REPORT FOR T908. 
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that it is the shining, reticulated fruited form (^M. lamprosperma), as 
might have been expected from its being the normal plant of 
northern latitudes. The synonyms quoted by Linnaeus in the 
‘Spec. Plant,’ and in ‘ Flora Suecica’ from Micheli, Haller, Vaillant, 
&c., chiefly if not wholly refer to the more southern form {M. minor, 
Gmel.), but in the ‘ Flora Suecica,’ Linnaeus first cites ‘ Flora 
Lapponica ; ’ and as in that the habitat “ In locis muscosis ad 
scaturigines aquarum frigidarum per Lapponiae deserta saepius con- 
spicitur, per Westrobothniam omnium vulgatissima est” refers to 
lamprosperma, we may assume that the plant known to Linnaeus 
was this species, though there appears to be no evidence that he 
recognised the markings on the seeds as characteristic ; he does, 
however, refer to the larger and smaller forms which he thinks 
belong to one species. Necker (‘ Delic. Gallo-Belg.’ i. 78, 1768) 
was the first author who separated the small plant, under the name 
Montia verna, as a distinct species. He cites “ Hall. Helv. 608. 
n. I, Mich. 18, Tab. xiii. fig. i, 2. Alsinoides annua, verna Vaill. 
Bot. Tab. iii. f. 4 exquisita ” This figure of the seeds is 
marked with strong lines. Therefore on the evidence of the 
Herbarium specimen, of its being the plant of the localities of 
“ FI. Suec.” and “ FI. Lapp.” and therefore primarily of the “ Spec. 
Plant,” and on the principle of the first separation of the compound 
species, it would appear that M. fontana, L., must replace M. lam- 
prosperma, Cham., = M. rivularis, Gmel., p.p., if retained as a dis- 
tinct species. This has its smaller erect, terrestrial typical form, as 
well as the larger, perennial, water form — var. boreo-rivularis (Lindb. 
fil.). I have seen M. fontana, L., in the foregoing sense from 
Denbigh, Carnarvon, Derby, Notts, Durham, Cumberland, York 
N.-W., Northumberland, Peebles, Edinburgh, W., E. and Mid Perth, 
Forfar, spout of Loch na Gar, 3,400 feet, S. Aberdeen, E. and W. 
Inverness, Argyle, W. and E. Ross, W. and E. Sutherland, Orkney, 
Shetland. {R. Tate, 1865.) D. O. Paulson saw it in S. Kilda in 
1905. I have seen it also in Co. Down and Sligo. 
Montia verna, Necker, with small, dull black, strongly reticu- 
late seeds = M. fontana, Chamisso. M. fontana, L., var. crecta, Pers. 
= var. chondrosperma, Ledeb., ‘FI. Ross.’ ii. p. 150, 1846 = var. 
?)imor, Koch and Syme. Commonly distributed through the south 
and central parts of England and Ireland, France ! Italy ! Spain ! 
Switzerland ! Belgium, Southern Germany ! &c. In last December, 
