into mistaking the various forms a single species may assume for 

 distinct species, and adds in a letter^ "The vdiole question of 

 this variation seems regu3i?ited by lav/s acting consistently and 

 regularly, and the different forms do not occur with the bev/ilder- 

 ing arbitreriness y.-hich must appear to exist to one in Europe". 



That the variation of the species of this genus under natural 

 conditions has caused and vdll still cause difficulty in recogni- 

 sing v/hether any given plant imported into ^urope is a distinct 

 species or a variety of another is very evident and certain. 

 "Even durinc the rast year I have been utterly deceived in the case 

 of rlents received from '^r. Muir of G. fragrans and G. pustulatum, 

 whose leaves were so different from those of the plants knov/n to 

 me by these names that I at first made descriptions of them as 

 being nev; srecies, and am ouite sure that any other botanist or 

 cult i-^a tor who had no knowledge of the variation extant in these 

 snecies would have likewise considered them to be distinct, I 

 therefore direct the notice of cultivators to the sketches of the 

 leaf variations (to appear later) I have made under these two 

 species and call attention to the notes made under those end other 

 snecies . 



N , E . Brown 

 (To be continued.) 



MESSI.33R YAN'THSTvOa: . 

 Card. ,Ghron. HI. ^2- 348. 1927. 

 (Continued from page 291 ) 



I am of opinion that this genus has been much neglected by 

 collectors in South -Africa, ^t is very probable that several more 

 species remain to be discovered, and as the localities of most 

 of the old species are unknavn, it is desirable that they should 

 be rediscovered and their natural habitat made knovm, as viell as 

 information obtained rs to the amount of variation that exists 

 among the different species in their native habitats. 



According to information received from ^r. ^"^uir, the species 

 of Glottiphyllum rrow in: "all sorts of places; among gravel, 

 stones, under shrubs and in the open, on thin soil covering 

 rock-slabs and in deeper soil, rarely in rock-crevices." Under 

 cultivation, I find that several species will endure great drought 

 v/eli . 



The determination of the species of this genus from descrip- 

 tions alone is a very difficult matter, therefore, to aid cultiva- 

 tors to identify them, I have made and added sketches of the leaf- 

 tips of most of the species, from living plants, where possible, 

 the tips of both leaves of a pair being represented, as I find 

 that the Character of the leaf-tip taken in conjunction with that 

 of the flower very satisfactory for identification purposes; and 

 it is hope that used in conjunction with the key to the species, 

 these sketches will enable cultivators to correctly determine 

 most of theip, but t-^e descriptions should be consulted as v/ell. 

 Hybrid forms, of course, cannot be named by their use. further, 

 I would also point out that as most of the figures and descriptions 

 are made from plantg cultivated in ^rope, they may not quite co- 

 incide wit'^ native "^outh African specimens as, for examrle, I 

 have been able to indicate in the case of G. fragrans, where it 

 v;ill be seen that the small ovate leaves of a native-grovv'n plant 

 are utterlv different from that of the cultivated flowering plant 



