CHAP. XVI.] 
THE BRITISH ISLES. 
339 
that there must also be some peculiar British plants, but 
not finding any enumeration of such in the British Floras of 
Babington, Hooker, or Bentham, I applied to the greatest living 
authority on the distribution of British plants — Mr. H. C. 
Watson, who has very kindly given me all the information I 
required, and I cannot do better than quote his words. He 
says : “ It may be stated pretty confidently that there is no 
‘ species ’ (generally accepted among botanists as a good species) 
peculiar to the British Isles. True, during the past hundred 
years, nominally new species have been named and described on 
British specimens only, from time to time. But these have 
gradually come to be identified with species described elsewhere 
under other names — or they have been reduced in rank by suc- 
ceeding botanists, and placed or replaced as varieties of more 
widely distributed species. In his British Bubi Professor 
Babington includes as good species, some half-dozen which he 
has, apparently, not identified with any foreign species or variety. 
None of these are accepted as ‘true species/ nor even as ‘ sub- 
species ’ in the Students ’ Flora , where the brambles are 
described by Baker, a botanist well acquainted with the plants 
of Britain. And as all these nominal species of Kubi are of late 
creation, they have truly never been subjected to real or critical 
tests as ‘ species.’ ” 
But besides these obscure forms, about which there is so much 
difference of opinion among botanists, thefe are a few flowering 
plants which, as varieties or sub-species , are apparently peculiar 
to our islands. These are : — (1) Helianthemum Breweri, an 
annual rock-rose found only in Anglesea and Holyhead 
Island (classed as a sub-species of H. guttatum by Hooker 
and Babington) ; (2) Bosa hibernica , found only in North 
Britain and Ireland (a species long thought peculiar to the 
British Isles, but said to have been recently found in France) ; 
(3) CEnanthe fluviatilis, a water- drop wort, found only in the 
south of England and in one locality in Ireland (classed 
as a sub-species of CE. phellandrium by Hooker) ; (4) Hieracium 
iricum, a hawk-weed found in North Britain and Ireland (classed 
by Hooker as a sub-species of H. Lawsoni, and said to be 
“ confined to Great Britain).” 
z 2 
