94 Mr. C. C. Babington on Hypericum anglicum. 



made some slight mistakes in the synonymy of his plant, it is 

 proper to consider each of his references separately. I proceed 

 then to take them in order. H. androsamum, Sm. Eng. Flora 

 (iii. p. 323), probably includes both the plant so named and also 

 H. anglicum, but the points which would decide the question are 

 not noticed in the description there given. It has been already 

 remarked that Eng. Bot. (t. 1225) represents H. anglicum. 

 Curtis, Fl. Lond. (ii. t. 103, as it is quoted in the ' Fl. Italica,' 

 but i. t. 1G4, as is apparently the more correct reference to that 

 variously arranged work), is a beautiful figure oi H. androsamum, 

 and is therefore erroneously placed under his H. anglicum by 

 Bertoloni. Hooker's Brit. Flora (ed. 2. p. 332) may include both 

 of the plants. Babington's Manual (ed. 1. p. 57) was intended 

 to include the true H. androsamum alone ; for I was then totally 

 unacquainted with the supposed H. anglicum, and was in error 

 when quoting Eng. Bot. 1225 as a representation of my plant. 

 The same error I continued to commit in the 2nd and 3rd edi- 

 tions of the ' Manual.^ Reichenbach^s figure named H. grandi- 

 folium is far too imperfect for satisfactoiy determination, but 

 probably does not represent either of the plants under consider- 

 ation, and what he may have received from the "Isle of Arran, 

 Buteshire," it is impossible to tell. 



It now only remains for me to place in a technical form the 

 characters of H. anglicum according to my present views of it. 



n. anglicum (Bert.) ; stem shrubby 2-edged much branched, pedu7i- 

 cles 2-icinged, leaves subcordate-ovate rather acute, cymes few- 

 flowered, sepals broad unequal, petals twice as long as the sepals, 

 styles exceeding the stamens, capsules " oval." 



H. auglicum, Bert. Fl. Itul. viii. 310. 



H. androseemum, Eng. Bot. t. 1225. 



The plant is tall, almost shrubby, producing a rather long 

 simple branch fi'om nearly all of the upper axils of the leaves, 

 most of them ending in cymes of from 1 to 5 flowers. The 

 flowers are large, and much resemble both in size and appearance 

 those of H. hircinum. The peduncles are furnished with two 

 well-marked wings, extending from their true base at the bracts 

 up to the flower. The sepals are ovate, rather acute, and unequal, 

 and are probably reflexed from the fruit. The styles have a 

 tendency to break off" at a short distance from their thick base as 

 the capsule enlarges, and in that state may be mistaken for such 

 short ones as belong to H. androscemum. The capsule is pro- 

 bably rather pointed when ripe, but I have not seen it in that 

 state. It is certainly of that shape in an earlier state. 



This plant is more nearly allied to H. hircinum than to ff. an- 

 drosamum. It flowers in July, August and September. 



