If the Rosa spinosissima, figured by Jacquin in his frag- 
menta, is our plant, it must be a native of Austria, but the 
prickles in his plate are all horizontal. Besides, there is a 
specimen in the Banksian Herbarium from Jacquin, which 
is indisputably a different variety. 
Weare scarcely acquainted with a more charming shrub 
than this plant is in the spring, when it is adorned with a pro- 
fusion of the most elegant white blossoms so closely disposed 
as almost to hide its delicate light blue foliage. The slender 
reflexed prickles distinguish it readily from all the varieties 
included under spinosissima; but the same character exists 
in Rosa myriacantha on the lower part of the shoots. This 
however is in other respects a very different species, and 
more nearly allied to Rosa involuta of our own highlands. 
Were we disposed to be guided by those botanists whose 
aim is to multiply species, rather than reduce them, we 
should have little difficulty in forming a specific character 
which would distinguish our plant much better from Rosa 
spinosissima than many at present adopted are discriminated 
from each other; but we confess ourselves disposed to hold 
that characters must be subservient to nature, not nature to 
them. That a character far from worthless might be put to- 
gether, the phrase distinguishing our variety will demon- 
strate. In this is for the first time introduced a difference 
obtained from the number of ovaria (germens) which are 
‘from 40 to 50 in the present variety, instead of from 15 to 
20 and 30, as is usual in the common states of the spinosis- 
sima of the North of Europe. 
We should observe that R. reversa of Waldstein and 
Kitaibel appears to be an essentially different plant, ap- 
-proaching more nearly to R. involuta of Sir J. Smith. 
A little compact shrub of two feet in height: branches 
straight and firm, round, furless, when young green, with 
very slender straight unequal reddish prickles and inter- 
mingled: bristles: when full grown reddish brown with 
very slender innocuous exceedingly uneven deflexed arms. 
Leaves among the least, most densely set together, spread- 
ing, light-blue; stipules linear, detached at the top, fringed 
with reddish glands; petioles furless, beset with minute 
thinly standing glands; Jeaflets 3-9, quite bare, ovate, — 
‘simply or doubly serrate, slightly glaucous on the upper 
side, on the under paler. Lindley MSS. - oe 
