14. R. LEUCOSTACHYS. 119 



that the presence of a few such arms is uot very unusual 

 upon the stems of some species placed in the section Villi- 

 caules. The plant found near Bangor will perhaps maintain 

 its claims to a place under II. rudis. 



There is no doubt that the present species is the plant 

 intended by the name of R. leucostacltys by Smith. It is 

 singular that no plate in the liuhi Germanici exactly repre- 

 sents it, and that it only appears there in the wood-form 

 called R. vestltus. 



Dr Metsch adopts R. vestitus as the type of the species, 

 but I am unable to follow his example ; first, because I believe 

 that the priority of publication is in favour of Smith's name, 

 and secondly, because the R. leucostachys is the more 

 decided form, that called R. vestitus being manifestly the 

 efiect of shade. He distinguishes R, vestitus from R. puhes- 

 cens by its stem being obtusely angular even at the top, not 

 sulcate, and its pubescence patent and dense, and even almost 

 woolly and having sometimes a few setae interspersed, whilst 

 that of R. pubescens consists of adpressed hairs never having 

 setie intermixed: by the leaflets of A*, vestitus having a dull 

 green upper side, instead of the lively green of it. puhescens: 

 by the panicle being more thyrsoid, densely but loosely felted 

 and setose ; that of the latter being almost pyramidal, finely 

 felted and without setre (in which respect his descriptions do 

 not agree with my plant which has as thyrsoid and as setose 

 a panicle as R. vestitus) : by the erect straight declining 

 prickles ; R. puhescens having them usually more or less 

 deflexed. He adds that the prickles are glabrous at the 

 base in R. vestitus, which I do not find to be the case in 

 England. 



The specimens of R. leucostachys sent by Leighton to 

 Nees V. Esenbech were all named R. villicaulis by him, 

 9,nd a note appended that in his opinion R. macroacanthus^ 

 R. puhescens and probably R. sylvaticus are forms of that 



