163 

 Art. CXIIl Proceedings of Societies!. 



BOTAN'ICAL SOCIETY OF EDINBURGH. 



Wednesday, December 7. — Prof. Christison in the chair. The election of office- 

 bearers for the season took place : — Dr. Neill, President ; Professors Christison, Gra- 

 ham, Balfour and D. Stewart Esq., Vice-presidents. Various parcels of plants were 

 announced, also donations to the library from Dr. Miiller of Emmerich, Dr. Maly, &e. 



Professor Christison then submitted to the Society a highly interesting communi- 

 cation on the Assam tea-plant, illustrated by specimens. The author stated that the 

 diflFerent kinds of tea were produced by different modes of preparation, and showed by 

 a series of examples of the preserved tea-leaf, that the various forms were merely vari- 

 eties of the same plant. A specimen of tea, of a yellow colour, and of a remarkably 

 strong flavour, was exhibited ; also tea, in the form of small rolls, sent to this country 

 about twenty years ago, as a present from the Emperor of China to George IV. 



Mr. Goodsir then read a paper by Charles C. Babington, Esq., F.L.S., F.GS., en- 

 titled "Observations upon a few plants, respecting the claim of which to be considered 

 as natives of Great Britain, Sir W. J. Hooker expresses doubt in the 5th edition of 

 his ' British Flora,' with a few notes upon other species contained in that work, with 

 reference to the Edinburgh ' Catalogue of British Plants.' The object of this paper 

 was to show upon what evidence the authors (Professor Balfour, Mr. Babington him- 

 self, and Dr. Campbell) of the Botanical Society's ' Catalogue of British Plants ' had 

 included in it the species concerning which Sir W. J. Hooker expresses doubt. " I 

 cannot allow this opportunity to pass," says the author of this paper, "without express- 

 ing the great satisfaction which it gives me to see that so distinguished a botanist as 

 Hooker has considered the catalogue deserving of quotation throughout his work, as I 

 must consider it a proof that the compilers of the ' Catalogue of British Plants ' have 

 not produced a work discreditable either to themselves or to the Society that intrusted 

 its preparation to them" 



Mr. Brand afterwards read to the Society a " Notice of the presence of Iodine iu 

 some plants growing near the sea," by G. Dickie, M.D., Lecturer on Botany in the 

 University and King's College, Aberdeen. The author found, by chemical examina- 

 tion of specimens of Statice Armeria, from the sea-shore, and of others from the inland 

 and higher districts of Aberdeenshire — that the former contained iodine, and that soda 

 was more abundant in them, while potass prevailed iu the latter. Iodine was also 

 found in Grimmia maritima, and Mr. P. Grant of Aberdeen, has found it in Pyre- 

 thrum maritimum. An analysis was made of examples of Statice Artneria, Grimmia 

 maritima, Lichina confinis and Ramalina scopulorittn, all growing near the same spot, 

 and occasionally during storms exposed to the sea spray ; and all these plants, with 

 the exception of the lichen, contained iodine. The specimens having been washed 

 previous to analysis, the iodine could not have been derived from saline incrustation. 

 All these vegetables were healthy, and the author of the paper has been led to conclude 

 that marine Algae are not the only plants which possess the power of separating from 

 sea-water the compounds of iodine, and of condensing them in their tissues, and this 

 without any detriment to their healthy functions. 



BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON. 



November 18. — Adam Gerard Esq. in the chair. Donations of British plants were 

 announced from Miss S. B. Hawes and Miss S. K. Barnard. The continuation of 

 the paper commenced at the last meeting, on the Lodoicea Sechellartim, by George 

 Clark, Esq., was read. 



