226 
THE JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
(Nov. 28, 1790) Lloyd writes that Griffith had “spent some time 
this autumn at Llanberris ” and had made a very fine and plentiful 
collection now in his garden. . . . The Bulbocodium blossomed in 
Griffith’s garden last month and that specimen was pentandria and 
pentapetalous, and instead of being ‘ extus squalide rubente ’ [as 
It iy had described it] they are viridente, and the green stripe down 
the middle of the petal of a deep colour, so that he thinks all the 
specimens we have seen have been blossoms of the year preceding that 
when they were collected. . . . He found it at Trigoylchon (Trig-y- 
fylchan) and in two other places ” (Banks Corr. vii. 173). 
It does not seem that Griffith ever entered into intimate relations 
with Banks—the only letter from him in the Banksian Correspondence 
(xiii. 201) dated July 12th [1802] is couched in formal terms and 
has no connexion with botany—it is concerned with his discovery 
“ beyond all doubt” “ that the shell-fish called the Periwinkle is only 
the first state of a small species of Lobster”—a discovery with which 
“ I think I shall astonish the world.” It may be well to correct 
the dates assigned to Griffith in the Biographical Index —for 
“ fi. 1783-1855,” b. 1763, d. 183-1 should be substituted. 
If we may assume, as seems probable, that the Griffith who acted 
as guide to Brewer in his unsuccessful search for Lloydia in 1827 
and to Bichardson and Sherard in their earlier and successful expe¬ 
dition in 1700 was the father of J. W. Griffith, we may regard 
J. W. Griffith’s “ enthusiasm in botany ” hereditary. The plant had 
been discovered by Edward LI 03 M in one of his earlier journeys in 
Wales and, as has been said, was first described by Bay (from his 
specimens) in 1696 (Syn. ed. 2, 233) ; Lhwyd accompanied Bichard¬ 
son in 1700. Specimens from the latter are in Buddie’s herbarium 
(xxv. f. 30; Herb. Sloane 121) and in Petiver’s Hortus Siccus 
Anglicus (Herb. Sloane 152, f. 156) ; the latter is accompanied by 
the following note in Bichardson’s hand : “ Bulbosa alpina juncifolia 
pericarpio unico erecto in suinmo cauliculi dodrantalis B. S. 233. In 
the year 1700 which was the first time that I ever saw the Welsh 
mountains, being in Mr. Lhwyd’s company we found severall plants 
of it in flower upon the side of Trigvulcaugh being the first time we 
saw it in flower which was in the beginning of June, it is very diffi¬ 
cult to finde unles in flower as I have since several times experienced, 
not being able to finde one root of it though I am certaine there 
were severall where I was ; the flower when fresh is not unlike that 
of Trifolift acetosu [ Oxalis Acetosella ] in shape texture & size 
though the outside of it be of a purplish coloure, this is the only 
plant I have left and believe I shall never see an other of them 
unles I fetch it my selfe in the time of flowring. Mr. Lhwyd 
having by his name [given above] not reduced it to any genus of 
plants, for my own satisfaction have given it the following name 
which you may retaine or vary as you may thinke convenient: Orni- 
thogalum alpinii juncifoliu humile flore unico erecto intus albo 
extus ad purpurea tendente B. Bichardson.” This name was also com¬ 
municated to Buddie with the specimen sent to him by Bichardson. 
Petiver ( English Herbal, t. 67, f. 1 ) figures it as “Lewyd’s {sic) 
