Page:VCH Essex 1.djvu/76

 A HISTORY OF ESSEX RARE AND INTERESTING PLANTS Among the rare plants of Essex may be mentioned Bupleurum falcatum, an interesting plant which appears to be truly indigenous, and is confined in Britain to one situation in Essex, where it is very plenti- ful and extends over an area of several square miles. It was discovered by Corder in 1831. Another is Lathyrus tuberosus ; this beautiful plant is still plentiful in the Essex locality. It was first noticed by O. Corder in 1859, but is figured in Gerard's herbal of 1597, and specimens occur in some old herbaria, but previous to Mr. Corder's rediscovery it was confused with L. macrorhizus. It occurs nowhere else in England. L. birsutus occurs in only a few other counties in Britain. It has been known in Essex since 1861. Galium Vaillantii was discovered in Britain by Gibson in 1844 in a field in Essex. It is spread over a large dis- trict, where it is abundant in fields, more particularly in those planted with potatoes. Besides the above we have the following plants which are only found in two or three of Watson's subprovinces : Fi/ago galllca (this plant has not been collected for some five years, but probably still occurs), Primula elatior, Cbenopodium botryoides, Peucedanum qfficinale, Crepis fcetida, Medicago falcata, Barbarea stricta, Diotis maritima (probably now lost). The following plants should also be mentioned as amongst the rarer plants of Essex : (Enantbe pimpinelloides, Galium Anglicum, Hypo- chceris maculata, Lactuca Scario/a, L. saligna, Cynoglossum montanum, Scropbularia verna/is, Melampyrum aruense, Galeopsis ocbroleuca, Suceda fruticosa, Aceras Anthropophora, Ceratopbyllum submersum, Fritillaria Me/eagris, Lepidium latifolium, Vicia gracilis, Actinocarpus Damasonium, Carex elongata, Pbleum Boehmeri, Polypogon Monspeliensis, Trifolium ochro- leucum, Spartina stricta, Salicornia radicans, Limnanthemum peltatum. One of the most interesting plants of Essex, and indeed of England, is Primula elatior, the true oxlip. This must not be confounded with the hybrids between the cowslip and the primrose so often mistaken for the oxlip. The true oxlip is a very beautiful primula. It is very diffi- cult to give any specific characters by which it can be distinguished from its relations. The peduncle is more slender, the calyx Jits more tightly to the corolla tube, the form of the umbel is peculiarly graceful, the pedicels varying in length so that the flowers are arranged one over the other, all facing in one direction, the petals of a pale buff colour quite distinct from that of other primulas. The free portions of the petals are peculiarly regular in outline and never overlap one another, whilst the folds or boxes in the neck of the corolla, present in all other species of primrose, are absent from the true oxlip. This plant is confined to an area of our county where it borders upon Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, extending into those counties. It covers a stretch of country some 475 square miles in extent, having an irregular outline. There are some outlying patches, one in Cambridgeshire, one in Suffolk and one in Norfolk. Within the 38