SHORT NOTES 411 



Smith ; 15 water-colour drawings of British lichens for exhibition, 

 by Highley. 



Among the acquisitions by purchase special mention should be 

 made of the cryptogamic herbarium of the late William Phillips, 

 containing about 10,000 British and exotic fungi, 800 lichens, 53 

 algae, and 3200 drawings of fungi. 



SHOBT NOTES. 



Linaria arenaria DC. in England. — This species, hitherto 

 only known from a limited area of the coast of Western France, 

 where it occurs on the maritime sands of Gatteville de la Manche, 

 Neuville, Gouberville, &c, and is represented in the Reliquiae Maill. 

 no. 1502, from Cherbourg, was recently shown to Dr. F. J. Smith 

 by Mr. F. G. Fisher, who discovered it near Westward Ho, in 

 North Devon, and was identified at the National Herbarium, to 

 which specimens were taken by Dr. Smith. Mr. Britten told me 

 of this interesting discovery, and I went down to the locality to 

 form an opinion as to the claims of the Linaria to be considered 

 indigenous there. The plant occurs over a small area, perhaps 

 two hundred yards long, growing among sand and large pebbles, 

 with Tri folium scabnwi, Lotus comic ulat us var. crassifolius, Sagina 

 nodosa, Eryngium maritimum, Glauciwn flaviuu, Plantago Coro- 

 nopus, P. lanceolata var. sphcerostachya, Phleum armarium, Poly- 

 gonum maritimum, &c, but with no introduced species. There 

 are traces of traffic near the place, but I think only to cart away 

 shingle. Although Senecio squalidus has been introduced to 

 Bideford, and there is still some amount of traffic between the 

 French ports and Appledore with Barnstaple, the locality is well 

 away from these places. There is a considerable amount of 

 drifted timber on the beach, but the place where the plant grows 

 is well above the reach of the highest tide. The whole area of 

 this district is not geologically old, as it appears that the dunes 

 are of comparatively recent formation. My opinion is that, unless 

 intentionally sown, the plant is native here, as it has no claims to 

 beauty or utility, which are influencing causes in the introduction 

 of many species. It is to be hoped that anyone visiting this spot 

 will be careful in gathering this plant, so that it may not be 

 eradicated. — G. Claridge Druce. 



[We hope to publish later a figure and description of this inter- 

 esting plant. — Ed. Journ. Bot.] 



Colchicum variegatum L. — In 1849 Mr. Edward Pearson, of 

 Wilmslow, Cheshire, found a Colchicum, apparently wild, in con- 

 siderable quantity on the under side of a large plantation very 

 high up on the hill called Norton Camp, near Craven Arms Rail- 

 way Station, Shropshire. He has had it in his garden ever since, 

 where it flowers freely, but apparently does not perfect seed. It 

 increases rapidly from the root. The plant proves to be Colchicum 



variegatum L. 



ported 



