118 TRANSACTIONS, NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY OF GLASGO^Y. 



VII. 

 A GLANCE AT THE JULY FLORA OF ALYTH. 



BY R. S. WISHART, M.A. 



[Read 2Gth April, 1887.] 



Geographically, Alyth is situated on that bend of 

 Perthshire which may be described as pushing itself 

 into the county of Forfar. It is built at the foot 

 of the hill of the same name, and commands a 

 pleasant view across the valley of Strathmore to 

 the Sidlaw Hills on the south. The leading local 

 river is the Isla, into which the Alyth Burn flows 

 about two miles to the east of the burgh, carrying 

 with it the waters of many little tributary streams 

 from the slopes within its basin. With considerable 

 diversity of hill and dale, varied by woodland, 

 moorland, marsh, and meadow — all within easy 

 access, — Alyth affords a good field to the botanist 

 who may chance to alight there for a few days. 



In a walk along the burn-side, the variety and 

 luxuriance of the grasses, on either side of the 

 stream, are at once noticeable. Of the eighty- 

 eight species which I collected from widely spread 

 localities in 1885, over fifty were gathered within 

 a short distance of the Alyth Burn. Among 

 those that strike us most at this spot are Festuca 

 pratensis, var. loliacea, Arena pratensis, A. pubescens, 

 Bromus secalinus, D. vaeemosus, and Lolium italicum ; 

 while at the shingly places there sometimes appear 

 stray specimens of Poa alpina, Plialaris eanariensis, 

 and more rarely SesJeria ex vr idea. A little further 

 down I have gathered Phleum pratense with heads 

 7J inches long. At a little marshy spot on the left 

 Carex hirta prevails, while C. fulva, C. flava, C. 

 stelhdata, &c, also make their appearance. After 

 crossing the burn, on the way towards the moor 



