulate ; 

 style undivided." These characters are found, as I have 

 shown, also in F. oxypetala, F. Stracheyi, and I believe also 

 in F. flavida. They are the essential characters of my 

 section Oxypetala of Nomocharis. Franchet has preferred 

 to use the characters for a distinct section of Fritillaria. 

 I have preferred to widen the scope of Nomocharis and 

 make a section in that genus — and because 



(a) the bulb and the petaline glands are not fritil- 



larioid but are nomocharoid ; 



(b) the obstacle of the nomocharoid staminal filaments 



is broken down by the almost transition in N. 

 Wardii and the Ecristata section of Nomocharis. 



There is a middle course — to make a new genus for 

 these Lophophoras and Oxypetalas intermediate to Fritil- 

 laria and Nomocharis. That may come when we know 

 more of this group of plants, which appears to have attained 



