166 
Proceedings of the Royal Society 
5. Notice of the State of the Open-Air Vegetation in the 
Edinburgh Botanic Garden, during December 1863. 
Bj J. H. Balfour, A.M., M.D., F.K.S, F.L.S. 
The state of the vegetation in the open ground of the Botanic 
Garden during the month of December 1863 was so very remark- 
able that I have been induced to submit a notice of it to the Koyal 
Society. The number of phanerogamous species and varieties in 
flower during the month amounted to 245 ; of these 35 were spring- 
flowering plants which had anticipated their period of florescence, 
while the rest were summer and autumn flowers which had pro- 
tracted their flowering be 5 ^ond their usual limits. 
The following are the details as given by Mr M‘Nab : — 
Plants in flower in the Eoyal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, from 
1st to 31st December 1863. 
Annual plants, chiefly summer and autumn flowering 
species and varieties, ...... 36 
Perennial plants, chiefly summer and autumn flowering 
species and varieties, -133 
Trees and shrubs, chiefly autumn flowering, . . 41 
Spring-flowering trees, shrubs, and perennial herbace- 
ous plants, 35 
Total flowering plants, . . 245 
I have drawn up a list of all the plants in flower during Decem- 
ber, arranged according to their natural orders ; and I have also 
requested Mr James Tod, one of my assistants, to dry a complete 
series of the plants, and to exhibit them in one view on pasteboard. 
In looking at the list we shall find that the following spring- 
flowering plants developed flower-buds and blossoms : — 
List of Spring-Elowering Plants picked in flower in Dec. 1863. 
E ran this hyemalis 
Helleborus abschasicus 
olympicus 
purpurascens 
Hepatica triloba 
Aubrietia grandiflora 
Draba verna 
Iberis sempervirens 
