316 Mr. C. C. Babington on some species o/Epilobiuni. 



spreading, matted tufts of small leaves, among which the fibrous 

 roots shoot out, as in proliferous plants. The flower-stems are 

 partially decumbent, cylindrical, at first simple, afterwards much 

 branched, and furnished with numerous elliptical, slightly toothed, 

 soft leaves ; the flowers are few, and the style undivided.^^ (Bot. 

 Guide to Northumb. and Durham, ii. p. v.) One or two points 

 in this description, such as that which I have italicized, refer to 

 the plant which Winch had by some mischance mixed with the 

 true E. alsinifolium ; but I think, for the most part, it cannot 

 have been taken for that plant. I also think that the Lysimachia 

 siliquosa glabra minor latifolia of Ray is really E. alsinifolium. 

 It is most unfortunate that the wrong plant should have been 

 figured in ' English Botany,' as that error has probably tended 

 to encourage those who desired to disprove the specific distinct- 

 ness of E. alsinifolium ; and it is wonderful how botanists who 

 have had occasion to quote figures of that species, myself amongst 

 the number, have continued to refer to ' Eng. Bot. tab. 2000 ' 

 as representing it. Dr. Deakin describes and figures the true 

 E. alsinifolium (Florig. Brit. ii. 549. f. 626) ; but part of his 

 remarks seems to have resulted from an inspection of ' English 

 Botany,' for they do not accord with the desci'iption that precedes 

 them. The lamented Dr. G. Johnston stated (Bot. of East. 

 Borders, 81), that he found E. alsinifolium in the Dunsdale 

 Ravine on the Great Cheviot ; and as he most liberally presented 

 his specimens to me, I am enabled to confirm his determination 

 of the plant, thus proving that that species really does inhabit 

 those hills. The specimens more nearly resemble those which I 

 gathered upon Cronkley Fell in Yorkshire than the plant usually 

 found in Scotland, and seem to be what Fries mentions under 

 the name of E. anceps as a variety of this species (Mant. ii. 20). 

 I am inclined to refer the specimen gathered and named E. al- 

 pinum by Dr. Douglas (see Bot. E. Bord. 82) to a small state of 

 E. alsinifolium, but its imperfect state renders this determina- 

 tion doubtful. 



In the valuable and recently published ' Supplement to the 

 Flora of Yorkshire' (p. 67), Mr. J. G. Baker notices a plant 

 which he found on the " south bank of the Swale near Topclifie," 

 and describes it as having " subsessile leaves narrowing gra- 

 dually below .... a bisulcate stem, erect buds and dark purple 

 flowers," and states his belief that it is probably the E. purpu- 

 reum of Fries. If his description is correct, and I have no 

 reason to think it otherwise, it seems highly probable that his 

 determination of its name is also right. Mr. Baker kindly pre- 

 sented me with specimens of it, but unfortunately they are only 

 lateral branches of what seems to have been a much-branched 

 plant ; they accord well with the descriptions given by Fries 



