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Art. CXXXVII. — Sketch of Botanical Rambles in the Vicinity of 

 Bristol. By Leo. H. Grindon, Esq. 



The sketches of botanical rambles which have occasionally ap- 

 peared in the pleasant pages of ' The Phytologist,' embolden me to 

 offer you the following notes of two or three excm-sions made last 

 summer in the vicinity of Bristol, a part of our island well known to 

 be remarkably rich in rare and beautiful plants. 



The lovely morning of July 3rd, 1842, found me approaching my 

 native city by the Gloucester road ; and although the luxuriant and 

 picturesque scenery upon either side afforded of itself sufficient delight 

 and employment for the eye, I found time to remark profusion of 

 Galium Mollugo, Pastinaca sativa, Malva sylvestris and Melilotus offi- 

 cinalis by the way-sides, while the hedges wore a thick mantle of our 

 elegant southern climber, Clematis Vitalba. Here and there was a 

 field literally purple with the bloom of the cultivated teasel, Dipsaeus 

 Fullonum. 



Early in the forenoon of the following day (Monday) I rambled away 

 towards Horfield. In the suburb of the town was abundance of Mer- 

 curialis annua (a very common weed), Diplotaxis muralis, Coronopus 

 Ruellii, Plantago media and Convolvulus arvensis ; the hedges being 

 formed chiefly of Rubus fruticosus and Cornus sanguinea. A little 

 further in the countiy Centaurea Jacea, Agrimonia Eupatoria, Hy- 

 pericum hirsutum and Hordeum pratense became plentiful. The 

 hedges were here completely enveloped in luxuriant Tamus communis 

 and Bryonia dioica, occasionally relieved by a mass of wild roses, (R. 

 canina and systyla). Viburnum Lantana and Opulus formed a consi- 

 derable portion of many of the fences, as we left the smoke of the town 

 behind us, and these, together with the Cornus, were in green fi-uit. 

 At Ashley was plenty of Rhamnus catharticus in the hedges, likewise 

 in green fruit. Asplenium Ruta-muraria was common upon the old 

 walls, and Hordeum murinum by the road-sides. On Brandon hill, 

 in the afternoon of this day, I noticed Plantago Coronopus, i3. nanus, 

 in fruit, but was too late for Trifolium subterraneum, which likewise 

 abounds there. The evening was devoted to a walk to Redland: on 

 the walls near the green, Hieracium murorum and Linaria Cymbalaria 

 were blooming in great luxuriance ; Ceterach ofiicinarum was also in 

 perfection. I visited the Lamium longiflorum* habitat, but, as an- 

 ticipated, found very little remaining in flower. This is a most beau- 



* L. album, /i. Hooker, Br. Fl. ed. 4 ; L. iriiiculatiim, (3. [(evlgatum, Ed. Cat. ? 



