BOTANICAL REMINISCENCES. 51 



seven miles to the west of Banff we have the famous Portsoy minerals. 

 Serpentine, Graphic Granite, etc., while in the upper districts of the county 

 there are valuable Manganese mines. 



The Flora of Banflf is particularly rich. We have the beautiful and 

 interesting Linncea horealis, a favoui'ite plant with most botanists, even with 

 those who would depreciate the merits of the illustrious Swede. This occurs 

 in the woods of MontcoflFer, near Banff, and forms a beautiful green carpet 

 of many yjirds in circumference, presenting, when in flower, a scene of natural 

 beauty and splendour truly gratifying to the botanist; so extensive indeed is 

 the station, that here, as in Switzerland, the wood is filled with its fragrance, 

 while the eye is charmed with the verdure of its elegant leaflets, and the 

 modest bloom of its pendulous and beauteous flowers. It is worthy of note 

 that it here occurs occasionally with three and four flowers on a peduncle, 

 and not always with tioo, as is generally supposed, and denoted by its English 

 name. The late lamented Dr. Mc'Gillivray, of Aberdeen, informed me, in 

 1840, that he had discovered the same lusus natures in a beautiful station 

 of the Linncea, in the woods of Fintray, Aberdeenshire. I may mention that 

 I have found the Linncea in the following places near Banff, which, I think, 

 must be regarded as the head-quarters of this lovely plant in Scotland, namely, 

 woods of Craigston, Auchterless, Alvah, and Botriptmie, in which last locality 

 it is associated with the still rarer Pyrola uniflora. Pyrola minor and media 

 occur pretty frequently in old fir woods in Banffshire, along with the elegant 

 Trientalis Europoea, so rare in England, and as yet unknown in Ireland. 



Along the banks of the Deveron, and in the extensive woods of the Earl 

 of Fife, many interesting plants are found, such as Geranium pratense and 

 sylvaticum, Hypericum hirsutmn, pidcltrum, and humifusum, Veronica montana, 

 Veronica scutellata, of which last I have found a hairy variety, not yet 

 described, as far as I am aware, as well as a stalked variety of the beautiful 

 though common Veronica Chamoedrys ; Cardamine amara, Lysimachia tiemorum, 

 Ghrysosplenium oppositifolium and alternifoUum, Paris quadrifolia, Trollius 

 Eiiropoeus, Circcea lutetiana, and many others, which recur to me with the 

 freshness of yesterday, but which the limits of this paper prevent me enumerating. 

 Along the coast, on the cliffs of Melrose, overhanging the Moray Firth, we 

 have found Hhodiola rosea, Saxifraga oppusitifolia, and hypnoides, generally 

 supposed to be confined to alpine districts, but here found a few feet above 

 the level of the sea. In the glen of Auchmedden, close to the sea-shore, 

 we have a great variety of plants, many species of Grasses and Carices, of 

 which Melica uniflora and Carex elongata are the rarest. 



Among Ferns found here, I may mention Scolopendrium vulyare, Aspidium 

 lobatum, Adiantwn capillus Veneris, Asjjlcnium Trichomanes, Polypodium 

 Phegopteris and Dryopteris. Along the Banffshire coast is also found the Scilla 

 verna in considerable quantity, and in several stations Primula veris is also 

 seen occasionally in pastm*es near the sea, but is very local. Between Banff 

 and Portsoy, in marshes near the sea, we have found the beautiful Anagallis 



