246 The Irish Naturalist. September, 



Archangelica officinalis in Ireland. 



At Kilkenuy, on May 23, I found a grand plant of this large umbellifer 

 on the bank of the Nore a little below the town, and other plants were 

 subsequently observed on islets in mid-stream, where they were clearlj' 

 self-sown. The Archangel was formerly cultivated on account of its 

 aromatic leaf-stalks, which were blanched and eaten as celery, and they 

 are still candied and used as a sweatmeat. It is native in eastern Europe, 

 Siberia, and the Himalayan region. In England it is a rare alien ; from 

 Ireland there appears to be no previous record, nor have I come across 

 the species as a plant of cultivation. At Kilkenny it appears quite 

 naturalized, and, though July- September is the flowering season given 

 by Babington, the great terminal umbel was already in full bloom on 

 the date above-mentioned. By a strange coincidence, the plant was 

 found independently in the same station by Mr. R. A. Phillips, of Cork, 

 within two hours of my noting it. 



R. Iri^OYD PraEGe;r. 



Dublin. 



Pyrola secunda in Fermanagh. 



Early in July I spent a few hours near Carrick Lake, and had an 

 opportunity of searching for the two rare plants which Messrs. Tetley 

 and West's researches have associated with that locality — namely, 

 Pyrola secunda and Trichomanes radicans. Aided by a description of the spot 

 hy Mr. Tetley, I stumbled uphill through a rough natural wood to a low 

 range of Yoredale Sandstone cliffs, where I came across the Pyrola at 

 once — a good patch on a rather dry ledge of rock. An examination of 

 the surroundings showed that it was not the single patch which Mr. 

 Tetley had found. This I soon came across, a little to the eastward, and 

 further eastward two more patches were found. All were just at their 

 best, in full flower, growing on the drier shelves of the wooded cliff 

 The natural wood around them consists mainly of Birch, with Oak 

 Ash, Mountain Ash, and Holly. The plants actually associated with the 

 Pyrola are — Vaccinhini inyriilhis, V. Vids-Idiva, Lonicera, Melaiiipyrum, 

 Luziila maxima, Hedera. Both species of Hyjuenophylhuii grow on the 

 rocks around, and amid the undergrowth Lastrea itmitla is remarkably 

 abundant and luxuriant, amid boulders and rotting trunks smothered 

 in cushiony mosses. There is, no doubt, more of the Pyrola there, for 

 I examined only half— and that the less elevated half — of the low line of 

 rocks to which I had been directed. The elevation of the place is 350 

 to 400 feet. Vaccinium Vilis-Idcea, which grows remarkabl}' abundantly 

 and luxuriantly along these wooded rocks (stems being several feet in 

 length), maintains its abundance down to the stream below (about 300 

 feet elevation), where it may be found in quantity on mossy rocks and 

 tree-trunks — an unusual habitat for this plant. I had not the good 

 fortune to discover the Killarney Fern. The wood is full of deep mossy 

 hollows and chinks among the blocks of rock, and one might spend 

 several days before feeling that the place was thoroughly explored. 



R. Ivi^OYi3 Praeger. 



Dublin. 



