256 The Irish Naturalist, October, 



and by its broader leaves and much stouter build. Having once 

 noted its characters, it was easily traced along the shore, even 

 though it was everywhere else eaten down, often to a stiif 

 biush-like stump. The shore here is formed of Boulder-clay, 

 generally covered with a few inches of angular stones derived 

 from the clay. Among the stones, below spring-tide level, are 

 scattered clumps of Glyceria niaritima and Aster Tripolium. 

 G. festuccBfortnis is associated with these, but generally grows a 

 little farther down the beach, being the lowest plant of all. It 

 grows in small solitary clumps, and I traced it from the point 

 before-mentioned northward along two miles of shore to Old 

 Man's Head ; and on a subsequent day, striking the lough just 

 north of the mouth of the Blackstaff River (two miles north of 

 the point last-mentioned), I saw it again. 



That the plant is indigenous, there can be no shadow of 

 doubt. In the whole of Strangford lyOUgh there is no port 

 where foreign vessels call. The sea traffic is confined to 

 small local boats with cargoes of coal, bricks, and so on. 

 Introduction by land is equally out of the question. The place 

 is remote from railwaj^s and even from roads, and the plant 

 grows amid a strictly indigenous flora. 



Unable to match the grass with any form of British 

 Glyceria, I sent specimens to Mr. Arthur Bennett. He 

 forwarded them to Prof. Hackel, who writes in reply — 



** It belongs to A. festuccBformis [Heynh. in] Reichb., but the 

 spikelets and flowers are as large as in A. Foucaiidii Hackl. ap. 

 Foucaud in Bull. Soc. Bot. Rochell., 1893, 173, of which it has 

 also the habit. But in A. Foucaudii the culm is thin-walled, 

 the central cavity being very large ; \\\. festticcBforniis the culm 

 is firm, thick-walled ; the leaves are flat in A. Foucaudii^ 

 junciform [?J in A festuccBformis. We must name it A. festucce- 

 formis ad A. Foucaudii vergens." 



In transmitting this note, Mr. Bennett remarks : — 



** You will see of what great interest your grass is — another 

 link in Ireland to a southern flora." 



The A. Foucaudii referred to was described in .1893, from 

 specimens collected in the department of Charente Inferieure, 

 W. France, but there appears some doubt as to whether it is 

 now looked on as a good species or as a luxuriant extreme 

 form of G, maritima. Rev. E- S. Marshall has gathered it in 



