Page:Journal of botany, British and foreign, Volume 9 (1871).djvu/222

 200 NOTES IN JERSEY AND GUERNSEY.

England restricted to limestone hills, it is common on sea-sand on a part of the coast of France adjacent to the Channel Islands (see Lloyd, p. 55). The handsome rayed Smecio, mentioned by Boswell Syme in the fifth volume of ' English Botany ' (p. 80) as var. radiatus of S. vulgaris, made so great a show that it was hard to believe it merely Groundsel. De Can- doUe, indeed, placed the plant as a variety of S. Uoidus, L. (non Sm.), of S. Europe, with which it agrees in its lai'ge heads, its phyllaries, and achenes, but diflt'ers in its weak stem, shaggy covering of wool, and more deeply- divided leaves. It seems worthy of subspecitic rank. A dwarf form of a capreolate Famarla was also noticed in the sand, and it was afterwards found in its properly-developed coiulition commonly in the island. The " _F. capreolata " of Babiiigton's ' PriniitiiB El. Saru.' he afterwards (Linn. Journ. Bot. iv. 165) referred to F. cot/fiisa, .lord. Thougii 1 confess to being unable to distinguish the forms into which F. cnpreolatn has been divided, I think the coninion Cliannel Island ])lant, which has large pink flowers, bears more resemblance to F. BuvieI than to any other Britisli variety.

The other jilants of interest noticed in Jersey were these : — Raphatms maritimus ; the botanist who has seen the root-leaves of this in the Channel Islands will be scarcely likely to put it with R. Raplmnidrum. Sarothamnus scoparlus ; the prostrate variety described by Mr. Bailey, in Cornwall, was abundant on the rocks exposed to the western gales at L'Etac, and presented a very singular appearance, the stems spreading from a centre, and pressed flat against the stone, and the numerous flowers at their extremities forming collectively a broad golden ring. Tillcea muscosa ; abundant close to St. Helier's. Smyrn'mm Olnsa- trum ; as far as I am able to judge, this must be a native plant in the Channel Isles ; I think, too, with Mr. Bentham, it is so in the south of England near the sea. Echinm plaidaglueum ; the root- leaves of this do not at all suggest a Boraginaceous plant ; the specific name, which may have puzzled some who have seen only the fully-grown plant, is excellently descriptive of them. Orchis Morio ; this was be- lieved not to grow in the islands when Professor Babington published his ' Primitise ;' we found it in some abundance on the Quenvais. Arum, italicum ; this is the only Arum we saw ; Mr. Stratton recognized it at once from the leaves, being familiar with it in the Isle of WigTit. When in flower, it is very distinct-looking. In well-developed plants the long, weak, pale yellowish-green spathe falls over by its own weight, and con- ceals the yellow spadix, but this, Mr. Stratton says, is often the case also Avith A. macnlatuin in the Isle of Wight, so that it cannot be considered dis- tinctive. We noticed leaves with white veins, as in the south of Europe, and also some with dark spots, like those of A. viaculatum (which pro- bably does not occur in the islands). Both species grow in the neigh- bouring parts of France, according to Lloyd. Gymnogramma leptophylla ; under the able guidance of Dr. Bull, an excellent resident botanist, I saw three localities for this in St. Laurence parish; all were similar; the base of high hedgebanks of clay-slate facing the south, and concealed by larger vegetation.

In Guernsey, I noticed in the sandy districts most of the same species as in Jersey, and in addition, Arabis liirsuta, Sagiiia viarilima, S. ciliata, Trifulium snffocaiuhi, and Aira caryopliyllea vera. Erodiinu rjioschatiiiu occurred in several wild-looking places on the east side of the

�� �