164 BULLETIN DE l'hERBIER BOISSIER. (3) 



nor bulged below. In this case too, Lhe characler is one that isby no means 

 confined to the Leonticoides-Cryptoceras groiip, Jn any case il seems 

 hardiy worth while to provide Ihis group wilh a dislinctive name,for it is 

 liardly possible lo say that it should be separated from the species with 

 a sohd tuber and a solitary terminal raceme that have no leaf-scale but 

 have the stem-leaves alternate. Not only do we find the leaves at times 

 subopposite only in C. rutaefolia, which is a meniber of this group ; we 

 (ind occasionally thal the leaves are opposite in species hke C. parnassica, 

 which normally have alternate leaves. 



With these preliminary remarks I shall now endeavour lo indicale 

 characters that may render possible the identification of the leading 

 forms included in the group, but it should be understood that the review 

 now offered does not profess to be in any way final. I have had no oppor- 

 tunily of examining the actual spécimens on which Schott and Kotschy 

 have based no fewer than four species that M. Boissier has feit justified in 

 tréaling as forms of the same plant; my chief object in presenting this 

 partial indication of the difficulties connected with the diagnosis of these 

 forms is to induce other workers, more favourably siluated thanmyself as 

 regards access to authentic material, to undertake an authoritative 

 revision of this interesting group. It may be mentioned moreover that 

 this partial revision is merely lhe bye-product of an enquiry inlo the 

 characters, relationships and identity of Corydalis persica, a species that 

 had hilherto been incompletely understood. Thanks lo much kindness on 

 the part of the late D'" Batalin of St. Petersburg, M. Barbey and M. Autran 

 of Geneva, and D'' Urban of Berlin who have placed material preserved 

 in the St. Petersburg, lhe Boissier, and the Berlin Herbaria respectively 

 at my disposai and have helped me with advice, the difficulties regard- 

 ing C. persica have been, in my opinion, completely removed. I would 

 here wish to express my very grateful acknowledgments for the assis- 

 tance so generously given. 



To render this accounl of lhe forms dealt wilh more intelligible, I have 

 added drawings of the flower and bract of each ; these drawings have 

 been made as accuralely as possible to one scale (X 2) in order that no 

 confusion of ideas may be induced when comparing one with another. 



