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Art. XV. — Botanical Notes. By George Luxford, A.L.S., F.B.S.E. 



Under this title will occasionally be laid before the readers of 

 *The Phytologist,' any interesting particulars relating to British 

 plants that may happen to fall under my observation, in the hope that 

 such notices will, in doubtfal cases, lead to farther enquiry. 



Silene injlata, Sm. A short time back while looking over the her- 

 barium of Mr. Wm. Bennett, I found two specimens of a plant from 

 the collection of one of his friends, ticketed " Silene Otites : Wool- 

 wich Marshes : June, 1836." These were specimens of a curious 

 state of Silene inflata, somewhat similar to the female variety of that 

 species stated by Linnaeus to be frequent in the Upsal garden ; but I 

 have no recollection of having met with a record of the previous oc- 

 currence of anything similar to it in Britain. The stem and leaves of 

 the Woolwich specimens are the same as those of the plant in its usual 

 state ; the panicle also is repeatedly dichotomous and spreading, but 

 the flowers are crowded together into a compact head at the extremity 

 of each of its branches. The flowers themselves have neither the in- 

 flated calyx nor the large white petals of the perfect plant, but in size 

 and general appearance bear a strong resemblance to those of the 

 fertile plant of Silene Otites. They consist of four or five membrana- 

 ceous scales or bracteas, slightly streaked and reticulated with purple, 

 and inclosing several follicular bodies, each of which terminates in a 

 twisted, purple, style-like point. In one of the flowers which I exa- 

 mined there were ten of these bodies, the five central ones cohering 

 and forming an ovarium with five styles, the outer five being fiee and 

 detached. I could discover nothing resembling stamina. 



I subjoin a description of the Upsal variety of Silene inflata (the 

 Cucubalus Behen of Linnaeus) from the ' Species Plantarum,' whereby 

 the differences between that and our plant will at once be perceived. 

 " A female variety is frequent in the Upsal garden. This is smaller 

 than the perfect plant. The calyx is exactly ovate, not oblong-ovate, 

 and more obscure : corolla smaller : lamina half the length of the co- 

 rolla, terminating in a tubercle without anthers : styles 3 — 5, longer 

 than the corolla, turned to one side : each plant is fertile." * 



* Cucubalus Behen " Varietas Feminea in Horto upsaliense frequens. Haec 



Hermaphrodito minor. Calyces exacte ovati, magis obscuri, nee oblongo-ovati. Co- 

 rolla minor. Stamina corolla dimidio breviora terminata tuberculo absque antheris. 

 Styli 3 s. 5, corolla longiores, declinati. Planta utraque fertilis." — ' Sp. PI.' 591, 



