^^HERAS FROM CHESHIRE AND 

 LANCASHIRE i 



R. R. GATES 



TJniversity of London 



Formerly Research Assistant to the Missouri Botanical Garden 



Observations 



(Enotheras are known to have been naturalized on the Lan- 

 cashire coast since 1805, and probably existed there much 

 earlier. They are now found on the sand dunes in many places, 

 from Liverpool and the vicinity of Birkenhead northwards 

 along the coast to Southport and Blackpool. They are not- 

 ably abundant at St. Anne's-on-Sea, where they have been 

 described by Bailey ('07), and in certain locahties near Birken- 

 head (MacDougal '07). I have grown, chiefly at the Mis- 

 souri Botanical Garden, extensive cultures of plants from the 

 latter region, from seeds obtained through Dr. D. T. MacDougal 

 in 1907, and have visited the Lancashire coast in 1910 and 

 again in July, 1914, when I travelled along the coast from Liver- 

 pool to Southport and from Blackpool to St. Anne's. The 

 Oenotheras everywhere appear to be spreading, although chil- 

 dren gather the flowering shoots in armfuls. The profusion of 

 individuals is greatest at St. Anne's, where acres of waste land 

 in the town are dotted over with them. Smaller colonies occur 

 in various other places, notably at Bidston Junction, near 

 Hightown and at Formby. Small groups of half a dozen plants 

 are sometimes found in isolated places on the dunes. 



I will first refer to some of these colonies as I saw them during 

 my last visit, and will then describe a few of the many forms 

 observed in cultures. 



The Bidston Junction colony, referred to in MacDougal ('07), 

 is a compact and almost uniform one occurring on a triangular 

 piece of ground between railway tracks, about five minutes' 

 walk down the foot path from Bidston Junction towards Wal- 

 lersy, on the right-hand side. Some years ago, quantities of 

 sand were dumped here from the coast between Wallersy and 

 New Brighton. Soil from neighboring gardens has also been 



1 Issued January 30, 1915. 



Ann. Mo. Bot. Qabd., Vol. 1, 1914 (383) 



