344 THE BOTANICAL EXCHANGE CLUB OF THE BRITISH ISLES. 
Urtica dioica, L., var. inermis ? Wood, Moccas, Herefordshire, 
25th August, 1891. Both sexes of the plant growing together in an 
open wood ; the male nearly stingless, not so the female, a single plant 
of which is sent for comparison. But that the male plant was not quite 
devoid of stings, my fingers bore witness after pressing. — Augustin 
Ley. I do not find any record of this nettle, really without the stinging 
hairs, and Mr. Ley’s seems to have been only partially so. 
Salix. “ May I suggest that some of the specimens submitted to 
me are not in condition for exact determination ? In some the catkins 
are too old or too young ; in others the leaf specimens are defective, 
being either absent or represented only by terminal shoots, and these 
not characteristic. In collecting willows, care should be taken, if 
possible, to select catkins that have come to their full growth but are 
not over ripe ; and leaf specimens should shew both terminal shoots, 
(i.e., shoots of the year) but neither too strong nor too weak, and also 
lateral twigs, in both cases with mature leaves.”- — F. Buchanan 
White. 
S.fragilis , L., var. britanjiica , F. B. White. Kinson, Dorset, four 
gatherings, A, B, C, and D, 25th May, and 4th September, 1891 ; and 
Starminster Marshall, Dorset, 4th May and 7th July, 1891. These 
answer to the description given by Dr. White of his variety, except in 
legard to the nectary. The relative length of the nectary and the 
pedicel has been well discussed by Dr. White, who considers this 
point a character for distinguishing S.fragilis, L., and A. viridis , Fries. 
The character is not one, however, that holds good in the South of 
England, as in the South Midlands. I have met with a great deal of A. 
fragilis , in which the nectary is, on an average, about three-quarters 
the length of the pedicel, or to put it the other way, the pedicel is 1 
times the length of the nectary ; and on such trees one may some- 
times find the pedicel and nectary about equal. This proportion is 
the right character for A. viridis , not for S.fragilis, according to the 
views Dr. White has adopted from Andersson. I am inclined to think 
that the proportionate length of pedicel and nectary is different in 
different climates ; and that the pedicel contracts to a greater extent 
than the nectary in a warmer and drier region. But whatever is the 
explanation, I do not find that the character, as given, can be relied 
upon. — E. F. Linton. c ' Since the vast majority of specimens of 
British A. fragilis have characteristics by which they are readily 
separated from the Continental plant, I think they constitute a good 
“ variety,” and not a mere “ form.” Consequently I so distinguished 
the British plant in the £ Revision ’ and have had no reason to alter 
my opinion.” — F. Buchanan White. 
S.fragilis, L., f. britannica. Hamworth, Dorset, 13th May and 
24th September, 1891. — E. F. Linton. “ Not quite satisfactory so far 
ns the specimens seen by me go. The catkins are too young. Perhaps 
better to call it fragilis, but it may be viridis .” — F. Buchanan White. 
A. fragilis, var. britannica. “ I suppose that Mr. Linton considers 
that the four gatherings from Kinson support his theory that, in 
Southern Britain, A. / ragilis has an ovary-pedicel shorter in comparison 
to the length of the nectary than is stated in the ‘ Revision.’ On 
