70 Miscellaneous. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



BOTANICAL NOTES. 



Odontites verna, Reich., and its allies. — In the course of a very 

 short tour in the eastern Pyrenees during the past autumn, I did not 

 fail to observe the forms of this group which happened to come in 

 my way, especially with a view to distinguish the plant which I have 

 described in a recent number of this Journal as O. Bertolonii ; I failed 

 however to find any forms which should not be referred to O. verna. 

 The state of the latter plant which I found abundantly in cultivated 

 land in the mountainous region of northern Catalonia, has larger fruit 

 than it is usually found to possess, but the form of the capsule and 

 calyx-segments is quite normal, and does not approach to my O. ro- 

 tundata. I have recently received from M. Jordan of Lyons spe- 

 cimens of three forms of this group detected by that accurate observer 

 in the neighbourhood of Lyons, and named by him respectively 

 Euphrasia verna, Bell., E. serotina, Lam., and E. divergens, Jordan. 

 The first of these agrees with the common European Odontites verna ; 

 the second is the more slender plant which I have distinguished as 

 var. elegans, and which is not in my opinion specifically distinct ; 

 the third is a plant with which I was not previously acquainted, and 

 which appears to have strong claims to rank as a distinct species. In 

 habit, and in the size and form of the capsule, it resembles O. Berto- 

 lonii, but the leaves, instead of being ovate and distinctly toothed, 

 are almost linear, with one or two scarcely perceptible teeth, those of 

 the branches being usually entire ; the calyx-segments are short (one- 

 third of its length) and triangular, as in O. rotundata, and M. Jor- 

 dan observes that they are adpressed to the ripe capsule, which is 

 not the case in the common species. This latter character it is dif- 

 ficult to verify in dried specimens, but it appears to be likewise cha- 

 racteristic of O. rotundata. The flowers are too imperfect for de- 

 scription in M. Jordan's specimens of O. divergens, but they appear 

 to be much smaller than in the other allied species. 



Rhinanthus major and R. angustif alius. — In the tenth volume 

 of DeCandolle's * Prodromus,' Mr. Bentham enumerates England 

 amongst the native localities of both the above-named species of 

 Rhina7ithus, although the former alone has hitherto been enumerated 

 as a British plant. If, as Mr. Bentham seems to consider, the cha- 

 racter derived from the presence or absence of a membranous edge to 

 the seeds be not trustworthy, it is difficult to assign any more con- 

 stant character by which to distinguish these species ; but such has 

 not been the result of my observations, so far as they have extended. 

 I shall briefly note the forms with which I am acquainted : — 



R. major, Ehrh. ?, Benth. in DeC. Prod. Hairy calyces and 

 broadly winged seeds. France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany and 

 Hungary. (J. B. spec, in herb.). 



R. major, ft. alpina, Benth. Calyces nearly or quite glabrous, seg- 

 ments more acute, broadly winged seeds. Alps, Apennines, Riesen- 

 gebirge, and Carpathians. (J. B. spec, in herb.). 



A specimen without ripe fruit from the herbarium of the late Pro- 



