Mr. C. C. Babington on the British Rubi. 37 



lifolius; bracts trifid, broad. Sepals ovate or lanceolate, atte- 

 nuated into a rather long linear point, woolly on both sides, ashy 

 within, greenish externally ; reflexed from the fruit but their 

 points turned upwards, at that time tinged with red at the base 

 within. Petals broadly elliptical, clawed, pink. Styles flesh- 

 coloured. Primordial fruit hardly more than hemispherical; 

 torus quite sessile, the lowest drupe adpressed to the base of the 

 calyx. 



Common in the valley of Llanberis, Caernarvonshire. 



Obs. 1. The position of this plant appears to be almost exactly 

 intermediate between R. corylifolius and R. cordifolius, but, as it 

 seems to me, is quite distinct from either of them. In look it 

 greatly resembles the former, but in character is far more nearly 

 allied to the latter. The almost terete stem, slender bulbous- 

 based prickles, rugose leaves with flat or decurved edges, fur- 

 rowed petioles, oblong primordial fruit remarkable for its stalked 

 torus, and the greenish styles, distinguish R. corylifolius. The 

 flat edges of the leaves, furrowed petioles, panicle with rather 

 numerous setae, oblong primordial fruit and pale green styles, 

 are the chief distinctions of R. cordifolius. 



Obs. 2. It is probable that some of the plants referred to in 

 Obs. 3, under R. corylifolius in my i Synopsis of Rubi/ belong 

 to the present species, but the great difficulty of determining se- 

 veral of the characters from the dried and pressed plant prevents 

 me from noticing them any further in this place. I strongly 

 suspect that some of the bushes named R. rhamnifolius (second 

 form) by Mr. Leighton will prove to be R. incurvatus : indeed 

 it can scarcely be doubted that a specimen from " the Flash 

 near Shrewsbury " so named by him and marked as " R. rham- 

 nifolius forme ordinaire " by Esenbeck, is R. incurvatus, although 

 it has the pale reddish purple stem of R. corylifolius ft (Leight.). 

 A plant gathered at " Lyth Hill near Shrewsbury " by Mr. Boden- 

 ham, and named R. leucostachys by Mr. Lees, to whom I am in- 

 debted for it, seems also to be R. incurvatus. 



Obs. 3. It is not without much hesitation that I now describe 

 a supposed new species of Rubi, as I cannot but suspect that it 

 is already named and described by some of the botanists who 

 have published upon this genus. After a careful study of the de- 

 scriptions of Rubi contained in British, and more especially con- 

 tinental works, I have been quite unable to detect this plant, and 

 am therefore reduced to the necessity of imposing a new name 

 upon it. Had there been only two or three bushes of it, I should 

 have passed it over as an anomalous form of one or other of its 

 allies ; but when I find it occupying by its number a prominent 

 place amongst the brambles in the valley of Llanberis, through- 

 out a distance of five or six miles, I am led to the conclusion 



