492 



beyond JMulirani, on the 2iid of January of the present year, may prove interesting to 

 some of the readers of ' Tlie Phytologist.' Vacciniura Vitis-Idaea, both in flower and 

 fruit, being the second time of its blossoms appearing within the last four months. — 

 Empetrum nigrum, several specimens of which still bore the berries of last year ; I did 

 not see many with the flowers fully expanded, but if the weather had continued mild 

 they would have been in full bloom in a week or two. Besides these I noticed in full 

 flower about a dozen of the hardy spring weeds, — Stellaria media, Lamium purpure- 

 um, &c., and the following mosses were gathered in fructification. 

 Grimmia pulvinata Polytrichum piliferum Hypnum ruscifolium 



Gymnostomum truncatulum Dicranum taxifolium Bryum pyriforme 



Tortula muralis heteromallum argenteura 



Funaria hygrometrica Trichostomum lanuginosum horuum 



Polytrichum undulatum Hypnum plumosum punctatum 



— Joseph Sidebotham ; Manchester, January 10, 1843. 



256. Note on Onoclea sensihilis. Perhaps it will be interesting to some of the read- 

 ers of ' The Phytologist ' to know that Onoclea sensihilis grows in an old stone-quarry 

 near Warrington. This fern was found in the above locality about four years ago by 

 John Roby, Esq., of Rochdale ; the plant is plentiful and grows very luxuriantly. It 

 was also found in the north of Yorkshire a short time ago, by Mr. Baines of York. — 

 Samuel Gibson ; Hebclen Bridge, January 12, 1843. 



257. Note on the Poisonous Properties of the Fruit of Conium maculatum. Profes- 

 sor T;in(lley is not the only botanist who has forgotten the qualities of the fruit of Co- 

 nium ma(!ulatum, when speaking of the properties of the UmbelliferEe, for I find Dr. 

 Willshire makes the same mistake. In his ' Principles of Botany,' he observes of the 

 Urabelliferse, that " the fruit is innocuous ; often stimulating from the essential oil it 

 contains." It is well known that the leaves of Conium maculatum possess a poison- 

 ous quality, which depends on the presence of a peculiar and highly poisonous princi- 

 ple, called Conia. This principle is found in greater abundance in the seeds than in 

 the leaves, therefore we might presume them to be more poisonous ; yet I know of no 

 case on record of poisoning by the seeds, although many unpleasant effects have been 

 produced when small quantities have been administered. Professor Christison, in 

 making experiments upon animals, administered about thirty grains of an extract pre- 

 pared from the full-grown seeds ; it caused paralysis, convulsions and death, and this 

 proves the fruit of Conium maculatum to possess very active and even poisonous pro- 

 perties. Indeed we should always be cautious how we employ the seeds of a poison- 

 ous plant, for although in some, as Papaver somnifevum, they may be harmless, yet in 

 others they possess all the active properties of the plant itself, as in the above exam- 

 ple, to which I may also add Colchicum autumnale. — Daniel Wheeler, M.R.C.S.L.; 

 Reigate, January 20, 1843. 



258. Correction of an error respecting the discovery of Statice tatarica near Ports- 

 mouth. I regret having been the means, though inadvertently, of communicating an 

 error to your pages, in stating Statice tatarica to have been discovered by myself near 

 this place, (Phytol. 429). Having had some correspondence with Mr. Borrer on the 

 subject, by whom I have been kindly furnished with specimens of the genuine S. ta- 

 tarica from a foreign locality, and of S. Limonium, var. y. (Smith), from Bosham, at 

 the mouth of the Chichester river, I find that my plant is identical with the latter. — 

 Its chief difl'erence from the real S. tatarica consists in the absence of the winged stem, 

 which forms a remarkable featiuc in that species. The very different appearance, 



