Arenaria gothica. 9 



p. 259, it is identified with Arenaria fngax, Gay, and re- 

 duced by them to a variety of Arenaria ciliata ; in Ch.-H. 

 Godet's "Flore du Jura" (1852), Vol. L, p. 104, it is given 

 as Arenaria ciliata, L. ; and Ch. Grenier, in his " Flore de la 

 Chaine Jurassique" (1865), Vol. I., p. 122, makes the fol- 

 lowing remarks : — " La plante des bords du lac de Joux me 

 semble tres voisine de YA. gothica, Fries, si ce n'est pas elle. 

 Mais il est difficile, dans des especes aussi voisines, de 

 trancher semblable question sur quelques exemplaires 

 desseches." 



At the meeting of the British Association, held last 

 month at Newcastle, where Mr. Baker exhibited these par- 

 ticular specimens of Arenaria gothica, he pointed out the 

 close relationships of A. ciliata, L., A. norvegica, Gunn., A. 

 multicaulis, L., and A. gothica, Fries, and he regarded all 

 these as belonging to one superspecies which had undergone 

 modification, and which were connected with each other by 

 intermediate forms. The Lac de Joux plant referred to 

 above is probably one of such intermediates, but I do not 

 possess specimens. 



Nyman, in his "Conspectus Florae Europaeae " (1878J 

 part I., pp. 1 14- 1 15, arranges A. gothica in an annual or 

 biennial group, while the other species named' above come 

 under a perennial group. The Ribblehead specimens now 

 before the members are annual, not perennial ; and most of 

 their other characters range under gothica rather than 

 norvegica. 



In the British Islands we have some representatives of 

 the perennial group, as Arenaria ciliata, L., has long been 

 known to occur in county Sligo, on Ben Bulben and King's 

 Mountain, specimens from which localities are now exhibited ; 

 and Arenaria norvegica, Gunner, in the Shetland Islands, 

 whence came the plants now shown, viz., from serpentine 

 rocks in Balta Sound on the eastern side of the island of 

 Unst, collected by the Rev. Dr. A. M. Norman (June, 1883), 



