the base with descending lobes, irregularly sinuate-
dentate, acute-angled at the apex, dull green above, mealy
beneath, a few of the uppermost ones sometimes entire.
Spikes terminal and axillary, mostly confined to the upper
part of the stem and branches, shortly-branched, many-
flowered, dense. Flowers in small, round, dense tufts placed
near together, thus differing from A patula. Calyx of the
fruit ovate-triangular, sometimes almost cordate at the
base, acute, dentate, strongly tuberculated, rather longer
than the fruit, clothed with a dense mealy coat; before the
enlargement has commenced it is nearly square, and not
dentate, Seed black, smooth and shining, about half as
large as that of A. patula, reddish when immature. The
whole upper part of the plant is covered when in flower
with a beautiful minutely-crystalline coat, which afterwards
becomes mealy.
Our plant is distinguished from A. patula by not having
its upper leaves entire, its enlarged calyx not triangularly
rhomboid and entire, its spikes not interrupted and simple,
nor its branches elongated; its fruit also is smooth
and shining, not opaque and rough. It is necessary, however,
in noticing the character drawn from the smooth seed,
to point out a remarkable variation which occurs in nearly
all the species when growing upon rich soil or a muddy
sea-sbore : in such cases, the calyx, in a few of the flowers,
is often much more enlarged than usual, having a tendency
to become foliaceous, and the fruit also is of nearly double
the usual size, or even larger, and if usually smooth and
shining, it then becomes opaque and rough. It is suspected,
that when this monstrous development occurs, the seed is
abortive and would not germinate.
The specimens figured were gathered near the railroad
at Primrose Hill, near London, on the 30th of September,
1839. The plant has been found in Guernsey, Sark,
Leicestershire, Kent, and other places, growing upon waste
land or in neglected corn-fields.—C. C. B.