A HISTORY OF SURREY 



the extent of their bramble ground and for the number of forms first 

 discovered as British within their borders ; but as especially favourable 

 places for the study of the genus the best localities in Britain are perhaps 

 to be found in Surrey in the extensive commons and heaths to the 

 south-west of London near the Kent border, and to the south-west of 

 Guildford towards the Hants and Sussex borders. 



Fifty-three species and twenty-seven additional sub-species or 

 varieties have already been found in the county ; and, out of these, three 

 species and two subordinate forms had not been known as British until 

 they were observed in Surrey. These are Rubus bolerythros, Focke ; R. 

 Marshall!, Focke & Rogers ; and R. viridis, Kalt. ; with the sub-species or 

 varieties rbombifolius, Weihe, and britannicus, Rogers. Of these R. Mar- 

 shalli and JR. britanntcus were new to science and are still numbered among 

 our endemic brambles, though both have since been found abundantly in 

 several British counties. R. bolerytbros, R. rbombifolius and R. -viridis have 

 also proved to be somewhat widely distributed, though chiefly or wholly 

 in the south of England. 



Among other Surrey brambles perhaps the most interesting, for their 

 rarity elsewhere or for their special beauty, are R. Bakeri, F. A. Lees ; R. 

 Colemanni, Blox. ; R. leucantbemus, P. J. Muell.(?); R. dnerosus, Rogers ; R. 

 ericetorum, Lefv. ; R. mutabilis, Genev. ; R. bostilis, Muell. & Wirtg. ; and 

 R. cognafus, N. E. Brown. Until recently these were either unknown in 

 Britain or most imperfectly understood ; and for the most part they have 

 become fairly familiar to us chiefly through Surrey specimens. Four of 

 them, Bakeri, Co/emanni, dnerosus and cognatus seem to be endemic. 



Of many good Surrey localities some of the best are the commons 

 at Wimbledon, Barnes, Tooting and Wandsworth, and Putney Heath 

 near London, and further west the commons and heathy land at Oxshott 

 and round Godalming and Haslemere. In all or nearly all of these the 

 most conspicuous brambles, in addition to some of those mentioned above, 

 are R. plicatus, Wh. & N. ; R. carpinifolius, Wh. & N. ; R. Lind/eianus, 

 Lees ; R. rbamnifolius, Wh. & N. ; R. pulcherrimus, Neum. ; R. argenfatus, 

 P. J. Muell. ; JR. subinermis, Rogers ; R. leucostachys, Schl. ; R. Babingtonii, 

 Bell Salt. ; R. adornatus, P. J. Muell. ; and R. cory/ifotius, Sm. Hence it 

 will be seen that the group best represented in the county is that of 

 the Rbamnifolii. The abundance of R. carpinifolius and (in a less degree) 

 JR. pulcherrimus is especially remarkable, and the comparative rarity of 

 R. rusticanus y R. c&sius, and most of the glandular species. 



As instances of single localities, Wimbledon Common alone produces 

 24 species and 3 sub-species, and Putney Heath 16 species and 6 sub- 

 species or varieties ; while the six chief commons to the south-west of 

 London have between them about 50 different brambles in all, and the 

 commons and heathy places between Guildford and the Sussex border 

 seem at least as richly supplied. 



Perhaps the most marked feature in the Haslemere district is the 

 extraordinary abundance of R. Marshall! and R. rosaceus, Wh. & N. 

 Between Haslemere and Godalming R. fasus, Lindl.; R. nitidus, Wh. & 



48 



