Discovery of Gladiolus illyricus in the Isle of Wight 539 



ON THE DISCOVERY OF GLADIOLUS ILLYRICUS (Kocn) 

 IN THE ISLE OF WIGHT. 



\From the JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, 1 862 (vol. vi., p. 177).] 



THROUGH the kindness of my friend, the Rev. E. Venables, I have 

 lately obtained the loan of a specimen and drawing of a wild Gladiolus, 

 gathered by a lady near Shanklin, in the Isle of Wight ; and, in answer 

 to some inquiries addressed to her, Mrs. Phillipps, the discoverer, has 

 informed me that it was found growing in the midst of a wild tract of 

 copse and heath, called the "Apse" or "America" woods. Only one 

 plant was noticed ; it was in bud on the 7th of July, 1855, and having 

 been carried home, afterwards flowered, when the drawing was made. 



The Gladiolus found at Shanklin evidently belongs to the same 

 species as that which grows in the New Forest, as I have ascertained 

 by comparing Mrs. Phillipps's specimen with -a series collected at 

 Lyndhurst, by Mr. John T. Syme ; but in the characters afforded by the 

 stigma, whose lobes are suddenly (not gradually) enlarged upwards, the 

 English plant from both localities appears to agree better with G. illyri- 

 cus (Koch) than with either G. imbricatus (Linn.) or G. communis 

 (Linn) ; and I therefore venture to propose a change of name, which, I 

 am glad to say, has the approval of my friend, Professor Babington, 

 who further allows me to state that he finds the English Gladiolus to 

 agree exactly with Continental specimens of G. Illyricus issued by 

 C. Billot. 



Gladiolus communis (Linn.) is a much larger plant, and is easily 

 distinguished from the other two species by its larger flowers and much 

 stouter leaves. The range also of G. communis appears to be more 

 exclusively southern in Europe. 



It will be remembered that Dr. Arnott, in the latest edition of the 

 British Flora, treats "Gladiolus communis" as an introduced plant. 

 Mr. Bentham, also, in his " Handbook," writes: " Possibly accidentally 

 introduced" ; but I believe that the occurrence of Gladiolus illyricus in 

 the Isle of W T ight supplies an important link in support of its being 

 indigenous to Britain. 



There can be no doubt as to the identity of the present specimen. 

 Fortunately, the finder noted down the date in her Journal at the time, 

 and made a drawing of the plant while it was still fresh. Further, there 

 is a tradition on the spot ; it has long been known to the inhabitants of 

 a neighbouring farm-house that a wild Gladiolus grows in the woods at 

 Shanklin. 



The specimen now exhibited was found in the middle of the wood, in 

 a spot remote from cottages ; nor am I aware that G. illyricus is at all 

 cultivated as a garden-flower. 



