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only allow one each to one-tenth of the members, will instantly see 

 its affinity with the common F. Germanica (Gnaphaliura, of the Lon- 

 don Catalogue) to be so close that most botanists would assign it 

 thereto, on first glance, and scarce notice it as a variety. The cha- 

 racters by which Mr. Smith M'ould distinguish it are clearly given in 

 a former No. of the ' Phytologist ' (1. c.) and need not be repeated 

 here. Of those characters 1 think I may say, that the greener colour 

 of the leaves, and the purple points of the scales, are the only two 

 which constantly distinguish these examples of F. apiculata from 

 those of F. Germanica in my own herbarium ; and how far the 

 want of the brighter tints may be connected with the age of the older 

 specimens I am not prepared to say. The* flexuose growth of the 

 stem, and tlie apparently lateral position of the heads of flowers, are 

 essentially only a single character; and this character arises from 

 the development of a branch in the axil of only one leaf underneath 

 the head, instead of the two or three branches, from as many leaves, 

 which are usually produced in F. Germanica. I take it that the 

 heads terminate the stems strictly and equally in both plants; the 

 difference being only in the number of branches developed under- 

 neath them : and therefore, that any ordinary example of F. Germa- 

 nica might so far be converted into the resemblance of F. apiculata, 

 by stripping away the second branches from under the successively 

 produced heads as the plant grows upwards. We have an instance 

 in which terminal heads thus become apparently lateral in the Cen- 

 taurea Calcitrapa. Though characters which thus result from abor- 

 tion or simple non-development, are always to be received cautiously, 

 yet, if constant in themselves, and constantly accompanied by other 

 differences, they may fairly enough be adopted in diagnosis. I fear 

 that such constancy will not be found in the case of these two plants. 

 Some of Mr. Smith's own examples of F. apiculata are once and 

 twice dichotomously branched below the terminal heads, after the 

 mode which is ordinarily seen in F. Germanica; and, on the other 

 side, there are specimens in my herbarium which are veritable F. 

 Germanica in all respects, except that they present the spuriously 

 lateral position of the heads, by the non-development of the second 

 branch. One of these, a French specimen, has the flexuose stem and 

 spuriously lateral heads as perfectly and conspicuously as any of Mr. 

 Smith's Yorkshire specimens ; but in the gray colour of the plant, its 

 woolly pubescence, narrow leaves, and yellow-pointed scales, it is a 

 true F. Germanica. On the contrary, I have an Azoric specimen, 

 which in its ramification is F. germanica to the superlative degree, 



