48 THE GENUS FUMARIA IN BRITAIN 



recent British floras, although Eeichenbach's scandens was adopted 

 in the earlier editions of Babington's Manual. 



It ^Yill now be seen that most authors are generally in agree- 

 ment respecting the plants described by Haussknecht as the 

 varieties minor and densiflora, but differ as to the rampant forms 

 and F. Wirtgeni. 



The first-named of these varieties (v. minor) is apparently not 

 represented by an authentic specimen either at the British Museum 

 or at Kew, nor can I find that it has been figured, but Haussk- 

 necht's description of it is in considerable detail and much more 

 precise than that of Koch and Hammar, which may be intended 

 for the same form. As Haussknecht himself does not identify his 

 variety minor with that of his predecessors, and shows it to have 

 a wide European distribution, I propose to take up his varietal 

 name for certain plants occurring in the South of England which 

 resemble it, passing over the same name of Koch and Hammar as 

 of vaguer and less certain application. 



The next variety, densiflora Pari. ( = v. florihunda Hamm. ap. 

 Haussk.), is a glaucous plant with finely cut foliage and short 

 dense racemes, of which there is good and unmistakable material 

 both at the British Museum and at Kew. It is a form character- 

 istic of the South of Europe, of which I have seen no British 

 specimen, and I doubt w^hether it is to be found in these islands. 

 The record for it in Townsend's Flora of Hants probably refers to 

 Haussknecht's early-flowering state, florihunda, with which the 

 monographer remarks it was confused even by Koch. 



The rampant forms of this species are not easily classified 

 owdng to the difficulty of determining which are only " states " 

 and which are permanent varieties and forms. As already shown, 

 two varieties of this nature were described by Hammar, who 

 quotes a Reichenbach figure for each of them. The first, a vulgaris, 

 is represented by Eeichenbach's variety scandens, which Haussk- 

 necht refers to his var. banatia, a rare Hungarian plant. The 

 British Museum possesses no example of var. banatia, but a very 

 vigorous Tyrolean plant there (Haussman, circa Botzen, 1830) 

 seems identical with it, and Peterman's Leipzig example of var. 

 scandens Reichb. and other exsiccata labelled f. agrestis Haussk. 

 and var. vulgaris Koch, though less luxuriant, are not readily 

 separable. These latter plants are indistinguishable to my eyes 

 from some forms occurring in Britain, but seeing that their 

 divergence from the normal form, albeit at first sight they appear 

 distinct, consists almost entirely in their more robust habit and 

 broader leaf- segments, it seems doubtful whether they constitute 

 a true variety so much as a form or perhaps a luxuriant state 

 I therefore hesitate to adopt for them a varietal name and pro- 

 pose to treat them as a form scandens of the type, quoting as 

 synonymous Eeichenbach's figure of his var. scandens. 



Hammar's second variety, f^ scandens, of which no authentic 

 example has come before me, is more fully described than a vul- 

 garis, and is said to be represented by Eeichenbach's figure of 

 F. media Lois., w^hich is referred to the form agrestis by Haussk- 



