156+ ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETI'M. PART HJ. 



has been supposed, in allusion to the leaves of the kinds of which it is con- 

 stituted turnii)<; black in drying, but to mark their affinity to .S'. nigricans 

 Sinlllt, a well-known individual of their number. (Borrer in Etig. Bot. 

 SiippL, t. 27i)o.) In this case, it may be supposed that the characters of 5. 

 nigricans Smitk are pretty well representative of those of each of the kinds 

 of the eroup. Some of the characters of S. nigricans Smllli are described 

 below, No. 108. According to Mr. Borrer {Eng. Bot. Suppl. t. 2729,) it 

 is doubtful, in application to almost every kind of the group, whether it 

 is a species or not. 



It is shown, under the preceding group, that Mr. Borrer professes 

 himself not acquainted with all the kinds of that group and this ; and 

 that he may, therefore, have placed some of them wrongly. It may in- 

 terest the lovers of broad grounds of distinction in species to know 

 that Koch, who has applied this principle to the willows, has included 

 several of the kinds in this group, which are treated below as distinct spe- 

 cies, in one species. Under his species S. />h\ licifolia, he has cited S. phy- 

 licifolia Lin. Sp. PL, ii. 14+2., Willcl. Sp. PL,' iv. p. 659., exclusively of the 

 synonyme of Smith, Wahlcnb. FLLapp., No. 482. ; S. stylosa Dec; S. stylaris 

 Scringe; S. \\-d?,ti\ta Hoppc ; and ■S'. hybrida/Zoyfw.; as synonymes : and the 

 following as being still the species, under a more or less varied form, — S. 

 nigricans Smith, S.Ammwnninnn Willd., .V. Anderson/c/Ha Smith, S. «piraBa?f6lia 

 yVilld. ex Link, S. rupcstris Smith, S. Forster/««« Smith, S. hirta Smith, S. 

 cotinifolia Smith, and S. wlmifolia Ifort. BcroL He has intimated, besides, 

 that several of the kinds distinguished by Schleicher also belong to this 

 species. Dr. Lindley, in his Sj/nopnin of the British Flora, where he has 

 followed Koch wholly, has added to Koch's S. phylicifolia the kinds S. 

 (/amascena Forbes and S. Borrerid na Smith. Relatively to the principle of 

 rendering species in the willows thus comprehensive, Mr. Borrer makes the 

 following remark in Eng. Bot. Siipp/., t. 2702.: — " We have repeatedly 

 disclaimed all dogmatical decision as to what are species among the willows ; 

 nor have we ever denied the probability that many of those which, in the 

 present state of our knowledge, we think it expedient to propose as distinct 

 may be, in reality, mere seminal varieties or hybrids. This being admitted, 

 the further admission can scarcely be withheld, that those botanists may 

 possibly be correct in their views wlio regard, in some instances, as species 

 what we are accustomed to regard as sections of the genus." Mr. Borrer 

 has added, " Of these fftcifc princeps is Koch, whose lucid Be Salicibus 

 Europdis Commentatio tlisplays a most intimate acquaintance with his 

 subject." With regard to the details of Koch's adjudication of the above- 

 cited species S. ^/hylicifolia, Mr. Borrer gives the following corrective 

 notices, which, for the sake of accuracy, we give below: — 



Under S. rfamascena Forbes, Eng. Bot. SuppL, t. 2709., it is remarked, " Koch 

 would, no doubt, refer S. r/amascena, as he does its affinities, .S'. Andersonia«ff, 

 S. nigricans, &c., to Wahlenberg's S. ;;hylicif{Mia ; but those botanists would 

 scarcely have appropriated the name to willows of this set, had they been 

 aware of the fact that the original Lapland specimen of 5. /^hylicifolia in 

 the Linnaan herbarium is imlubitably, as was long since stated by Smith, 

 the S. /jhylici folia of Eug. Bo^., t. 1958. This last is united by Koch, with 

 numerous affinities, to S. arbuscuhi of Wahlenberg, which he regards as the 

 S. arbi'iscula of the Linn:can F/ora Siicciea." Under S. tenuitulia Smith this 

 remark occurs in Eng. Bot. SuppL, t. 2795. : — " S. tenuitoliaand lS'. rupes- 

 tris are so nearly allied, that we cannot undertake to point out satisfactory 

 distinctions ; yet Koch places S. tenuifolia under .S\ arbuscula, and S. ru- 

 pestris under S. /;hylicif61ia." Under S. petrae'a Eng. Bot. SuppL, t. 2725., 

 is this remark : — " It is surely by error that Koch has placed S. petrae'a 

 under his i\ arbuscula, with S. /^hylicifolia of Smith ; and not under his own 

 >S'. /vhylicifolia, with S. Ammannw«fl and its affinities." 



