CoLGAN — Tropical Drift Seeds on Irish Atlantic Coasts. 51 



tlie seeds being made into necklaces and bi-acelets in llie East. T'.y nmdein 

 systenialisLs Uie genus Cluilamliiia lias been niergc<l in (Jaesaljiinia, under 

 which name the sjiecies are now l'r('i|uently spoken of. Dr. Gu)Ji)y has shown 

 that tlie buoyancy of the seod.s is due to an internal cavity, usually 

 intercotyledonary, as in Entada and Mucuna. The earliest plate of the seed 

 which I can find is given at page 1859 of Dalechamp's " Historia Plantarum," 

 1586, where it is entered under the heading Variifrudus 2Jeregrina Glusii, and 

 incorrectly named Nu.\ Faufel, this name being ])roperly applicable to the 

 Areca nut, the fruit of what Gerard calls the "Drunken Date Tree." The seed 

 figured is said to have been obtained by Clusius from John Eizzio, apothecary 

 to Queen Elizabeth, while Clusius was on a visit to London in 1581, and is 

 described as being smaller than a sparrow's egg, almost round, of stony 

 hardness, and looking as if ic had been turned in a lathe (lunquam torno 

 elaboratus). The description is most accurate, for the stony test is encircled 

 by faint parallel ridges suggesting the use of a lathe tool. In all but colour 

 the seeds of both species are similar, those of G. Bondiic being yellow, those 

 of G. Bonducella grey or leaden-coloured. The plants, however, are distinguish- 

 able by the size of the leaflets and by the presence or absence of foliaceous 

 stipules. Wiiile G. Bonducella is widespread as a drift seed on the shores of 

 western Europe, there are but two records of G. Boiiduc, one for the Irish 

 coast by Eobert Brown in 1818, the other by Pennant for the Hebrides 



in 1774. 



Dioclea reflexa Hook. f. 



The seed of this leguminous tree-climber, which is widespread in the- 

 tropics of both hemispheres, appears to be of quite rare occurrence in the 

 drift of the European coasts, tiiough it is a common ingredient in the drift 

 of the West Indian Islands. Dr. Guppy suggests that the infrequency 

 of records for the European shores may be due to a failure to distinguish the 

 seeds from those of Mucuna. He accepts but two records, one for tlie 

 Orkneys, the other for the Shetlands ; and in Ireland it is known only from a 

 single station on the west Donegal coast, where, as already mentioned, it was 

 found by Miss Delap along with Entada, Mucuna, Guilandina, and Ipomoea. 

 The earliest figure and description of this seed which I can find are in 

 J. Bauhin's " Historia Plantarum Universalis Nova," 1651, at page 273 of 

 the second volume. The figure is good, showing the squarish outline of the 

 seed; and in all points save the colour of the liihuu the description which 

 follows agrees closely enough with Miss Delap's specimen : — Phaseolus 

 Brasiliunus toius nif/cr splcndens. Corticc obtectus est duro atquc sjjlendciitc . . . 

 Hilns ciinm tolus niger, trcs fructus partes ambit qjsoque J'ructu clalior est, 

 Uotwidus esset, nisiioars sessilis rotunditatem cavcret. In Miss Delap's specimen 



