161 



leafy below, naked above, branches loose, ascending but 

 spreading, more or less cymose, the extremity beyond the 

 leaves dense and crowded, pubescent and hoary ; the secon- 

 dary branches densely tomentose and hoary. From the 

 axils of the two lower leaves generally proceed long branches; 

 prickles few, slender, straight, more or less declinate, those 

 on the rachis chiefly confined to the upper portion of the in- 

 ternodes ; the secondary branches destitute of prickles, or 

 nearly so, those of the pedicels few, slender, small, scattered, 

 straight and slightly declinate ; sepals clothed on both sides 

 with a dense white hoary tomentum, without prickles, broadly 

 ovate, cuspidate, the point varying in length, strongly reflexed 

 in fruit ; petals white ; fruit black. 

 Hab. — Hedges between Uffington and Atcham ; also between 

 Atcham and Preston Boats ; near the Flash, and near Sutton Spa, all 

 in the neighbourhood of Shrewsbury. Codsall Wood and Albrighton, 

 near Shiffnall, all in Shropshire. 



I base this variety on R. affinis, y. of Fl. Shropshire, 226, which 

 must be referred here as a synonym. Mr. Lees has communicated to 

 me a specimen of R. sublustris, Lees in Steele's ' Hand-Book of 

 Botany ' (collected at Temple Langhern, Hen wick, near Worcester), 

 which, on the label attached, he identifies with R. affinis, y. Fl. 

 Shropshire. It seems generally referrible here; and as I am anxious 

 to avoid the addition of new names in a genus already encumbered 

 with names, I venture to adopt his name sublustris for this variety. 

 R. corylifolius, gathered at Twycross, Leicestershire (No. 5, Bloxam's 

 Fasciculus), ranges here also. 



Mr. George Jordon, of Bewdley, has sent me a plant gathered by 

 himself in the Shropshire part of Wyre Forest, which has the termi- 

 nal leaflets of the barren stem excessively large and lobed, and some- 

 times with a distinct leaflet at the base, thus forming an approach to 

 a 7-nate leaf. The panicle is full two feet long. This is, I presume, 

 the R. sublustris y. grandifolius of Lees in Steele's Hand-Book. 

 From its general characters 1 should refer it to this variety, unless it 

 be of sufficiently common occurrence to render it necessary to retain 

 it as a distinct variety, when of course Mr. Lees' name grandifolius 

 would be very characteristic. Like all the plants of the present va- 

 riety, it has a most noble and beautiful appearance. 



Var. @. Barren stem arching, subangular, angles rounded, 



glabrous, more or less glaucous, green, and slightly tinged 

 with reddish purple ; prickles uniform in size, confined to 



