1857.] BOTANICAL NOTES, NOTICES, AND QUERIES. 71 



BOTANICAL NOTES, NOTICES, AND QUERIES. 



Sir, — The enclosed Hypericum was gathered near to Ince-BkmdeU, 

 near Liverpool, on the 4th of August, 1853. It was gTowing in consi- 

 derable quantities under Ince-BlundeU Park-waU, and was a large, bushy 

 shrub, upwards of two feet in height. George Hunt. 



Sandsworth, near Birmingham. 



The Hypericum for which we are indebted to oiu* correspondent was 

 duly received, and some notice of it will be forthcoming. 



ASPLENIUM ANCEPS. 



Having read in the ' Phytologist ' the announcement of Mr. Andi'ews' 

 interesting discovery of Aspleniuni anceps at KiUarney, I was led to re- 

 examine a very luxui'iant form of Asplenium TricJiomanes, which I gathered 

 last summer, on the wall of an old bridge, in a most sheltered spot, near 

 Galway. The rachis was veiy long, and I remarked at the time the un- 

 usual size of the fronds. Mr. Pamplin, of Frith Street, sent me some 

 exotic Ferns lately ; one of them is marked " Asplenium anceps, Lowe — 

 Coll. Bourgeau, 1855." The fronds of my Fern are much larger than 

 those of the plant from the Canary Islands. C. A. C. 



Ballinasloe, February 7. 



Sir, — Were any additional observations required to confirm those of 

 Mr. Stowell, on the natural habitat of Saxifraga Tridactylites, I can state 

 that the plant grows very abundantly in this vicinity, both on St. Vin- 

 cent's Eocks and those of Durdham Down ; I have also gathered it fre- 

 qiiently in Cardiganshire, on rocky ground, never there on walls or artifi- 

 ■ cial erections. M. M. Atwood. 



Clifton, February 4, 1857. 



Pyrus domestica. 



In the 'Phytologist' for 1856, p. 300, Mr. Doiaglas appears to decide 

 the question which might be raised about the nativity of the Pyrus do- 

 mestica, Sm., on the authority of Parkinson, who, in his ' Theatre of 

 Plants,' says, that this rare tree was introduced into the land by John 

 Tradescant. This is no doubt true. But does Mr. Douglas mean that 

 the old Service-tree of Wyre Forest was either introduced by Tradescant, 

 or that it is a descendant from one of his introduced trees ? The Sorb- 

 tree of Wyre Forest appears to be of greater antiquity than the times of 

 Elizabeth and Charles I., when Tradescant lived. Beta. 



Names of Plants, Derivation of. 



LiGUSTRUM, the name of a ilexible, slender shrub, the pliant twigs of 

 which may have been used as bands, ligatures, and such-hke. The term 

 is probably from ligo, I bind. The classical proverb, "Alba ligustra cadunt, 

 .nigra vacciniu leguntur^'' or "the white flowers of this shrub di'op off, but 

 the black berries of this or some similar shrub are collected and preserved 

 for use," is derived from this plant. Heywood, the famous English 

 epigrammatist, in the reigns of Heniy VIII. , Edward VI., and Mary, 

 rendered this proverb rather quaintly and not inelegantly, in the following 

 words : — 



