829 



SOUTH DERBYSHIRE PLANTS. 



By the Rev. W. R. Linton, M.A. 



The district in which the following observations have been made 

 lies west of Ashbourne, having Shirley as its centre, with a radius 

 of four or five miles. Gravel, sand, red marl, and clay in places 

 compose the soil, limestone occurring at one spot only in the 

 south-west. 



Following the order of the 8th edition of the 'London Catalogue/ 

 the first plant which demands notice is a large form of Ranunculus 

 penicillatus Hiern, which occurs plentifully in Brailsford Brook. In 

 several spots it produces no floating leaves ; where produced, they 

 are remarkably thick and fleshy in texture, with cuneate segments. 

 Viola Reichenbachiana Bor. occurs in two places in the district, 

 having only been recorded hitherto in localities to the north of it. 

 Stellaria neglecta Weihe occurs at Brailsford and Shirley, but is not 

 nearly so frequent as its ally, Stellaria umbrosa Opiz. Medicago 

 Metadata Sibth. is a casual on cultivated land, but scarcely to be 

 reckoned to the county Flora. Primus Oerasus L. grows at intervals 

 along one lane in Brailsford, where it is well-established, if not 

 wild. In the same lane occurs one bush of the yellow-fruited form 

 of Primus insititia L., the form with black fruit being plentiful 

 everywhere in the district. 



Of Rubi, several have been recorded and commented on in the 

 recently-issued ■ Report of the Botanical Exchange Club/ I may 

 add that J?., carpinifolius W. & N. is quite one of the brambles of 

 the district ; R. fissns Lindl. is plentiful in Shirley Wood, and 

 occurs in Bradley Wood; and R. ampkkhloros Focke I find now in 

 Brailsford, in addition to its habitat in Shirley. 



Of Rosas, R. mollis var. carulea Woods grows in a few places, 

 Bradley and Hognaston, to wit; Rosa micrantha (Sm.) is frequent; 

 -R- canina var. surculosa (Woods), of excellent character, in Bradley; 

 var ; Malm undari ends Desegl. in Yeldersley; varr. verticil lacantha 

 (Merat), collina ( Jacq.), and Koscinciana (Besser) in several localities. 

 . The Epilobia furnish material for very interesting study, espe- 

 cially on account of the frequency of the occurrence of hybrids, 

 Mainly between E. parri thrum- Schreb. and E. obscurum Schreb., 

 and between the latter and E. numtanum L. In the case of some 

 of the hybrid forms, both Mr, Towndrow and M. W. Barbey, to whom 

 tfaey have been submitted, have suggested E. tetragonum L. as one 

 °J the parents. But at the close of another season's investigation 

 of the district I can only regret what appears in the Exchange Club 

 Ke Port, that E. tetragonum seems absent from this part of the 

 c °unty. Of E. obscurum, both the broad-leaved and the rare 



narrow-leaved forms occur. 



Ribes Uva-Crispa L. occurs in a rough lane at Atlow, and I have 

 also noticed it near the head of Dovedale. Taraxacum officinale Web., 

 var. erytlirospermnm Andrz., occurs on steep grassy slopes in Shirley. 

 ^onchus amensis L., var. glabra Lond. Cat., may be found occasion- 

 s' l ty with the type. About a dozen plants occurred in a field in 



