THE ALPINE CERASTIA OF BRITAIN 43 



Syme's C. alpinum, var. pnbescens, is described tersely 

 and inadequately as " Plant with short hairs," and is queried 

 as being the C. alpinmn, var. hirsutum of Gren. and Godr., 

 " Fl. Fr." i. 271. Mr. Hanbury tells me there is no type in 

 Mr. Boswell Syme's herbarium, nor have I been able to find 

 any specimen labelled by him in the national herbaria. 

 We may therefore safely delete it from our flora. 



Our British Alpine Cerastia therefore appear to be : 



CERASTIUM ALPINUM, L. Plant prostrate, woolly ; leaves usually 

 broadly oval-obovate or elliptical, densely covered with long 

 shaggy articulated hairs, with some shorter glandular ones, first 

 pair of bracts smaller than stem leaves, with usually a narrow 

 membranous border ; secondary bracts sub-membranous or with 

 a distinct membranous border ; sepals broadly lanceolate, seeds 

 -^ in. across, acutely tubercled (in C. vulgatum they are about 

 -Jg- in. across and more pear-shaped). Helvellyn, 69 !, 70 ; Ben 

 Lawers, 88 ! ; Thulachan, 89 ! ; Canlochan, Loch Brandy, 90 ! ; 

 Lochnagar, 92 ! ; Braeriach, 96! ; Glen A'an, 94! ; Ben Laiogh, 

 98 ! ; Aonach Mor, 97 ! ; Inverlael, 105 ! ; Ben Dearg, 106. 



VULGATUM ( = C. SYMEI = C. ALPINUM, L., var. PUBESCENS, Syme, 

 p.p.). Plant less csespitose, usually more erect, with narrower 

 leaves, which are less hairy, the hairs shorter and nearly 

 eglandular. Ben Lawers, 88 ! ; Ben Laoigh, 98 ; Aonach Mor, 

 97 ; Braeriach, 96 ; Glen A'an, 94. C. alpinum ascends to 

 3700 on Cairngorm, 3100 on Ben Dearg. 



NIGRESCENS ( = C. BLYTTII, Baenitz). Plant less woolly, leaves 

 more acute and greener, with shorter pubescence ; upper bracts 

 with distinct membranous margin ; seeds often (? always) 

 abortive. Scotch mountains Ben Heasgarnich, Ben Lawers, 

 88!. 



C. NIGRESCENS, Edmonston, = C. LATIFOLIUM, Sm. (not L.) = C. 



LATIFOLIUM, Var. GLACIALE, "Bab. Man. "56, 1847, C. LATI- 

 FOLIUM, var. Edmonstoni, Wats., " Lond. Cat." 2, 1844, nomen 

 nuduiji, "Bab. Man." 3rd ed., 52, 1851, = C. ARCTICUM, 

 Lange, " Fl. Dan." 1880, fasc. 50, p. 7 pro parte ; -var. 

 EDMONSTONII, Bee by, "Scot. Nat." 24, 1887; = C. ALPINUM, 

 var. EDMONSTONII, Hook., "St. Fl.," 3rd ed., 60, 1864; = C. 

 EDMONSTONII, Murbeck and Ostenfeld, " Bot. Notiser," 246, 

 1898. Plant ascending, pale green, in the Shetland plant often 

 brownish-purple ; leaves pale green, with short gland-tipped 

 hairs and longer yellowish, stiff, articulated hairs ; first pair of 

 bracts not much smaller than leaves, herbaceous ; secondary 

 bracts, when present, with a very narrow membranous border ; 



