350 The Scottish Naturalist. 



ago Typha latifolia appeared, and now fills the whole pool. 

 Whence it came no one knows. It is a rare plant in Perth- 

 shire — the nearest locality being Loch Clunie, about six miles 

 distant. In this quarry it grows most luxuriantly — many of 

 the plants being ten feet high. In this quarry I found a few 

 specimens of Trickobasis cirsii, Lasch — a fungus only added to 

 the British list last year (vide Sc. Nat. III., p. 272). 



The chief plants of interest observed before reaching Clunie 

 were Lythium salicaria (a rare species in Perthshire), in a 

 marsh near Marlee, Lepidium Smithii, Anchusa sempervirens y 

 and Malva moschata. 



On arriving at the loch, we were met by Mr. Duff, the 

 superintendent of Low Airlie's property in this district, who 

 had kindly prepared a boat for us. 



Loch Clunie is a beautiful little lake, with undulated banks 

 richly wooded and cultivated, beyond which rise the rocky, 

 wooded, and heather-covered slopes of the Grampians. Near 

 one side of the lake is a small wooded island, on which is the 

 old castle of Clunie, not now inhabited, but still in good repair — 

 a reputed birthplace of the " Admirable Crichton." 



The first plant that attracted us on reaching the shores of 

 the loch was a large bed of Callit?iche autumnalis in good 

 fruit. This f star-wort, besides being one of the rarer species of 

 the genus, is also, in a living state, one of the handsomest — 

 the rich, glossy, dark green foliage showing to great advantage 

 through two or three feet of water. At about thirty feet from 

 the shore, and about at a depth of six feet we found the special 

 object of our search — Naias fiexilis — growing also in large 

 beds, and forming, as we subsequently saw, in many parts of 

 the lake the chief vegetation. 



The Naias seems to prefer water of from five to twelve feet 

 in depth ; whether it grew in deeper water we had no means 

 of ascertaining. Its foliage is of rather a paler green than the 

 above mentioned Callitriche. We found the female plant 

 alone (which is the only form that has been found in Ireland), 

 and saw abundance of fruit. Probably the male plant would 

 also reward a careful search. After duly admiring the beauti- 

 ful Naiad, we next proceeded to investigate the rest of the 

 aquatic flora. 



Growing in dense masses, in water of four or five feet, was 

 Fotamogeton lidcropJiyllus, whose brown foliage was in strong 

 contrast to that of the Naias and Callitriche. The majority of 



