FLORA OF THE CHESlL BANK ANt) THE FLEET. 255 



of great scarcity, the very poor in the villages bordering the 

 Fleet also had recourse to the Chesil Bank pea. 



Buda media, Dum. (better known as Lepigonum marginalum, 

 Koch), is common on both shores, but is not typical. Syme 

 (2 Eng. Bot., 132), says: "Whole plant glabrous." All our 

 plants, however, have a noticeable feature in being decidedly 

 glandular-hairy in the upper parts. Briggs (Flo. of Plymouth, 

 55), mentions a similar form near Plymouth, and Townsend 

 (Flo. of Hampshire, 61), records the like as to the Isle of 

 Wight ; see also specimens in Herb., Nat. His. Mus. Probably, 

 then, this is the usual form in the south and west of Britain. 



Nasturtium offictnalis, var. siifolium, Reichb, was found by Mr. 

 Mansel-Pleydell and myself some years ago growing plentifully 

 in a reed-bed near Fleet House, close to the inner shore of the 

 Fleet ; it is, in fact, a gigantic Water Cress, upwards of four feet 

 in height. This variety has but two other records in Dorset, 

 and boih those near the centre of the county. 



Limonium occidentale, O. Kuntze, occurs at intervals on muddy 

 spots near the base of the Chesil Bank, but is rare. Its natural 

 home is' on rocky cliffs ; it is identical with the Limonium of 

 the Portland and Lulworth cliffs. Can it be that the seeds are 

 brought from thence by the tide ? 



An instance of a rare maritime plant appearing here as a 

 casual, is afforded by Raphanus maritimus, Sm. ; it was observed 

 many years ago and has twice since been seen near the Chesil 

 Bank. Although probably a biennial, it was always wanting the 

 following year. I think the seeds may have been washed from 

 the Isle of Wight, where on some of the cliffs it is frequent. 



We might have expected to find Cochlearia angltca, L. ; it is, 

 indeed, recorded in Dr. Pulteney's " Catalogue of Some of the 

 More Rare Plants of Dorsetshire," published in lygg, as being 

 common at Weymouth, but C. danica, L., was evidently mistaken 

 for it. The like remark applies to C. offia'nalis, L., recorded in 

 Flo. Dor., Ed. 2, for Portland ; both are absent from this district. 



The Juniper (Juniperus communis, L.), was found by Mr. 

 Mansel-Pleydell and myself in some plenty on Langton Herring 



