i 
WOLFFIA ARRHIZA IN ENGLAND. 221 
“ Wolfia globosa? anne Lemna arrhiza (L.) florifera ?," Welw. 
Herb. Angolense (sp. coll. 1851). 
Wolfia arrhiza, Wimmer, Fl. v. Schlesien, "i ed. (1857), teste He- 
gelmaier in Seem. Journ. Bot. vol. iii. p. 1 
Bruniera vivipara, Franchet in Billotia, ies i. p. 25 (1864). 
I have adopted Wimmer's name, as it preserves Linnzeus’s excellent 
specific appellation which should have been retained by Schleiden. 
Whether the plant known as Wolfia Delilii (Schleid.) be the same 
as JF. arrhiza is doubtful. What Schleiden intended by this, the type 
of the genus, is rendered difficult to determine in consequence of his 
referring as a synonym to Lemna hyalina, Delile. Now, that botanist 
defines his plant thus, “ Radice ligulata pellucida” (Fl. ZEgypt. Ilus- 
tratio, p. 75, 1812). This does not at all fall in with Schleiden’s 
definition of W. Delilii, which agrees sufficiently well with the British 
plant, which is rootless. We can only suppose, therefore, that the 
reference to Delile is erroneous, and that the plants on which Schlei- 
den founded the genus and drew up his specific characters were either 
W. arrhiza or some closely allied species collected in Egypt. 
A plant collected in Congo by Dr. Welwitsch and labelled “ Wolfia 
Delilii," is probably a distinct species, as indeed is suggested by the 
collector in a note attached to the specimen, where the name W. Con- 
guensis is proposed. It is totally unlike W. arrhiza. 
In the last number of the Linnean Society’s Journal (vol. ix. p. 
d an Indian ** Wolffia Delilii (Schleid.)" is described by Mr. Kurz, 
of Calcutta. From this description and the figures (tab. v. figs. 7— 
12) né plant seems to differ in no respect from the British 7. 
arrhiza, I have, however, seen no specimens from India. 
If this Indian plant be the same as ours, the following synonyms 
may be added to those already given 
Lemna globosa, Roxb. Fl. Ind. vol. iii iii. p. 565 (183 
Wolffia Delilii, Schleid. in Linnea, vol. xiii. p. A (1839), excl. 
reference to Delile. 
Grantia globosa, Griffith, Not. Monocot., p. 229, tab. 267, fig. ii. 
(1851 
Wolffia Schleideni, Miquel, Fl. Ind. Bat. iii. 221 (1855). 
If this turn out to be a distinct species from W. arrhiza, the name 
of Delilii should be discarded and Roxburgh’s prior one of globosa 
adopted in its stead. 
