Si REPOKT — 18G7. 



ascending and descending growtlis of the stem and root of a plant are exaetly 

 iinitatod\y these formations, inllueuced by some force which is neither that of 

 gravitatioii nor the molecular attraction of crj'stallization. The growth of these 

 formations is likewise interstitial, like that of au organized living tissue ; otherwise 

 how can the conical tubular extremities be carried forwards as the branches elon- 

 gate ? or how can these tubular branches unite and again separate, the continuity 

 of the tubes remaining unbroken ? These curious formations present another ex- 

 ample of tlie approximation of dead matter to living organizations in the modes in 

 ■which they increase, and in the forms which they assume ; and they seem to increase 

 the difficulty of defining even between the primary division of organized living 

 beings and inorganic substances. If these forms, or an exact photographic tran- 

 script of them, were ottered to au observer previously uninformed of their true 

 nature and origin, they woidd in all probability be pronounced to be vegetable. Or 

 supposing such purely' mineral substances to have been formed in bygone geological 

 eras, and to ha\e been accidentally fossilized in some primary or other ancient rock, 

 they would very probably, when discovered by recent in\-estigation, be pronounced 

 to be an evidence of organized beings having existed contemporaneously with the 

 formation of such rock. 



On tlie occnn-ence of Aster salignus ( Willd.) in Wiclcen Fen, Cumhridgeshire. 



By W. P. HiERxV, M.A. 



The above plant was found on the Soth of August 18G7, growing in company witli 

 Cladiiim Mariscus, Thalidriim flavum, Pt-ucedanum jxdi'sfre, Carduus prafcttsig, 

 Af/rostis caiiiiui, Lastrea Thchjpteris, and several salices. On the same fen, about two 

 months previously, the author also found the very rare orchid Sturniiti Lcvsclii (II. ). 



The soil of Wicken Fen consists of a thickness of eight feet or more of peat over- 

 lying a basin of gault. The peat arises from the decay of ^•arious aquatic plants, 

 and carbonate of lime is stored in the ditches by the Charas that grow in tlieni. 

 Attention was drawn to the habit of the specimens which accompanied this paper, 

 for they have the appearance of wild plants. The spot where the Aster grows is in 

 the midst of sedge, and no house is near it. A living .specimen has been placed 

 under the care of the curator of the Cambridge Botanical Garden. The following is 

 the name, with references, and the description of the plants :— 



Aster scdi(/mis (Willdeuow), Species Plantarum, torn. iii. pars iii. p. 2040. n. GG; 

 Nees, Gen. et Sp. Asterearum, p. 90. n. CO ; Gren. and Godr. Fl. de France, vol. ii. 

 p. 102 ; DC. Fl. Fr. vol. v. p. 470 ; Kchb. Flor. Germ, et Ilelvet. vol. xvi. p. 7 ; 

 vol. xvii. pi. cmviii. lig. 1 ; Fl. Dan. vol. xiv. pi. 2475. 



Rhizome perennial, creeping. Stem 1-1 1 ft. high, solid, herbaceous, leafy, 

 smooth, nearly glabrous, purplish towards the base, erect, simple below, branched 

 above, racemosely panicled ; branches live-ranked, corymbose. Leaves sessile, lan- 

 ceolate, half clasping, not fleshy, bright, scabrous on margins, serrate in the middle, 

 1-veined ; lower leaves attenuate at base, those of the branches linear, entire. Phyl- 

 laries loose, linear, nearly equal, outer ones not reflexed. Iteceptacle slightly con- 

 vex, alveolate. Florets of the ray ligulato fertile, pale lilac. Florets of the disk 

 yellow tubular. l*appus liliform, dirty white. Fruit compressed, pubescent with 

 iongitiulinal ribs. 



Habitat. Wicken Fen, Cambridgeshire. Flowers in August. 



Willdenow's definition of the species is as follows : — 



"A. foliis lineari-lanceolatis sessilibus integerrimis margine scabris, inferioribus 

 lanceolatis apice serratis, caule paniculato glabro erecto, calycibus laxis imbri- 

 catis.— W. 



" Habitat in Germania ad ripas Albis, etin Himgaria. V- (v. s.). 



'• Corolla radiis albis, demum cserulescens." 



The species saliijnus of the genus Aster belongs to the section Genuini, which con- 

 tains, according to Xees (.\.d. 18-3.3), 09 species, and of these none but this species 

 and perhaps another {A. riparius, N. ab E.) are natives of Europe ; 65 of them belong 

 to the middle regions of North America, and 2 to tropical America. 



The present species is a native of Germany, Denmark, and Ikmgary (?), where 

 it grows in maraliy places by tlie banlcs of risers. It may be considered either as 



