282 



confound rather than illustrate. As a general rule, it is sufficient to 

 say, that the direction of the embryo is such, that the foramen of the 

 ovule points out the future position of the radicle. (See Lindley's 

 Key, No. 412, p. 81). The radicle, however, is not ^^ always next 

 the foramen " as there stated. An exception occurs in Lemna gibba, 

 where the indurated foramen of the secundine or mesosperm is carried 

 up in germination on the tip of the cotyledon, to whose lower lip it is 

 firmly attached like a little circular shield, and the radicle remains 

 within the testa, which bears the same relation to it as the sheath does 

 to the root of the full-grown plant. Here, then, we have an instance 

 of an anatropous ovule containing an " anatropal " embryo ; though 

 inasmuch as that embryo has the same dii'ection as the body of the 

 seed, it ought rather to be called orthotropal. In Lemna minor the 

 embryo is " heterotropal " because the ovule is in a position interme- 

 diate between orthotropous and anatropous, viz. — the base and fora- 

 men directed horizontally across the ovary. 



William Wilson. 



Note on Cinclidotus riparius, var. &. terrestris. By William Wilson, 



Esq. 



This is the moss found near Bristol by Mr. Thwaites, to which I at 

 first applied the name Barbula cylindrical Wis. MSS. 



Some doubts still exist about the propriety of referring it as a va- 

 riety to Cinclidotus riparius, because the aquatic state, though dili- 

 gently sought for in the stream of the river Frome, has not yet been 

 found. 



William Wilson. 



Or ford Mount, Warrington, 

 17tli July, 1845. 



On the claims of Alyssum calycinum to a place in the British Flora. 

 By the Rev. Gerard Edwards Smith, M.A. 



Allow me the space to make a few remarks on the claims of Alys- 

 sum calycinum to a place in the native Flora of this island. 



The distribution of this plant in this country is extensive. Your 

 friends and the records of English Botany have traced the species 

 from Arbroath and Edinburgh through Yorkshire into Leicestershire, 

 and southwards into Essex. It is remarkable that all these localities 



