SALVIA MARQUANDII, 8P. n. 



BY G. CLARIDGE DRUCE, M.A., F.L.S. 



[Reprinted, by kind permission, from the Journal of Botany, December, 1906.] 



In June and July last I visited the Channel Isles, one of my 

 chief objects being to clear u|) the mystery connected with 

 Salvia claiidcstina. I made a careful search in Jersey, but 

 saw there only S. Verboiaca, which showed no definite 

 variation except that caused by difference of soil and exposure. 

 rUit in July, whilst in the company of Mr. E. D. Marquand, 

 the well-known naturalist and author of the excellent Flora of 

 Guerasey^ I noticed growing in grass on light sandy soil 

 at Yazon Bay, in Guernsey, a Salvia^ which I at once saw 

 was new to me, and obviously distinct from *S'. Verlje/iaca or 

 the true cla/idcsthia, which I have seen in its classic locality. 

 It appeared to be limited to a small area, although w^e searched 

 somewhat diligently along the north coast ; nor could I see it 

 in Alderney, where *S'. Verbe/iaca is such a conspicuous feature. 

 The history of the plant which has been called S. clandes- 

 tuia m Britain dates from the publication of Babington's 

 PrimiticB Florae Sarnic(B in 1830, where the author records it 

 from near Pontac and St. Clements in Jersey, and also from 

 Guernsey. It may be well at once to say that, in my opinion, 

 no specimens of true clandestina from Britain are contained in 

 the Babington Herbarium at Cambridge, all being forms of 

 Verbe/iaca only ; I believe Mr. Pugsley has come to the same 

 conclusion, and this, too, was Syme's view. At the date 

 mentioned Babington had only recently begun his work on the 

 British Flora, and did not seem to be aware what was the 

 true clandestina of Linmeus ; he refers his Channel Islands 

 plant doubtfully to that species, but quotes Bentham, who had 

 materially widened the definition of that plant from that 

 covered by the description in the Species Plantaruni. Babing- 

 ton does not seem to have been aware that Smith's clandestina 

 was still a different species, while he tried to obtain specific 

 distinction from the leaf-characters, w^hich I think, notwith- 

 standing M. Briquet's monumental work on the LabiatcB, 

 where weight is attached to this character in differentiating 

 the Salvias of this section, can scarcely be so valuable as 



