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the caesiau bloom was more or less obs'ious, with the usual character 

 of numerous prickles scattered irregularly round the stem, with a few 

 intermixed seta). I sent a glandular specimen with remarkably large 

 foliage to Mr. Leighton, who stated it to be the " second form of R. 

 rhamnifolius " of his Flora, differing as to the glands only, the Shrop- 

 shire specimens having none. This fact still further induced me to 

 name and fix the position of so remarkable a form, which, though 

 traceable to R. caesius, and most certainly closely allied to it, has 

 been considered even by Esenbeck as a variety of R. rhamnifolius, 

 as well as of ajfflnis. For having obtained authentic specimens of 

 y. affinis from Shropshire, (and indeed this very form had been named 

 " probably R. afjUnis " by Dr. Lindley in the first suite of specimens 

 I had from Mr. Leighton some years ago), 1 soon found, on reference 

 to other specimens and growing plants, that there was really a com- 

 plete connexion between it and the " second form of R. rhamni- 

 folius ;" in short, that they were only varieties of one species ; and, 

 therefore, I agree with Dr. Bell Salter that they must be combined. 

 Now, this is a point of difficulty got over ; but then, instead of 

 classing them with affinis, I place them next to casius, under the 

 name R. sublustris. 



The question would here arise, what is B. affijiis, (W. & N.) ? 

 Very few botanists seem to understand it, and the name, as is too 

 often the case among the Rubi, is very bad and deceptive. The affinity 

 of the plant is stated by Weihe and Nees to be with R. plicatus and 

 fastigiatus (that is the suberect tribe), * and hence stouter specimens 

 than usual of R. suberectus or plicatus have been referred to it, and 

 1 may formerly have partaken of the same error. The typical form 

 I consider to be uncommon, except in moist subalpine localities, and 

 this, as far as habit is concerned, may be said to be related to R. 

 suberectus. But if Leighton's |3. is to be considered as affinis, also, 

 then, there is very little like R. suberectus about it ; for, though the 

 barren stem is almost smooth, or with a very scanty fringe of scat- 

 tered hairs, it trails along the ground to a great extent, in fact, 

 longer than I have noticed any other bramble ; and hence, in the 

 ' London Catalogue of British Plants,' I have called it amplificatus 



* "Pioximam hie friitex cum praecedentibus ambobus tenet affinitatem, quippe 

 cui crescendi modus Rubi fastigiati, folia vero Rubi plicati,'' is the statement in Rub. 

 Germ. ; and really the typical R. affinis exhibits the fastigiate growth alluded to, as I 

 noticed in growing specimens last year at Ganliwd, Merionethshire ; but I never 

 noticed this to occur iu R. amplificatus, /3. affinis. 



