ADDITIONAL SPECIES. 8. VERONICA. V. filiformis, stem spreading, hairy; leaves all alternate, heart ́shaped, deeply serrate; flowerstalks very long, always straight; limb of the corolla longer than the calyx; seeds cupped. Tab. nost. Prod. i. 9. V. filiformis, Lam. and Decand. Fl. Fr. v. 388. (ex- Hab. Cultivated grounds. In the shrubbery in front of Stems spreading, one or two feet long, branched at the base or simple, round, more or less coloured, and clothed with soft white hairs. Leaves alternate, rarely opposite at the base, ovate-heart-shaped, deeply serrate, rough with short bristles, which also fringe the margins. Flowerstalks axillary, straight, filiform, hairy, 1 or 14 inch long, sometimes slightly curved at the insertion of the capsule. The stem flowers from the very base. Segments of the calyx ovate-lanceolate, hairy, 3-nerved, the lateral nerves small. Flowers large, light blue, beautifully streaked with darker lines; segments broadly ovate, entire; tube white, hairy within. Anthers large, blue, on white curved thick filaments. Capsule inversely heart-shaped, bristly. Seeds white, rough, concave beneath, four or five in each cell. SMITH considered this a variety of V. agrestis, to which it is certainly nearly allied. But V. agrestis is a smaller and smoother plant, with the lower leaves always opposite, on longer stalks, and less decidedly heart-shaped. The flowerstalks also are generally curved, never longer than the leaves; and the segments of the small corolla do not exceed, but are rather shorter than the segments of the calyx; while in V. filiformis the flowers equal those of V. Chamaedrys in size, and are little inferior in beauty. It is necessary to substitute the following character of V. agrestis for that at page 7:-" Stem spreading, hairy; leaves ovate, deeply serrate, the lower ones opposite; flowerstalks about equal to the leaves in length, curved when in fruit; corolla shorter than the calyx; seeds cupped." For the above synonyma I am indebted to Mr WINCH. It may be considered a very valuable addition to the history of the species, since it is founded on specimens received from TENORE, MEYER, SCHLEICHER, and ARNOTT, who gave him the Montpellier plant, which must be DECANDOLLE'S. Mr WINCH has also British specimens from BORRER and E. FORSTER. The former botanist found it several years ago near Henley in Sussex, and communicated specimens to Sir J. E. SMITH and others; but it is singular that no notice is taken of it in the English Flora, nor, so far as we know, in any work on the botany of this island. END OF VOL. I. |