1139 



841, 865). Too much stress has been laid on the stained character 

 of the leaves. Smith says of H. murorum, that " the leaves are never 

 stained with black." The same author describes the leaves of H. 

 maculatum as " dark green above, more or less speckled with black 

 or dark purple." Of H. sylvaticum he writes, " Herb hairy, of a pale, 

 unspotted, grass green." The leaves of H. pulmonarium he describes 

 as "bright green" and "clouded with faint blotches of purplish 

 brown." No mention is made in ' English Flora,' of stains upon the 

 leaves of H. Lawsoni. It would thus seem that Smith referred all the 

 spotted-leaved plants which he had seen, either to his maculatum or 

 pulmonarium ; and succeeding botanists have doubtless been misled 

 by Smith's error. Having had the opportunity of examining many 

 plants with spotted leaves, in the Eastern Highlands, this year, I 

 venture to offer the following conclusions, derived from these and the 

 specimens previously in my hands, 1. H. murorum, more frequently 

 than other reputed species, varies with spotted leaves ; and in this 

 state it has been usually labelled maculatum or pulmonarium. It is 

 this which Mr. Gibson denominated hypochoeroides (Phytol. 741), on 

 account of the plant having been formerly mistaken for Hypochoeris 

 maculata. 2. H. Lawsoni also varies with stained leaves. I saw 

 numerous examples of this in Aberdeenshire, the present year ; and it 

 has appeared in my garden, among the descendants of unstained wild 

 plants, brought from Perthshire, some few years ago. The stains on 

 this species are streaks rather than spots. 3. T have never seen a 

 wild specimen of H. sylvaticum (certainly so) with these marks on 

 the leaves ; but a plant in Kew Gardens, which may be correctly as- 

 signed to this species, has its leaves much clouded with dark purple. 

 This plant (equally with others, with dark green and unstained leaves, 

 in my own garden) differs from the descriptions of H. sylvaticum, by 

 having numerous radical and few stem leaves ; but I suppose the dif- 

 ference in the number and colour of the radical leaves to arise from 

 the garden locality. As to the stem-leaves, the wild plants of H. syl- 

 vaticum have often only one or two, besides those at the very base. 



4. Among a number of young plants, brought to my garden from Can- 

 lochen Glen, on account of their spotted leaves, some apparently will 

 prove to be H. nigrescens and others H. murorum. This is an addi- 

 tional circumstance (Phytol. 804) towards showing the identity of H. 

 pulmonarium [Smith) and H. nigrescens [Willd) At all events, the 

 plant of Smith appears to me to have small resemblance to Lawsoni, 

 with which Mr. Babington unites it under the name of diaphanum. 



5. There is the variety pictum of H. rigidum (Bab. Man.) for another 



