Another complication of identification is hybridization. Possibly 

 the best known natural hybrid is the False Oxlip {Primula variabilis) a 

 cross between Primrose and Cowslip and one of the forerunners of the 

 garden Polyanthus. Systematic botanists agree that hybridization does 

 take place freely in a number of wild plants, Willows, for example, but 

 it is far more frequent than is generally admitted. As with garden 

 plants, there is no obvious reason why certain species that resemble 

 each other in broad characters should not hybridize, always provided 

 that they grow together under the same conditions and the flowers 

 develop at the same time. In this connection the different species of 

 Mallow do not cross because, although they are all summer flowering 

 and resemble each other closely in leaf and flower, their soil requirements 

 are very different so they are not found together. 



When collecting the Museum specimens, curious plants have been 

 found that are difficult to identify and can only be hybrids. Perforate 

 and Imperforate St. John's Worts cross so readily that their progeny 

 cannot be disentangled ; Wood and White Violets hybridize to produce 

 plants with small yellowish or greyish flowers, usually scentless ; Dew- 

 berries and White Flowered Blackberries also cross freely. 



We have also found hybrids between the Field Scabious (Scabiosa 

 arvensis) and the Small Scabious {S. columbaria). The hybrid has the 

 smooth stems and conspicuous outer florets of the Small Scabious, allied 

 to the larger flowers and deeper colour of the Field Scabious. Another 

 oddity was an Orchid that seemed to be a cross between the Lady Orchid 

 {Orchis purpurea) and the Early Purple (O. mascula). At Rhodes Minnis, 

 and also at Pluckley, we found specimens that must have been a hybrid 

 between the Goldilocks {Ranunculus auricomus) and Meadow Crowfoot 

 {R. acris), judging from the time of flowering ; and we have also brought 

 in specimens of Bulbous Buttercup much taller than the type and bearing 

 on the same stem, flowers with reflexed sepals and others with sepals 

 like those of Meadow Crowfoot. 



Where woods and fields adjoin, hybrids sometimes occur between 

 Red and White Campions, but more often confusion is caused by the 

 Red throwing an occasional albino form and the White producing pale 

 pink seedlings which, except for their colour, are identical with the 

 parent White Campions. 



Ragworts hybridize very freely, and hybrids between Common, 

 Narrow leaved and Water Ragworts {Senecio jacobea, S. teniufolia and 

 S. aquatica) can be found on East Cliff and around the brickfield pond 

 at the end of Cherry Garden Avenue. The Common and Oxford 

 Ragworts {S. squalidus) do not appear to cross, but hybrids between 

 Oxford Ragwort and Common Groundsel {Senecio vulgaris) are legion. 

 Every possible variation can be found and some very curious looking 

 plants sprang up among the ruins by the Harbour. Some of these were 

 annuals, others biennials and perennials ; there were plants with thick 



