1
var. mierophylla Gotts. to have well-marked specific characters, but
whilst the late Drs. Carrington and Spruce did not think fit to
raise it to specific rank, I refrained from publishing it as such. Dr.
Spruce wrote me some time before he died that he considered it
had good claims to specific rank, adding that he had Carrington’s
and Hunt’s specimens from Glengariff, &c,, and Curnow’s from
Cornwall, and found them essentially different from P. Tamarisci.
Herr Stephani, to whom I have submitted descriptions and
specimens, writes : “ This is doubtless a good species. The differences
between F. fragilifoUa Tayl. and it are—
F. fragilifoUa: p. mierophylla ■.
stouter. smaller,
postical lobes cucullate. postical lobes longer, saccate,
stipules cuneate, segments trun- stipules oblong, segments acúcate,
J only bilobed. minate, ^ bilobed.
bracts j obtuse, mamillately bracts ? acute, spinosely den-
dentate. tate.
innermost bracteole large, seg- innermost bracteole small, segments
ovate, apex acute, on ments lanceolate, apex subuone
side connate with leaf late, on both sides free.
“ There is little difference in the cells, but the dotted line of
large brown cells is uninterrupted in F. mierophylla, and consists
of single scattered cells in F. fragilifoUa.''
This is certainly the species which it resembles most in size
and habit, from which it also differs in the persistent leaves, which
have a broader base at their insertion ; the perianth is also smaller
and oval. I t differs from F. Tamarisci in its much smaller size,
leaves more oval, with relatively larger postical lobes, stipules
oblong, and not at all calcarate ; from F. dilatata in its smaller
size, more oval leaves with dotted moniliform cells, stipules
with margin entire, antical lobe of bract serrate, and smooth
perianth.
D e s c r ip t io n oe P la t e II.—Fig 1. Plant natural size.
2. Portion of stem with perianth, antical view x 24. 3. Portion
of stem, postical view x 64. 4, 5. Leaves, postical view x 24.
6-8. Ditto, antioal view x 64. 9. Portion of leaf x 290.
10, 11. Stipules x 64. 12. Bract x 64. 13. Bracteole x 64,
13. Cross-section of perianth x 24. 15. Male catkins x 64,
16. Perigonial bract x 24. 17. Ditto, explánate x 24. 18.
Antheridium x 64 (Barmouth, W. H. P.)
3. FruUania fragilifolia, Taylor.
FruUania fragilifolia, Tayl. in Ann. and Magaz. of Nat. Hist. p. 172 (1843).
Dioicous, creeping, shallowly casspitose or substratified, small,
dark reddish-brown in colour. Stems procumbent, irregularly
pinnate or sub-bipinnate, branches alternate ; radiculose, rootlets
fasciculate, hyaline, proceeding from the base of the stipules.
Leaves imbricate or approximate, horizontally and obliquely
inserted, from a narrowed base, fragile, caducous, unequally
bilobed, antical lobe convex, subrotnnd or suborbicular, entire,
postical lobe about 3 times smaller, cucullate, oval or oblong,
sometimes pendant below the antical lobe ; epidermis not polished,
cells unequal in size, small to smallish, few largish, the large
ones, which are darker and contain oil-granules, are irregularly
disposed over the leaf or rarely monoliniate, walls firm, trigones
small. Stipules 2 to 8 times as wide as the stem, persistent,
obovate or broadly obovate, sometimes cuneate, plane, adpressed
to the stem, bifid to ^ or sinus acute or obtuse, segments acute
or obtuse. Flowers ¥ terminal; bracts much larger than the
leaves, 2-4 pairs, closely imbricate, subequally bilobed, antioal
lobe broadly oval or spathulate rotundate, irregularly and
obtusely dentate, postical lobe rather smaller, oval or oval-oblong,
rotundate or obtuse, irregularly dentate. Bracteole oblong-quadrate,
bifid to the middle or below, segments oblong or ovate, acute or
obtuse, connate with leaf on one side, 2nd sub-bract with antical
and postical lobes dentate, 3rd and 4tli sub-bracts with antical
lobes entire or slightly irregularly dentate. Perianth projecting
about half beyond the bracts, broadly obovate, unicarinate anti-
cally, concave postically, epidermis smooth. Male stems more
regularly pinnate, catkins subrotund, broader than long, or