436 Mr. C. C. Babington on British species of Plumbaginaceae. 



rib extending to the end, but it can scarcely be considered as ex- 

 current. 



I believe tbis to be a frequent inhabitant of salt marshes and 

 the sea- shore, perhaps more common in Britain than the A. ma- 

 ritima, which it very greatly resembles. My low-country speci- 

 mens (from Montrose and Dolgelly) have scapes of 5 or 6 inches 

 in length and leaves from 1 to 3 inches long. It is also fre- 

 quently found on mountain tops, and has been mistaken in Bri- 

 tain for A. alpina, which is a totally different plant. On moun- 

 tains the scapes are usually, but not always, considerably shorter 

 than in plants growing near to the sea, and the pedicels are 

 shorter than the calyx-tube, often not above half its length. In 

 other respects they correspond. I possess two curious specimens, 

 gathered upon the exposed summit of Croghan mountain in the 

 isle of Achil in Ireland, in which the leaves are hardly half an 

 inch long and the scapes do not exceed an inch in length. 



In addition to the above-mentioned specimens from Achil I 

 have the alpine plant before me from Caernarvonshire (Snowdon 

 and Glyder), Cumberland (Helvellyn), Yorkshire (Wensley Dale), 

 Aberdeenshire (Ben na Bourd), and Orkney. 



It may justly be doubted how far this plant has claims to be 

 considered as a distinct species from A. maritima. The peculiar 

 clothing of the calyx-tube in each seems to be the only tangible 

 point of difference between them. 



4. A. duriuscula ; foliis linearibus obtusiusculis uninerviis subtri- 

 quetris superne subcanaliculatis facie inferiori obtuse carinatis pilo- 

 sis, scapis pubescentibus, involucri phyllis dorse late herbaceis 

 exterioribus triangulari-ovatis acutis, reliquis latis obtusis et sca- 

 rioso-marginatis muticis, pedicello calycinura tubum subsequante. 



Leaves short, about half as long as the scape, folded in a 

 similar manner with those of A. puhigera, but more slender. 

 The outer involucral bracts are much narrower than the others, 

 and very similar to, but shorter than, those of A. pubescens. 

 The tube of the calyx is quite glabrous betw^een the prominent 

 hairy ribs, it is about as long as the limb, and has broad short 

 very acute lobes with the midrib scarcely extending to the end. 



I have been unable to identify this plant with any of the 

 species described by Boissier, and am therefore forced to consider 

 it as new. It greatly resembles A. pubigera, but its leaves are 

 not punctured on the upper surface, its involucral bracts are 

 broadly herbaceous on the back, its calyx-tube is not uniformly 

 pilose, its calyx-lobes are not awned, and its pedicel is longer. 

 To our other species it bears a very slight resemblance, and is at 

 once distinguished from them by its leaves. 



I am indebted for my specimens to my friend Mr. F. J. A. 



