44 



commencement of 1844 ; so that members can now apply for anything 

 recorded as British up to that time, and there can be few actual no- 

 velties for the distribution of this winter. The species discovered in 

 the summer of 1844, appear to have been collected very sparingly ; 

 and although specimens have been kindly presented to the herbarium 

 of the Society, by Mr. Gibson, Mr. Tatham, Dr. Dewar, and other 

 active botanists, they could not be supplied in quantity, as duplicates 

 for general distribution. Hence, it will be seen, the additional spe- 

 cimens of this year are sent rather to illustrate variations of character, 

 and clear away doubts or errors in nomenclature, than under the more 

 attractive, though scarcely more important, claims of novelty. 



1. ffinanthe Lachenalii [Grnel.), pimpinelloides [Linn.) and peu- 

 cedanifolia {Smith). Ample explanations of these plants have been 

 already communicated to the pages of the 'Phytologist,' (Phyt. ii. 11). 

 Through the kiudness of the Rev. A. Bloxam, Mr. G. S. Gibson and 

 Mr. Fitt, an abundant supply of the first species was obtained. Of 

 the other two species, the specimens are few, without mature fruit, 

 and the roots of several are broken short or quite absent. Small 

 packets of the fruits of CE> pimpinelloides, taken from a garden plant, 

 were added, in order to show its cylindrical form, without contraction 

 at the base or summit ; but these having been ripe, even to complete 

 desiccation, when gathered, the callosity of the base is scarcely per- 

 ceptible. While alluding to these plants, I may mention a further 

 character for distinction between two of them. In QE. Lachenalii the 

 mucro of the leaflets is short and straight; while in CE. pimpinelloi- 

 des it is longer, more acute, and somewhat curved or hooked. 



2. Bromus coramutatus [Schrad.), var. puhens. This is simply a 

 pubescent state of the species (Phytol. i. 1002), and maybe expected 

 to occur in any part of England. There has been, and still is, so 

 much confusion about this species, that a wide distribution of authen- 

 tic specimens is desirable. By Smith, it was confounded one while 

 with B. arvensis, one while with the non-pubescent state of B. mollis, 

 which is the variety " racemosus " of the liondon Catalogue. By the 

 Edinburgh botanists, and some English ones, it has usually been la- 

 belled "B. arvensis;" but by the greater number of English botanists, 

 perhaps, it is labelled " B. racemosus." Thus, no reliance can be 

 placed upon any localities recorded for plants under either of these 

 two latter names : usually we may expect to find B. commutatus. 



3. Primula elatior, [Jacq.). Many specimens of this species were 

 distributed in 1848 and 1844; and it was acccordingly omitted from 

 parcels made up shortly before Christmas, 18i4. But a renewed dis- 



