SCIENCE- G OSSIP. 



FIELD BOTANY. 

 conducted by james saunders, a.l.s. 



Uromyces scillarum in Worcestershire. — 

 As a rule our blue-bells are remarkably free from 

 fungal disease, but this parasite I noticed in Wyre 

 Forest on June 8th, 1901, near to Lemp Brook. — 

 Carleton Rea, B.C.L., M.A.E., Worcester. 



Abnormal Plantago lanceolata. — On a 

 very large well-grown rib-wort plantain I counted 

 twenty-two abnormal heads of spikes like the 

 enclosed, and only nine of the usual type. The 

 six abnormal heads which I send have fourteen, 

 twelve, eight, seven, six, and five spikes of seed 

 respectively. — R. Ashington Sullen, F.L.S., F.Q.S., 

 Axeland Park, Horley, Surrey. 



Fruiting op Lesser Celandine. — In Science- 

 Gossip (ante, p. 29) Miss Armitage gave it as her 

 opinion that flowers of this species growing on a 

 moist, shady bank might produce ripe fruit. In 

 support of this idea Mr. B. H. Winslow tells me 

 that near Cuckfield, Sussex, early in this month he 

 found in a similar situation a plant freely bearing 

 ripened fruits. — John E. S. Dallas, 19 Ulverscroft 

 Road, East Bulnicli, S.E. 



Fritillaria meleagris. — The " snake's head " 

 is to be found in a water-meadow at Old Woking, 

 and also grows profusely at Swallowfield, in Berk- 

 shire, where I obtained several blossoms two years 

 ago. Can any reader of Science-Gossip explain 

 the origin of the cream-coloured variety which is 

 so often found growing with the type ? At Swallow- 

 field it is as plentiful as the typical purple flowers. 

 — W. Biddiscombe, Broadway, Wolting. 



Movement of Plasmodium. — Concerning Mr. 

 Edgar Saunders' remarks on the movement of the 

 Plasmodium of Badhamia, is it not a well-known 

 fact that the backward flow of the mass is not 

 equal to the forward ? Therefore the plasmodium 

 slowly but surely progresses in search of its food. 

 I understand Mr. Saunders to throw some doubt on 

 the reason of this backward and forward flow. — 

 W. Biddiscombe, Wolting. 



[Our best thanks are due to Mr. W. Biddiscombe 

 for his friendly remarks with reference to the 

 movements of the 'plasmodium of Badhamia. 

 When the motion is progressive, as in the search 

 for food, then the forward movement must neces- 

 sarily be stronger than the backward. Failing, 

 however, to satisfy its requirements in any given 

 direction, it will recede, and the reverse will hold 

 good. Frequently when plasmodium has been 

 under observation indoors, it has encysted itself ; 

 and in such a case the current is backward, or 

 almost entirely so, until the encystment is com- 

 plete. During the past winter several hours were 

 spent in timing the movements of several species 

 of plasmodia ; but the data obtained are not suffi- 

 cient to give a general rule that shall be applicable 

 to these phenomena. — Ed. Field Botany.] 



Destruction of Pare British Plants in 

 Kent. — Near Dover, at the foot of the Shrimper's 

 Steps, where coal is now being sought for, used to 

 be one of the most prolific localities for Orobanche 

 caryophyllacea Smith ; with it also grew hundreds 

 of 0. ametliystea Thuill, and Ophrys aranifera Huds. 

 On May 25th of this year not a single specimen 

 could be found of 0. amethystea : two specimens 

 only were seen of 0. caryophyllacea, and a few, 

 perhaps a dozen, of the Ophrys. Their destruction 

 is wholly clue to the coal-seeking. Between St. 

 Margaret's Bay and Kingsdown, on the undercliff, 

 0. caryophyllacea, O. amethystea, and 0. picridis 

 used to grow in plenty, along with countless speci- 

 mens of Ophrys aranifera : the three first are quite 

 gone ; the last still maintains its ground towards 

 Kingsdown. Here inroads of the sea are the cause 

 of their disappearance, the sea now washing the 

 base of the cliffs from St. Margaret's to the Rifle 

 Butts near Kingsdown. This leaves only one 

 locality elsewhere in Kent for 0. picridis. At 

 Kingsdown on the shingle we found a new locality 

 for Fcstuca ambigua Le Gall, where it occurred 

 sparingly. Ophrys aranifera, however, occurs in 

 plenty all along the cliffs from Folkestone to 

 Walmer, in some places in great abundance, and 

 with it Silene nutans Sm., Brassica oleracea L., 

 Orchis ustulata, etc. — Arthur Bennett, F.L.S. 



Viola odorata x hirta. — To anyone who has 

 paid particular attention to violets there can be no 

 doubt that hybrids between the different species 

 are of fairly frequent occurrence. On the chalk 

 formation of Kent and Surrey it is my experience 

 that the hybrid between the sweet and hairy 

 violets is decidedly frequent. V. permixta and 

 V. sepincola, according to the views of specialists, 

 represent hybrid forms showing greater affinity in 

 the one case to V. hirta, and in the other to 

 F! odorata. It is in accordance with what is 

 known regarding hybridity that there should be 

 this diversity in the offspring between these two 

 species. Such a character as the colour of the 

 flowers is of no importance ; and in the sweet and 

 hairy violets the colour of the flowers is not a fixed 

 character. V. odorata x hirta, apparently repre- 

 senting V. sepincola, has been met with in the 

 West of England bearing white flowers. In some 

 localities the hybrid has flowers which may be 

 faintly scented, pale blue with white centres ; and 

 as the sweet violet with which it grows is the form 

 alba, we may perhaps ascribe the pallor of the 

 flowers to the influence of this latter. It is not 

 antagonistic to this view that elsewhere V. odo- 

 rata x hirta bears dark-coloured flowers, and is 

 associated with V. odorata forma alba. The great 

 mark of a hybrid origin exhibited by these inter- 

 mediate forms of violet is their inability to produce 

 seed, even by means of the apetalous flowers. At 

 this time of the year V. hirta is producing abun- 

 dance of mature capsules crowded with seeds, and 

 V. odorata, propagating itself by runners, is bearing' 

 seed in a less degree. If some, though very few, 

 apetalous flowers of V. odorata x hirta do produce 

 fruit, the pods fail to reach the size of those of the 

 parent species, and contain very few (1-3) seeds. 

 Other characters tending to confirm the view of the 

 hybrid origin are afforded by the leaves, which in 

 outline combine the shapes of those of V. odorata 

 and V. hirta, and by the fact that the plants, 

 whilst perhaps forming large patches, occupy such 

 circumscribed areas. — C. E. Britton, 35 Bugdale 

 Street, Cambemell, S.E., June 1901. 



