162 



the angles, few, strong, springing from an extended base, 

 which equals the length of the prickles, straight, slightly de- 

 curved towards the points, reddish purple at the base, yellow 

 at the point ; leaves digitate, 5-nate, on stout petioles pubes- 

 cent with close-pressed whitish shining hairs, armed with 

 stout hooked prickles ; leaflets coriaceous, plane, terminal 

 one on a short stalk, intermediate on very short stalks, lower- 

 most quite sessile, overlapping intermediate pair, which also 

 overlap the terminal leaflet, dark bright green, with few scat- 

 tered hairs above, underside clothed with whitish shining 

 hairs and a dense thick almost woolly tomentum; veins pro- 

 minent hairy and tomentose, midrib armed with a few hooked 

 prickles ; terminal leaflet cordato-ovate, acuminate, sharply 

 and less coarsely but similarly serrated to the last (a.), inter- 

 mediate ones ovate, lowermost oblong, the proportion be- 

 tween the leaflets more uniform than in the last variety, in 

 which the lowermost leaflets are comparatively very small. 

 Stipules linear-lanceolate smooth except on the margins ; 

 flowering stem somewhat angular, with scattered whitish pu- 

 bescence below, increasing upwards especially on the panicle 

 into a short dense hoary close-pressed tomentum ; leaves 

 large, 3-nate ; panicle consisting of two or three branches 

 from the axils of the 3-nate leaves as long or longer than the 

 internodes crowned with a small dense naked cyme of flowers, 

 the extremity beyond the leaves conglomerated into a simi- 

 lar but much larger dense and crowded naked cyme, pubes- 

 cent and hoary ; prickles few, rather stout, straight and de- 

 cimate, chiefly located on the upper portion of the internodes, 

 the cymose extremity of the panicle being nearly destitute of 

 prickles, or only with a few slender ones scattered here and 

 there ; sepals broadly ovate, cuspidate, clothed on both sides 

 with dense white hoary pubescence and tomentum, reflexed 

 in fruit, destitute of prickles ; petals white ; fruit black. 



Hab. — Hedges near Shrewsbury. 



This variety is based on a portion of the plants comprehended un- 

 der the second form of R. rhamnifolius of Fl. Shropsh. 228. 



I presume the plants noted under R. corylifolius, Obs. 3, iu Bab. 

 Syn., are referrible here. 



** Dark Purple Groupe. 

 Var. y. Barren stem arching, angular, angles rounded, 



