15 



Gloucestershire : Mr. Edwin lices. Longdon marsh, near Upton-on- 

 Severn, Worcestershire : Mr. Buckman. In a meadow between the 

 Ambien wood, and Sutton wharf, Leicestershire : Rev. A. Bloxam. 

 Short clavate tubers prevail in the licicestershire specimens ; those 

 from Longdon vary, more or less, to fusiform. 



And now, with a few words in notification of past errors, T may 

 conclude this notice of the plants. As far as I am myself concerned, 

 the three species were not understood before last month. The only 

 one well known to me (from 1841) was the pimpinelloides (Linn.), 

 and with that I was confusing rootless and fruitless specimens of 

 Smith's pimpinelloides, which is Babington's Lachenalii ; my fruit- 

 bearing specimens of this latter being equally confused with Smith's 

 peucedanifolia. This sort of division of Lachenalii, between the two 

 others, pervades all the writers on these plants and their localities, 

 before 1843 or 1844. Mr. Lees was acquainted with pimpinelloides, 

 but up to this present year, his labelled specimens show that he con- 

 fused the other two together, under the name of peucedanifolia. 

 When writing his ' Manual,' Mr. Babington must have known 

 Lachenalii, but neither of the others sufficiently. I fear that even 

 Mr. Ball has mingled specimens of the peucedanifolia and Lachenalii, 

 under the name of silaifolia. His description of the fruit of his 

 silaifolia, " exiguum, clavatum (ad basin ut videtur haud incrassatum), 

 infeme quidquam contractum," is far from applicable to my speci- 

 mens. While immature, the fruits of all ai-e contracted downwards ; 

 and this contraction is permanent in those of Lachenalii, especially 

 in those fruits which are crowded together in the centre of the um- 

 bellule, and have scarce room to expand. The " exiguum," if general 

 smallness is implied, cannot suit Smith's peucedanifolia, the fruit of 

 which is longer than the fruit of either of the other species : it may 

 be rather more slender. It has certainly the callous base, distinct 

 before maturity. The " cartilaginous and minutely denticulate mar- 

 gin" of the leaflets, is to be seen on those of Lachenalii equally as on 

 the leaflets of pimpinelloides. Lastly, the greater or less thickness of 

 the tubers, though influenced by agte, is more affected by some other 

 circumstance ; since some of the thickest tubers of Lachenalii occur 

 in younger specimens ; while some of those advanced in fruit are dis- 

 tinguished by their long slender tubers. 



H. C. Watson. 



Thames Dittou, 

 Nov. 28, 1844. 



