12 



tions have been, so far as practicable, invariably drawn up from care- 

 fiil examination of living or dried specimens, at the same time adopting 

 such portions of the information conveyed by these authors, as a com- 

 parison with nature dictated, and rejecting it where apparently new 

 and better characters displayed themselves." 



Several valuable data towards the elucidation of the geographical 

 distribution of the Shropshire plants, have been communicated by Dr. 

 T. O. Ward, of Shrewsbury ; and in a complete index of localities 

 the geology of the county is exhibited from Murchison's ' Silurian 

 Regions : ' the geological relations of the plants being by this means 

 clearly pointed out. 



Many plants are recorded as occurring in Shropshire, which have 

 been discovered and published as British since the appearance of Sir 

 J. E. Smith's 'English Flora,' in 1828. The detection of these new 

 forms, whether regarded as species or varieties, is the result of that 

 spirit of enquiry and research which is now directing the labours of 

 the most eminent of our British botanists, and which we believe to 

 have sprung, in a great measure, fi-om a desire to enable the progress 

 of Botany in this country, to keep pace with its rapid advance on the 

 continent. The following is a list of such of the species new to Bri- 

 tain as are described in the work before us ; but the book itself must 

 be consulted in order that an adequate idea of the mass of valuable in- 

 formation contained in it may be formed. 



Veronica poHta, Fries. RuTaus Radula, Weihe et Nees. 



Buxbaumii, Tenore. Leiglitoni, Lees, MS. 



Valerianella carinata, Lois. Kolileri, Weihe et Nees. 



Potamogeton oblongus, Viviani. echinatus, Lindl. 



Viola arvensis, Murray. fusco-ater, Weihe et Nees. 



Cuscuta Epiliuum, Weihe et Nees- pallidus, Weihe et Nees. 



Rumex pratensis, Mert. et Koch. Sclileicheri, Weihe et Nees. 



Diantlius plumarius, Linn. dumetorum, Weihe et Nees. 



Spergula vulgaris, Bonningh. Ballota ruderalis, Fries. 



Reseda alba, Linn. Cardamine sylvatica. Link. 



Cerasus Avium, Mcench. Malva vulgaris, Trag. 



Rubus fissus, Lindl. Hypericum tetrapterum, Fries. 



discolor, Weihe et Nees. Senecio erraticus, Bert. 



carpinifolius, Weihe et Nees. Habenaria cblorantba, Bab. 



vulgaris, Weihe et Nees. Callitricbe platycarpa, Kun. 



villicaulis, Weihe et Nees. pedunculata, DeCand. 



We have here a list of upwards of thirty new plants found in the 

 county, thirteen of which belong to the genus Rubus. Whether ma- 

 ny of the numerous reputed species of this genus will ultimately be 

 allowed to retain that rank, is at present exceedingly doubtful. In 



