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Leightonianus of his Synopsis, collected by himself " near Lyston, 

 Llanwarne, Herefordshire, Sept. 14, 1847." The first glance excited 

 recollections as of an old acquaintance, and I could not divest my- 

 self of the idea that it looked exceedingly like a very green state of 

 leucostachys, &. vestitus. Soon afterwards, botanizing on the Wrekin 

 mountain, in this county, I found in the moist shady woods at its 

 base, near a little brook which runs between the Wrekin and Law- 

 rence Hill, a weakly plant in some abundance, which appeared iden- 

 tical with the Herefordshire specimen sent as R. Leightonianus by 

 Mr. Babington. I accordingly gathered specimens, and forwarded 

 them to him, with expressions of my belief as to their identity with 

 his R. Leightonianus, and of my conjectures that they were also iden- 

 tical with R. leucostachys, ft. vestitus. Mr. B. confirmed their iden- 

 tity with R. Leightonianus, but met my difficulty as to their identity 

 with leucostachys, &. vestitus, by the following note from his inter- 

 leaved copy of his Syn. Rub., showing that similar doubts had at 

 some time arisen in his own mind and been by investigation disposed 

 of : — " R. Leightonianus is very like some states of R. leucostachys, ft., 

 but differs by having unequal and scattered prickles on its barren stem, 

 and the prickles on the petioles and midribs nearly or quite straight 

 and slender, not strong and much hooked, as in that plant." This ex- 

 planation did not, however, satisfy my mind nor remove my uncer- 

 tainty, and so 1 set to work again. In the Weir Coppice, near Hooka- 

 gate in the vicinity of Shrewsbury, R. leucostachys, ft. vestitus, grows 

 in some plenty, and I there set about to study the living plant. I soon 

 found that on the main barren stem the prickles were in the upper and 

 middle portion chiefly confined to the angles and equal in size, but on 

 examining the lower part, the prickles were seen to be very unequal 

 in size and scattered on all sides. Similar characters were noticed in 

 the prickles on a strong lateral shoot which had been sent off from a 

 main barren stem in consequence of the latter having been broken off 

 early in the season. The prickles on the petioles and midribs seemed 

 also very variable in form, ranging from nearly or quite straight to a 

 hooked form, even on the same bush. The plant assumed a more or 

 less green aspect as it was more or less in shade. Of all these varia- 

 tions I forwarded scraps for the consideration of Mr. B., and a day or 

 so afterwards I posted off again to the Wrekin and spent several hours 

 in tracing the gradations of the plant. In sunny and exposed situa- 

 tions R. leucostachys, /3. vestitus, occurred of its usual size and of its 

 commonly described aspect and character ; but in the moist shady 

 woods at the base of the hill it put on the R. Leightonianus or green 



