Prof. C. C. Babington on the British Species 0/ Arctium. 3 



prominent j and the upper side cannot be called furrowed, for 

 it is not more excavated than the other spaces (if so much), and 

 there is a faint ridge in its middle. The petiole has a rather 

 small oval tube running through it. The proportions of the 

 leaf are 8 in length by 7 in breadth, exclusive of the basal lobes, 

 which project downwards considerably. It is not very wavy at 

 the margin, which is fringed with rather distant minute teeth. 

 It is flat in its general position, nearly naked above, covered with 

 fine cobweb-like down beneath. 



The true A, tomentosum is a rare plant in France and Belgium. 

 Fries marks it as universally distributed in Denmark, Gothland, 

 Norway, and Sweden. 



Reichenbach^s plate is inconclusive. Indeed all his figures 

 intended to illustrate the species of this difficult genus are far 

 from being satisfactory. They represent only pieces of the 

 plants, and do not give any good details of the flowers. His 

 plate ofL. tomentosa does not enable us to decide upon the iden- 

 tity or otherwise of his plant and that of Lamarck, Willdenow, 

 and Crepin. 



The radical leaf of a specimen of L. tomentosa received from 

 Mr. J. Lange, of Copenhagen, is 10 inches long, without the 

 basal lobes, which extend about 2 inches downwards; the 

 broadest part of the leaf is at the insertion of the petiole, where 

 it is 8 inches wide ; it narrows gradually upwards, but is blunt 

 at the end. Apparently it is not very, if at all, wavy at the edge; 

 nor is it either lobed or crenate, but is fringed with rather distant, 

 small, sharp, rigid apiculi. 



As far as I have been able to learn, we cannot claim this 

 plant as a native of Britain ; and it becomes necessary to try 

 and determine the real denomination of the plant which I have 

 hitherto called by that name. 



Before entering upon this question, it may be well to state 

 the reasons which caused me to believe that A. tomentosum was 

 a native of this country. 



Sir J. E. Smith pubUshed (Eng. Bot. t. 2478) a plate and 

 description of a plant, obtained from near Beccles, with the 

 name oi Arctium Bardana (Willd.), which is a synonym of the 

 older name. Lappa tomentosa (Lam.). As far as I could judge, he 

 was correct in his nomenclature, except that he had overlooked 

 the older name. I therefore drew up, from specimens of what 

 seemed to be the plant of ' English Botany,' the description of 

 my A, tomentosum, being confirmed in my belief of being correct 

 by finding that that plate was constantly quoted without doubt 

 as a representation of the plant of Lamarck and Willdenow. 

 No person seems to have suspected that it was not exactly a 

 figure of any real species ; but we now learn from the original 



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