104 12. R. DISCOLOR. 



Specimens named B. Saulii (Ripart) "sans erreur" by 

 M. Genevier are I believe identical witb R. abruptus 

 (Lindl.), and if separated, the plant ought to bear Lindley's 

 name j but Mr Baker considers a plant from Wass in York- 

 shire to be identical with the R. Saulii^ and that appears to 

 me to be a state of R. leucostachys. 



M. Genevier identified our typical R. discolor with his 

 own R. Bastardianus and thfe R. rusticanus of Mercier. I 

 am unable to see the difference between them, and Mercier's 

 own specimens are almost exactly the R. abruptus Lindl. 



I am also unable to separate the R. cuneifolius, R. 

 elongatus and R. undulatus of Dr Mercier (1. c.) from our 

 R. discolor. 



In the Phytologist (iii. 174) Leighton describes four 

 varieties of R. discolor ^ exclusive of the var. lividus (Bab.) 

 which is now known to be R. thyrsoideus, viz. — var. a, the 

 R. fruticosus of Bloxam's Fasciculus (No. 9), where the stem 

 is thinly covered with minute stellate hairs and has decli- 

 nate or deflexed prickles ; and also long spreading but not 

 very abundant hairs arising from amongst the felt on the 

 panicle. This is the most common and typical state of 

 R. discolor. — var. ^, stem nearly glabrous but with a few 

 minute stellate hairs and glaucous, prickles nearly patent 

 and straight, panicle more hairy than in var. a. This form 

 scarcely differs from the preceding. — var. y, stem with a few 

 scattered weak spreading hairs, deflexed or declinate prickles 

 and a very haiiy panicle. It may be the R. speciosus 

 (Miiller) and is the R. discolor y tiiacroacanthus of Bloxam's 

 Fascicidus No. 11. — ^var. 8 argenteuSy stem veiy thickly 

 covered with minute stellate hairs, prickles declinate, 

 leaflets rather softly white-felted beneath, panicle very hairy. 

 This is the R. discolor y argenteus of Leighton's Shropshire 

 Ruhi. — The two former of these plants undoubtedly are R. 

 discolor^ and scarcely distinguishable : the third seems to 



