56 Mr. Babington on Lychnis diurna and vespertina. 



leaf (fig. 4.). Up to this period no roots are protruded; the 

 young leaf is nourished solely by imbibition and by the fe- 

 cula stored up at its base. It generally happens that no root 

 is protruded until a second leaf has appeared ; I have, how- 

 ever, seen a few cases in which a radicle appeared while only 

 one leaf was yet visible. In most instances, shortly after the 

 appearance of a second leaf, a root is protruded from the gem 

 and always at one side near its neck (fig. 4.). This root is co- 

 nical, at first entirely cellular and covered with minute fibrils ; 

 it constitutes the root of the plant, and the fibres on its sur- 

 face are spongioles. A perpendicular section shows that this 

 root has an organic connexion with the youngest of the 

 leaves when two are produced previous to its appearance. 

 May it not be admitted that these remarkable bodies present 

 a miniature illustration of Professor Morren's investigations 

 regarding the functions of the Pith in Plants ? See Annals, 

 No. 22, vol. iv. pp. 73-87. 



X. — On Lychnis diurna and vespertina of Sibthorp. By 

 Charles C. Babtngton, Esq., M.A., F.L.S., F.G.S., &c. 



Thinking it right to bring before the public as early as is 

 consistent with accuracy, any information that I may obtain 

 concerning what may be denominated the contested parts of 

 British descriptive botany, I make no apology for publishing 

 specific characters for the two species of Lychnis which have 

 been usually included under the name of L. dioica. 



In both of them I find a tendency to change in the colour 

 of the flowers ; those of L. diurna, although most commonly 

 red, may yet be sometimes found of so light a pink as to be 

 called white ; and those of L. vespertina, which are usually 

 white, vary occasionally to pink. In both the flowers are 

 usually dioecious, but plants of each of them are at times 

 found with perfect stamens and pistils in the same flowers. 

 For this reason I propose to drop the name of dioica and to 

 adopt those conferred by Sibthorp. 



I have not found any tendency to variation in the charac- 

 ters drawn from the forms of the calyx-teeth and the capsule, 

 and the direction of the teeth of the latter. 



I make no claim to originality in these characters, all of 

 which have, I believe, long been detected and employed upon 

 the continent ; but only wish to bring them before our younger 

 British botanists, to whom I suspect that they are totally un- 

 known. 



