HEPATIOE OF ARDLUI DISTRICT, LOCH LOMOND 113 



HEPATIC/E OF ARDLUI DISTRICT, LOCH 



LOMOND. 



By SYMERS M. MACVICAR. 



I PAID a short visit to this locality in the early part of July 

 last year, chiefly for the purpose of seeing how far our 

 peculiar western species were represented, and to search for 

 the rare Scapania niuibosa, as its usual associate, 5. ornitJio- 

 podioides, has been known from the district for many years. 

 I was unsuccessful in my search for the Scapania, but several 

 other interesting species were found. That the flora should 

 be of the western type was to be expected, and in this it 

 differs greatly from the flora of the Killin and Strathyre 

 districts, which are the nearest localities eastward which I 

 have examined. It differs, however, from that of the west 

 coast in having these species fewer in quantity and in 

 number ; but they were represented, although rare, by 

 Lejeunea ovata, L. uiicroscopica, Clasmatocolea ameifolia, and 

 Plagiochila tridenticulata. Plagiochila spinulosa, as a common 

 plant in several forms, with P. punctata and Lej. patens, both 

 rather common, gave a characteristic appearance to the 

 ravines on the low ground ; while the presence of Mastigo- 

 phora Woodsii, and the frequency of Jamesoniella Carringtoni, 

 Jungermania orcadensis, and Acolea crenulata is similar to 

 what is found on the west coast. Jamesoniella occurred in 

 greater quantity than in any other locality which I have 

 visited. The places searched by me were the low ground 

 about Ardlui and for a short distance up Glenfalloch, the 

 Dubh-uisge burn to the waterfall, the north-east corrie of 

 Ben Vorlich up to 2300 feet, and the ravine at the foot of 

 this corrie. The birch zone ascends to about 1300 feet in 

 the corrie, a few scattered trees reaching to i 500 feet. At the 

 latter height Saxifraga oppositifolia and 5. stellaris were first 

 observed. 



Ben Vorlich is composed of schistose rocks, which form 

 a soil favourable for hepaticae ; but the igneous rocks of 

 the Dubh-uisge burn are very bare. On the granite rocks 

 of the latter the reddish colour which some species appear 

 usually to take when on this formation was very noticeable 

 in Marsupella emarginata. 



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