( 365 ) 



J brief View of the Botany of Ireland, By J. T. Mackav, 

 M.R.I.A., A.L.S.* 



Although the Flora of Ireland is not so numerous as that 

 of Great Britain, it possesses a good many plants not found in 

 England or Scotland, some of which may be noticed, together 

 with others of rather rare occurrence to be found in different 

 parts of the country. 



Killarney is celebrated for its large specimens of ArbutuS 

 {A. tmedo), and the Kerry and Cork mountains furnish several 

 species of Saxifrage, of the Rohertsonia or London Pride divi* 

 sion, not found elsewhere in Britain, as may be seen by refer- 

 ring to the Flora Hibernica. The rare and beautiful fern Tri- 

 chomanes birvisetum, now so much sought after, is found in 

 greater abundance near Killarney than any other place in Ire- 

 land.-f- Brandon, in the county of Kerry, is one of the richest 

 mountains in Ireland for alpine plants, near to which, on Con- 

 nor Hill, the rare little procumbent plant Sibthorpia Europaa 

 is to be seen in abundance. The Pinguicida grandiflora, found 

 abundantly near Cork and other parts of the country, is parti- 

 cularly deserving of notice, as it is now much sought after by 

 cultivators. 



The wild district of Connemara in the county of Galway 

 furnishes a considerable number of rare and interesting plants, 

 the most remarkable of which are the following : — Erica Medi-^ 

 ierranea, found on Urrisbeg, near Roundstone, which species 

 has, since its first discovery there, also been found in Erris ^ 

 Erica MacJcaiajia, Menziesia polifolia or Irish heath, which, as 

 well as the beautiful variety with white flowers, are now gene- 

 ral favourites in garden collections. The curious Eriocaxdon 

 septangidare, which also grows in the island of Skye, in Scot- 

 land, is here to be seen in almost every lake. The London 

 Pride, Saxifraga umbrosa, is found on several of the moun- 

 tains in the greatest abundance ; on Muilrea mountain in the 



■ Drawn up for Messrs Curry & Co.'s " New Guide to Travellers in Ire- 

 land," not yet published. — Edit. 



t It has recently been found by Robert Ball, Esq. in the county of "Wa-* 

 terford. 



VOL. XXV. NO. L. OCTOBER 18S8. B b 



