86 
NATURE NOTES 
variety of plants, of which the common buttercups, clovers, 
dandelions, plantains, hawkweeds, docks, goosefoots, grasses, 
shepherd’s-purse, groundsel, and knotgrass furnish by far the 
greater part, the seeds being, no doubt, mostly supplied from 
local stock ; but a fair proportion probably come with the 
shingle, and amongst these are sometimes those of aliens or 
casuals, which may not appear until a year or two after their 
arrival, when some chance disturbance of the stones gives them 
an opportunity to germinate. In such situations in Hale End 
I have met with the casuals : Viper’s Bugloss {EcJiium vulgare), 
Common Alelilot {Mclilotus officinalis), Round-leaved Mallow 
{Malva rotiindifolia), Small-flowered Willow Herb [Epilohium parvi- 
flonim). Narrow-leaved Pepperwort [Lepidium ruderale) and Worm- 
seed Treacle Mustard {Erysimum cheivanthoides), the last-named 
only a few inches in height owing to the poor soil ; and the aliens : 
Salvia horminum and Canadian Fleabane {Erigevon canadense). I 
have also found the Rosebay {Epilohium angustifolium) and Great 
Willow Herb {E. hirsutum) in similar situations not exceeding 
1 8 inches in height, both occurring of the normal stature of 4 
or 5 feet in suitable spots elsewhere in the district. A heap of 
builders' rubbish, mainly consisting of mortar refuse, cement 
dust, bricks and slabs of concrete, gradually became overgrown 
with grass and weeds, among which appeared a patch of the 
colonist, Lepidium draba, and one specimen each of the casuals — 
\\'hite, or Evening, Campion {Lychnis alba), Bladder Campion 
{Silene cucubalus), and the apricot-scented Night-flowering Catchfly 
( 5 . noctiflora). On another estate from which the turf had been 
removed, leaving the clay exposed, the most noteworthy plant 
found was the alien, Melilotus indica, a native of warm countries. 
The casual, Lesser Wart-cress {Covonopus didymus), and its 
commoner relative. Greater W'art-cress (C. ruellii) were also 
observed, as well as Many-seeded Goosefoot {Chenopodium poly- 
spermum), which turns up in some plenty hereabout on newly 
disturbed wastes. In some of the gardens on this estate I found 
the Erysimum again, but 2 feet high, instead of a few inches as 
above mentioned. Lesser Yellow’ Trefoil {Trifolium duhium, or 
minus) and Black jMedick {Medicago lupulina) grow commonly on 
stony ground, and being almost indistinguishable from one 
another in March, except by a botanist, are about equally drawn 
upon to do duty as “ shamrock.” In summer they can be easily 
separated, the pods of the latter being dull black, kidney-shaped, 
and exposed in a bunch at the end of a stalk, while those of 
the clover are concealed within the bunches of little dead 
flowers. 
Passing on now to the Woodford Green district, mention 
may be made first of Impaticns parviflora (a small-flowered balsam 
native in mountain woods in Siberia), a specimen of which was 
found in igo6. Last year the species was better represented, 
there being about a dozen plants. On the Monkhams estate, 
recently cut up and partly built on, the casual. Stinking 
