ALIEN FLORA OF THE LOWER PART OF THE SPEY 103 



ALIEN FLORA OF THE LOWER PART OF 



THE SPEY. 



By JAMES W. H. TRAIL, A.M., M.D., F.R.S. 



IN 1899 I spent the month of August at Craigellachie, 

 beside the Spey ; and, the weather being all that could be 

 wished, a good deal of time was spent botanising in the 

 neighbouring parishes of Banffshire (94) and Elginshire (95). 

 Several more or less rare and local plants were found, in- 

 cluding additions to the records for both counties ; but in 

 this paper will be included only the results of visits paid to 

 the extensive beds of shingle exposed along both banks of 

 the river and to the banks close to the water. 



In such situations along the Dee, even to within a few 

 miles of its mouth, alpine and subalpine plants occur here 

 and there, though less frequent than in former years owing 

 to the extension of the lupines {Lupinus nootkatensis). There 

 seemed reason to anticipate that similar species would be 

 found along the Spey near Craigellachie, brought from the 

 Cairngorms and other mountains. The shingle beds and 

 the banks seemed very well suited to favour their growth, 

 and no such immigrant as the lupine was seen that could 

 limit their extension. My anticipations were, however, dis- 

 appointed, as very few alpines were seen (Ambis petrcea 

 being the chief) and few even of the subalpines. 



But though disappointed in my search for these plants, 

 I was much interested to find along the river Asperula 

 arvensis, Galium triconie, and other species, clearly not 

 natives of Scotland, yet some of them in fair abundance 

 and ripening their seeds. While a few were showy enough 

 to owe their presence perhaps to outcasts or escapes from 

 gardens, most were far too inconspicuous to have been in- 

 troduced intentionally by man, while they could not be 

 regarded as field-weeds of the usual class. The " aliens " 

 extended along both sides of the river for a number of 

 miles, though more frequent in some parts than elsewhere. 

 Some I could not recognise or name from the books I had 

 with me, but those that I could name suggested south-eastern 



