Critical Plants noticed on the Excursion. 
409 
to Professor Lindman ; and he replied:—“Your specimens are indeed 
P. calcaium, not the best I have seen, but quite safe.” It grew 
near the roadside, among and almost hidden by the grass. It is 
best identified by its fruits, which are sub-bifacial with convex sides. 
It is a small, prostrate plant, nearer to P. cequale than to P. 
heterophyllum. It is an addition to the British flora. 
Salicornia perennis var. lignosa comb. nov. ; 5. lignosa 
Woods in Bot. Gaz. 31 (1851); Moss in Journ. Bot. xlix, 179 (1911).— 
After observing this plant for the last four years, I do not think it 
is sufficiently distinct from S. perennis (~S. radicans) to he allowed 
to retain specific rank. It is abundant on the western shore of 
Hayling Island, Hampshire, and was observed on the embankment 
there on the excursion on September 4th, 1911. I have seen it 
also in northern Algeria (near Oran), and in Brittany (the Bouche 
d’Erquy). It had previously been considered to be one of our 
endemic plants. 
Salicornia dolichostachya sp. nov.—S. (dolichostachya) colore 
viridi v. flavo-viridi ; decumbens, flaccida v. subflaccida, szepius 
ramosissima ; 5-30 cm. alta; segmentis brevibus vel longis ; spicis 
longissimis (etiam 8-16 cm. longis), nonnunquam curvatis, brevibus 
saepe ramis precipue ad basim, segmenta 15-30 exhibentibus. 
Differt ab omni alia specie annua quippe qua fiores laterales inter 
se florem terminalem inclusum tenent perennium specierum ad instar. 
In the accepted sub-divisions of the genus Salicornia , the 
distinction is made 1 that in the perennial species the lateral flowers 
are separated by the terminal one, whilst in the annual species the 
lateral flowers are not so separated : in the latter case, the central 
flower rests on the summits of the lateral flowers. 5. dolichostachya 
is remarkable in being a bridging species in this regard, for, whilst 
it is an annual species, its lateral flowers are usually separated by 
the terminal one. That this is a very important character may be 
seen by observing the characters given in the definition of the sub¬ 
generic groups in all works where these are adopted. In addition 
to this character, S. dolichostachya may be recognised by its usually 
very “ floppy ” and decumbent habit, much branched, the branches 
tumbling over each other in a most disorderly way ; by its being 
the first species to come into flower (mid-August) and fruit (mid- 
September) ; and by its excessively long spikes, which are often 
1 It may be pointed out that this character also needs revision 
with regard to the many-flowered forms, e.g., Salicornia 
australis. 
