•392 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



any of the descriptions of L. acstivum ; and as they were very pronounced on 

 all our Irish specimens, we were at first inclined to think that perhaps oxxr 

 plant might he a variety. However, we foimd the same character in fresh 

 specimens of L. acstivum both from the Continent and from England ; and a 

 reference to it, pointed out to us by Dr. Stapf, will be found in R. A. 

 Salisbury's " Paradisus Londinensis " (1S06-7), tab. 74, where in describing 

 L.pidch(Uuin Salisbury- says — "Peduncle . . . very entii-e at the edges, not 

 glaucous and crenulated as iu L. aestivum." Of these crenulations Dr. Stapf 

 further says— "Mr. Boodle has pointed out to me that the translucent white 

 edge to the scape of L. aesti\'um is due to the epidermis running out beyond 

 the greeu jxirenchyma, whilst in L. pulchellum this is not the case." 



In L. ncstivum the spathe is broader, and the style is longer and stouter, 

 more clavate, and the colour of the spot is paler (greenish-yellow) than in 

 L. pidch*Uum. There are other differences between the two species. For 

 instance, the angles of the young fruit iu L. acstirum are more obscure and 

 obtuse than in those of L. jutJch^-llum. But the two chief characters to be 

 relied on in distinguishing the plants are those of the scape and the style. 

 When seen growing side by side^ the difference between the two species is 

 quite apparent. L.pitlrh'lli>m l»eing smaller in all its parts, its leaves narrower- 

 of a brighter green, and more glossy. Its scapes are more slender, and bear 

 only three or very rarely four flowers, which are much smaller, and are usually 

 prtxluced throe or four weeks earlier than those of Z. acstivum. 



We found L. J ' ' " i moro frequently grown in Irish gardens than 

 L. iifgliri'iii ; yet L. j 'i has not been found in wild situations in Ireland. 



Dunn, in his "Alien Flora of Britain," saj-s of Z. ptdchcUum — "Grown in 

 Euglish gardens, and occasionally obser\ed as an escape " ; but he mentions 

 no 1*» ' ■ ' 'vcs no references, and we have been unable to find records 



of any ion, or to see or hear of any hcrl>arium specimens from 



wild situations. The Keeper of the Kew Herbarium, to whom we wrote on 

 the subject, says : " Sorting our material, I find we have only a few specimens 

 of L. pulthellum, a: ' *' are all from gardena" 



Having now i ; the jdant's habiut and distribution in Europe 



and England, let us turn to Ireland. 



As already stated, L^ncojum aestimm was first recorded for this country 

 by ihc Kev. E. S. Mar?h.ill. who early in June. 1897, foimd it in a swamp 

 by the river Slaney, near Macmine Junction, Co. Wexford. Mr. Mai-shall 

 counted 60-80 fine specimens in flower or fruit, and saw nothing in the 

 surroundings to make him doubt its being indigenous. 



On the 2i;»th May. 1009, we visited this locality, and foimd the plant 

 plentiful a? descriK>e<i l>y Mr. Marshall, and the habitat quite t}-pical (ns shown 



