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JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



years afterwards Secretary of the Eoyal Horticultural Society (cf. 

 Linclley's " Collectanea Botanica," t. 7). Several other names 

 have been proposed and published : — 



" P. prasnitens " by Ker, in the Botinical Register for May 

 1821, t. 539. 



"P. sertulosa " by Kiekx, in De Candolle's " Prodromus," 

 vol. vhi. p. 36. 



"P. mandorina " by Hoffsmannseg, in Otto Dietrich's 

 Allgemcine Gartnerei Zeitung, 1835, p. 195. 

 " P. semper florens " by Loiseleur. 



The names " sinensis " (Sabine) and " prasnitens" (Ker) were 

 published in the same year, and the latter probably earlier in the 

 year than the former ; for Ker gives as a reason for not adopting 

 Sabine's unpublished name, the fact that a Spanish botanist, 

 Loureioro (in "Flora Cochin-chinas," p. 105) had already published 

 a " P. sinensis," which might or might not belong to the genus. 

 This plant still remains obscure, and Sabine's name, " sinensis," 

 has been universally adopted. 



Habitat of Species. 



In Dr. Masters' able article on the " Chinese Primrose," 

 which appeared in the Gardeners' Chronicle for January 26, 

 1889, we read : " Within the last few years we have for the first 

 time gained a knowledge of the wild plant, which was found on 

 dry calcareous rocks, exposed to full sun, in the gorges of Y-Chang, 

 in the province of Ho Pe, Central China, by the Abbe Delavay, 

 and also by our countryman, Dr. Henry. Good specimens from 

 the latter gentleman are preserved in the Kew Herbarium, and 

 they show that the plant has a creeping and branched rootstock 

 about the thickness of a swan- quill, with small, stalked leaves, 

 most of which are rounded and lobed, while others are elongated 

 as in the Fern-leaved section. The flowers are small, have a 

 distended five-lobed calyx, varying a little in form, destitute of 

 cresting, a light pink corolla, with a yellow eye, each petal 

 notched, but not fimbriate. The outlines (fig. 17) show suffi- 

 ciently for our purpose the leaf (a, b), petal (c), and calyx (d, e, f) 

 of the wild Chinese plant, while fig. 18 shows a flower of a culti- 

 vated plant which has so nearly reverted to the original condition 

 that we may take it as an illustration." 



