905 



has ev'ery appearance of being as indigenous as any of the plants 

 among which it grows. I ratlier think the pond in which it grows 

 was to the westward of the town ; it was large and deep, and the Vil- 

 larsia could only be reached in a boat. — Id. 



452. Carex hoemiinghausiana. I inclose you a specimen of the 

 Crichton-castle Carex alluded to in my List of additional Edinburgh 

 Plants (Phytol. 407), and 1 think you will agree with me in consider- 

 ing it C. remota. Since reading the remarks by Mr. Luxford (Id. 

 650) and Mr. Gibson (Id. 779), I have carefully examined my nu- 

 merous specimens from Crichton-castle, gathered at different times, 

 and feel quite convinced of the correctness of my former opinion, 

 that all I had met with in that station were C. remota, and none agree- 

 ing with the description of C. boenninghausiana : some of the Edin- 

 burgh botanists were indeed of opinion that my specimens were really 

 C. axillaris, and I was inclined to think the same, or rather, that C. 

 remota and C. axillaris were undistinguishable ; for I could perceive 

 little difference between the Crichton-castle plants and what I con- 

 ceived to be authentic specimens of C. axillaris in my herbarium. 

 Shortly afterwards, however, I became acquainted with the true C. 

 axillaris, specimens of which I owe to the kindness of my valued cor- 

 respondent. Dr. Wood, when I at once perceived that they were dif- 

 ferent both from the Crichton-castle and all other specimens called 

 C. axillaris in my collection; and consequently, specimens from eight 

 stations had, to my great disappointment, to be handed over to the C. 

 remota sheet. Thus Dr. Wood's specimens stand in my herbarium 

 as the sole representatives of C. axillaris, and to these I trusted in 

 comparing my Edinburgh specimens, and in referring them to C. re- 

 mota. I only know C. boenninghausiana by Mr. Luxford's and Mr. 

 Gibson's notices, as no work I have access to at present contains a 

 description of it. I would therefore be much obliged if you would 

 examine the specimens now sent, and report. I make these remarks 

 as I think C. boenninghausiana must be very rare in the Crichton- 

 castle station, for I very carefully examined all the Carices I could 

 find near the place in hunting after C. axillaris, but never found any- 

 thing nearer it than the plant now sent. — Id. 



[The specimens sent by Mr. Edmonston are all referrible to Carex remota. — Ed.'] 



453. Note on Cetraria sepincola. A few days ago I found some 

 specimens of Cetraria sepincola near the west side of the island (Unst). 

 I had not previously seen it in Shetland, and indeed it is not, I be- 

 lieve, a common plant anywhere in Britain. The specimens were 

 rather small and without apothecia : they were accompanied by Ra- 



4h 



