NOTES AND ABSTKACTS. 



Iris gracilipes. By W. B. Hemsley (Bot. Mag. tab. 7926.)— Nat. 

 ord. Iridacece, tribe Morceece. Native of Japan. A tufted slender herb, 

 6-12 inches high. Flowers purple or lilac, 12 inches diam. Falls notched 

 at tip, white in middle, striped with purple, and yellow-crested. — G. H. 



Iris lupina. By J. G. Baker (Bot. Mag. tab. 7904).— Nat. ord. 

 Iridecz, tribe Morcsece. Native of Armenia. The outer segments of the 

 perianth are 3 inches long, marked with copious lilac-brown veins on a 

 yellowish-brown groundwork, having in the centre a large pilose spot of 

 dark brown. The inner segments are larger, without the spot, and erect. 



G. H. 



Isoloma erianthum. By W. B. Hemsley (Bot. Mag. tab. 7907).— 

 Nat. ord. Gcsneracea, tribe Gesncrece. Native of Colombia. This is a 

 robust herb, 2-4 feet high, with crimson scaly rhizomes and sub-fleshy 

 leaves. Flowers are H inch long, velvety, orange-red. — G. H. 



Itea ilicifolia. By W. W. (Gard. Chron. No. 888, p. 375, fig. 152 ; 

 Nov. 26, 1903). — This genus until quite recently, when this species was 

 introduced by Messrs. Veitch & Sons from China, was only represented in 

 this country by /. virginica. I. ilicifolia was originally discovered by 

 Dr. Henry in 1886 in Ichang, where it grows in rocky places, forming a 

 shrub from three to four feet in height. It forms a shapely evergreen 

 bush, with holly-like leaves, and spikes, four inches long, of white flowers. 

 It will probably be found to be hardy in the South-west of England. 



G. S. S. 



Ivy-clad Trees (Journ. Hort. June 25, 1903, p. 557). — A writer 

 from Ireland approves of the destruction of Ivy on roadside trees — 

 (1) because it makes them more liable to blow down, (2) because it spoils 

 the timber. Still there are many who think more of the aesthetic than the 

 commercial point of view, and would prefer to keep the Ivy. — C. W. D. 



Ixiolirions. By S. Arnott (Gard. Mag. No. 2610, p. 738; 7/11/03). 

 — A review of this small genus of bulbous plants, all beautiful and easily 

 cultivated. All the species appear to thrive well as far north as Dumfries. 



W. G. 



Java, Flora of, by L. A. Deschamps. By J. Britten (Journ. 

 Bot. 488, pp. 282-3; 8/1903).— Bibliographical note on a MS. Flora and 

 drawings, made between 1791 and 1802, and preserved in the library 

 attached to the National Herbarium. — G. S. B. 



Jung-ermanniales, The Oil-bodies of. By A. J. M. Garjeanne 

 (Flora, vol. xcii., 1903, pp. 457-482 ; 18 cuts).— The oil-bodies arise in the 

 vacuoles : the final contents appearing to be one, or few, or many, oil- 

 drops suspended in a small quantity of viscid liquid containing proteids. 

 The oil is a fat oil, difficult of saponification, and, like castor oil, 

 soluble in strong alcohol. The oil-bodies lie in the cytoplasm, and have a 

 proper wall (" tonoplast ") like other vacuoles. The oil-drop may show 

 to-and-fro motions within the body, which have the character of a 

 Brownian dance when they are minute and numerous. Budding and 



