1858.] THIRSK NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 653 



Note. — It may be necessary to remark that the word root, 

 like ivyrt, means occasionally at least the whole plant. It is not 

 exclusively confined to the root as we call it. 



THIESK NATUKAL HISTOET SOCIETY. 

 Botanical Exchange Club. 



The monthly meeting of the Thirsk Natural History Society 

 was held on the evening of Wednesday^ the 3rd of November. 

 In connection with the Botanical Exchange Club, Mr. J. G. Baker 

 announced the receipt of packages from Miss Burtoii, Messrs. 

 Carrington, Hobkirk, Ibbotson, Hichardson, Syme, and Watson, 

 and laid before the meeting the following notices : — 



"Sarnian Centaurece. — Through the courtesy of Messrs. Piquet 

 of St. Helier's, and Fisher of Liverpool, we are indebted for ex- 

 amples of tbree species of this division of Composite, which are 

 not acknowledged as British, all gathered by the former gentle- 

 man on the sandy shores of St. Ouen's Bay, in Jersey, a locality 

 often mentioned in botanical registers as a station for species 

 noteworthy as rarities. They are (unless I am in error as to 

 their identification) Microlonchus Clusii of Gay {M. salmanticus, 

 DC, Centaurea, Linn.), Centaurea paniculata of Linnaeus, and 

 C. leucophaa of Jordan. 



" The genus Microlonchus is very nearly allied to Centaurea, 

 from which the best mark by which to distinguish it is in the 

 pappus, which is double, and has the inner row of hairs com- 

 bined into a broad, unilateral pale or scale. The plant under 

 notice has an erect stem, 3 to 4 feet in height, with numerous 

 spreading branches; spinuloso- dentate, rigid leaves, the lowest 

 runcinate-pinnatifid, the upper linear; solitary heads, | to | of 

 an inch in diameter; broad, coriaceous phyllaries, Avith short, 

 spine-tipped appendages, and bright-purple, radiant, and discoid 

 florets. 



" The two Centaurea both belong to the section Acrolophus of 

 De CandoUe, which is characterized by ^phyllaries furnished 

 with imbricated, ciliated, spine-tipped, triangular, decurrent, sca- 

 riose appendages, and seeds all furnished with a pappus ; the 

 umbilicus not bearded, in shape roundish or oval.^ C. panicu- 



