Page:Journal of botany, British and foreign, Volume 9 (1871).djvu/129

 SHORT NOTES AND QUERIES. 113

above the level of sea of Cannock Cliase and Sutton Cold field, and does the vegetation generally partake of a subalpine character? — W. A. Leighton.

The True Tetraspores of Seirospora Grifftthsiana. — In 1862 I received from Miss Dyke Poore S. Grijifhsiana, from Jersey, with what appeared to me tetrasporic fruit. I sent the plant to the late Pro- fessor Walker Ariiott, of Glasgow, who confirmed my opinion. The te- traspores occurred in pairs or singly on short pedicels, very diftereut to the necklace-like hardened bodies termed ' seirospores,' produced usually on this plant at the extremities of the raniuli. According to Agardh, these bodies likewise occur in the genus CaUiihamnion. I believe the true tetraspores of Seirospora have been observed by Agardh, but 1 have seen no notice of their occurieuce on British specimens, nor have I ever seen them on any but these Jersey plants. If seirospores are also produced in the genus Callithamnion, there seems no reason why Seirospora should not be replaced in that genus from which it was removed on account of these bead-like seirospores, which were supposed to be restricted to this species alone. I would recommend algologists during the approaching season to carefully examine all specimens of Seirospora Griffithsiana m search of the tetraspores. — I. Gifford.

Plants of the Site of the Exhibition of 1862. — Since the building in which the International Exhibition of 1862 was held was pulled down, the site has remained weed-covered and unoccupied. From time to time I have visited the ground, and have almost on every occasion found some new and interesting plant which I had not seen there before. The plants at first found were mostly annuals, which grow rapidly, and can- not tolerate consolidated soil, and, moreover, only precariously ripen their seed. Afterwards perennials, represented at first possibly by only a few unnoticed individuals, increased and took the place of the departed annuals. The year 1870 was the last opportunity of collecting these, as they will soon be extinguished by the new Natural History Museum. Of a 'list published in the fourth volume of the ' Journal of Botany,' p. 151, only Artemisia scoparia, W. and K., Carduus arverisis, Curt. var. setosus and' (E/toi/tera biennis, L., occurred in 1870, — all of them, however, abundantly. Fhysalis Alkeken(ji, L., recorded in last list, was an error for the not dissimihir Nicandra phjsaloides, Gaertn. (See PI. Middx. p. 195.) The International Horticultural Exhibition in 1866 probably introduced some additional species. Up to 1869 these are noted in the 'Middlesex Flora.' In 1870 I met with the following plants, which are not given in the Flora for this locality. Saponaria officinalis, L., Epilotnum angnsti- foliim, vi\v.d7ac/ti/carpiim,Le\<j:\\i., Rumex a/pinns,h., were, like Oenothera biennis, L., doubtless tlie remains of old garden cultivation reasserting themselves. This may also have been the case with Kitaibelia vitifolia, W ., a plant peculiar to Hungary, which may, nevertheless, have been intro- duced along with Jrteminia scoparia, VV. and K. ; also a plant of south- eastern Europe. If the Artemisia could establish any footing beyond the Exhibition ground, which is likely enough to happen if earth has to be removed for the foundations of the new Museum, it would certainly become a permanent addition to our Loudon fiora. The remaining plants were Lepidium Draba, L., Reseda siffiruticulosa, L., Echium vidgare, L., Car-

VOL. IX. [APRIL 1, 1871.] 1

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