A HISTORY OF LEICESTERSHIRE 



The following are confined to this division and all are very scarce; two of them it is feared have 

 been eradicated since 1886 -.-Aquilegia vulgaris (W. Bell, 1902) ferula cynanchca, H,pp crep, S 

 (om o,a, Scntcio camped, and Verbal Lychnith, which was found in 1 906, looks as true a native 

 as C. Acinoi and Ononis, with which it is associated ; nor are there any plants in the ne.ghbourhood 

 that can be suspected as aliens. 



Before the heath was reclaimed probably some of the rarer Lincolnshire and Northampton- 

 shire Oolite plants grew there, such as Linum perenne, Anemone puhattlla, Hyfocbatru macu/ata, 

 Artnaria taut/Ma, Herniaria glabra, Thesium, Orobancbe tlatitr, and Octroi (the last in Northampton 

 only of the two counties). . 



Some at least of the mosses which abound on the Oolite in Lincolnshire, and which might be 

 expected, are absent from this Leicestershire portion of the same formation, for the simple reason 

 that there are no suitable places for them ; there can be no drier tract in this country than 

 Division 4, whereas 3^ miles to the east, but in Lincolnshire, Pinguicula vulgaris still grows, and 

 the handsome moss CKmac'mm dendroides fruits so splendidly that probably nowhere else in Britain 

 can be found more fully developed examples ; it is very rarely seen in fruit in Britain, too this 

 must be regarded as a relic of very exceptional occurrence. Excepting the bed of the Cringle 

 Brook in Buckminster Park the ground is almost all about 500 ft. (Buckminster 5 19 ft.). 6 



5. AVON 



The Avon and its tributary the Swift drain this area, which is wholly on the Lower Lias clay, 

 deeply covered in parts by drift. Of the 390 or more species recorded none need be specified, 

 as they are not uncommon elsewhere in the county. 



6. WELLAND 



Lower Lias clay, Upper Lias, Marlstone rock and sand and a small outlier of Lias limestone and 

 Northampton sand occur. The northern portion is well wooded and possesses considerable variety 

 of surface. These combinations give rise to an improvement in the flora when compared with 

 the last-named division. Although nothing is absolutely confined to it, there are three very 

 uncommon plants: Rubus Bellardii found by W. Bell, 1903, Vina si/vatica, and Campanula 

 Trachelium. The mosses and fungi are imperfectly known. The reservoir near Saddington and 

 the Welland may be expected to furnish many microscopic plants as yet unrecorded for 

 Leicestershire. 



Although Leicestershire has suffered so much of late from a botanical point of view through 

 drainage, cultivation, and the spread of its towns, and the villages in the coal mining district, the 

 county can still justly claim to possess a greater variety of brambles (Rubi) (71) than any of the 

 counties in the northern half of England, excepting Staffordshire (77). About the year 1830 the 

 Rev. A. Bloxam commenced to study this difficult genus, giving a great amount of his time for the 

 remaining forty-eight years of his life to the investigation of the brambles of this county. 



Thirty-four species were found in the parish of Twycross alone, this number being slightly 

 augmented. Two have been added since Mr. Bloxam's time by other students of Rubi, so that 

 now we have a total of thirty-six species, making it appear that this parish contairts as many species 

 as several English counties are known to have within their boundaries at the present time. 



Mr. Bloxam was joined in the study of brambles by the Rev. W. H. Coleman, and 

 the Rev. Churchill Babington was also a collaborator about the same t?me as Coleman, 

 but not nearly to such an extent as the latter. Since Mr. Bloxam's decease, a great amount 

 of time has been devoted to the study of Leicestershire 'brambles, many additions having been 

 made to the older records. The most valuable work has been accomplished during the last 

 fifteen years, especially by the Revs. E. F. Linton and W. Moyle Rogers, 'the latter having 

 elucidated some very difficult species, either unknown to, or very imperfectly understood, either by 

 Bloxam, Coleman, or their successors. For full descriptions of all known species of Rubi see the 

 Handbook of British Rubi by the Rev. W. Moyle Rogers, 1 900, and papers !>y tjhe same author in 

 the Journal of Botany for April, 1902, and July, 1905. 



The writer's sincerest thanks are due to the Rev. W. Moyle Rogers for giving so much time 

 to the records and collection of brambles (Rubi) ; ako to Mr. William West ifor naming certain 

 Algae, to Mr. Arthur Bennett for a list (marked H of the Naiadaceae and Chanjiceae; to Mrs. E. 



' Sewstern is in this division, not in 2B as indicated in the map. 



34 



