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ceeding ones, give to the entire plant a triangular outline. The 

 colour at maturity is always red. The spikes hardly exceed half an 

 inch in length (about four or five times their own thickness), and con- 

 tain about six sets of seeds each. 



The next form noticed by Mr. Woods, and which he proposes to 

 call S. ramosissima, is described as much larger than either of the 

 preceding, erect, very much branched and bushy, of a grass-green 

 colour, but touched with red, the branches ascending, and the spikes 

 not cylindrical or oblong, but somewhat lanceolate, the longest about 

 an inch in length (six or seven times their thickness), and containing 

 about the same number of sets of seeds as S. procumbens. This, 

 which appears to be a rare form, was gathered in Haling Island. 



Mr. Woods now proceeds to describe two intermediate forms, ap- 

 parently serving to unite the three preceding. The smallest of these, 

 which the author proposes to designate S. pusilla, seems closely to 

 resemble S. procumbens, from which it differs in its smaller size and 

 less triangular outline, its erect or suberect branches, the lowest of 

 which are neither larger nor more branched than the succeeding ones, 

 and in its still shorter spikes, which scarcely exceed 5 inch in length, 

 being souietimes almost globular, and containing about five sets of 

 seeds. The other form, which the author calls S. intermedia, and 

 which is stated to be the most abundant on the muddy salt marshes 

 of Sussex, embraces several subvarieties, all of which are erect, but 

 vary much in other respects, sometimes resembling S. pusilla, but with 

 much longer and redder spikes ; in other cases approaching the typi- 

 cal form of S. herbacea, in their yellowish green colour, hardly tinged 

 with red, cylindrical spikes an inch or more in length (eight or nine 

 limes their width), but with not more than eight or nine sets of seeds; 

 while others again, in their bushy habit and colour, and in the form of 

 their spikes, show an aflSnity to S. ramosissima. 



All the above-mentioned varieties have oval or oblong seeds, about 

 half as long again as broad, and thinly covered with hooked hairs, 

 upon an even surface. In the two following the seeds are shorter, 

 nearly globular, but covered in the same manner with hooked hairs. 



S. radicans, the next species, is described as differing exceedingly 

 in its mode of growth from any of the foregoing. In all these the 

 root is evidently annual, and produces a single stem, which is hard, 

 and in S. ramosissima may fairly be called woody. In S. radicans, 

 however, a small plant, with only one or two branches, rises at first 

 from the seed. The stem of this lies down, and, generally burying 

 itself in the mud, sends out radical fibres and new shoots. The pro- 

 VOL. IV. 2 E 



