PEEFACE. V 



hie later publioatiojis made it unnecessary inconveniently 

 to swell the present volume by their introduction. But in 

 order to convey some idea of the distribution of pjants 

 throughout the United Kingdom, the letters E., S., and J. 

 have been appended to the descriptions of suchspecieg as 

 have, it is believed, been found in England, Scotl3.nd, or 

 Ireland. The descriptipns of a cqusiderablp number of 

 plants which only occur in the Channel Islands, and arei, 

 therefore, not properly parts of the British Flora, or which, 

 although included in our lists, there is reason to suppose have 

 never been reaUy detected in iBritain, or,, although natural-, 

 ized, have very slender claims to be considered aboriginal 

 natives, are included within [] ; and notices of a few plants 

 concerning which more accurate information is requisite 

 are 'distingttished in a similar manner. It is hoped that by 

 this arrangement the truly indigenous specie^ will be clearly 

 distinguished from those which have little or no claim to 

 be considered aboriginal or even thoroughly naturalized. 

 The attempt to do this is necessary for two seemingly con- 

 tradictory reasons, namely : — the great tendency of many 

 collectors to consider native any plant found, growing upon 

 a spot where it is not cultivated; and the peculiar scepti- 

 cism of some of our botanists concerning the claims of, many 

 local or thinly scattered species to be admitted as indi- 

 genous, even when their distribution upon: the European 

 continent is not unfavourable to the belief that they may 

 inhabit Britain. It has been recommended that :the , de- 

 scriptions of these excluded species should be placed in ,an 

 Appendix ; but as some of them are not unlikely to be ob- 

 served by collectors, it is more convenient that they should 

 be arranged with their allies. Those who desire to obtain 

 a complete knowledge of the distribution of our plants should 

 consult "Watson's Cyhde Britannica, and Moore & More'3 

 Cyhele Hihernka, 



