386 WILSON EXPEDITION TO CHINA 



As far as I can judge by the specimens before me they seem to belong to what I 

 have called L. chinense, var. typicum Schneider (III. Handb. Laubholzk. II. 611 

 [1911]). There is also a var. ovatum Schneider, 1. c, the synonymy of which may be 

 stated as follows: fJasrninoides rhombifolium Moench, Meth. 470 (1794). — Lydum 

 ovatum Poiret in Nouv. Duhamel, I. 117 (1801?). — Lydum barbarum Watson, 

 Dendr. Brit. I. 9, t. 9 (non Linnaeus) (1825). — Lydum megistocarpum, var. ovatum 

 Dunal in De Candolle, Prodr. XIII. 510 (1852). — Lydum. rhombifolium Dippel in 

 Dosch & Scriba, Excursionsfl. Grossh. Hess., ed. 3, 218 (1888) ; Handb. Laubholzk. 

 I. 24, fig. 10 (1889). Of this variety the leaves are more rhombic, broader and 

 larger, and the fruits are somewhat larger and very obtuse at the apex. 



L. chinense is closely related to L. halimifolium Miller (L. vulgare Dunal), 

 which may be distinguished by the somewhat narrower, longer and therefore more 

 distinct tube of the corolla, the lobes of which usually are a little shorter than those 

 of L. chinense. The leaves of this species are brighter green and fall later in the 

 autumn. L. halimifolium is often said to be a native of China, but as far as I know 

 it is entirely absent from central and eastern Asia. Its native coimtry seems to be 

 the Mediterranean region (Spain) and probably also Hungary. 



