179 



of the calyx broad, ovate, obtuse, with narrow membranous edges : 

 petals none : cajDsule shorter than the calyx. 



All my Scottish specimens answer to the ahove description. 



/3. erecta, mihi. Plant upright, smooth, very slender : leaves nar- 

 row, long in proportion, tipped with a very short bristle : capsule 

 longer than the calyx. 



The more slender and upright habit of this variety, combined with its longer cap- 

 sule, will serve to distinguish it from the above. My specimens of this plant I ga- 

 thered in WallazeyPool, Cheshire, in June, 1841, where I found all our three species 

 of Sagina growing together. My Warrington specimens differ but little from this. I 

 have also a specimen of the Sagina maritima from Devonport, communicated to me 

 by Mr. Luxford, that exactly agrees with my Warrington plants. 



3. S. procumbens, Linn. Perennial. Stems one to ten inches or 

 more in length, spreading on the ground and taking root at their 

 joints, leafy: leaves evergreen, combined at their base by a thin mem- 

 brane, ribbed, linear, about one to three quarters of an inch in length, 

 very smooth, often tipped with a minute bristle : flower-stalks short, 

 smooth, often drooping : calyx-leaves broad, ovate, obtuse, with very 

 narrow membranous edges : petals (if present) ovate, obtuse, about 

 half the length of the calyx. 



This species grows in damp shady places everywhere. Smith tells us that the 

 leaves of Sagina procumbens are three-ribbed ; this character I have not been able to 

 find in any of the forms of the plant : nor have I ever been able to find the seeds of 

 any species of Sagina bordered with a black ring. 



/3. pentandra, mihi. 



This differs from the above only in having a fifth part added to the whole fructifi- 

 cation. Rare: my specimens I found at Dob-royd near Todmorden, in July, 1840. 



y. nodosa, mihi. Stems procumbent, densely crowded, strong and 

 woody, bearing at their joints moss-Uke tufts of leaves, which are about 

 half an inch in length, each tuft bearing a solitary flower-stalk. 



This singular-looking variety I found in the town of Malton, September, 1838. 



5". maritima, mihi. Root branched at the crown : stems few, very 

 short, prostrate, disposed in a circular form. 



The very small size of this variety, combined with its circular mode of growth, will 

 at once distinguish it from the common state of the plant : probably the maritime lo- 

 cality of this little variety will account for the difference. Found at Crosby, near 

 Liverpool, in June, 1841 . 



£. spinosa, mihi. (Sagina procumbens, var. &. spinosa, Baines's 

 ' Flora of Yorkshire.') 



This differs from the normal state of Sagina procumbens in the edges of the leaves 

 being margined with minute diaphanous spines. Found at Halifax, Shibden, near 

 Leeds, Hebden Bridge, &c. &c. 



