1858.] EPILOBIUM LIGULATUM. 367 



ser. 2, ii. 18). In the first place, I have to remark that the pro- 

 posed uame is unfortunate ; for the leaves, from whose shape the 

 name is derived, are certainly not ligulate : those of E. tetrago- 

 num are ligulate ; and therefore, in addition to heing unfortunate, 

 it is also inconvenient. 



The history of the plant seems to be correctly given by Mr. 

 Baker, with the exception that he has not noticed (and probably 

 had not seen) my observations concerning it, which will be found 

 in the ' Annals of Natural History' (ser. 2, xvii. 245) ; nor has 

 any acquaintance with the remarks upon the same or similar 

 plants contained in the writings of foreign botanists. 



I am inclined to think that there is more than one plant in- 

 cluded under the name of E. ligulatum by Mr. Baker ; for those 

 individuals cultivated at Cambridge, from roots sent to me by Mr. 

 Borrer (and Avhich he received originally from Mr. Baker), differ 

 from the description given in the ' Phytologist ' in the following 

 manner. The lower part of the stem is terete, with very faint 

 traces of two decurrent lines : the base of the stem -leaves is much 

 like the same part in E. obscurum : the flower-buds are erect ; 

 except that the whole top of the plant inclines when of advanced 

 growth, presenting nothing of the peculiar nodding state seen in 

 the top-with-unopened-buds of E. palustre : the seeds are not 

 oblong-fusiform ; for, although twice as large as those of E. ob- 

 scurum, they widen gradually from their base to their top, which 

 is abruptly rounded and shows (in perfect seeds) no trace of the 

 prolongation of the testa which is seen in E. pahistre ; it is only 

 when the seeds are abortive that the testa is slightly prolonged. 

 This plant has a very curious hybernaculum, consisting of a num- 

 ber of small shining, oblong, and nearly sessile leaves closely 

 packed together and imbricate. It retains this form even when 

 vegetation is commencing, in the month of April. At that sea- 

 son the little oblong bulb-like hybernaculum of E. imlustre has 

 lengthened into a compact mass of fleshy scales, from the end of 

 which the new stem springs ; and E. obscurum has a rather loose 

 rosette of large oblong stalked leaves. As remarked in the 

 'Annals' (I.e.), I thiiik^ that this form o^"^. ligulatum" is the : Cjr^fM-A 

 E. obscuro-palustre of F. Schultz ('Archives de Flore,' 46) and 

 the E. Schmidtianum (Bostkov) which is considered as a variety 

 of Erpalustre by Koch. It is very like the E. parvifloro-jjalustre 

 (Hampe) of Reichenbach (Fl. Exsic. no. 2254), but has not 



