825 



here. In a garden in George Street, along with Nicandra physaloi- 

 des, but sparingly, October 3rd, 1844, the last specimen seen. Field 

 at Gurnet Bay, near Gurnet farm, 1838. At Ventnor ; Dr. Martin !!! 

 (Still here and there in garden ground, but less frequent than it was a 

 few years back). Abundant in North wood Park, amongst potatoes ; 

 Miss G. E. Kilderbee!!! Betwixt Godshill and Sandford, 1848; 

 Mr. Albert Hamborough. At Steephill ; Id., 1848 !!! Far more fre- 

 quent and abundant in mainland Hants, where it cannot be accounted 

 a rare species. In several parts of Portsea Island, at Frotton, and 

 abundantly on waste lots (formerly garden ground) about half a mile 

 inland from Southsea Castle, at the back of Southsea Common, along 

 with Chenopodium murale, the purple variety of Datura Stramonium 

 (D. Tatula, L.), and Solanum nigrum with flowers rather larger than 

 usual; November 5th, 1849. Frequent at Southampton, and pro- 

 fusely in and around Winchester, where it is a vile weed in kitchen- 

 garden ground, choking the soil and spreading about the fences and 

 hedges. I have seen it at Emsworth, Porchester, Wicor farm, near 

 Fareham, and at Andover. Petersfield ; Mr. Pamplin !!! Church 

 Lane, Fareham ; Mr. W. L. Notcutt : and doubtless in most other 

 parts of the county. Var. ft. ambigua (M. ambigua, L. fil.) : stami- 

 nate and pistillate flowers in sessile axillary clusters. With the com- 

 mon form, but rarely. A troublesome weed for many years past in 

 the kitchen garden at St. John's, near Ryde, where it may be seen 

 occasionally passing, more or less distinctly, into the usual dioecious 

 and spicate form of inflorescence. As found at Ryde, this variety 

 differs from the usual state of the species in its more ovate, less lan- 

 ceolate leaves, of a paler green, with less distinct veins, and more re- 

 motely serrated, according well in this respect with the figure and 

 description of the younger Linnaeus, in the first decade of his 'Plan- 

 tarum rariorum Horti Upsaliensis,' tab. 8. The flowers stand in 

 small, roundish, axillary clusters of eight or ten together, sometimes 

 consisting entirely of pistillate or staminate blossoms, more usually 

 intermixed, the latter elevated above the former on rather long pedun- 

 cles. This arrangement is such as we find in Buxus, Euphorbia and 

 other genera of the order (Euphorbiaceoe) naturally dioecious. 1 

 found in May, 1839, at Hermit's Tower, Winchester, M. annua exhi- 

 biting its usual dioecious character, but with the flowers of both sexes 

 in axillary clusters, sessile, or nearly so, as in the monoecious variety 

 ft. ambigua. 



Parietaria officinalis. On old walls, churches, ruins, and amongst 

 rubbish; also on hedge-banks, rocks and sea-cliffs; very frequent 

 Vol. hi. 5 o 



