CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CORNISH FLORA. 121 



offered by the Director- Greneral of Kew Gardens, the Director 

 of the Natural History Department of the British Museum, the 

 Council of you;r own Institution, Mr. W. H. K. Wright, of 

 Plymouth Free Library, Mr. J. D. Enys, and Mr. A. 0. Hume, 

 phytological literature, commencing" with Grerard's Serhal, 

 published in 1633, and works relating to Cornwall, from Carew's 

 Survey (1602), have been searched for earliest mention of Cornish 

 plants. In this way not only has the distribution of each plant 

 been traced, but its age as a Cornish subject has been fixed as 

 far as published records will serve. The result will presently 

 appear in the form of a volume to be printed for the use of my 

 co-workers, and for distribution among the several botanical 

 societies. 



In one respect this searching of the older literature has 

 brought a pang of sorrow. Although it has furnished many 

 new localities for some of the rarer plants — or at least localities 

 which had been over-looked by modern writers — and has made 

 it clear that for nearly two centuries the Cornish flora in its 

 entirety has been to the botanist what the North Pole has been 

 to the explorer, it has also revealed the fact that pari passu with 

 the discovery of new plants several important species have 

 become extinct. It is pleasing to note, however, and is excellent 

 testimony to the conscience of the average botanist, that in one 

 case only has extinction resulted from ruthless collecting. 



Plants New to Cornwall. 

 The first thing to strike the attention in the subjoined list of 

 thirty-five plants now for the first time recorded for Cornwall is 

 the number of additions to the almost unicxue flora of ihe Lizard 

 peninsula. Notwithstanding all that was done in that district by 

 an unbroken galaxy of botanists from the early j^ears of the 

 last century down to the well-directed efforts of Messrs. J. 

 Cunnack, J. G. Baker, and J. Palfs, thirteen new species must 

 now be added. What is perhaps more noteworthy stiU is that 

 the major part apj^ear not to be waifs or strays from cultivation 

 but true natives of the soil. Of a certainty this is the case with 

 Thalictrum majus, Ranunculus heterophyllus, Rumex maritimus, 

 Juniperus nana, Potamogetonheterophyllus, P.pr<dongus^P.filifor)nis^ 

 Zannichelha polycarpa, and Carex Bcenninghausiana. 



