Abstract
THERE are some local floras which have more than a local value, from the interspersion of critical notes on the species and sub-species by competent authorities. Of this character are Leighton's “Flora of Shropshire,” and Bromfield's of the Isle of Wight. Others, of more modest pretensions, aim only at supplying information of interest to collectors or to those engaged in investigating the facts connected with the geographical distribution of plants; and these possess the advantage that their moderate size enables them to be used as pocket-companions. To this latter category belongs the little volume we have now before us, which strikes us as being a very good volume of its kind. The greater part is occupied by a list of species (alphabetical, so as to avoid the necessity of an index) of Phanerogams and Cryptogams, with the general distribution or special habitats attached. The nomenclature is that of the “London Catalogue of British Plants of 1874,” unencumbered by any disquisitions as to specific or varietal distinctions, or the limits of natural orders. Of the 1,665 Phanerogams and Vascular Cryptogams included in the “London Catalogue,” no fewer than 1,250 are found within the limits of the metropolitan flora. These limits, as understood in Dr. de Crespigny's volume, are, however, somewhat vague. They are stated to include an “average thirty-mile radius,” but the radius appears to extend considerably further in some directions than in others. Thus, while we find a reference to the well-known localities for Hymenophyllum tunbridgense near Tunbridge Wells, and Osmunda regalis near Haslemere, there is none to that of Anemone Pulsatilla near Hitchen. These irregularities are, however, no doubt partly due to the direction of the author's individual researches, which seem to have been carried out with great zeal and accuracy, and to have extended over many years. The rest of the volume is occupied by a list of seventy-five localities, the scarcest and most interesting species of the locality being included in each list, distinguishing those which are authenticated by the author himself—by far the larger number. We can confidently recommend this volume to those interested in the flora of the metropolitan district.
A New London Flora; or, Handbook to the Botanical Localities of the Metropolitan Districts.
By E. Ch. de Crespigny (London: Hardwicke and Bogue, 1877.)
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A New London Flora; or, Handbook to the Botanical Localities of the Metropolitan Districts . Nature 16, 338 (1877). https://doi.org/10.1038/016338a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/016338a0