H4 THE WILD-FLOWERS OF SELBORNE 



which is fortunately preserved in Sherard's Herbarium 

 at Oxford turns out to be, as we learn from the new 

 edition of our flora, not Circcea alpina, but C. Lutetiana, 

 the common enchanter's nightshade. In the year 1841, 

 John Stuart Mill reported the grass of Parnassus as 

 growing " in various parts of the New Forest." This 

 plant has not been found there by other botanists. 

 Can it have disappeared, or, as Mr. Townsend suggests, 

 did Mr. Mill visit the Forest before it was in flower 

 and mistake the leaves of Valeriana dioica for those 

 of Parnassia palustris ? In some few instances rare 

 species have no doubt become extinct within the limits 

 of our flora. The "lesser Burre Docke" has dis- 

 appeared, but John Ray tells us he "once found it 

 on the road from Portsmouth to London, some three 

 miles from Portsmouth." The rare mountain Tway- 

 blade, recorded for "near Bournemouth in 1853," 

 has not been seen since then. Several other choice 

 orchids must also, we fear, be regarded as lost to the 

 county. The lizard orchis is now, we notice, placed 

 by Mr. Townsend among the excluded species. The 

 early spider orchis has not been found for many years; 

 and the green man orchis (Aceras anthropophora, R. 

 Br.), reported to grow on Nore Hill, near Selborne, 

 has been repeatedly searched for in vain. 



Still, with comparatively few exceptions, the 1179 

 species of British plants now recognised as forming 

 the flora of Hants may be seen growing at the right 

 season in their respective localities. A certain number, 

 as we have noticed, have beyond question been intro- 

 duced by human agency, yet the great majority may 

 be regarded as indigenous to the county, and though 

 only identified and recorded in modern times, have 

 doubtless flourished in their present haunts for untold 



