NOTES ON PLANTAGO 



67 



peu differemment decouple." There are types of Gouan's plant 

 in Herb. Kew, but neither in the type nor in Gouan's description 

 has the plant a broad rachis to the leaf. The name seems, there- 

 fore, due to a misconception. Grenier & Godron (Fl. de France, 

 ii. 72 (1852)) and Eouy & Foucaud (Fl. de France, x. 123 (1908)), 

 describe a plant with a broad rachis. The var. latifolia of French 

 authors is therefore a plant with a broad rachis, but the plant on 

 which it is founded has a very narrow one. Gouan quotes as 

 synonyms " Coronopus maritimus miniums Bauh. Prod. p. 98 

 (1620)," and '' Coronopus Neapolitanus tenuifolius Col. Ecph. 158 

 [258] (1606), icon, bona," but we are unable to find this figure, 

 unless it be the " Coronopus lac," figured in pt. 2, p. 71. On the 

 opposite page to the description of it on p. 258 is a figure of 

 ''Plantago pilosa laciniata Apicla," a plant with a broad rachis, 

 and we think this may have given rise to the misquotation. This 

 latter is P. Serraria Linn. Sig. Beguinot considers that var. 

 ColumncB Gouan is in part P. Coronopus L. var. latifolia, and 

 identifies with it " Coronopus laciniatus folio, Columnae Donati, 

 Sempl. p. 30 (1631)," doubtfully quoting Columna's Coronopus 

 Neapolitanus tenuifolius as a synonym. 



P. MACROERHizA Poir. Voy. Barb. p. 114 (1789) {macroriza). 

 Decaisne in DO. Prodr. xiii. i. 732 (1852) considers this synony- 

 mous with P. ceratophyllon Hoffm. & Link, and Dr. Williams in 

 his Prodromus, p. 364, adopts the name P. macrorrliiza Poir. 

 for the British plant recorded by one of us as P. Coronopus L. 

 var. ceratophyllon Eapin (Journ. Bot. 1897, 257, t. 371). But 

 P. macrorrhiza seems to us quite distinct from P. ceratophyllon 

 in the following contrasted characters : — 



P. ceratophyllon. 



Boot thick, long. 



Leaves rather long, erect or sub- 

 erect, 10-15 cm. or longer, 

 subpinnatifid, laciniae remote. 



Scape 15-20 cm. 



Spike 2-5-14 cm. 



Bracts longly acute, sub-sqar- 

 rose, equalling the flowers. 



Oapsule generally tri-locular. 



P. macrorrhiza. 



Eoot thick, woody. 



Leaves short, spreading in a 

 rosette, 2-5-5 cm. long, spa- 

 thulate, inciso-dentate, teeth 

 imbricate mucronate. 



Scape 5-15 cm. 



Spike 2-5-7 cm. 



Bracts longer than the flowers. 



Oapsule generally bi-locular. 



P. macrorrhiza and P. crithmoides Desf. Fl. Atl. i. 140 (1798) 

 are synonymous and are well figured by Boccone (Sic. 30, t. 15, f. 

 2 (1694). If this figure be compared with that of P. ceratophyllon 

 {Fl. Portugaise i. 431, t. 74 (1809) ), the great difference in the 

 configuration of the leaf will be seen. We are inclined to consider 

 the British plant a variety of P. Coronopus, but Mr. J. A. Wheldon, 

 in an interesting letter to one of us on the plant known to him 

 from Blackpool, considers it ought to be separated from P. Corono- 

 ptcs. He writes : " I should say it has never been fully described 

 yet as probably all or most of the Herbarium plants are young. 

 But in age the plant gets very large, divides repeatedly at the 



