6 



S. M. WALTERS 



size differences shown, though insufficient to use as a taxonomic character, are neverthe- 

 less consistently, in my experience, to be found ; and, so far as subsp. intermedia is concerned, 

 support Sampaio's description of the seeds of his M. lusitanica as smaller than those of 

 the other species of Montia he knew. It would, however, seem that Sampaio's material 

 was somewhat atypical ; for it can hardly be claimed, as he did, that the other subspecies 

 have seeds Ij to 2 times as large as subsp. intermedia. Measurements made on seeds in 

 material determined by Sampaio as M. lusitanica gave a size range virtually identical 

 with that found for the British material. 



Note on Australian Material 



Whilst the common M.fontana of the S. Hemisphere is undoubtedly subsp. /o?itana, it 

 is interesting that in Australia both subsp. chondrosperma and subsp. intermedia seed-types 

 alsc occur. Of 11 sheets with ripe seed, lent by the National Herbarium, Botanic Gardens, 

 Sydney, no fewer than seven were referable to subsp. chondrosperma, and three to subsp. 

 intermedia. The remaining gathering, a Tasmanian one, was the expected subsp. fontana. 

 This situation is very interesting, and would repay further investigation. Several possi- 

 bilities suggest themselves ; for example, the seed-coat character, so clearly correlated with 

 distributional differences in Europe, may occur more or less sporadically in the Australian 

 populations; or both subsp. choridrosperma and intermedia may be aliens in the Australian 

 flora. 



I am indebted to Mr. D. E. Allen and Mr. J. E. Dandy for help with nomenclature, 

 to Dr. N. Hylander of the University of Uppsala, who originally suggested the investiga- 

 tion to me and has contributed much to it, to Mr. R. Anderson, Curator of the National 

 Herbarium, Sydney and Mr. E. J. McBarron for information and the loan of Australian 

 material, and to Miss C. Lambert for the seed drawings. 



SUMMARY 



The Linnean species Montia fontana is divisible in north-west Europe into four taxa which it is suggested 

 should be given subspecific rank, viz. : — 



(1) subsp. fontana, northern in European distribution ; 



(2) subsp. chondrosperma (Fenzl) comb, nov., southern in European distribution ; 



(3) subsp. intermedia (Beeby) comb, nov., western in European distribution ; 



(4) subsp. variabilis subsp. nov., intermediate in seed-coat marking and distribution type between 1 and 3. 

 The value of characters other than those of the seed-coat is discussed. Vice-comital distribution of 



the four subspecies in Britain is given, and also some indication of the distribution in Europe, and a note 

 on their occurrence in Australia. 



REFERENCES 



ASCHERSON, P. & GRAEBNER, P., 1919, Synopsis der Mittckuropdischcn Flora, 5, 1, 431-6. 

 BEEBY, W. H., 1909, Ann. Scot. Nat. Hist., pp. 104-5. 

 CHAMISSO, A. VON, 1831, Linnaea, 6, 564-5. 



DECKER, 1927, Eine iibersehene Montia, Ver. Bot. Vcrcins Brandenburg, 69, 57. 

 DRUCE, G. C, 1920, in MOSS, Camb. Brit. Fl, 3, 5. 

 GMELIN. C. C, 1805, Fl. Bad., 1, 301. 



KOCH, W., 1S92, Synopsis der Dcutschen und Schweitzer Flora, ed. 3, 896. 



LINDBERG, H., 1901, Om de i Finland forckommande Montia-formerna, Med. Soc. Fauna et Flora Fenn., 

 27, IS. 



HYLANDER, N., 1945, Nomenklatorischc und systematische Studien uber Nordische Gefdsspflanzen, 143-5. 



MANSFELD, R., 1940, Verzeichnis der Farn- und Bliitcnpflanzcn dcs Dcutschen Rciches, 80, Jena. 



SALMON, C. E., 1931. Flora of Surrey, 193. 



SAMPAIO, G., 1912, Ann. Sci. Acad. Polyt. Porto., 7 (1), 52. 



SAMUELSSON, G., 1922, Sv. Bot. Tidsk., 16. 55-9. 



