PHYTOLOGY, 



ARABIS ALPINA L. IN SCOTLAND. 

 By Arthur Bennett, F.L.S. 



IN the " Journal of Botany " for last August, Mr. H. C. Hart re- 

 cords the finding of the above plant in the Isle of Skye. In 

 the "Scottish Naturalist" for 1886, p. 66, I wrote that "it seemed 

 strange that it is not British," and I have always thought it ought to 

 belong to our Flora, looking at its distribution, &c. Mr. Hart kindly 

 sent me a specimen for examination ; and writes with the specimen : 

 " I found it in three distinct places in the northern part of the Cuch- 

 ullin range. The altitude was about 2300 to 2800 ft. above sea 

 level, and the situation was in very stony places, which have some 

 permanent moisture in wet weather. It is a matter of climbing to 

 reach any of the localities. I have compared my specimens with 

 Greenland ones, and they differ only in the stem leaves of the latter, 

 being less auriculed, and less deeply toothed. The plate in the 

 Botanical Magazine represents my plant admirably. I only gathered 

 very few specimens." The Cuchullin range in some parts of its peaks 

 rises to 3260 ft. (Scuir Alister 3260 ft. by aneroid, Mr. Hart in J. of 

 Botany) ; this is higher than generally given I think, the Rev. J. 

 Wilson gives 3180, 3200, 3220 ft. as the height of the three highest 

 summits. They are principally composed of syenitic and hypers- 

 thenic rocks (Wilson), and generally very bare. Mr. Hart mentions 

 (in J. of Botany) the following species as observed : Alckemilla 

 alpina, Arabis petrcea, Saussurea alpina, Oxyria reniformis, Saxifraga 

 stellaris, Cerastiwn alpinum, and Azalea procumbens. 



I give a few references, and the distribution of the species : 

 Arabis alpina, Linn., Sp. PL 2, p. 664 (1753). 

 Wahlenberg Fl. Lapponica (181 2), p. 181-2. 

 Blytt M. N., Forges Flora, p. 974. 

 Hartman, Hanbok i Shan. Flora, ed. n, p. 191. 

 Koch., Synopis Fl. Germ, et Helv., ed. 2, 1, p. 40. 

 Nyman, Consp.Fl.Europ., p. 34. 

 H. C. Hart, Brit Polar Exped., Journal of Botany, 1880, p. 178. 



