ii8 



The Irish Naturalist. 



November 



REVIEW. 



THE STONEWORTS. 



The British Charophyta. By James Groves, F.L.S., and George Russell 

 Bullock-Webster, M.A., F.L.S. ' Vol. I.— Nitelleae. Pp. 14 + 141. 

 20 plates. 8vo. London : Ray Society, 1920, 



All students of the interesting group generally known as Charace?ie 

 will welcome the first volume of the monograph of the British species on 

 which Mr. Groves and Canon Bullock- Webster have I een for some time 

 engaged". Its publication by the Ray Society, moreover, has ensured full 

 treatment, good printing, and adequate illustration. The authors follow 

 Sachs in regarin ^ the group not as belonging to the Algae, but a ^ con- 

 stituting a separate division co-ordinate with the Thallophytes, Muscineae, 

 Vascular Cryptogams and Phanerogams. The systematic account of the 

 group is preceded by several very interesting introductory chapters, in 

 which the position of the Charophytes, their geological antiquity, geo- 

 graphical distribution, structure and development are dealt with. A 

 conspectus of characters, glossary and classified list of Latin adjectival 

 terms follow. In the latter part of the volume a full systematic 

 account is given of the genera Nitella and Tolypella, with synonymy, 

 descriptions, British distribution, and general notes on each species and 

 its varieties. This is a model of wliat such work should be, and carries on 

 the excellent traditifju wliich the brothers Groves laid down in this difficult 

 group, and maintained for so many years. Canon Bullock-W^ebster is to 

 be congratulated on his part in the undertaking, and INIr. Groves on having 

 found a worthy successor to his brother, whose death was so grievous a 

 loss to British botany. 



The distributional notes are full and clear, and bring our knowledge of 

 the range in the British Isles of these plants up to the present time. We 

 give an abstract of the Irish distribution as it appears from this publica- 

 tion, using the contracted names of botanical divisions as employed in 

 " Irish Topographical Botany " : — 

 Nitella opaca Agardh. — Common. 



N. flex His Agardh. — Kerry S. and N., Cork W., Longfd., Roscomn., Mayo 

 E., Leitrim, Cavan, Monaghan, Ferman., Dongl. W., Armagh, 

 var. b. crassa. — Longfd., Dongl. W. 

 var. c. nidijica. — Kerry S., Roscnm., Cavan. 



N. spanioclenia CJroves and Bullock- Webster. — Dongl. W. 



N. Iranslucens Agardh. — Kerry S. and N., Cork W., Mid. aiid K., Galw. W., 

 Mayo W., Dongl. E. and W., Armagh, Down, Antrim, L'derry. 



N. mucYonata Miquel. — Monaghan. 



N. gracilis Agardh. — Wicklow. 



N. i nui^sima Kiitz. — May.) W., Galw. N.E. 



^V. batrachospenna Braun.— Kerry S. and N., Mayo W., Dongl. W. 

 Tulypella inlricata Leonh. — Dublin. 



