343 



NORTH OF ENGLAND PLANTS 

 IN THE MOTLEY HERBARIUM AT SWANSEA. 



Rev. H. J. RIDDELSDELL, M.A., 



St. Michael's College. Aberdare, South Wales. 



These notes are published by the kind permission of the 

 President and Council of the Royal Institution of South Wales, 

 at Swansea. 



The Royal Institution of South Wales possesses a collection 

 of dried plants, presented to it in 1848 by Mr. Motley, a resident 

 in the locality. The specimens are in most cases carefully 

 mounted, dated (year only), localised, and enriched with 

 notes, some of them valuable. The notes are sometimes in 

 Mr. Motley's own hand, sometimes in another ; but apparently 

 they alwa}'S proceed from himself, either directly, or as 

 quotations from leading" botanists of the day. The actual 

 annotation is never (so far as I can see) in any other reputable 

 botanist's, e.g., Bicheno's hand. The specimens are weli 

 preserved, though they suffer somewhat from dust ; but I have 

 hopes that both Motley's and Bicheno's collections may be 

 shortly put into a more secure condition. They are well worth 

 preserving. 



Motley's identifications are on the whole accurate, if we 

 omit the critical genera Rubus, Rosa, and the like, which have 

 received much attention and subdivision since his time. The 

 worst mistakes are Lycopodium annotinum for Z. Selago ; Galium 

 anglicum for G. Mo Hugo ; Erythrcea littoralis for E. Ceniauriuni ; 

 Trinia for some young umbellifer which I cannot identify, but 

 which certainly is not Trinia. The chief supply of plants is local, 

 from Swansea, and the parts of Glamorgan and Carmarthen 

 Counties adjacent ; but there are some good Scotch plains, 

 some of them supplied by Don, and a large number of North 

 of England plants. The dates range for the most part from 

 about 1839 to 1844, though some are given as early as [828, 

 others as late as 1846. 



Motley was in communication with various botanists ot the 

 dav, several of them men of eminence. Besides Don and 

 Bicheno, people like Borrer and Babington, as well as T. Pursloe 

 (with Salop specimens), Miss Burton, and T. V. Forster, all 

 had a share in building up the collection. A peculiar interest 

 attaches to a specimen of Epimcdiuni alpinum\ communicated 

 by Miss Maitland, 'gathered by Southey. near Winander Mere. 1 



1902 November 4. 



