24 REVIEWS. {January, 



The following quotation from the remarks on our common 

 Brake, Pteris aquilina, may be new to some readers. 



" Every one is familiar with the common Brakes (Braken, Scottice) of 

 our hills and woods, Pt. aquilina, which I consider, in a more or less 

 varied form, to be found almost all over the world. The figure, by 

 ' nature-printing,' as given in the ' Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland/ 

 by Thos. Moore, tab. xliv., we need not say accurately represents the 

 normal state of a moderately-sized specimen of this plant. . . . No 

 doubt many wUl be surprised to be told that our common Brake is the 

 same genus and species as the famous edible species of the South Sea 

 Islanders, but an intelligent and scientific gentleman has recently brought 

 the properties of our Ft. aquilina to public notice, and has himself 

 luxuriated upon this vegetable. See Dr. B. Clarke, F.L.S., on Pt. 

 aquilina as an esculent vegetable, in Hook. Journ. of Bot. vol. ix. 

 p. 212." 



Enumeratio Plantarum Zeylanice. An Enumeration of Ceylon 

 Plants. By G. H. K. Thwaites, F. L. S., Superintendent of 

 the Royal Garden, Peradenia, Ceylon. Part I. London : 

 William Pamplin, 45, Frith Street, Soho Square. 



It is now upwards of a century since the celebrated Linnaeus 

 published his ' Flora Zeylanica,' in which he compares the pro- 

 ductions of Sweden, the land of mists, snow, hail, and terrible 

 tempests, with those of one of the fairest of the tropical islands. 

 The portion of the work before us contains 59 Orders, and of 

 these only Ranunculacese, Berberidacese, Nymphseacese, Cruci- 

 ferse, Polygalacea, Caryophyllacese, Linacese, Violacese, Drose- 

 racese, Malvaceae, Tiliacese, Elatinacese, Hypericacese, Geraniacese, 

 Oxalidaceae, Balsamiuace8e,Celastrace8e,and Ehamnacese, have any 

 representatives in Britain, or 18 Orders in the 59 already pub- 

 lished. Of the genera, a smaller proportion is found in the Bri- 

 tish Isles. The Cingalese genera in Part I. may be about 225 or 

 230 ; of these the following are all the British genera observed 

 as common to both Floras, viz. Clematis, Thalictrum, Anemone, 

 Ranunculus, Nymphsea, Cardamine, Polygala, Viola, Stellaria, 

 Cerastium, Linum, Drosera, Hypericum, Impatiens, Euonymus, 

 Rhamnus, or 17 in 225, or 1 : 13-2. The only British species 

 detected are Cardamine hirsuta, Oxalis corniculata, and S>teU 



