82 fAJIILIAE GASUHN FLOTl^EM. 



The young botanist lias to pass through a trial in the 

 sluil}' of the genus Lychnis, for iu collecting hedgerow 

 specimens he will he trouhled with the distinctions between 

 //. vegpedhiu, L. d'inrva, and L. dioica. He will be more 

 ])erplexedj jierhaps^ by the diversity of forms and colours in 

 flowers that appear to be specifically the same, some having 

 narrow, (.ithers broad ])etals — some being white, others rich 

 carmine or purplish-red. There are three species in the 

 best books, and any number in the worst. The wild Hower 

 hunter Avill easily obtain twentjr kinds, fairly distinct, and 

 will lie puzzled aljout all except the pure white, and they 

 will be classed as L. vesjjerlina, and then what will be 

 done with the rest ? Remembrance of our own troubles 

 takee us back to happy days when such troubles were de- 

 lights ; and it takes us back, too, to the discovery which we 

 accomplished l;iy innumerable comparisons and reHectious. 



These three so-called species are but the more distinc- 

 tive forms of one and the same species. The ruling charac- 

 ters of the plant are the same all through ; the variations 

 are such as we are accustomed to in the observation of 

 vegetable life, and really ought not to have perplexed us at 

 all. The waiy Beiitham makes two species of them ; but 

 Dr. Deakiii (" Florigra]iliia Britannica") puts them under 

 one head, as varieties of L. dioica, the white campion. 

 The interest attaching to this plant will be best understood 

 from Dcakin's note, as follows : — 



" This is a remarkable species of Lychnis, from the 

 circumstance of its flowers being ditecious and of different 

 njlours. In the illustrations of these states we have re- 

 presented the white-ilowered variety with pistils only 

 jjroducing capsules and seed, and in the red a specimen 

 with stamens only, and consequently barren ; sometimes. 



