154 Miscellaneous. 



distinctness. Concerning the latter. Fries himself, when writing about 



S. ciliata, says, " cilia foliorum plus minus distincta, sajpe decidua :" 

 he ako says, "capsula . . . matura nutans," but his own specimens 

 show that this is too strong an expression ; for although nodding 

 whilst the fruit ripens, they become erect at the time of maturity 

 when the capsule opens and the seeds are shed. S. patula (Jordan), 

 Obs. sur PI. Nouv. de la France, i. t. 3, is very similar to our plant, 

 but differs by having numerous gland-tipped hairs on its sepals and 

 the upper part of the peduncle. To it probably belongs the S. ciliata 

 of lleichenbach, both of his ' Fl. Excurs.' and ' Icones Plant.' v. 

 tab. 200. f. 4956, and S. depressa, f. 4957, unless the protruded cap- 

 sule of the former should be considered as distinguishing it. Neither 

 of them can be the S. ciliata of Fries, since they are both figured and 

 described as having glandular-pilose peduncles and calyx. The fol- 

 lowing seems to be the distinctive character of our jilant : — 



S. ciliata (Fries !) ; stem elongated, branches diffuse or ascending, 

 leaves linear awned, outer sepals acute longer than the petals and 

 shorter than the capsule, apex of the peduncles reflexed after flower- 

 ing ultimately erect. — Sven. Bot. t. 562, not Reich. — Glabrous ; 

 central stem elongated and fertile. Leaves with or without cilia at 

 their base, tipped with a long bristle. Calyx of mature fruit ad- 

 pi'essed to the capsule. Tubtrcles on the seeds blunt. — The figure 

 quoted above from the ' Sven. Bot.' is far from good. It represents 

 all the sepals as gradually narrowed into a long acute point. Not 

 so the specimens published under Fries's own superintendence 

 (Herb. Norm. Suec. i. 42), which resemble ours in this respect, 

 having two shortly acute sepals and two only pointed or cuspidate 

 ones.— C. C. B. 



CAREX BRIZOIDES (lINN.). 



I am indebted to Mr. William Stevens of the Drumlanrig gardens 

 for specimens of this addition to the flora of Britain, which was dis- 

 covered in July 1 844 by Mr. W. Maclvor in Studley Wood, York- 

 shire. Its specific character may be stated as follows : — C. brizoides 

 (L.); spikelets several all simple contiguous sterile at their base 

 alternate in a simple spike, stigmas 2, fruit lanceolate plano-con- 

 vex bifid at the end serrated from near the base, nut (elliptical 

 beaked and stalked?), glumes rather shorter than the fruit, root 

 creeping, bracts short or none. — Reich. Icon. FL Germ. viii. tab. 207. 

 fig. 548 ; Hoppe Car. Germ, in Sturm Deutschl. Fl. tab. a. 23. — Stem 

 a foot high. Glumes acute, silvery brown. Leaves long, slender, 

 equalling or overtopping the spikes. Rhizoma creeping extensively. 

 — C. C.i3. 



Some Contributions to the Natural History of the Rafflesia Patma. 

 By M. Zollinger, M. Bat. Soc. &c. 



This flower, which still continues a problem in botany and a rarity 

 in the collections of botanists, appears not to be so scarce as has 

 hitherto been believed. I know that it occurs on the south coast of 

 Java on the hills near the boundaries of the Residencies of Passaruwan 



