442 



The question of the synynomy is difficult to treat satisfactorily, from 

 the unavoidably slippery nature of the descriptions. In one impor- 

 tant respect Roth's account of his A. ovatum agrees substantially 

 (though it hardly goes far enough), namely, in the breadth and close 

 approximation of the pinnules ; but their segments in our plant are 

 not " truncate " and " as it were retuse at the apex," and their teeth 

 are not " short and somewhat obtuse," but long, flexuous, and narrowly 

 acuminate. The question is however virtually settled by Roth's refe- 

 rence to figure 3 of Miiller's 'Flora Fridrichsdaliana' as "optima!" 

 Mr. Newman can hardly have seen this figure, for it is utterly unlike 

 latifolium (especially in the dentition), but well represents a stout form 

 of the var. molle, approaching the typical lady-fern : I have a speci- 

 men from Cockshott Wood near Keswick, of which it is an exact 

 copy. Mr. Newman is himself the only fully competent judge of his 

 second conclusion, that our plant " is the Alhyriura Filix-foemina, var. 

 dentatum^'' of his ' British Ferns :' I can only say that his description 

 would not have led me to that result. His third conclusion, " that it 

 is the Athyrium latifolium of Presl," seems to rest on very slight foun- 

 dations, for Presl gives not a word of description, and his figure, 

 which represents only a magnified fragmentary pinnule, might stanfl 

 for anything. Probably the singular identity of the name with that 

 given by Mr. Babington drew Mr. Newman's attention ; but, as a 

 matter of fact, the former gentleman had not noticed Presl's name 

 till quite lately. If however our plant proves to be merely an acci- 

 dental state of A. Filix-foemina, the question of nomenclature will 

 become of very little interest. 



F. J. A. HoRT. 



Trinity College, Cambridge, 

 November 12, 1851. 



Note on certain doubtfully native Plants. 

 By James Bladon, Esq. 



I WAS very much pleased with Mr. Lees (Phytol. iv. 56) taking 

 up the cudgels so strongly in favour of some of our native plauts that 

 are undoubtedly so (if any plants are to be called really native, and 

 not imported). He refers to Herefordshire for the columbine. In 

 this neighbourhood I can find it nearly half a mile distant from any 

 house, both in its proper purple colour, and the white and pale pink 

 varieties, in the same piece of waste ground. I can also remember, 



